Raising Academic Performance

First, I need to gather plenty of information so that I fully understand the strengths and weaknesses related to student achievement. Far too often, people take action without understanding what needs to be addressed, resulting in minimal improvements. This can be done by analyzing student assessments and looking for consistencies, either positive or negative. Then I need to discover potential reasons for consistencies which could include curriculum resources, teacher performance, scheduling, disciplinary distractions, inadequate equipment, culture, student motivation, etc. My approach to discovering reasons behind these consistencies is to investigate with an open mind and thoroughly examine every potential contributing factor, so that I have an accurate analysis to base my plan for improvement. I strongly believe that an excellent administrator needs to analyze all content areas for educational effectiveness, as opposed to limiting their analysis to content areas subjected to state testing. A thorough education engages whole brain activity, and addresses a variety of strengths and weaknesses in every child. When this philosophy is enacted, class scheduling allows for appropriate amounts of time for each subject, and academic discussions incorporate all subject areas. Similarly, I need to ensure that all types of students, high achieving, average and below average, receive the highest quality instruction so that individual student achievement becomes the focus, as opposed to looking at the student body as a whole unit. In order to do this, the staff needs to work together to discuss the needs of every student. Oftentimes, significantly low achieving students becomes the focus due to urgency, and the needs of average or above average students become haphazard rather than planning for their needs. Lastly, communicating the school’s vision, and referencing that vision for every decision, helps to keep everyone focused on the goal of educational excellence. The more we talk about the vision, the more it becomes ingrained in everyone’s thoughts and actions.