A Proposed Plan to Improve School Performance

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Leadership: A critique
Conclusion
References

Abstract

The improvement of academic performance relies so much on the school leadership. This is true in the eyes of the various stakeholders in the school. It is generally agreed that, correctly so, that the improvement of academic performance cannot be achieved if the school leadership is not competent.

This is due to the fact that it is the leaders who are tasked with articulating the different resources that are at the disposal of the school and make sure that they are engaged well for the institution’s performance. Teachers cannot perform as anticipated if they are not directed by a focused leader. There is no way that the society can support the institution if its leaders do not consult them.

This paper is a leadership improvement plan. The writer focuses on the school leadership. He determines the weaknesses and strengths of the institution’s leadership, then goes overboard to establish a plan to advance on it.

Introduction

Lately, there has been argument on the quality of academic performance in the institution both in the professional and public realm (Begley, 2009). There is a concurrence among the professionals and the entire public that there exist numerous determinants which influence the academic performance in the school (Fidel and Andrew, 2006).

It is agreed that the accessibility of resources is one of the determinants that impact the academic excellence in the institution. This is because it is apparent that the school that is endowed performs better than the less privileged ones. Another aspect is the proficiency of the personnel, both non-academic and academic personnel.

If the institution administration takes upon them to engage only qualified individuals, the academic excellence receives a timely boost. The dedication and motivation of the teachers, stakeholders and all the learners also goes a long way towards establishing the academic excellence story of the institution.

It is not only the teachers, employees and the learners in the institution that determine its academic excellence, but the society around which the institution is located plays a role in performance. That is the reason why it is paramount to integrate the society members, including the guardians and/ or parents of the institution, in the running of the school (Greenfield, 2007).

Because of the school’s disability to provide efficient human, fiscal and technological resource management, certain regress in the school development can be traced. Unless the problem concerning the school management is tackled and the school starts functioning in the right way, the current situation may have negative impact in the school and the students.

As much as the aforementioned determinants are of great importance in influencing the performance of the institution, it is undoubtedly that the institution leadership assumes the greatest responsibility in academic excellence. It is the leader who combines all the above determinants and aligns them in a way that brings about the excellence of the institution.

As such, it is impossible to have an institution with awful leadership that is doing well academically. A research on performance in Australian-based institutions indicates that high performing institutions have capable and great leaders (Begley, 2009).

The aim of this proposed plan is to improve leadership in the institution. This plan will critique the existing leadership plan and will go overboard to establish another plan that will improve the school performance. The leadership part that the proposed plan will concentrate on is that of the top management.

Objectives of the proposed plan

Throughout the plan, the writer of this proposed plan will be guided by a single objective. This is to establish leadership in the school. This plan will have various parts namely;

Background of the school
A critique of leadership
Human resource leadership
Technological resource leadership
Fiscal resource leadership

Background of the school

The school was started in 2000. This implies that it has been in operation for the last eleven years. At the beginning, the school had a population of 125 students. The teachers were nine at the time. The enrollment has increased over the years to approximately 555 students. The teachers are twenty nine (Hodgkinson, 2009).

When it began, the school was among the most prestigious institutions in the area. All members in the region who valued learning took their children to this school. The performance of the institution was admirable, propped up by capable teachers and dedicated students.

However, this inclination began to change sometime back in the year 2008. The academic excellence of the institution started to decline gradually. The turnover of teachers and other non-academic personnel increased. The gleam of the institution started to weaken. Students started leaving the institution in hordes. The institution no longer brags about the goodwill of the society as before (Hodgkinson, 2009).

Basically, it is this negative change of events that set the momentum of this plan. The writer probed into the institution, focusing on the factors that are thought could have hastened the change of events. Various aspects were identified as having contributed to the decline of the institution.

These included competition from other institutions, decreased resources, improved academic performance of public institutions and economic crisis. However, leadership of the institution was identified as the biggest blow to the school (McKenzie, 2008).

Leadership: A critique

As mentioned earlier, the school has been in operation for the last eleven years. Therefore, particular weaknesses were identified as regards the leadership of the institution. There is absence of accountability on the part of the institution’s administration. The top management makes all the decisions. As such, most of the decisions made ends up being unpleasant to the stakeholders.

The teachers and the parents are not involved as they make decisions. The culture of the institution has also deteriorated. The school no longer performs the way it used to before. The teachers are no longer encouraged or dedicated to take up their tasks. These are just but a few aspects that were identified in the institution’s management. However, there exist positive aspects on the administration of the institution.

Though the staff may be no longer dedicated to their work, this is not the same for the top management. Remaining are some fond memories about the institution, and were it not for the absence of academic excellence, the parents and guardians could still be willing to educate their children in this institution.

The following is the procedure of the proposed leadership plan that the planner came up with so as to improve on the headship of the school.

Human resource leadership

Like any other sphere of people’s interaction, school requires careful and well-thought human resource management to achieve efficient results. In the given case, one can see clearly that the human resource management system requires certain improvement, since the school resources have been allocated in the wrong way.

Taking a closer look at the problems in the given area, one can claim with certainty that the core of the problem is the wrong system of school leadership management introduced.

Therefore, it would be most reasonable to consider the probable improvements. Since the current school leaders’ methods prove inefficient, it seems that they have to be substituted by someone else. To search for another school leader to increase the pace of school progress, one had better consider the people who take the most active part in the school issues and problems.

Choosing new leaders will mean radical changes for the school and re-evaluation of the current state of affairs. In addition, new leaders are bound to bring fresh ideas to create the environment for the school progress. According to Barker,

School improvement research consistently contented that commitment and results would improve when students and staff were directly engaged in organizing and managing their own learning and teaching. (48)

Meaning that both teachers and students have to realize their own responsibilities, Barker suggests the system which can work miracles for the given situation. Indeed, making the students interested in the school issues and suggesting all students participate in the school managing system improvement will both bring the teachers and the students together and help to solve various issues more productively.

Technological resource leadership

Taking a closer look at the way in which the school handles the technological issues, one has to admit that it requires sufficient changes.

Since the school seems to lack certain technological innovations, it is obvious that the first step towards the progress would be to use the existing finances to equip school with the modern appliance for studies. Thus, it is obvious that the school requires new technological resources, and the aim of the existing technological resource management is to provide the students and the teachers with the necessary equipment.

According to what Khosrowpour claims, the key issue of the modern educational system is the integrated information system (Khosrowpour 1055). Therefore, one of the chief goals of the school technological resource management is to provide access to the necessary information for all students.

This presupposes that the school must be equipped with computers with access to the Internet, and other necessary devices, which will help students to obtain, analyze and interpret the necessary information. Unless the students can operate with the modern equipment and use it as a tool to search for certain information, there will be no progress in the students’ research-making skills.

Consequently, the school has to reconsider its financial, human and technical resource management to help students achieve academic success and develop their professional skills. In addition, it must be well remembered that the three abovementioned systems are closely interconnected.

This means that if a single element is out of order, none of the systems will work properly. Only with the three systems incorporated, the school will be able to progress and provide the students with the necessary knowledge and skills.

Fiscal resource leadership

Research indicates that for the institution to succeed academically there is a need to manage and plan the school finances (Begley, 2009). Unlike the rest of the spheres, the fiscal resource management of the school touches upon certain ethical considerations.

Thus, it needs multilateral consideration. Since the school is being financed, yet the costs that it takes exceed the financial support that the school gains, the finance management must be reconsidered as soon as possible.

Since the key problem of the school is that the costs exceed the revenues, the school fiscal management crew must reconsider the regular expenditures of the school as soon as possible. In this case, Thompson suggests that a financial plan must be drawn.

With help of this plan, the school management will be able to take account of what the money is used for. As soon as the school realizes where the money goes, it will be possible to create a new scheme according to which the money is going to be spent.

One of the crucial elements in the chain of the steps to the financial progress is what Thompson defined as “fiscal accountability”, that is, the ability to trace the way the money is spent and control these expenditures. As soon as the school fiscal resource management sees the “route” of the cash flow, it will be possible to correct it according to the school needs.

In addition, the problem of priority must be tackled as well. As a rule, it is often hard to decide which program deserves funding best; to solve this difficult issue, the interests of the students must be taken into account. Thompson mentions the No Child Left Behind Act 2001, thus making it clear that the school management must also keep in mind the specific features of all students, both the advantaged and the disadvantaged ones.

Conclusion

It is significant for the institution’s management to implement the recommendations of this proposed plan and make sure that it is adopted. Especially the leadership should realize the importance of the changes that are projected here. Rather than rejecting them, the leadership should employ and ensure that they are adopted.

The school has a lot pending for it. The institution has a rich history in the society in which it is based. There is also a link and broad infrastructure that the institution can employ in order to check the declining performance.

But in an attempt to realize this full projection, the leadership of the institution has to be restructured and established in a completely new way. This is because it is the only hurdle to the institution’s excellent performance.

References

Barker, B., et al. (2010) Human Resource Management in education: Contexts, Themes and Impact. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis

Begley, S. (2009). Contemporary leadership in schools: Wagner Educational Resource, Melbourne.

Fidel, D. & Andrew, U. (2006). Educational leadership model: Dwight, Durban.

Greenfield, T. (2007). Professional leadership in academics: Dwight, Durban.

Hodgkinson, E. (2009). School leadership in the 21^st century, Sydney Education Book, Sydney.

Khosrowpour, M. (2002) Issues and Trends of Information Technology Management in Contemporary Organizations. Hershey, PA: Idea Group, Inc.

McKenzie, Y. (2008). Development of school leadership. Myrna Publisher, Toronto.

Murray, B & Poole, S. (2008). Leadership & school culture, House Book: Melbourne.

Thompson, D. C., et al. (2008) Money and Schools. Larchmont, NY: Eye of Education

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