Current issues in my professional context

Activity 2: Current issues in my professional context

My school is ranked as decile 10.  This is emphasized by the Audi and Range Rover infested car park.  In a population of 139 pupils, we have 5 students from single parent families, approximately 25 families have at a “work from home” parent and many own their own businesses as well. Our zone is small, we have a waiting list for out of zone children.  This means most families have extremely close contact with the school, are willing and available to help with time, resources and money.  We are a community based school with part of our vision being “learning together”.  This is something we embody, parents often come in and enjoy lessons with the children, eg Kapa Haka.  They are willing and available to come and share their knowledge with the class, which we regularly take advantage of.  We are striving for this community feel, and endeavour the maintain it by making it clear to new parents, we are not a drop off and run school, we expect your input, whatever that might be. 

However, this can mean, that at times it’s difficult to implement significant change.  We have been through some very challenging times with our community as they have bucked management decisions.  We have to be firm and stand our ground at times because the community have a strong ownership.  At times, parents are extremely rude about petty things.  This community spirit is a double edged sword.  Many parents have high qualifications and expect the same of their children.  The children experience a lot of pressure to be academically successful.  This also translates to pressure on staff.  We are constantly educating our community about what success looks like.  They are interested in data and have been pro-active in using our SMS Linc-ed.  Linc-ed have informed us that our community use Linc-ed more than any other school to look up their children’s progress.  This is both scary and pleasing.

As a staff, we are close, we consider ourselves friends who can be critical with each other.  We are learners who want to push the boundaries, stay fresh and be innovative.  Our board is supportive of this culture and encourages us to constantly improve.

Our school’s collegiality has improved significantly over the last 3 years.  We now have a staff that can give critical feedback based on professional knowledge.  We respect each others’ opinions and will act on that feedback.  We employed a new Principal last year and we knew we needed someone who was not a change maker but someone who could continue leading us on our current pathway.  There was an adjustment period as she got to understand the way we function.  We are not a staff who will sit back passively, we argue, disagree and persuade.  We can agree to disagree then go with what the majority say.  We function in a kind of democracy, Our Principal guides us however she is open to our opinions.  Our staff have all been at school for a long time, the school is one of the oldest in Canterbury and is steeped in rural traditions.  She understands the need to respect that.  We support each other and acknowledge that in order to provide the best quality programme, we must work in an environment that fosters, learning is for everyone.  (Stoll and Fink, 1996)

References

Gargiulo, S. (2014). Principal sabbatical report. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Professional-information/Principals-sabbatical-reports/Report-archives-for-2007-2014/Secondary-award-recipients-2014/Gargiulo-Salvatore

Kraft, M.A. & Papay, J.P. (2014). Do supportive professional environments promote teacher development? Explaining heterogeneity in returns to teaching experience. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 36(4), 476-500. Retrieved from http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/mkraft/files/kraf...

Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture