School Improvement Process
"Institutions that have long implemented continuous improvement and enjoy stability in their leadership structure, curricular offerings, enrollment and teaching staff might not have a tangible date on their calendar that marks the beginning of their improvement journey. Their approach could be so seamless and systematic, that it has completely permeated the institution’s culture such that stakeholders regard continuous improvement as “the way we do things around here.” This is the ideal," (AdvancEd.org)
Steps in the Continuous School Improvement Process:
- Learn and Share -
- Where are we now?
- Assess current situation through demographics, perceptions, student learning, school processes
- How did we get to where we are?
- Study the results of the processes, contributing causes, and predictive analytics
- Where are we now?
- Examine and Plan -
- Where do we want to be?
- Create a shared vision evaluating purpose, mission, vision, goals, and student learning standards
- How are we going to get to where we want to be?
- Develop short- and long- term plans
- Identify objectives, strategies, activities, budget, and timeline
- Where do we want to be?
- Act and Evaluate -
- How are we going to implement?
- Employ leadership structures, professional learning, partnerships
- Identify implementation strategies
- Is what we are doing making a difference?
- Evaluate programs, processes, systems
- Utilize formative and summative evaluations
- How can we keep doing the things that make a difference?
- Improve processes and standardize improvements
- How are we going to implement?
Sources:
Victoria Bernhardt's Continuous School Improvement Process