A
program designed to provide the
leadership team of the middle school
with an experienced leader who
assists in the professional
development of teacher leaders
through the use of a coaching model.
Links
to Content:
Demonstration Site:
Woonsocket Middle School (Woonsocket
Public Schools)
Target Population:
School’s Administrative Leadership Team: 1 Principal,
3 Assistant Principals, 3 House Leaders
Need and Intent:
This was an intervention determined by an analysis of the school's
demographic, achievement, instructional, and systems-evaluation
data against specific strategic-reform goals. An outside professional
was brought to the school to serve as mentor, critical friend
and coach to the middle school leadership team as part of the
Progressive
Support and Intervention (PSI) mandated structure.
“The presence of a mentor has helped
to plan, organize, and implement middle school practices and
procedures that support increased student learning. The ability
to focus on school improvement and student success, free from
the myriad of administrative duties, supported the school’s
efforts to move forward and improve. Knowledge of supports within
the state contributed to the professional development of members
of the Leadership Team and facilitated targeted PD for individual
team members. Modeling positive reinforcement and effective
communication skills was beneficial to all.”
- Jane Kondon, School Leadership Team Mentor
Implementation Process:
1. Assessment of Leadership Team needs (ongoing).
Click
here to see sample survey.
2. Establishment of weekly after-school meetings with agendas
developed to meet determined needs (ongoing). Weekly “Leadership
Team Meeting Outcomes” e-mails were sent to all team members,
and, when appropriate, to central office and RIDE personnel.
Click
here to see samples.
3. Scheduling of Administrative Retreats to include one weekend,
day-long retreat at a rural conference center.
Click
here to read the agenda and the outcomes of the retreat.
4. Initiatives to promote positive school climate and public
relations (ongoing). These include:
- Honor Roll Credit Cards*
- Effort Cards*
- Enhanced Student-of-the-Month/Quarter program*
- Academic Probation*
- Behavior/Social Probation*
- STAR (Stop, Think, Anticipate, Respond) program for student
behavior action plan in School Improvement Plan
- “Free Lunch” certificates for teachers
- Faculty meeting “door prizes” for teachers
- “Green/red” cards to monitor students’
attendance during fire drills
- Administrators’ Retreats
- Critical Friends group for WMS administrators
- Utilizing LifeTouch’s on-line courses to support
the School Improvement Plan*
- Utilizing RIMLE to provide workshops on scheduling, developing
protocols for common planning time, and implementing Advisory*
- Celebration of Middle Level Education Month in March to
include community breakfast and distribution of placemats
with students’ writing to local restaurants**
(*endorsed and awaiting implementation, or **planned for
later in the year)
5. Initiatives to contribute to, support, and help monitor
implementation of School Improvement Plans (ongoing). This includes
the STAR (Stop, Think, Anticipate, Respond) program, which was
presented to the School Improvement Team for consideration in
the development of the Behavior Action Plan. The Team approved
inclusion of this program in the School Improvement Plan. Components
of the program included the creation of STAR posters for all
classrooms and suggested student activities and skits to enable
students to practice this decision-making process. The school
leadership team mentor led this effort as well as scheduled
and participated in Institute
for Learning “Learning Walks” on Assertive Discipline
and the Reading Action Plan.
Tips for Implementation:
- The key to implementing such a program with success rests
with carefully and thoughtfully matching the respective mentor
with the needs of the school.
- Future plans include the essential step of working with
the mentor to clarify the specific roles and responsibilities
of all members of the Leadership Team as well as Central Office/support
personnel.
Case Study:
One member of the School’s Leadership Team evaluated the
mentor by stating:
“It was evident to me that the success of the leadership
team proper was a direct result of the ability and talent that
you brought to the table. Your patience, guidance and direction
were what moved the group forward and kept us on task. Having
someone who could step back and evaluate the situation from
an objective perspective and was able to draw on different experiences
served the team well.”
Program Components and Materials:
Contact for More Information:
Name: Jane Kondon
Role in Project: Mentor
Phone: (410) 294-1381
E-mail: ernajane@cox.net
Address: 7 Walnut Rd., North Kingstown, RI 02852