Sunday, January 25, 2009

Week 20: January 26-30, 2009

Do you feel DISCONNECTED?

As the data walkthrough gets closer and closer, I grow more and more concerned with the feeling that our staff is not connected to our school improvement plan. I have to ask...WHY?

In order to tie everyone to the plan, we have department improvement plans. I see the department chairs somewhat invested in those plans. Is the rest of the department invested? Maybe it's due to the fact that our plans are to broad -- too vague. Is that true? What causes an entire staff to work toward improvement? Do we have what it takes?

JANET ALLEN
I thought her presentation was inspiring. I have seen that several teachers are already implementing her strategies. I am so enthused when I see this occur. Then, I am afraid when I see other staff members remain aloof and uninspired. It makes me wonder why. It makes me wonder if I will ever find out. It also makes me wonder if perhaps Benton is on a path they don't agree with. What happens then?

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE
It's time for the tough reflection. It's also time for the administration to set the vision for Benton's future on the table. Who are we? Where are we going? What do we see in our academic future? What do we see in our technology future? Where are we going with department accountability? Teacher accountability? Administrator accountability? What do we want for our students? Have we set the bar high enough? Have we set it too high? Are we willing to give what it takes to get there or are we going to settle?

I think the answers must come from all three of us. We will post this by Wednesday. The deadline for requesting a transfer is February 1st. We think our staff deserves to know the future expectations in order to know where the Benton bus is going.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow... this thing is acquiring some flavor. I am starting to see this as the words of a thinking professional utilizing her filter for knowledge with a very open mind toward the future.

Nice work!