How to Achieve Goals as a School Organization

 "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”   John Quincy Adams

Last week, I shared with you a story about a struggling school whose program that worked amazingly for two years suddenly flatlined. There, I shared the first steps for achieving a goal and how important it is that both teachers and students understand the school goals.

It’s normal for schools to have goals, but the question is…

Are you meeting your goals with your student results?

Many schools have goals that are included in School Plans. Yes – setting realistic, timely SMART goals is the first step. They give significance to setting these goals.  Leaders and leadership teams would always lay out plans to achieve them. If these are so important, then why are we not seeing better results in schools? 

I believe it is not enough to just have a goal. It is imperative that everyone within the school must take ownership of that goal. Furthermore, the leadership should provide all the necessary support to achieve success. 

With that said, the next question now is…

Many schools have a school improvement plan that contains the school goals and action steps. Often, I see the principal and maybe a teacher team working hard and taking responsibility to complete this plan. They generate a list of items to do and get done so that specific tasks can be accomplished. Once they complete an item, they check it off their list. 

If this method is working for you and teachers are achieving your goals, then no need to upset the status quo. However, if you are not getting results and meeting your goals, it may be time to consider another way.

Life in a school is full of challenges. School leaders and teachers are on the front lines managing all those problems. To survive, it is important that the school has a proper structure. They should know how to use data that empowers teachers to deliver instruction that meets student’s learning needs. When this happens, results happen. 

To reach this level, training is often required. Empowering teachers with strategies and data is not asking teachers to do more. However, without guidance, it is overwhelming for teachers to review data and discern what is needed to make an impact on students. 

Before you begin with staff training, it is important to start at Data Step 1 and clearly “Define” your goals. It is also important at this step to identify the data needed to equip you and your team to make meaningful decisions. 

Using student data is key to making instructional decisions that enable all students to be successful. Organizing these data and understanding how to analyze it can be overwhelming. However, streamlining your data is essential if you want to support your students. 

It is important to identify goals and which data will be most useful in monitoring your goals. Once the goals are identified, evaluate them, and confirm the data needed to help teachers understand what students need to be successful. Goals and data should be aligned because if these are disconnected, you will not get results.

Here are some questions to help you evaluate your goals and which data are most important:

State Performance Goals & Assessments:

• Many states have a school label or letter grade for schools. Do you know exactly what students need to accomplish on state assessments to achieve the desired label? 
• Are your goals aligned with those expectations?
• Do you need to monitor student performance at different Proficiency or Benchmark levels? 
• What state data will help you to track proficiency within levels over time? 
• Do you need to monitor student growth? Many states’ formula expect growth from all students whether they are performing at the bottom or top of the school. 
• What state data will help you to track student growth over time? 

Identifying the data that will be used to monitor your state performance goals is crucial. If you are struggling in this area, feel free to contact me for assistance.

If you are in Arizona, I have created an A-F calculator to help you identify exactly what is needed to move to the next school letter grade. If you are out of Arizona and would like a calculator for your state, I am looking for a school that would like to pilot a calculator for your state. You can send me a message if you’re interested in knowing more.

While state performance data is important for monitoring overall performance. Often, I find district and school benchmark assessments contain information that has more meaning for teachers. Here are some questions to help with your evaluation:

District or School Goals & Benchmark Assessments:

• Are your district or school benchmark goals aligned with what students need to accomplish on each assessment to be successful on State assessments?
• Does your district and school assessments allow you to predict what will happen on the end-of-year assessment? If everything is aligned, there are no surprises. 
• Have you identified what students need to accomplish each quarter, trimester, or assessment period to be ready to perform at the end-of-year or state assessments? 
• What assessment data is needed to track quarterly performance? 
• How many standards do students need to master to be successful on the district or school benchmark assessment? What are your priority standards and when should they be taught? 
• What data will give you information on student’s performance on standards?
• Do all your teachers know those standards and have strategies to teach those standards?

“While there may be hundreds of standards, benchmarks, and learning objectives, only a handful need to be included in comprehensive accountability systems.”   – Douglas Reeves

Once goals are aligned and data to monitor goals has been identified, it is time to begin your analysis and identify your training needs. This will also include steps to empower your teacher to make data-driven decisions. I will provide more information on this area as we move up the 4 data steps. For now, it is important to lay a strong foundation to clearly define your goals and data. 

Just in case you missed it a couple of weeks ago, here are the 4 Data Steps:

Are you unhappy with your results or feeling overwhelmed with defining your data?  If so STAR Leadership School & Student Data Solutions Training is your answer! Click here for more info: STAR Services (debradurma.com)