Sustainability Report

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.

http://www.specialednews.com/educating-children-with-special-needs.htm.Retrieved September 28, 2015.

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