 
Week 4 - Local School Management
|  | What?s Worth Fighting for in Ontario? |
| |
Listing of Papers | |
MS ANNE KERR AND MR DAVID FREEDMAN
Ontario, Canada
IN THEIR 'What's Worth Fighting For...?' monograph series, Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves have captured what has now become my daily mantra. On my morning drives to school, as I find myself trying to make sense of the contradictory pressures of my particular complex environment, Fullan and Hargreaves keep me focused. What is worth fighting for?
I am lucky. In my thirtieth year as an educator in the public school system of Canada's largest city, I am now the principal of the 'tiny perfect school', one which has recently been recognized by the Canadian Government and the Canadian Association of School Administrators as being one of 24 founding members of Canada's Network of Innovative Schools.
I am lucky. I work in a large school board which has a reputation for striving for excellence and for trying to meet the needs of 300,000 learners in a complex multicultural urban setting. The challenges and the opportunities are infinite.
I am lucky. Our 440 students have each made an active choice to attend this school, in spite of the fact that we expect them to do everything that every other school does ... and more! The parents have all participated in the selection process and participate actively in the building of this innovative new school.
I am lucky. I work with a group of people who give more of themselves to this school than I have any right to expect. My vice-principal, who is the co-author of this article, is truly a co-principal. We shift jobs and burdens, as though we were playing volleyball on surfboards. In spite of our best efforts to stay afloat, and the long exhausting hours we put in, we get our regular dunkings, only to surface with a grin. What now? What's worth fighting for? If I'm so lucky, what is the problem?
What is the Problem?
Our school is only five years old. It was started in September 1995 after the founding principal had been given one full year to explore exemplary practice in Canadian schools, as well as the international frontier. She consulted widely with the community at large and even Roland Barth of the Harvard Principal Centre (Improving Schools From Within) came to help to build the founding values and to develop the school's mission statement. A respected Canadian scientist and humanitarian, Dr Ursula Franklin, was asked if she would allow her name to be used for this new innovative school. To this day, she continues to lend her warmth and wisdom to the entire community. We are 'a community of learners'. We believe in, and promote, the creation of connected knowledge, authentic assessment, self-directed learning and strong parent and community involvement. To put it succinctly, our problem is that we have set up high expectations based on educational research and exemplary practices but we find it increasingly difficult to be able to deliver on all of the promises we have made to our parent and student community.
Why? Like most of you, we are feeling the impact of changes in the global economy and in that intangible spirit of the age, which is expressed in a very hard-nosed push for cutbacks to public services across the board - with education being at the front line. The impacts have found their way into the classrooms of our school.
Impact of Cutbacks and Reforms
Over the last three years I have been principal, our system has survived one major two-week teacher strike and another two-week support staff strike, each with their cumulative and complex ripple effects on relationships, timetables and morale.
Our own creative program-driven timetable is being constantly constrained by new regulations governing the definition of 'classroom' teacher, and the issue of 'prep' time. In a school which opens daily long before 7a.m. and seldom emptying out before 10 p.m., we are being told by legislation that we must teach more minutes, i.e., conform to a rigid definition of what comprises teaching time, with little or no regard to innovative practices.
With cutbacks, our system has endured major changes in teaching staff. Over the last two years, our new school has experienced over 50% changes in teaching staff, partly due to promotions, and partly due to 'bumping' (senior teachers bump out junior teachers). This has had a dramatic effect on our programs, since we not only ask the students to do more but staff as well. The original staff were aware of the school's values and mission statement and threw themselves into the task of creating a new and dynamic community. It is unrealistic to ask staff who have 'bumped' into the school, to understand and commit to a program that is essentially foreign to them. It means that we, the remaining staff, need to reculture yearly. Teacher professional development time is too expensive to afford but legislation and society demand more teacher accountability.
Curriculum Reforms and Cutbacks
Budgets are more constrained, at a time when our entire provincial secondary school curriculum is being revamped, with very short timelines. The department Heads who have traditionally provided school-based leadership on secondary subject-based curriculum development no longer have the extra prep. time to do this extra work, leaving the principals to ask: 'how can we ensure that all teachers will be on the 'right page' and appropriately accountable'. How can secondary school reform (improvement) take place without the traditional support structures we are accustomed to having? I believe you all know this scenario very well.
We have been asked in this conference to address three different questions. The first one: 'Can local school management achieve improved student learning?' We believe strongly that local school management can indeed improve student learning. Our model includes a weekly staff meeting which is held every Wednesday morning and is above and beyond our formal teaching hours.
Regular Staff Meetings
We start our school one-half hour earlier than others so that, one day a week, the students can come in later and we, as a staff, get to benefit from each other's experiences. Fullan and Hargreaves are very clear that, 'at all levels - from the board administration to the school professional development - a good proportion of staff development resources be allocated not to workshops and inservices, but to opportunities for teachers to learn from, observe and network with each other' ( p.102, Working Together For Your School). In our school, the weekly Wednesday meetings are used to promote better teaching and assessment methodologies and to facilitate grade meetings, so that our core teams of teachers can indeed keep the learner at the centre of their planning, and can design creative and integrated units and assignments for the students. Teams of teachers work with the same students and provide a more holistic approach to the teaching and assessment experience. Although we have some extra space in our building, our teaching staff sits and works together in one congested staff workroom. There are no departmental offices or 'silos'. This is the engine that drives the creativity and innovative methodologies. Newcomers to the staff are nurtured by more seasoned colleagues who sit side-by-side with them.
The teaching staff takes a leadership role in determining the kinds of professional development support that is scheduled. Although there is never enough time to do what is necessary, the staff continues to find ways to develop exciting new projects. Currently, the Canadian Government has requested that we produce our Grade 10 integrated 'Webmania' unit on compact disc, so that it can be distributed throughout the country as a model of innovative and effective teaching. This is just one example of the kind of exemplary work that is possible if teachers have some time to share ideas during their school day. Clearly, this kind of time is no longer possible in the new Ontario reality. We must pay for it by coming to school thirty minutes earlier than other schools every day.
The second question we've been asked to address: 'Who should define the competencies that teachers and principals require in the Year 2000, and how can these be developed most effectively?' Obviously, there has to be a central authority which defines a general benchmark that we strive for. The hierarchy is obvious, the MET (Ministry of Education) has a global view of the needs of the province and should develop a set of benchmarks based on that reality. The Boards of Education (or districts) have a more localized view of their community and should be able to enhance the centralized benchmarks based on the reality of their specific communities.
Despite these benchmarks, it does still come down to the school level to remain accountable to the parents. If a child is having trouble in school, the call is to the school not the Board or Ministry. It is the principal who ultimately has to respond to concerns about the level of teaching that is occurring under his or her roof. Although there may be a generalized set of standards, we have to remember that students and teachers are individuals and that modifications need to be made to account for the individualities of the community that one is servicing. This can only be done through a local site-management model, i.e., the local school administrative team that is, in turn, accountable to both the Board and Ministry.
The third question: 'How can a principal be genuinely inclusive of all voices while pursuing his/her own reform agenda?' In our school, the School Advisory Council model was originally set up to include equal representation from parents, students and staff. I'm pleased to say we led the province. Today, all schools are mandated to have School Councils. Ours continues to call itself advisory. They meet once a month in our parent room and consult one another regularly on our own internal BBS system.
The persons involved change each year but they have provided consistently wise counsel regarding all of the major issues facing the school. The principals need never be alone in making tough decisions. In building a new school with such a strong vision, and so many complex challenges, it must said that the School Advisory Council truly knows that it is doing authentic work, not merely following guidelines.
Our parents and students are also involved in regular 'Think Tank' meetings where we discuss the school priorities and brainstorm about our future directions. Through the summer, our 'Think Tanks' continue to meet at 'pot luck' dinners at our homes. Sometimes parents host, sometimes students host. All are welcome.
Integrated Communication Technology
Our parent room is located near the office and, besides having a coffee pot and tea kettle, it also houses a computer which enables parents to connect with the community. We realized early the need to build an inclusive community and felt that ICT (Integrated Communication Technology) might be the vehicle to drive that. We have set up our internal BBC (based on FirstClass) that hosts our students, parents and staff. The BBS provides specific forums for each group to discuss issues unique to them, as well as forums that span all of the stakeholders. A great idea, if all have access to the technology. The reality is that approximately 40% of our families were connected to the Net. The Parent Forum Room provided us an opportunity to empower those families that didn't have the technology at home. Parents may come into the school, book out the key to the Parent Forum, and log on. It is an idea that Industry Canada has adopted with its community access program as the Federal Government begins to wire libraries, community centres and schools in an effort to get everyone connected to the Net.
A Diversity of 'Teachers'
On Wednesdays, our integrated curriculum allows us to schedule a wide variety of enrichment classes for students. Often parents and students, as well as other community members, teach our students topics such as international languages, art, videography, public speaking, etc. Our Wednesday program builds community. It connects the parents to the school at a time when most parents of teenagers find themselves being cut off from their child's learning as the child begins to exert pressure to become more independent.
Currently the latest challenge our school faces is that we are being forced to relocate to a new site. We feel fortunate that our Board is providing us some choice in this matter but as we (a troop of elected parents, students and staff) spend our evenings looking at possible empty spaces, we are being forced to evaluate what is really important for us.
This week we have devoted three evenings to this process and we can only say that we are grateful to the visionaries who created this school and set the foundations for a model which gains its strength from the inclusion of the wider community.
Two Types of Exhaustion
Fullan and Hargreaves remind us that 'there are two types of exhaustion . . .one from lonely battles, unappreciated efforts, losing ground, and a growing feeling of hopelessness that you cannot make a difference. The other type of exhaustion is the kind of thorough tiredness that accompanies hard work as part of a team, a growing recognition that you are engaged in a struggle that is worth the effort, and a recognition that what you are doing makes a difference' (p.10, What's Worth Fighting For? Working Together For Your School).
Again, I am lucky that I am part of such a team. Thanks to the collective efforts of a founding principal with vision, the continuing inspiration of Dr Franklin, colleagues and community members who, in their own ways, contribute daily to find creative solutions in challenging times and most of all, the students, whose individual and collective talents are a wonder to behold - our real merchants of hope. I am lucky. I get to fight for what is really worth fighting for - our students' and our society's future!
_____________________________________________________________
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ms Anne Kerr is Principal of Ursula Franklin Academy, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
This is her third year as principal. Anne's previous experience (she started teaching in 1970) includes working as a classroom teacher, with a focus on geography, history and special education. She was Department Head of Special Education Learning Disabilities/Behaviour in several secondary schools in Toronto, and was Vice-Principal and Manager of Staff Development, Toronto Board of Education. Anne was also Vice-Principal of Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute.
Anne Kerr can be contacted by email at:
anne_kerr@ufacademy.com
or
anne.kerr@tdsb.on.ca
Mr David Freedman is Vice-Principal of Ursula Franklin Academy, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is in his fourth year as vice-principal, having started teaching in 1976. As a classroom teacher, David specialised in science, biology, math and special education. He has also been Department Head of Science and Biology in two secondary schools in Toronto
David Freedman can be contacted by email at:
david_freedman@ufacademy.com
or
david.freedman@tdsb.on.ca
_____________________________________________________________
REFERENCES
Apple, Michael W., 1996, Cultural Politics and Education. Open University Press, UK.
Giddens, Anthony, 1998, The Third Way. Polity Press, UK.
Illich, I, 1974, Deschooling Society. Penguin Books, UK.
Marginson, S., 1993, Education and Public Policy in Australia. Cambridge University Press, Melbourne.
 |
|
| | |
