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Hickory Ridge  Tarpon Team: Rachael Cordeiro, Felinda Langdale, Matt Miller, Jon Vanasse Florida Gulf Coast University =**Introduction**=

Hickory Ridge High School has struggled meeting the needs of students over the past several years even though faculty, parents, and business partners have tried implementing various reform initiatives. The staff feels as though their reform efforts are not realizing success and there are mounting problems between the more experienced teachers and the growing number of younger teachers (Cunningham & Cordeiro, 2009). Overall the problem is a poisonous culture with a lack of respect, collegiality, and trust which has developed amongst the staff at Hickory Ridge High School. Owens and Valesky (2011) wrote that organizational culture is a body of solutions to problems that have worked for a group and are taught to new members as the correct way to behave. In the case of Hickory Ridge the culture is not producing successful solutions to problems. This climate has created a barrier to reform efforts within the school which has resulted in conflict between those wanting reform and those wanting to maintain the status quo. Additionally, many teachers and particularly the new ones do not respect Principal Jim O’Connor which furthers the problem.

As superintendant, I realize that the current culture at Hickory Ridge is preventing reform efforts from being successful. It is my intention to address this issue as well as others by first empowering the principal and helping him gain the respect of the new faculty. The next step will be implementing research based programs designed to build relationships between the veteran and newer teachers. Only by healing the developing wounds amongst the staff can Hickory Ridge hope to move forward together toward a brighter future. Teachers must then be made to feel as though they can be risk takers that experiment with new instructional techniques. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and professional reading will then be introduced in order to sustain and eventually drive reform efforts within Hickory Ridge. With this plan of empowerment, teamwork, and research based instructional methods, the culture of Hickory Ridge will be able to change resulting in the school being better suited to meet the ever-changing needs of the students.

=**Instructional Leadership**=

Principal Jim O’Connor suffers from a lack of respect from the newer teachers at Hickory Ridge. In order to begin to change the culture of the school and get staff to buy in to programmatic changes made by O’Connor he must first gain the respect of all staff. He must break away from his role as a micro-manager and become an instructional leader who operates as a team member rather than simply an authority figure. Graczewski, Knudson, & Holtzman (2009) state: “Teachers who fear their principal are likely to puppet desired instructional practices without a deep understanding for the reasons behind them; teachers that do not feel respected as professionals are not likely to take advantage of a principal as an instructional resource.”

According to the above statement, if O’Connor wants teachers to take advantage of his knowledge and put forth their best effort with his plan for reform, he must work to make them feel respected. Essentially, in order to gain respect it must first be given and new teachers operating out of fear will not respect O’Connor. Kardos, Johnson, Peske, Kauffman & Liu (2001) found exemplary principals exhibited the following traits: visibility, encouragement, high standards, sets clear expectations, is consistent with discipline, is supportive, and is collaborative. As superintendant, I will work with Principal O’Connor so that he will be able to incorporate these traits into his daily interactions with all staff. These daily interactions will include classroom walkthroughs with positive feedback for his staff. Starting with positive reinforcement for the work being done will better the morale of the staff in the school. He will set clear expectations for all at the beginning of the year so that everyone knows what is expected. When there is an issue, he will be available to support his staff. This will allow him to further develop the respect of teachers which will allow additional reform efforts to take root. Working as an instructional leader, Principal O’Connor will gain the respect he needs from his staff. The staff will feel important, respected and supported. They will want to aid in the reform efforts when the leader is listening to their ideas.

=**Building Relationships**=

It is obvious that the situation at Hickory Ridge will not fix itself. As leader of the institution it is imperative for Jim O'Connor to start planning activities to bring staff together beyond the individual PLCs which will be explained in greater detail later. There has to be some collaboration between the PLC's and the new and veteran teachers. Kardos et al. (2001) mention that "a new teacher’s introduction to the school’s professional culture will be affected by the presence or absence of formal and informal structures that provide the novice with opportunities for interaction, true mentoring, reflection, and exchange.” O'Connor needs to become a transformational leader in order to change the culture in the organization he is leading. This will happen through the transfusion of new ideas, values, and commitments from staff members. He must lead by example showing passion, explaining purpose, and creating meaning in assigned activities and tasks; thus modeling the role of instructional leader.

There are three different categories of professional cultures that make up a school: veteran-oriented, novice-oriented, and integrated professional cultures (Kardos et al., 2001). The most ideal situation to be in is the integrated professional culture because both parties co-exist and work collaboratively, rather than work in isolation. The best situations this model provided had Principals pair new teachers with mentors who taught the same subject or in the same grade level. These mentors were easily accessible in the school and knew their roles contributed directly to the improvement of the novice teacher. They also realized this interaction could bolster their own professional development and in turn, increase school improvement. This idea is evident when Zuckerman (2001) writes about how the mentoring relationship provides opportunities for veteran teachers to learn from their mentee about pedagogical innovations and technology based instruction. These experiences also allow the veteran teacher to reflect on their own career and feed off the energy and idealism of the new professional. Zuckerman (2001) mentions that the veteran teachers emerge from the experience transformed and with an enhanced sense of professional worth that may encourage the veteran to seek further professional growth.

Kardos et al. (2001) mention in Fred’s school there was an expectation “that you learn from your fellow teachers.” Notice that in the wording there is no distinction between veteran and novice teachers, this means that everyone has something important to offer and teachers see each other as equals regardless of their experience level. The authors go on to say the principal models expectations by frequently visiting classrooms. Showing interest and sharing the duty of educating children sets the standard for being an educational leader. Principals should support the mentoring program in their school by attending the group mentor/mentee meetings and involve themselves in discussions about what both parties are learning and what needs to be done to provide further support. During these discussions school administrators can help build mentor/mentee relationships by setting clear guidelines of a mentor's responsibilities which explain how to give descriptive, nonjudgmental feedback on aspects of the mentee's performance. It should be clear that it is the job of the administrator to formally evaluate the new teacher's performance (Zuckerman, 2001).

As a part of the team building experience at Hickory Ridge High School, it would be a great benefit to review the school vision statement. The vision is fairly new but the teachers need a common ground and writing the vision statement together will allow the new and veteran teachers to get involved and work together to make student outcomes their main priority. Working on the vision statement may lead to the teachers inspiring and motivating one another and they may find things that they have in common that may lead to a more harmonious atmosphere in the building. According to the Méndez (1993) a vision has a way of having people work together to reach their goal of the vision. It is this working together between the veteran and newer teachers that is needed at Hickory Ridge and it is my belief that rewriting a vision statement collaboratively after teachers have had the opportunity to begin building relationships with one another can serve as the first large scale project to bring different generations of teachers together. This will not only allow teachers to develop a more strategic, focused vision, but it will be a symbolic moment; a new beginning for Hickory Ridge and a shift in culture away from adversarial relationships toward collaboration. A final note about the vision statement rewriting project is that stakeholders in addition to teachers will be involved. Administrators, parents, and community leaders will be consulted as well and will take part in this process through surveys and discussions.

=**Professional Learning Communities**=

It is clear that teachers at Hickory Ridge are forming two opposing sides: the veteran teachers with much experience and knowledge of the community and younger teachers who possess much information regarding technology and instructional practices stemming from it. There is little collaboration occurring between the groups; instead there exists mostly contention, arguing, and resentment. Both groups feel as though their reform efforts are unsuccessful and neither expects this to change. As superintendent, I must address this issue directly and work with Jim O’Connor to break this cycle and get both veteran and young teachers to work together collaboratively; it is the only way forward.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are intended to bring teachers together in groups to discuss instructional goals, practices, and concerns. PLCs then go a step further seeking to bring collegiality and instructional planning to the table. Sharing simply isn’t good enough. Teachers must collaboratively build lessons, assessments, etc… and work together to implement best practices in terms of lesson delivery. Literally, all teachers in a PLC draw on each other’s strengths and work together to reduce barriers to learning. PLCs are a solution likely to bring the sort of change necessary at Hickory Ridge. Evidence of this is seen in the work of Tom Carroll (2009) who wrote, “Cross-generational learning teams that bring together novice teachers with veteran teachers would address problems at both ends of the teacher pipeline — and benefit student learning at the same time.” The greatest barrier to change at Hickory Ridge is the lack of collaboration between veteran and young teachers and the resulting unwillingness of either group to work with the other. According to Carroll (2009), building these cross-generational learning teams would be helpful to both the teachers and students.

Oftentimes when teachers collaborate there are issues that reduce the effectiveness of the collaboration. Roadblocks such as conflict on different approaches to teaching, personality conflicts, the issue of time, and the isolation in the teaching profession exist and must be addressed. In a study conducted by Lujan and Day (2009) two major research questions were investigated: the effect of the use of PLCs on roadblocks to teacher collaboration and whether the collaborative culture amongst teachers changes if the roadblocks are addressed. The researchers found that PLCs reduced roadblocks which led to positive change in collaborative culture. The following recommendations on the implementation of PLCs were the results of the study:
 * 1) Time must be kept sacred
 * 2) Include deep discussions about planning, instruction, and assessment
 * 3) Training for new faculty is essential
 * 4) Shared planning time during the school day is recommended (Lujan & Day, 2009)

If the implementations of PLCs are going to bring a culture change to Hickory Ridge by healing the existing wounds between staff members, Jim O’Connor must ensure they are created with the recommendations of Lujan and Day in mind. He will provide staff development training on PLCs as a concept as well as their implementation for all staff members. This training will be performed by professionals well-versed in PLCs. Also, teachers will be given common planning time by department where possible and as a result they will have time to meet and collaborate. O’Connor will also limit the amount of time required of teachers to only what is necessary; if the teachers feel as though their time is being wasted the entire reform effort of implementing PLCs will be one more in an ever-growing line of non-successful changes.

Lujan and Day (2009) recommend deep discussions as part of PLCs rather than teachers sharing stories. In order to provide O’Connor and the teachers with research-based information on how to engage in deep discussions where true collaboration takes place, I turn to the work of Nelson, Deuel, Slavit, and Kennedy (2010) who found that deep conversations sprang from a three-pronged approach. They must be rooted in a cycle of questioning, consisted of teacher led reflection on evidence from the classroom, and lead to teachers taking action to change instruction. The researchers noted that these conversations must not remain congenial in nature. Congenial behavior serves the purpose of avoiding conflict and maintaining the status quo. Essentially, O’Connor must ensure his teachers engaging in PLC action are getting down to business and going beyond the simple sharing nature of congenial conversation. I expect this topic to be addressed during the initial PLC training, but O’Connor must monitor PLC meetings to make sure proper discussion and action is occurring. Although he needs to act in a leadership role in this capacity, I will caution him to do so in a non-threatening way. His teachers must not act out of a fear of reprimand; instead they must do so because they believe it will lead to improvement in curriculum, instruction, and student achievement.

Once the self-motivation is there for teachers to be part of their assigned PLC, O’Connor will work with them to move to a system of practicing self-accountability. Rebore (2009) listed the concepts of self-accountability and self-actualization in a way that contributes to the mission of the school as well as the mission of the school district as focuses necessary to the successful implementation of PLCs. He believes that through this process a group of professionals can realize their full potential and become self-directed. If the PLCs created at Hickory Ridge are able to reach the vision described by Rebore, O’Connor will be able to scale back his monitoring of PLC activity and allow them to flourish as the catalyst for positive change that Hickory Ridge so desperately needs.

=**Professional Reading**=

One way of empowering teachers is through professional development. “The professional benefits of a book club includes the introduction of new ideas into schools, encouraging teachers’ professional ownership of ideas, and providing opportunities to dialogue and compare perspectives” (Burbank, Bates, & Kauchak, 2010). Participating in a professional book club will increase knowledge of new strategies and practices that can be implemented in the school and classroom. According to Flood and Lapp (1994), reading and discussing professional literature provides a social setting where educators can debate openly on current practices and discuss the common practices in the field beyond their classroom.

Principal O'Connor will ensure that there are opportunities for teachers to sign up for a book club of their choice. Some of the book clubs that will be implemented at the beginning of the year will include effective teaching strategies, planning and collegiality. Through reading and discussing professional literature in groups, these clubs give educators the opportunity to share ideas, reflect on their current practices, and brainstorm new strategies that can be used. This will be a key part in meshing the veteran and new teachers. The clubs will consist of new and veteran teachers so that new teachers will share the knowledge of new practices in technology and the veterans can share the experience of being in the classroom and the knowledge of the community in which they work. The goal of having experienced and beginning teachers discuss about the current practices is valuable to everyone involved.

=**Implementation Timeline**=

In order for this plan for change to be effective it must include both short and long range components. Additionally, they must flow in proper sequence while also not occurring all at once which would be overwhelming for teachers and likely result in them not wanting to participate in the programs. To this end, Principal O’Connor and I have created the following timeline for the implementation of the items outlined in this writing:
 * 1) Principal O’Connor will begin altering his behavior, interaction with teachers, and management style in order to gain the respect of staff immediately. This will be an ongoing process resulting in him becoming the true instructional leader of Hickory Ridge.
 * 2) Relationship building between veteran and newer teachers is imperative; as such the vision re-writing project will begin within one month, will be completed during a short series of meetings over a month’s time, and will be revisited for possible updating each year.
 * 3) Principal O’Connor and his administrative staff will create mentoring pairings with the veteran and younger teachers over the course of the next three months and will alter the pairings each school year. Monitoring of the mentoring process for each pair will occur a minimum of once per month by an assigned administrator.
 * 4) Once the instructional leadership of Principal O’Connor has been established and relationship building has taken root amongst teachers, it will be time to introduce PLCs to the staff. Introductory professional development training will be provided to the teachers at Hickory Ridge approximately six months from now and will be delivered by professionals with PLC experience. Departmental PLCs will then be established and monitored by administration who will visit PLC meetings on a regular basis.
 * 5) Professional reading book clubs will be introduced next school year to supplement the activities already outlined. The reason this will be a delayed implementation is so teachers will not be overwhelmed with too many new programs in a short period of time.

=Conclusion=

It is clear that the current situation at Hickory Ridge is not a good one. Student achievement is not at an acceptable level, reform efforts have to this date been unsuccessful, a divide between veteran and newer teachers is prevalent, and Principal O’Connor has lost the respect of most of his staff. The plan laid out previously in this writing seeks to remedy these issues by implementing research-based reform initiatives designed to get the teachers at Hickory Ridge to start working together in mentor-mentee relationships, PLCs, and professional reading book clubs. This will allow teachers to share their strengths with others. For example, the veteran teachers currently have knowledge of the community and history of Hickory Ridge that could benefit the younger teachers by providing perspective on the community in which they teach and by extension provide them with a better understanding of their students and their needs. Likewise, the younger teachers possess deep knowledge of technology and its many uses in the classroom which could help the veteran teachers expand their set of instructional tools and allow them to experiment with new ideas in the classroom. If these two groups can manage to bridge the gap that currently separates them and work toward being able to share ideas and build curriculum, assessments, and instructional methods in a collegial way student achievement will most certainly increase. Additionally, community members and business organizations will realize Hickory Ridge is improving and will be more likely to provide additional support when asked. Principal O’Connor is the lynchpin in this plan; if he cannot change his ways, gain the respect of his teachers, and essentially take up the mantle of the true instructional leader of Hickory Ridge, this plan for change will undoubtedly become another in a line of unsuccessful attempts at remedying the situation that has plagued the school during recent years.

The culture of Hickory Ridge must change and with Principal O’Connor leading the way and getting all teachers to work together for this change students, teachers, administrators, and community members will be able to watch as what they are so desperately in need of will become reality. As Owens and Valesky (2011) wrote, organizational culture does not change immediately; instead it must change over time. Therefore, this plan for change must begin now and be continuously reviewed and refined in order to ensure maximum effectiveness. In this way, change will not only occur but will be sustainable and allow Hickory Ridge to establish a tradition of success that may live on past the point at which those currently walking the halls have gone their separate ways.

References

Burbank, M., & Kauchak, D. (2010). Book clubs as professional development opportunities for preservice teacher candidates and practicing teachers: An exploratory study. The New Educator, 6(1), 56-73.

Carroll, T. (2009). The next generation of learning teams. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(2), 8-13. Retrieved from EBSCO MegaFILE database.

Cunningham, W., & Cordeiero, P. (2009). Educational leadership: a bridge to improved practice. (4th ed.). New York: Pearson.

Flood, J., & Lapp, P. (1994). Teacher book clubs: Establishing literature discussion groups for teachers (issues and trends). The Reading Teacher, 47(7), 574–576.

Graczewski, C., Knudson, J., & Holtzman, D. (2009). Instructional leadership in practice: What does it look like, and what influence does it have?. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 14(1), 72-96. doi:10.1080/10824660802715460.

Kardos, S., Johnson, S., Peske, H., Kauffman, D. & Liu, E. (2001) Counting on colleaugues: New teachers encounter the professional cultures of their schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 37(2), 250-290. (Jon)

Lujan, N., & Day, B. (2009). Professional learning communities: Overcoming the roadblocks. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 76(2), 10-17. Retrieved from EBSCO MegaFILE database.

Méndez-Morse, S. (1993). Vision, change and leadership. Issues. . . About Change, 2(3), Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Austin, TX.

Nelson, T., Deuel, A., Slavit, D., & Kennedy, A. (2010). Leading deep conversations in collaborative inquiry groups. Clearing House, 83(5), 175-179. doi:10.1080/00098650903505498.

Owens, R. G., & Valesky, T. C. (2011). Organizational behavior in education (10th Ed.). Upper Saddle River. Pearson Education, Inc.

Rebore, R.W. (2011). Human resources administration in education a management approach (9th Ed.). Upper Saddle River. Pearson Education, Inc.

Zuckerman, J. T. (2001). Veteran teacher transformations in a collaborative mentoring relationship. American Secondary Education, 29(4), 18-29.