The Turnaround School ASSIGNMENT: The Turnaround School (10 points) You have just been made principal of a failing school. There is no collegiality and the morale of the staff is at an all-time low. The union representatives are militant and the school advisory Team seldom reaches consensus without a struggle. You obtain a copy of an evaluation of the previous principal. At the end of the year, you will be evaluated by the same instrument. You have one year to improve conditions in your school. Candidates will develop a school improvement plan that requires that they analyze the scenario of a “broken” school climate that results from the previous administrator’s communication style. Also, candidates will receive other data such as the demographics of the school, the current school grade issued by the state and the fact that this school is a Title 1 school. With this data, the candidates prepare a need assessment of the current scenario, improvement objectives designed to target improvements, and a plan to improve in the school what appears to be broken. This assignment requires candidates to use of the William Cecil Golden, School Leadership Development Program as they research this issue. Demographic Data: Below is the demographic make-up of William C. Golden Middle School, which is the name of the school you have just been appointed principal. School name: William C. Golden Middle School Student size: 1000 students Faculty size: 121 Racial Composition of students White 30% Black 42% Hispanic 26% Other 2% Racial Composition of Faculty and Staff White 60% Black 20% Hispanic 17% Other 3% School grade on Florida’s A+ Plan: “D” Socio-economic status of Students/Parents School is a Title I school, 90% of students on free or reduced lunch Neighborhood composed of blue-collar workers and fall into the upper lower to lower middle SES. The school does, however, have some affluent population within the school’s boundaries. Written Paper: It should be understood that the written format of this plan would be appropriate for presentation to the Superintendent of Schools. Your paper will be organized as follows… Title Page Introduction (1-2 paragraph minimum) This brief section will be an overview of the assignment. This section should discuss research on the following topics: school climate, leadership style, leadership communication and stakeholders. (3 reference minimum) Analysis This section will be an analysis of the scenario of the school climate resulting from the previous administrator’s communication style. Needs Assessment This section will be a needs assessment of the current scenario. This section should also discuss research on the purpose of needs assessments when used by a new school leader. Climate Improvement This section will be improvement objectives designed to target improvements in the school climate. This section should also discuss research on how these suggested climate improvements work when used by a school leader. Communication Improvement This section will discuss Specific activities to improve communication which might include resources, timelines, events, etc. This section should also discuss research on how these suggested communication improvements work when used by a school leader. Summary (1-2 paragraph minimum)
