Sustainability Report
Latriea Grant
EDU 658 Instructional Leadership
Professor Connor
Introduction:
Over the last
six weeks, it has been well-known that in order to become an instructional
leader; one must be able to affect change. Change may come with what may seem
like overwhelming resistance, however; in order to be a leader, one must show
the ability to make judgments that will permit for a company or organization to
develop and be able to sustain that development with continual support and
observation. Spiro (2011) makes reference of two concepts that are needed
earlier to the start of a change strategy, scale and sustainability. In order
to have an effective scale and sustainability, there has to be clearness of the
creative elements suggested a safeguarding of the main components as it adapts
to fit adjustments, funding, cultural and behavioral modifications within the
group, and support. For this report, Grants School for the Special Needs is an
organization that is geared toward getting teachers and staff the proper
training needed to help students with their daily activities while at school.
Grant’s is a school that prides itself on serving and caring for students in
the community. Teaching is the strength to any job and it is important that
students are learning information to carry with them in their future endeavors.
Grants’ promotes learning and collaborating between staff members as well as
staff and the community.
Part 1: Assess your readiness
to plan and implement scale and sustainability
Grant’s
exhibits a high readiness level. Overall the leader and staff members both have
prior training because teachers and staff have prior training the core elements
of the training will be to make sure they are up to date on training that has
been found to be effective when working with special needs children. It is also
important that while teachers are being trained they look for new and exciting
ideas to add to their classroom, to keep the children working in a positive
environment. I am willing to let go of the notion that every part of the
program is essential, as a leader it is important to note that change will
come. Being able to adjust and learn through those changes is fundamental. Spiro (2011) stated, leading change is
certainly complex, difficult, and continuous, the stakes are high, the risks
are great, but the chance to have an impact on improving people’s lives is
substantial.
Part 2: The program or practice
resulting from your change Strategy
There
main focus of the change in Grant’s School for the Special Needs is to get
staff trained properly to work and handle special needs children. It is
important that teachers and staff are properly trained because of legal actions
and students having IEP’s that state that they may run or possibly cause bodily
harm to themselves. Special Education is a specialized area of education which
uses unique instructional methods, materials, learning aids, and equipment to
meet the educational needs of children with learning disabilities
(SpecialEdNews, 2009). It
is important for staff to be alert and ready to step in at any moment. This is
why it is important to be trained. The program is of high quality because it
has been around for years. The school has an open door policy and parents are
able to come in a see exactly what is going on in their children’s’ school
environment. There values of the school are to put the needs of the children
first and by working with the parents and other community officials the school
will be even more qualified. Successful execution of the change strategies
(training) will allow the school to incorporate better programs and allow
teachers to implement what they have learned in the training in their daily
classroom setting.
Part 3: Discuss the nonnegotiable elements of
the program or practice being considered.
The only
non-negotiable element of the program is staff not attending training. The
values of the school will not change. Students are the top priorities. All
staff must be trained in some aspect to work with special needs children.
Grants’ takes pride in insuring the safety of all students while in the schools
care. For this reason training is non-negotiable. As the leader of the school
the only reason a negotiation would be allowed is if a staff member had a
legitimate reason as to why they could not attend the training. Those reasons
would have to pertain to immediate family issues.
Part 4: Scale and Strength
The score
received from the scales assessment was a sixty-five. For the learner this is a
strong score but could still use some work. Stakeholders are in support of the
plan for training all staff. A strong implementation plan is in place which
will be monitored and adjusted as needed to get the desired outcome for the
teachers and staff. The leader also has the support of School District board
members who see the common goal of certifying staff to work with special needs
children. The needs are personnel who are skilled in the models and can train
others. At this point and time there are no staff members who can train other
staff members on how to handle children or properly restrain children if
something were to happen in the school. However, with the training, the leader
knows that the implementation of the skills will be no problem for the staff.
Part 5: Sustainability and Strengths
There are several strengths that are exhibited in
the sustainability assessment. There are supportive laws and regulations in
place to support the need for training. Stakeholders are engaged to support the
school there is little to no opposition. Communication among stakeholders is
fundamental and is being used to keep all parties up to date on what is and
what will be occurring while staff is at the training. Grants’ has the obtained
staff members with the necessary skills and knowledge to implement the changes.
There are support and positive attitudes toward the new training.
Part 6: Effective Strategies
According to the
findings of the Department of Education (2015);
The early years in a child's life build the foundation needed for success
later in school and life. This period is a critically important window of
opportunity where profound developments in reasoning, language acquisition, and
problem solving occur. These years are particularly key for children from
low-income families, children with disabilities, and English learners, whose
access to high-quality early learning opportunities may determine their success
in kindergarten and beyond.
Based on these findings it is critical that in a child’s’
early years educators implement strategies that they can carry with them
throughout the rest of their life. This is why staff needs to be properly
trained and learn new and exciting ways to engage our special needs children.
Effective strategies need to be in place to direct money and resources. There
will also need to be a strong leader to set the foundation. The leader has to
have prior knowledge of the school to build upon. Once the leader has the
knowledge it is their responsibility to transfer that knowledge to the staff of
the school. This is where effective collaboration can lead to great change for
the school as a whole. Providing staff with an in depth outline of events that
will occur will give staff the time to prepare for the training that is to
come. When it is close to the time for staff to attend the meeting; staff will
again meet with the leader to discuss the overall purpose of the training. Staff
will be asked to bring their outline of events and discuss with the leader what
they feel is their area of weakness. Observations will be done prior to the
meeting so each staff member will have an individual meeting with the leader to
discuss what has been observed. Everyone in the meeting will be reminded of the
common goal and values on which the school is built. There will be a small
amount of food for staff and awards will be given to staff members to promote a
positive learning environment. There will be continual support from the leader,
training, monitoring, and support for all who are apart of the school.
Conclusion:
Spiro (2011)
states;
Leading change is certainly complex, difficult and continuous. This set of
skills is among the most important any leader can develop. The stakes are high,
the risks are great, but the chance to have an impact on improving people’s
lives is substantial.
For the learner being a leader will require a lot
but the reward is much greater. Over the past six weeks the learners’ level of
growth and development as a change agent has grown. This course has taught the
learner several ways to learn and implement change in the future as an
instructional leader. Learning about how to promote a positive learning
environment and learning ways to collaborate with others was fundamental. For
the learner as an educator the common goal that all educators should have in
common are the children and their needs. This course has taught the learner to
be effective in change; one has to have knowledge, guidance, patience, a goal,
and a plan to achieve that goal. With these pertinent factors and a positive
attitude future endeavors will come together. The learner will always take in
mind that change is inevitable. For there to be growth one has to have change.
Reference:
Spiro, J. (2011). Leading change step-by-step: Tactics,
tools, and tales. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Department
of Education (2015). Early Learning: America’s Middle Class Promise Begins
Early. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/earlylearning/index.html
