School Culture- School Reform and Effective Leadership

There are some factors, one is school culture, that can either support or sabotage school reform efforts. Teachers, students and the school community both influence and are influenced by school culture. School culture refers to the belief systems, values and meanings embedded in the history of the school. I think of culture as the unspoken rules of the organization. School culture reflects local community culture and their beliefs and values also. When discussing school reform and improvement Fullen says that factors affecting implementation, "form a system of variables that interact to determine success or failure" (Fullen, pg. 67).

A positive school culture that includes specific norms can be a bridge to implementation of school reform efforts. In the Journal of Staff Development, the Insight article on Culture states, "(But) without a culture that supports and values (these) structural changes, (these) reforms can fail" (pg. 15). There are then, specific and particular norms that facilitate school reform efforts including a shared vision; collegiality; high expectations of staff and students; trust; support; recognition; a caring environment; celebration; and humor. (SELD-School Context, pg. 8)
Encouraging these norms is important in leading a change movement. These factors are also ones that I have heard over and over as part of not only school culture, but also effective leadership. They are repeated often in the readings, as well as, in the interview I did and in class discussions.

So as I also reflect on effective leadership, I conclude that successful school reform and effective leadership are closely related topics. I find that effective leadership is also multidimensional, including both management and leadership tasks, and these considerations alone make effective leadership a daunting task. Anyone who feels that this kind of leadership is a one-man show, is in for a lot of work and struggle. I have come to understand that an effective leader must have an effective group working with them. This group of teachers and other staff members must be motivated to share the vision. I see the picture as teachers in collaborative teams and learning communities.

This year we virtually implemented online teams and learning communities and recently have won the best practices award for the school. This was a group effort. It would not have happened if the teachers had not been willing and ready to step in and share the vision. Next year we are planning to add differentiation online as well as, the school within a school concept. Technology is part of this picture as we use technology on a daily basis for delivery. This does not mean that we have the latest and greatest technology. As we move forward we will be looking at ways to improve our technology use in the classroom, especially by students. None of this would be possible if we did not have a group of dedicated staff members with skills to lead their own teams and collaborate to innovate.

In the Secrets to Great Groups, Warren Bennis says, "Behind every Great Man ( I am adding Great Woman also) is a Great Group, an effective partnership" (Bennis, pg. 1). Therefore, effective leaders need to be team builders, adding yet another important dimension to leadership. In reflection of the studies we have done, I have also conlcuded that effective leaders are thoughtful about the work that they do. Effective leaders motiviate others to employ the same thoughtful processes as they move forward together to create learning environments.

Effective Leadership

In the few short weeks since classes have started at JHU, my ideas about leadership have become more thoughtful and focused. I have had the opportunity to study and reflect on multiple theories and ideas presented in Fullen, Burrello and other resources. I believe, after reviewing these resources and thinking about my own leadership style, that I bring my own values, beliefs, experiences and personna to any situation and then these factors influence how I lead. I also believe that I can affect my own style by being thoughtful about what I do and how I perform based on what I know about best practices in leadership. Those practices are the ideas that are commonly viewed as the most effective in leading school organizations from sources that I have studied.

I believe that effective leaders in schools strive to develop a dynamic, learner-centered environment where there is collaboration among stakeholders. Teachers in this environment work in teams and strive to create dialogue with students and parents about learning with support from the administrator. These teams allow teachers to be creative in completing tasks.
The administrator is available for regular dialogue with parents and the community and is highly visible both in the school and community. The administrator is able to deal with daily tasks
through shared leadership and decision-making. I also believe that istructional leadership is part of how an administrator is able to have a reflective dialogue with teachers about technology high expectations for achievement.

A principal in this environment would need to have excellent communication skills and feel comfortable in open dialogue with diverse audiences in the school and community. At the same time this leader would need to be able to listen with understanding and ask thoughtful questions to gain important information. This leader needs to let go and share the leadership with teachers and others so that everyone has a stake in the way the school is operating. This characteristic will also allow the principal to accomplish the daily tasks of school operation. Coming in to a situation the principal needs to develop and share core beliefs and the vision that they bring to the situation so that a dialogue can begin with all stakeholders.
Most importantly to me, the leader needs to be genuine in dealing with situations and people in the school so that trust can be built and teachers, students, parents and community members can feel comfortable that the leader is honest and trustworthy.

I believe that if you were to visit my building (online) now, you would know from the information that I have shared here, that it is my building. Whenever a decision is to be made that affects staff we meet to decide as a team. Grade levels work in teams and learning communities. We still experience challenges, however, we approach them with dialogue and shared decision-making. I also wanted to add that the principles remain the same for me, whether we are talking about a virtual or a traditional building environment. Core beliefs, vision, effective leadership characteristics, qualities of an effective leader are similar. What changes in a virtual environment is the technology skill and knowledge of the administrator needed to lead virtually!

Transformational Leadership

I believe that the word transformational indicates a change in the nature of something. I believe that transformational leaders accomplish change that responds to the needs of a group of people.
These leaders have some qualities that are the essence of their leadership style such as presence, the ability to empower others and a sense of social idealism. In the case of school leaders the qualities include an agenda of proven strategies that they use to impact teaching and learning. Burrello spoke in Educating All Students about characteristics that help to define transformational leadership such as a vision for teaching and learning, ennobling social ideals and leaders as pathfinders. Another author, James MacGregor Burns in Transforming Leadership, resonates with my beliefs when he describes leaders as mobilizing those in need for the cause of transformational change. I don't believe, however, that just anyone can accomplish this kind of change. Transformational leadership advocates for change for a greater purpose.

Transformational leadership will have an impact on the school setting and initially will upset the equilibrium in the school as they try to affect change. Sometimes leaders are called upon in schools to lead the charge if a district or community sees the need for change. The impact of this leadership will be that the environment will change and become more dynamic and nonlinear. Teams of people will work to create new ways of approaching challenges and there will be a power distribution that is more democratic due to the diversity of groups. This educational environment will be complex and the leader, like the system, will be dynamic. Burrello states that "core values and the vision of schooling are the focal point of the inquiry..." in this type of environment (Burrello pg. 43) The school will be learner-centered and teachers will collaborate to encourage divergent thinking. The leader will bring these diverse groups together to find connections and develop relationships that include students, teachers and parents. The ultimate impact will be that the school will look, feel and operate differently.

The transformational leader will need to advocate for technological change if they are to have
a 21st century learning environment. This will include student-led technology initiatives that involve collaboration with teachers and parents. Students and teachers will be able to think creatively to develop new ways of bringing technology to the classroom. This leader will need to develop creative ways to find funding for the expanded technology needs. When ideas become reality in the school and there are reallocation of current resources, values may be called into question again and the leader will need to continue to advocate and remind stakeholders of the vision and values.

I have the opportunity to know and see this kind of a leader as part of my internship. Through staff development opportunities I became acquainted with a transformational leader. I am now able to visit periodically and pick his brain so to speak. He was just recently called up- to move and transform another school and so between my first meeting with him to arrange visits for the internship and last week when I interviewed him, he had moved to another school. I am now going to be observing and I am excited to have the opportunity. I will be posting my observations periodically as I watch the transformation!

Well, the management plan was hard to follow this week as I had to travel around the state. It was a great time to think about the online activities and rhythms of an active participant. There are some steps that I can take to be a successful online learner in the JHU program:

• It will be important to not only have a daily schedule and stick to it, but also, to have an alternate plan B in case life happens! Working ahead could be a useful strategy.
  

• I think it is especially important to check the discussion boards and read about what others are doing and any new activities. It is also important to read the news/announcements daily.
  

• I will need to track my work schedule so that I can be an active participant by working around that schedule and multi-tasking whenever possible.
  

It is also important to be a contributing member of each of the teams as we move through the program. Since there are multiple members on each team members schedules will impact planning.

• It will be important first to have good communication with team members to understand the needs of each person and then to actively participate and contribute as needed.

• Team activities will need to be scheduled first indicating the need for a regular, maybe weekly team meeting to chat about what needs to be done and when.

• I would like to offer the opportunity for members of the team to meet me in Elluminate, the live online program that I use for instruction. I think it offers the opportunity to share ideas in real time and could be a great way to meet weekly.
  

I have taken the inventory on communication styles and was not surprised to find that I am a Feeler and an Intuitor. This information matches other inventories that I have taken like the Myers-Briggs and others based on Carl Jung's work. I think I lean toward being more of an Intuitor in most situations. I tend to be a visionary and a dreamer. I definitely need to see the big picture before digging in on any project. I tend to be a process person- more is learned in the process and interaction than in the content sometimes. I am a good listener and also like stimulating interaction. Since the two styles I mentioned converge, I tend to be sensitive.

There are many implications for online learning from my communication styles.

• I always begin with the big picture and the outcomes. Sometimes working with a real detail person can be good for me since I may overlook detail for the big picture, but sometimes it can also be tedious, especially online when communication takes longer.
  

• It is more difficult to determine team members communication styles online and so it would be a good idea to know the style. I think it is important online to know more about the team members you are working with since it is not possible to "read" their body language and non verbal cues. Since I am a feeler- I find it necessary to know about the people I work with.

• Since I tend to be sensitive, I might misinterpret some written communication and I think it is important for me to ask for clarification rather than trying to guess.

• Since I tend to look at the big picture, online reflections will be good for me to look critically at ideas or processes and reframe ideas. as well as, looking at the ideas of others.

I feel more confident in using the online learning system- ELC. I know that I will continue to gain confidence through practice. Since I have not worked with this particular system before
I think I will just need confirmation that what I am doing is correct. I would also appreciate any advice or hints that might help me out. There will probably be some assignments that will require some tech skills that I am not familiar with and I just need a person or place for consultation when this happens.

I am officially an online learner! I have been an online teacher, counselor, administrator (with a variety of titles) but never a learner. That is hard to believe! On a scale of 1-10 I would rate myself as a 7 right now. I say this because I still feel unsure of myself with the ELC. I know this feeling will go away as I use the ELC to participate in the classes. I enjoy learning new skills and enjoyed the Orientation process. I can really relate to some of my students and parents now!

I know from my experiences that online learning takes longer than f2f. Knowing this, I hope to stay ahead of the game but, like everyone, have multiple responsibilities. I am concerned that I need to set up a schedule that allows me to complete my assignments - I have some good ideas and will be trying them out in the second week of the orientation.