Leading Schools to Success: Constructing and Sustaining High-Performing Learning Cultures

187 Pages·2010·4.092 MB·English

by  James W. Guthrie, Patrick Schuermann

LEADING SCHOOLS
TO
SUCCESS
2
LEADING SCHOOLS
TO
SUCCESS
Constructing and Sustaining
High-performing Learning cultures
JAMES W. GUTHRIE
Professor of Education Policy and Leadership, Southern Methodist University
& Senior Fellow, George W. Bush Institute

PATRICK J. SCHUERMANN
Research Assistant Professor of Education Leadership and
Public Policy, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University
& Senior Consultant, George W. Bush Institute
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Copyright © 2011 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
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Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Guthrie, James W.
Leading schools to success : constructing and sustaining high-performing learning cultures / James W.
Guthrie, Patrick Schuermann.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4129-7901-6 (pbk.)
1. Educational change—United States—Case studies. 2. Academic achievement—United States—Case
studies. 3. Learning—Case studies. I. Schuermann, Patrick Jude. II. Title.
LA217.2.G785 2011
371.2′07—dc22 2010039708
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
10 11 12 13 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Executive Editor: Diane McDaniel
Assistant Editor: Ashley Conlon
Production Editor: Eric Garner
Copy Editor: Mark Bast
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Proofreader: Susan Schon
Indexer: Jean Casalegno
Cover Designer: Gail Buschman
Marketing Manager: Erica DeLuca
Permissions Editor: Adele Hutchinson
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Brief Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
School Culture Checklist
ELCC Standards
Case Study 1: Buchanan School: Can School Culture Get Better Than This?
CHAPTER 1: DEFINING AND SPECIFYING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SCHOOL CULTURE
Case Study 2: Possible Reform at Washington High School: How Far Can a Productive Culture Stretch?
CHAPTER 2: COMPONENTS OF A HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL CULTURE
Case Study 3: Walton Charter Prepares to Select a Head: What Kind of Leader Might Create a Productive
Culture?
CHAPTER 3: LEADERSHIP AND EFFECTIVE SCHOOL CULTURE
Case Study 4: Warren County School Board Performance Pay Cram Down: Can a Productive Culture
Withstand an Unexpected External Pressure?
CHAPTER 4: PERSONNEL AND SCHOOL CULTURE
Case Study 5: The Challenge of an (Almost) Brand-New School: Can the Past Be Blended With the New to
Form a Productive Culture?
CHAPTER 5: RESOURCE DEPLOYMENT AND SCHOOL CULTURE
Case Study 6: Data, Data Everywhere but Hardly a Drop of Useful Information
CHAPTER 6: DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING AND SCHOOL CULTURE
Case Study 7: “My Way” Ray and the “New” Accountability
CHAPTER 7: ASSESSMENTS, ACCOUNTABILITY, AWARDS, AND SCHOOL CULTURE
Case Study 8: A Principal Opening at the Grant School: Can a Dysfunctional Culture Be Undone?
CHAPTER 8: CONTEXTUAL CHALLENGES TO THE FORMATION OF A LEARNING CULTURE
Index
About the Authors
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Detailed Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
School Culture Checklist
ELCC Standards
Case Study 1: Buchanan Middle School: Can School Culture Get Better Than This?
CHAPTER 1: DEFINING AND SPECIFYING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SCHOOL CULTURE
Introduction
The Larger Concept of “Culture”
Defining and Describing the Concept of “Culture”
Applying the Concept of Culture to Schools: What Is School Culture?
Failure of Contemporary Education Reforms and the Regrettable Absence of a Concern for a Coherent and
Productive School “Culture”
Why Have Reform Efforts Proved to Be Unproductive?
The Special Case of High Schools
Concern for Context
Making the Transition to a High-Performing School Culture
Exploring What Is Known Empirically About “Turnarounds”
Empirical Findings on Effective School Culture Components
Distilling What Matters Operationally
Pulling It All Together for Discussion
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
Case Study 2: Possible Reform at Washington High School: How Far Can a Productive Culture Stretch?
CHAPTER 2: COMPONENTS OF A HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL CULTURE
Introduction
Forces Influencing the Construction and Enhancement of a High-Performing School Culture
Expectations
Resource Constraints
Regulations
Components of an Effective School Culture
Rigorous and Aligned Curriculum
Effective Instruction
Personalized Learning Connections
Professional Behavior
Connections to External Communities
Learning-Centered Leadership
Articulating a Vision and Gaining Support for a Successful School Culture
Creating a Vision of a Successful School Culture
Gaining Commitment
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
Case Study 3: Walton Charter Prepares to Select a Head: What Kind of Leader Might Best Create a
Productive Culture?
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CHAPTER 3: LEADERSHIP AND EFFECTIVE SCHOOL CULTURE
Introduction
Shaping and Continually Reshaping One’s Leadership Style in Order to Nurture an Effective School
Culture
What Is Leadership Style?
Self-Consciously Constructing a Leadership Style
Constructing Professional Philosophies
Questions Illustrative of One’s Philosophy of Education, Views of School Culture and Instruction, and
Management
Setting Priorities
Being Mindful of Means
Personal Values
Instilling PRIDE: Putting Life Into Practical Priorities
Policy
Resources: People, Money, and Time
Incentives
Data Used Systematically
Empowerment
Communicating Purposes, Creating Impressions, Confronting Conflict
Communicating Purposes
Influencing Follower Impressions
Vectors of Personal Impression (Initial and Lasting) Amenable to Influence
Difficult Conversations
Leader Ethics and Consistent Behavior
The Unsung Significance of Predictable Leader Behavior
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
Case Study 4: Warren County School Board Performance Pay Cram Down: Can a Productive Culture
Withstand an Unexpected External Pressure?
CHAPTER 4: PERSONNEL AND SCHOOL CULTURE
Introduction
Identifying, Recruiting, Selecting, and Continually Developing Effective Teachers
Recruiting Candidates
Selecting From Among Applicants
Persuading a Highly Qualified Candidate to Accept a Position
Induction
Mentoring
Professional Growth
Motivating Teachers and Others
Ensuring Effective Staff Performance
Monitoring Staff
Rewarding Staff Symbolically and Ceremonially
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
Case Study 5: The Challenge of an (Almost) Brand-New School: Can the Past Be Blended With the New to
Form a Productive Culture?
CHAPTER 5: RESOURCE DEPLOYMENT AND SCHOOL CULTURE
Introduction
A Theory of Action
An Investment Mentality Regarding Allocating Resources (and Rewards)
Resources (and Related Rewards) to Be Considered
Psychic Resources
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Material Resources
A Primer on Conventional School District Budgeting
Identifying Added Material Resources
Reaping Discretionary-Spending Dividends From Presently Inefficient Practices
Milking Intradistrict Financial Inequities to Advantage Low-Achieving Schools
Repurposing Spending to Elevate Academic Achievement
Crucial Nature of Performance and Program Evaluations in Determining Targets for Resource
Reallocation and Continually Assessing Return on Resource Investment
Where to Invest Discretionary Resources
Performance Effectiveness and Related Data Systems
Teacher Effectiveness and Remediation
Technology as an Investment Target
Dysfunctional Resource Allocation Paths to Avoid
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
Case Study 6: Data, Data Everywhere but Hardly a Drop of Useful Information
CHAPTER 6: DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING AND SCHOOL CULTURE
Introduction
Strategic Approaches to Decision Making in Education
Continuous Improvement
Focus Efforts and Monitor Progress
Meet Accountability Requirements
Build Community Through Organizational Learning
Systematic Collection and Use of School Data
Data Leadership Team Appropriately Supported
Purposeful Data Collection and Analysis
Crafting a Data-Based Plan to Enhance Practice
Analyzing Data Integral to School Effectiveness
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
Case Study 7: “My Way” Ray and the “New” Accountability
CHAPTER 7: MEASUREMENT, PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY, AND REWARD STRUCTURES
Introduction
Contemporary Evolution of Accountability as a School Management Idea
A Nation at Risk
National Education Goals
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Performance Measurements: Issues Regarding External Influences
Approaches to Measuring Student and Educator Effectiveness
Attainment
Gain
Value Added
Aligning Performance Measurement With Personnel Incentives
What to Do When Performance Lags Expectations?
Individual Sanctions
Group Sanctions
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
Case Study 8: A Principal Opening at the Grant School: Can a Dysfunctional Culture Be Undone?
CHAPTER 8: CONTEXTUAL CHALLENGES CONFRONTING THE FORMATION OF A LEARNING CULTURE
Introduction
An Extensive and Sometimes Conflicting Distribution of Authority
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From Where Did Such Decentralization Come?
A Pervasive Political Overlay
Mitigating Centripetal Forces
Characterizing the Contexts of Public School Leadership
Sources of Leaders’ Contextual Constraints
School Districts Are Frequently Characterized by Primitive Management Precepts
Hierarchical Decision Authority
Insufficient Principal Empowerment
Dysfunctional Resource Dynamics
School Budgeting Obfuscation
Outmoded Reward Systems
Management Information Deficiencies
Insufficient Core Knowledge Regarding Instruction and Schooling
Badly Needed Empirical Research Regarding Instruction
Continuous-Learning Orientation Not a Present-Day Part of School Culture
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
Index
About the Authors
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Preface
L
eading Schools to Success: Constructing and Sustaining High-Performing Learning Cultures draws upon modern
leadership concepts, rigorous research results, and carefully examined professional experiences to assist
education leaders and their colleagues in shaping and sustaining a high-performing learning culture in a
school. The book is aimed at all school leaders, but it pays particular attention to challenges facing school
leaders responsible for turning a low-achieving or stagnant school into a high-performing learning
organization.
The book consciously concentrates on school leadership. In the time since the issues of the disquieting
1983 report A Nation at Risk, the United States has evolved a set of education reform components that appear
to make a great deal of sense. These include high learning standards for students, aligned and engaging
curricula, sophisticated tests, educator performance incentives, modern performance management data
systems, a modicum of private-sector market-oriented solutions in the form of performance incentives and
charter schools, and accountability.
Alarmingly, even when woven together into a coherent operational tapestry, these reform components
seldom seem to produce desired elevations in students’ academic achievement. What is missing?
This book contends that the frequently missing education reform element is leadership and, specifically,
the ability of district and school leaders to construct and continually nurture a culture of sustained high
performance.
We have designed this book to be useful for those aspiring to, in training for, or already serving in
education leadership positions. This includes principals, assistant principals, charter and independent school
heads, teacher leaders, central-office administrators, and superintendents. It also provides new conceptual,
research, and practical insights for state-and federal-level educational administrators, government and elected
officials in related spheres, scholars, and others engaged at the intersection of instructional leadership and
school culture.
Comparable student demographic profiles, rigorous learning expectations, adequate physical facilities,
extensive curricular offerings, and amenable governance and financial arrangements characterize many schools
and school districts. Nevertheless, somehow, only a select few of these schools consistently display high levels
of student achievement. This condition is particularly true when value-added measures of student
performance are taken into account, not simply measures of academic attainment or achievement gain.
Many schools, even those with adequate financial resources, exhibit either low or inconsistent academic
performance. Research published by Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institution reveals that schools
characterized as low-achieving at one point are almost invariably going to be low ranked when examined later.
The challenge to “turn around” low-performing schools seems daunting. How can this be? What explains
such differences and difficulties?
One critical factor in the answer to these questions is effective school leadership. Successful principals,
often assisted by their own staff and school district central-office colleagues, contribute to the formation of a
shared vision of school success and then consistently motivate existing and new faculty, support staff, parents,
students, and community members to contribute to high levels of student performance.
H owever, this response provokes even more questions, such as the following:
What vision of schooling do successful school leaders construct?
In what ways and through what means do effective principals shape successful school
cultures?
What day-to-day practical actions do they take to enhance school culture and improve
student performance?
What personnel policies do highly effective principals pursue?
Upon what incentives and support structures do they rely, and in what ways do they infuse
incentives and support structures successfully into the culture?
What are the material and actionable organizational dimensions upon which they rely to
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