0.5 Why is school leadership preparation so complex  (Page 10/11)

Keeping a keen edge is vital to sustain productive teams in academics or athletics. This sharp edge iscreated in order to meet accountability demands while striving to assure that every teacher is treated as a professional colleague.Richard Allington and Patricia Cunningham (2007) report a study by Ames and Ames that presents strategies to keep a sharp edge forimproving performance. Selected teachers and the principal conducted sessions organized around data about student achievement,instructional process information, and school climate. They used standardized test data to determine how well different groups ofstudents were performing (boys versus girls, economically advantaged versus disadvantaged, and breakdowns by ethnicity). Theyreviewed other measures of teacher satisfaction, potential of students, and other information. Next the team identified thestrengths and weaknesses of the curriculum, testing procedures, and translated these findings into specific goals and action plans.Shared decision making was the norm as the team created a framework for analyzing instructional aspects of the school programs.Collegial and collaborative efforts among faculty improved and Ames and Ames found good evidence that shared decision-making providedthe keen edge necessary to improve the school culture toward higher student achievement and lead to improved schooling for allstudents. There is significant evidence that school administrators who use control strategies for curriculum and teaching processeslose their edge for higher performance. When a school administrator relies on“teacher proof curriculum”or exhibits a patriarchal model of leadership little progress is made in terms of student’s performance and teacher morale. In administrator“controlled”schools it is very unlikely that student performance will improve much because teachers are placed in a position of obedience andonly teach what they are told to teach. They are fearful of teaching“outside the box”and become resigned to merely do the job and nothing more. Thus, to keep a keen edge toward greaterproductivity, mingling with those producing the product whether they are soldiers storming the beaches on D-Day or teachersstriving together to liberate children from failure.

Conclusions

There is little doubt among scholars and school administrators about the necessary strategies to create highperforming schools. The steps include clear compelling beliefs, an inspirational shared vision, clear mission, goals, assessments, andtargeted staff development. High performing school districts include these key ingredients plus community support systems thatinclude high parental involvement, adequate financial support, and respect for school teachers and administrators. However, schoolleaders must be prepared and mentored in the art and science of leadership, teambuilding, communications, interpersonalrelationships, curriculum and instruction, and skills in research, planning, and evaluation. These school leaders need the skills of apolitical scientist to wade through the political puddles of power and their harmful and helpful elements. Successful superintendentscan not only wade through these political puddles, but they create a belief that all students can learn. They lead and teach othersthe art and science of diagnosing every child in terms of prior learning, how to create quality teaching and testing strategies,and how to accept“no excuses”for failing to educate every child in the system. Why do some leaders find the inner strength to actand others wait for someone or some group to solve the problem for them? These mysteries of leadership continue to elude the mostcurious leadership scholars and search teams assisting school boards in finding the right person to lead in a world thatcontinues to grow more complex and competitive. Scholars know what skills and dispositions are needed to prepare leaders for highperforming schools. The mystery is in the personalities of school leaders and their compassion for becoming a servant leader who canbalance politics with a clear vision and calculated steps to both keep the job and educate every student for a life ofsuccess?