Date of Award
6-2017
Degree Name
Specialist in Education
Department
Educational Leadership, Research and Technology
First Advisor
Dr. Dennis C. McCrumb
Second Advisor
Dr. Brett Geier
Third Advisor
Dr. Cheryl Mason
Keywords
School improvement, continuous improvement, professional development, evaluation system, school walk-throughs
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
High performing schools require administrators to align the continuous improvement efforts with the professional development activities while evaluating teaching and learning for fidelity. The administrative plans of school improvement, professional development, and teacher evaluation systems systemically aligned begin with an administrator who can see the important interaction of these three plans. The increased pressure for improved achievement from stakeholders, coupled with competing demands on time for the school administrator, leads towards a need for efficient tools for improvement. School administrators are creating administrative plans that are in isolation or disconnected from each other which leads to a lack of cohesion. This project creates a quick analysis tool that administrators can use to align administrative plans and improve fidelity of implementation. School principals need quick, helpful, and flexible tools, which lead to improved teaching and learning. The School Improvement Monitoring Tool (SIMT) was created to provide a solution for school principals who are attempting to align their administrative plans. The tool identifies areas of focus for professional development efforts that directly align with the school improvement activities. Finally, the tool can provide evaluation information for principals to use when providing coaching, feedback, and support during the teacher evaluation process. The tool was reviewed by school improvement professionals and simulated with middle school improvement plans. This tool is important for administrators who increasingly are required to show high stake improvements in the areas of teaching and learning as well as aligning efforts for efficiency.
Recommended Citation
Vanden Heuvel, James, "The Quick Analysis for Principals in the Alignment of Administrative Plans within the School Improvement Framework at the Middle School Level" (2017). Masters Theses. 1120.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/1120