When considering the various characteristics that comprise elements of an effective school, there are plenty of pieces within a school and school system to pull such inspiration from.
One could consider the administrative level of a school, faculty/staff (involvement, professionalism, relationships with students), assessment, student involvement, parents, community members, extra-curricular programming, the physical layout of a school, resources available, volunteers, finances, or location - the list goes on, depending on your perspective. Not one of these characteristics is any more or less important than the others; however many may vary in prevalence across the spectrum, depending on the school being considered.
One characteristic that I think is apparent in an effective school is when staff (teachers, admin, and support staff) are team-oriented; by this I mean staff enthusiastically participate in PLCs, volunteer their time to the school and students, involve parents and community members, and support each other and the school environment via various interest committees. By teachers, admin, and support staff participating in committees with each other, they are building their collegial relationships and act as resources for each other through the exchange of ideas and planning processes that happen as they work towards a common goal. This is also important for communication between staff; the more information made aware to staff, the more knowledgably they can inform parents and students and in turn, receive respect as professionals from the community surrounding the school. By having staff who are able to share ideas and plan together effectively (always with the students' best interests in mind!), it is my impression that students would be able to enjoy school more as an academically and socially fulfilling place. School becomes a place where they can learn in a positive, supportive academic environment, and build relationships as they grow socially.
Another characteristic of an effective school is a school that is student-centred. It is extremely important that teachers, admin, and support staff are aware as their role(s) in the school systems as more than a job; we are mentors, caregivers, and are present to support children as we give them the tools they need for success throughout their academic years, and tools that they carry throughout their entire lives. This is evident in classrooms where teachers practice more than the "stand and deliver" teaching methods; instead they switch up activities and materials each day to address the various learning styles and abilities present in their classroom. This is also evident as administration addresses the importance of these, providing staff with resources in approaching these practices when teaching and interacting with students. Teachers who take personal inventory of students (interest in them outside of their grades and in-class time) by getting to know their students through informal conversations at school are also important in establishing relationships with students that enable trust and approachability.
Whether a school has an abundance of money or very limited funds, the effectiveness of a school can be greater than any monetary value that a school can hold on its resources; this is by having staff who is innovative and creative with what resources they do have, knowing how to use these within the dynamics of their classroom. Schools can have reputable and highly priced learning programs, but if staff cannot adapt their materials to each of their individual students in a way that works for the entire class, such programs aren't very effective. An ability to reach each of your students - no matter the fancy resources or limited amount of them - shows that a staff has taken the time to innovatively plan to work the curriculum around each students' needs to meet objectives and to develop student confidence in learning.
Assessment can be another characteristic of effective schools; staff can use assessment not only to see how students are scoring in comparison with other schools (or provinces, etc.), but also to self-reflect on themselves. Assessments on students show teachers what objectives they could be spending more time on while teaching; this could show admin more about the various learning needs in their schools and how to assist teachers in attaining the resources needed to address these. Using assessments as cues for improved teaching methods are effective for students (academically - grades and learning confidence), teachers (learning to teach more effectively), and for parents (having confidence in their child's teacher as self-reflecting and striving to improve to meet the learning needs in the classroom).
Having a support staff that can assist teachers in the classrooms is definitely a part of having an effective school. Whether the classroom has children with special needs or not, an EA being present definitely makes a difference in the availability of attention that students can receive during their learning. There are often extremely wide learning ranges in classrooms; with Differentiated Instruction and the Adaptive Dimension becoming more present in classrooms, having another teacher present can only benefit a classroom. Students on the higher end can have their learning needs met, students who are "middle of the road" can work with confidence, and students with learning disabilities or alternative learning styles can have the support of another teacher in the classroom, working at a pace that allows them to learn, and in turn can feel good about their abilities.
The school that I worked in as an intern had many more strengths than weaknesses in being an effective school. My school addressed its growing Aboriginal student population by creating goals school-wide for including Aboriginal content in their lessons. The staff - mostly grade alike as it was a Pre K-3 school - was definitely collegial as they met often for committees, acted with kindness and professionalism with each other, and were very generous with each other in exchanging resources, time, and materials to better each others' teaching. Relationships between the administration and staff were quite friendly and there wasn't much of an authoritarian atmosphere present at all. The school was student centred; this was evident with the many and varied event and learning committees that addressed student needs and recreational interests, while also involving their parents and family members in making our school a comfortable place for everyone involved, not just the students. Staff always seemed eager to volunteer for supervisory duties and school events and extra-curricular activities were always available for each grade level. Professional development was often encouraged (expected) and administration was quite accepting of any PD that teachers wanted to attend independently; new and refreshing ideas were always welcome.
The staff used a variety of assessment tools for each subject to ensure that curriculum objectives were not only being met, but also to reflect on their practices and to meet the standards set by the province and school division. In my classroom, we used behavioural comment charts, objective checklists, oral participation checklists, written and tactile testing, and so on. The assessment tools were quite varied and each student was able to do at least a few of these with great confidence.
Student awareness of nutrition and well-being were promoted within the school; there was a physical activity program we participated in twice a month called "Music and Movement" where students would sing songs and move around for an hour and half, as well as the Terry Fox Run. There were programs to meet students' basic needs; we had a breakfast, snack, and lunch program for students whose parents couldn't provide these for them. Students were fed by support staff prior to class starting and were always welcome to the program without parents having to sign their kids up; it was a service that was free of charge and free of hassle for parents as the school understood how tough things can be for some families.
While I could ramble on about the many more positive characteristics of my school, there were only a couple of things that I felt that could be improved. Aboriginal content could have definitely been increased from being present once per week in a lesson to once per day (it's about the students, not staff comfort levels); provision of Aboriginal content resources would have been a big help for this. Phys. Ed also could have been set in as mandatory each day rather than squeezed in or passed on by teachers who didn't feel as though they had the time to implement it every day or every other day. Last, for teachers to spend more time with their homeroom students; I'm not sure how every school works, but I found that my school staff spent a lot of time on PD, PLC's, and various other collegial meetings. These are of course great in developing plans for the betterment of student learning, however it seemed as though we were never in the classroom for a full week with our kids, which I considered to be more valuable than attending endless presentations and 2-business day-long PD events.
In closing, I can say that I learned much about what effective schools are through my internship experience; having the opportunity to reflect on its strengths and weaknesses from an objective perspective allowed me to see what was working well in the school, what could work universally, and what could be removed or modified to make a better atmosphere for students. I think that as long as schools and staff are generally student-centred in their philosophies, students can find success within schools. Professional relationships, assessments, relationships with students, school environments, and students' perspectives about their own schools are definitely reflective of such philosophies, as long as they are based around student improvement, learning, and development.As long as student-centered philosophies are prevalent in a school, the elements of effective schools will fall into place as they support these values.
About The Author:
Jamie Storm is a 2nd year Environmental Engineering student at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Please visit the website Canadian University Forum, Articles, Links for much more information and discussions on topics relevant to Canadian University and College student life!
Copyright c 2010: Jamie Storm, CollegeForums.ca Team
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