Week Three Assignment Reflections

Wow, I never that I would have so much trouble posting my assignments to my blog!  I have learned today I need to save them as Rich Text Format when I am working on my laptop.  In the past, I worked on my husband's Mac and there had not been a problem.  I am surely growing synapsis today!

Working through the action steps made me aware of the process the SIP and CIT teams go through when a school in in corrective action.  It makes me think!  What if we follow this process when we have an area that is disfunctiona, whatever it may be?  I feel that all involved would look at the situation from a great advantage point.  They would be able to research what is already happening in the field of education.  Learn from others.  Collaborate with other schools that have "been down the same road."  Yet, I find, we try to solve everything with a quick fix.  We want a program or a person with the next best thing to sweep into our schools and get us to exemplary in a year.

When schools and district make action plans without going through the 8 Steps that S. Harris, S. Edmonson, and J. Combs identifies in, Examining What we do to Improve our Schools:  8 steps form analysis to action.  Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, their decisions will be made on impulse instead of research and data.  Realizing the time involved in the process, I can see why larger school districts have a Research person on staff for the district like we heard from Dr. Timoth Chargois, Director of Research, Planning and Development in Beaumont ISD. 

I have also been reminded of the collaborative effort that this Masters program is incubating.  Colleagues that have never met are working collaboratively together.  This sense of community will be a treasure I will hold dear throughout this journey.