Case Study #4
Collaboration with the community
ISLLC
Standard 4
A
school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all
students by collaborating with families
and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and
mobilizing community resources.
Key
Questions
1. How
is the school administrator developing partnerships with area businesses,
institutions of higher education, and community groups to strengthen programs
and support school goals?
2. What
type of outreach programs has the school administrator embraced?
Purpose
The
purpose of this case study is to examine how the school administrator
encourages collaboration among the community.
Description
and Explanation of the Situation
Clementine
Middle School is in its fifth year of needs improvement according to No Child
Left Behind. The subgroup that has continually
under performed is the special education students. The
administrator is fully aware of resources outside of the walls of the building
and actively cultivates some of those relationships. She has established a collaborative community
in which to strengthen an inclusion program.
The regional education service agency has come to Clementine and set up
monthly inclusion meetings with the special education teachers and their collaborative
partners. These meetings have brought
forth many ideas. A book study was
conducted on “How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms” by
Carol Ann Tomlinson. The service agency
provided all members with a copy of the book.
Another topic covered that was addressed in these meetings was how
socio-economic status affects learning. Clementine
Middle School has a rate of 65% free and reduced lunch. This fact caused the administrator to seek
resources to help understand poverty. The teachers watched a video created by a
Ruby Payne facilitator. This activity
helped all teachers view the world of a poverty stricken student through their eyes.
This
middle school, over the years, has participated in various activities within
the community. The schools population is 80% African –
American and a teacher felt that this population needed some guidance. This
spurred the teacher to host a community event targeted to the needs of this
particular group. Some of the activities
for the day were learning how to dress for success, how to avoid conflict, and
how being proud of their heritage. A
guest speaker was brought in and the event was highly publicized. Over 400 participants attend this program! Based on the success of this program, another
was created to focus on African-American boys.
It too had a large community turnout!
Clementine
Middle has a rate of 65% free/reduced lunch.
Sally was concerned that students were not getting meals at home due to
this high number of children living in poverty.
She made the breakfast program at the school stronger by extending the
number of minutes allocated to eating breakfast. This enabled students on late busses to be
able to have a meal at school other than lunch.
Sally understood that most of these children only ate the two meals
offered at school.
A
student mentor program is being established at this school as well. Again, a teacher recognized this need and
approached the administration with a proposal.
Sally, the administrator, is very supportive of the grass roots efforts
of her staff to improve the lives of the students. This program is currently under Board of
Education review to achieve school system support.
Answers to questions
1. How
is the school administrator developing partnerships with area businesses,
institutions of higher education, and community groups to strengthen programs
and support school goals?
This
school administrator definitely recognizes and values the diversity of the
school community as well as the surrounding community. She actively invites participation in
programs to enhance the diversity! Her
concern over some students not being allowed to eat breakfast due to late
busses caused her to extend breakfast into homeroom time. This action alone shows that information
about family concerns are used to redirect resources to better meet those
concerns. This administrator has also
reached beyond the schoolhouse walls to bring in experts in the area of
inclusion. She understands the need for
teachers to receive training on how to collaborate and then on how to reach all
students in the general education classroom.
Another area that Sally really shines in is her ability to offer opportunities
for staff to develop collaboration with the community. She recognizes strengths in others that she
may not have and allows those strengths to shine.
The
school administrator has encouraged participation with the regional education
servicing agency to better promote collaboration among teachers as well as
students. This collaborative effort has
been an ongoing commitment for the last three years. The administrator recognizes that the subject
area specialist is important in teaching the content while the special
education teacher is a specialist in modifying the information to better reach all
students. This collaborate push is one
of the ways the school administrator is trying to move the school out of needs
improvement status according to No Child Let Behind.
The
school administrator has also embraced teacher’s ideas in ways to better the
status of most of the students. A need
was recognized in the African-American community to teach young girls their
value. This need afforded a teacher to
run a day camp on the value of being African-American. Another teacher saw a need for positive role
models in many students’ lives. He
designed a mentoring program to be used with African-American males.
I
believe this administrator is demonstrating the developing style of
leadership. She is gaining competence in
her ability to invite all stakeholders to be involved in the school
community. She is also comfortable with
outside agencies stepping in to provide support. This is evident by her willingness to work
with the regional education servicing agency on collaboration. Her desire to help this school emerge from
the needs improvement shadow is another way that I feel she is in the
developing stage of leadership.
To
move more into the proficient arena of leadership this administrator needs to
capitalize on involving the parental community more. Sally is tentative in her involvement with
parents. She says she wants them
involved and yet offers no way for them to become participants in the school. This school administrator does not utilize all
available community resources to help the school solve problems and achieve
goals.