The Two Anchors that Make or Break School Change Efforts: Shared Vision for Readiness & School Identity
We are making decisions that impact and change a student’s life forever and if you don’t have something that you can adhere to as a school, then what are you basing those decisions on?
– Dr. Courtney Robinson
INTRO
This activity will help your team begin to understand, reflect on, and identify practices that will support the elevation and inclusion of all students because schools can work for every student.
The Two Anchors that make or break school change efforts: Schools that have a shared vision for readiness and a clear, shared school identity are positioned to succeed. These Two Anchors provide support for what’s needed to improve student outcomes.
What Anchor 1 practices are most effective in your school? Which areas need improvement?
What Anchor 2 practices are most effective in your school? Which areas need improvement?
This activity will also help you reflect on and address common hurdles to school change:
- Low expectations
- Fatigue and teacher isolation
- Rigid or unrealistic initiatives
- Standardized testing diverting from real improvement
- Fragmented efforts leaving out some students or departments
OBJECTIVES
- Develop a working understanding of the Two Anchors that make or break school change efforts, so that you can then begin to work on:
- Developing a shared understanding of the need for a holistic vision for readiness
- Developing a shared understanding of your school identity
ANCHOR 1: Shared Vision for Readiness
Define and communicate the holistic set of skills that ALL students need for success.
Sees the learner as a whole person:
- Emphasizes interpersonal, intrapersonal, and metacognitive skills
- Values social-emotional skills and well-being
- Supports mental and physical health
Connects to instructional core:
- Goes beyond just stating desired student outcomes to provide clarity about the role of teachers and content in achieving success
- Informs the development of structures and conditions to engage in professional development and collaboration
- Results in a more coherent organization that eliminates the silos and multiple identities typically found in public school
ANCHOR 2: School Identity
Create an explicit statement of what your school stands for and where it intends to go. Visibly express the shared values, beliefs, and ways of making sense of the world that is central, distinctive, and enduring to your school.
Aligns school and community identities:
- Accounts for the assets, strengths, and gifts of diverse students and the surrounding community
- Opens the door to culturally inclusive learning approaches
- Reflects the student body accurately
Requires community engagement:
- Involves families and external stakeholders in the decision-making process, creating connections
- Is meaningful: goes beyond surface attempts
TIPS
Together, a shared vision for readiness and school identity bring about improved decision-making.
- It becomes an explicit part of the hundreds of decisions made by administrators, teachers, students, parents, and others
- It answers the questions, “Is this who we are? Does this align with what we are trying to achieve for all students?”
- It guides school leaders toward internal coherence—a powerful approach for promoting organizational learning and school improvement.
Responses