Schools Defined

When one looks up the phrase educational institution on Google there are three different categories: Higher Education; University; and School.  Higher Education is defined as education provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, technical colleges, and other collegial institutions that award academic degrees, such as career colleges.  A University is defined as an institution of higher education and research which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctorate) in a variety of subjects.  A School is defined as an institution where students (or pupils) learn while under the supervision of teachers.  The definition of a school paints the image of a classroom of students or pupils reading quietly while the teacher walks up and down the aisles with arms crossed and ruler in hand making sure that everyone’s eyes are on the right page.  Then when the reading is over a test is given to give a student a score on that chapter.  Obviously, the term “school” best defines our schools of today, but the type of classroom described above should not. But what should the replacement strategies be?

With the introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), K-12 schools today have the following: different levels of diplomas; student assessments at the national, state, and local level; national and state standards that must be met; and the list goes on and on.  Because of the change in theories and applications, schools can no longer fit under the old definition of “schools”. Schools today are more of an “educational institution”.  An educational institution is a place where everyone learns: students, teachers, administrators, and the community; a place where 1) testing is conducted to understand the learning process and skill building of its students; 2) research is conducted to help students reach their full potential; 3) teachers calculate the best course of action to help students succeed; 4) administrators are instructional leaders and build capacity among teachers; and 5) the community takes an active role in the future of its young people.

The SACS seven standards for school improvement; (a) vision and purpose; (b) governance and leadership; (c) documenting and using results; (d) teaching and learning; (e) resources and support systems; (f) stakeholder communication and relationships; and (g) commitment to continuous improvement, if implemented with fidelity and intent, could give schools and school systems the culture needed for success and help turn them into educational institutions.  The first-place schools and school systems need to start is a vision of where they want to go.

Vision and purpose.  A system is successful in meeting this standard when it commits to a purpose and direction that is shared system wide.  The leadership establishes expectations for student learning aligned with the system’s vision that is supported by system and school personnel and external stakeholders (Quality systems standards, p. 1).

In Ken Blanchard’s book (2010), Leading At a Higher Level, he discusses the importance of having a good vision for an organization.  A vision builds trust, cooperation, interdependence, motivation and mutual responsibility for success.  The story of Alice in Wonderland that Blanchard discusses seems to define the uncertainty that low performing schools face.  When Alice asked the Cheshire cat,” Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” the cat replied, “That depends a good deal on where you want to go.”  Alice told him that it didn’t really matter and the cat replied,” Then it doesn’t matter which way you go. “Many schools have not been given appropriate direction which could explain why one year they meet AYP and the next year they do not.  Many schools do have a mission statement, but the mission statement is never followed and they are left with just the goal of meeting an index and not an authentic reason to pursue success.

A school’s mission statement reminds the school community of why they exist; a vision paints a picture of what they can become.  A vision should provide a compelling sense of where a school is headed and what must be accomplished in the future to fulfill the school’s purpose (Blankstein, 2004).  Many schools‘ personnel know why their school exists, but that knowledge of their existence is not the same with everyone in the school community.  Just like Alice in Wonderland, it did not matter which way they went because they did not have a vision.  Accreditation from a prestigious organization such as SACS could give low performing schools a sense of purpose, a goal to reach, a vision of who they want to become and a path to follow.  A school leader’s greatest contribution to school improvement is to articulate a compelling vision and mission, and to convince stakeholders that the mission and vision can be achieved.  Leaders must keep the vision and mission in the forefront, and see that every program, policy and educational strategy falls in line with the vision and mission (Lezotte and Snyder, 2010).

Organizations tend to drift away from their mission statement and core values due to continuity; this is what’s called a mission drift (Lezotte & Snyder, 2010).  The challenge for low performing schools to become effective is first, to reach clarity and consensus on the mission, values, and beliefs; and second, to develop ongoing processes that ensure that the school and staff do not drift in different directions.  One strategy that schools can use to keep this from happening is to periodically review and renew their mission, values, and beliefs (Lezotte, & Snyder, 2010).  Schools seeking to become qualitative start by reviewing and rewriting their mission statement, developing a vision statement, establishing core values, and setting goals.  They can accomplish this by assembling a task force made up of representatives from each stakeholder group.  A school leadership team composed of one teacher leader from different departments (English, Math, support staff, etc.) along with the school principal and a parent volunteer could comprise the stakeholder group.  The representatives would be responsible for soliciting feedback from the different groups they represent and to share the evolving statements with their group (Blankstein, 2004).

A final thought on vision and mission relates to the need for these ideals to remain in the forefront of thought. A school’s vision and purpose mean nothing if the instructional leader of the school and/or district does not communicate and reinforce the vision and purpose to the staff, students, parents, and the community in an on-going way. Developing a vision and mission with all stakeholders represented is a time-consuming and arduous task. If the hard work results in a document that sets on a shelf and is never mentioned again, the seeds of cynicism begin and the assumption is that the actual practice of the school is back to the status quo. But if it becomes a living document and it is evident that the school and district leaders “stay on message” all stakeholders know what is valued and what people are working toward accomplishing.

Reference

Blanchard, K. (2010). Leading at a higher level. New Jersey: FT Press.

Lezotte, L.W., & Snyder, K.M. (2010).What effective schools do. Bloomington,IN: Solution Tree