School District Redesign - Essay Example

School District Redesign Improvement Project School District Redesign Improvement Project Introduction This is a regional publicschool district that was created to serve students hailing from two communities from Union County in New Jersey. The educational system used in this district begins from the prekindergarten level through to the twelfth grade. Their main student base is from the Borough of Fanwood as well as the Township of Scotch. There are 5 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and one complete high school. The schools in this district have witnessed a high graduation rate in recent years, but there is still room for an improvement for all of its students. At the end of each student’s education in this district, it is expected that they will have great emotional and social health in order to be industrious in their lives as citizens. Executive Summary The Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District aims at meeting the educational needs of all students through the use of academic intervention, behavioral intervention, therapeutic intervention as well as prevention opportunities. The mission of this school district is to readdress student behavior by utilizing positive programs meant to enhance rigor, relationships, and relevance by focusing on academic achievement, leadership, self esteem, responsibility and community service. The focused academic instruction hubs on information analysis and professional development, while the school wide instruction focuses on research based instructional strategies. Prevention and intervention efforts dwell on the counseling services that are done through student support services (Hartman, 1998). District-Level Redesign In the district redesign and planning process, there is a designated committee that is responsible for creation and evaluation of action plans. These action plans are meant to address four major goals concerning community relations, resource use, student achievement, and technology (Duffy, 2004). The planning process follows a needs assessment touching on historical trends and strengths. In order for the Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District to function properly, there should be a continuous upgrading and redesign so as to serve the student base as well as the community. Leadership is a very considerable aspect of any school redesign and improvement plan, hence the need to address its significance. These leadership roles are awarded to people who have had a relevant amount of experience in these redesign plans. The redesign plans cannot be implemented without the use of local collaboration (Siegel & Byrne, 1994). Indulging this collaboration shows the school district’s effort to link up with the surrounding community in order to work together to raise good law abiding citizens. School-Level Redesign Overview Formal and informal meetings should be held with the schooling and district personnel in order to get their opinion pertaining to the redesigning initiative. At this juncture, the district level administrators should have done their research on their educational programs and those of their neighbors so as to enhance the one they use. This crew will form the redesign team. It should consist of principals from the eight schools in the district, an adjustment counselor, the District Technology Coordinator, a Title I Literacy Specialist as well as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction. In order to involve the parents in the decision process, at least one parent from each will be included into the planning process. This team should hold their meetings at least once a week prior to the implementation of the redesign process. Their duty will be to manage the operational implementation of the proposed changes on top of the continuing plans for the transformational model (Lawrence, 2004). Part of their management will include the continuous assessment of the progress of the goals and objectives set. This will be done, in part, with constant communication with all the members of the committee. One of the objectives of this project is to curb the rising rate of absenteeism. This was noted as one of the biggest problems that the school district suffers from. Below is a table that shows the student demographics of a schooling system facing truancy. Grade Gender Avg. Age Retention History Court Involvement DCF Low Income Truancy History 7 M:100% F: 0% 14.3y 1-2 yr. ea. 57% 43% 86% 33% Chronic Absenteeism 8 M: 80% F: 20% 15.3y 1+ yr. ea. 85% 69% 100% 62% Chronic Absenteeism 9 M: 80% F: 20% 17.1y 1 yr. ea. 80% 50% 100% 80% Chronic Absenteeism 10 M: 60% F: 40% 17.11y 2 yr. ea. 68% 17% 100% 67% Chronic Absenteeism 11 M: 60% F: 40% 19.1y 2 yr. ea. 50% 17% 100% 80% Chronic Absenteeism There are numerous conditions that are essential for effectiveness in schools. The most noticeable include: the element of student support; assessment, curriculum, and instruction as well as financial and asset management. Student support can be enhanced using a tiered instruction model together with the provision of adequate time for learning in addition to the creation of a true conduit model. Different students have different needs when it comes to their emotional, social, and health necessities that require to be looked into in order to ensure an effective learning process (Ruebling, 2007). These schools need to be made into institutions that can accommodate alternative educational programs meant for students who cannot function properly in the orthodox schooling system of traditional schools. In order to produce such an atmosphere, the interventions listed below can be used to provide the lead responsible duty. Intervention Domain Primary universal Secondary High efficiency Tertiary High intensity Personnel Responsible ACADEMIC Highly qualified staff Ongoing professional development Learning coaches Consistent attendance policy Additional learning sessions Parent conference Opportunities for alternative delivery of instruction and assessment Specialized instruction Response to Intervention Individual tutoring Evaluation consultation Time-on-learning Teachers TA’s Principal Social Worker Community-Service-Learning SOCIAL Positive behavior support Clear and consistent incentives Effective leadership Student understanding of social norms Alternative learning session Group social skills Individualized contact with administration and school mental health Outside agency support Community resources Teachers TA’s Principal Social Worker Community-Service-Learning MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH Provision of safe and orderly school environment PE/Health class Regular check-ins with all staff Physically engaged faculty Parent contact Small group and individual treatment as needed Cyclical population Staff observation Direct contact with care providers Regular parent communication Emotionally impaired or persistent trauma-affected School Social Worker Principal School Psychologist Collateral agencies FAMILY AND COMMUNITY Welcoming school environment Professional and caring staff Maintain productive and positive supports Quarterly parent conferences Provide external support to agencies as needed Regular parent communication Direct student to available and needed services Provide referrals Work to increase student awareness of employment and educational opportunities Refer as needed to appropriate support agencies Maintain clear and consistent restrictions when assisting family system Principal Community Partners School Faculty School Social Worker Implementation Timeline and Benchmarks Essential Condition Early Implementation Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Aligned Curriculum Grade level benchmarks established General content texts, standards, programs, and learning objectives. Decisive assessments of benchmarks Portfolio prompts General summative assessments Pupils exit interviews based on portfolio presentations Effective Instruction Instructional support Teacher in-service Expanded use of specialized learning communities model for professional advancement Formative assessments Design instructional strategies Peer observations of associate teachers Meetings to discuss instruction strategies Student Assessment Progression of formative assessments Analysis of standardized test results for students’ development and success needs General decisive assessments of benchmarks Portfolio prompts General comprehensive assessments Student exit interviews Measurable Annual Goals There are a number of methods that can be used to measure the success level of the redesigning project. In this case, the best method will be to implement goals that are to be measured annually. During school holidays, students need to be engaged in vocational jobs as they prepare these students for other employment opportunities. This method can develop the student’s skills and improve their social relationships (Firestone & Bader, 1992). The committee can improve the culture and safety levels in the school by addressing the aspect of bullying. The teaching staff can also be improved by allowing the students to have teachers of professional quality. This reallocation project supports the New Jersey Standards for Professional Development because it has the same goals and objectives. The reallocation is supposed to ensure that students are able to enhance the knowledge of their subject content. This is because the educators will be more inclined to work effectively with or without constant supervision. This model will help address the issue of absenteeism from school, especially from the seventh to the twelfth grade. References Duffy, F. M. (2004). Moving upward together: Creating strategic alignment to sustain systemic school improvement. Lanham, Md: ScarecrowEducation. Firestone, W. A., & Bader, B. D. (1992). Redesigning teaching: Professionalism or bureaucracy? Albany: State University of New York Press. Hartman, W. T. (1998). Resource allocation and productivity in education: Theory and practice. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. Lawrence, D. E. (2004). An analysis of the aspiring principal preparation programs provided by Florida school districts. Boca Raton: Dissertation.com. Ruebling, C. E. (2007). Redesigning schools for success: Implementing small learning communities and teacher collaboration. Longville, Minn: Center for School Redesign. Siegel, P. M., & Byrne, S. (1994). Using quality to redesign school systems: The cutting edge of common sense. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Read More