Organizational
politics have the potential to facilitate or confound the process of
leadership. Given his argument that an
unconscious conspiracy exists in contemporary society, which prevents leaders
from taking charge and making changes regardless of their original vision,
Bennis (1989) contended organizational and social forces are working to prevent
change. However, as noted in the March
2019 blogpost, an effective leader desiring to create
an innovative organizational culture understands the existence of a
natural resistance to change from individuals and cultures within the
organization (Kan
& Parry, 2004).
Therefore, a culture of innovation is optimized when the leader
uses tactics that create a learning organization. Creation of a culture sustaining the learning
organization both engages and empowers employees. This
strategy gives credence to Tichy’s belief that the best thing a leader can do is
be a teacher and develop other leaders while the organization keeps winning
(Bettinger & Bettinger, 2006).
Based
on an Eight-Step Process, the
reform of the Brazosport Texas school district provides a positive case study
for implementation of this approach. Although
problematic state assessment scores and a desire for a positive school
classification initially provided the motivation for Brazosport to seek school
improvement, its motivation became “to be exemplary in every way and to help
each child reach his or her full potential” (Davenport & Anderson, 2002, p.
15). “Hug power”, the result of two or
more individuals joining together based on a shared vision and values (Boulding,
1989), provided the motivational model used in Brazosport
and other districts that subsequently utilized the Brazosport Eight-Step Process and interconnected
correlates of Effective Schools Research to create sustained education reform. As Brazosport’s effective leader, Superintendent Anderson first built a
district-wide vision for
school improvement based on identification of problems
resulting from analysis of disaggregated data.
An
important realization during the launch of its district-wide school improvement
plan was for
Brazosport’s stakeholders to admit their expectations were too
low. Their motivation for change then
became grounded in accepting they needed to teach the kind of student that they
never taught previously and then believing the tools were available to successfully
teach them (Davenport & Anderson, 2002).
In conjunction with its stakeholders, the school improvement plan was implemented
at the district level and thereafter at the school and classroom level. The evolving but universal vision was grounded
in analysis of disaggregated data down to the student-level, which promoted
empowerment and accountability with all stakeholders, including the students by
promoting high expectations and aspirations for success of all. This also promoted more positive home to school
relations, which is one of the seven correlates of Effective Schools Research
(Lezotte & Snyder, 2011). The Brazosport Eight-Step
Process has proved effective for other school districts as Davenport
and Anderson later identified trends that connect educators adapting the system
based on identified needs with subsequent student success.
When
the vision for change reached the school and classroom level, development and
utilization of “academic groupings”
and “teacher teams” (Davenport & Anderson, 2002, pp. 65-66) created a
climate of high expectations for success, which increased the opportunity to
learn while promoting student time on task.
In Brazosport, academic groupings were used to develop five levels
related to proficiency. These groupings
and teams promoted collaboration and effective communication by promoting
common understanding related to student proficiency.
As
a practical, best practice approach, disaggregation of data
was not seen as “a problem-solving process but a problem-finding process”
(Davenport & Anderson, 2002, p. 61).
As another one of the seven
correlates for Effective Schools Research, frequent monitoring of student
progress is essential. Disaggregation
and reporting of data provided the impetus for discussing improvement of
instruction at Brazosport.
The
use of data for school reform is well explicated in Effective Schools Research. Researching this correlate, Bambrick-Santoyo
(2008) found given “the proper interplay among interim assessments, analysis,
action and data-driven culture, schools can be transformed, and a new standard
can be set for student learning” (p. 46).
From using data-driven
instruction, another benefit was teacher buy-in was created or increased.
An
analysis of the Brazosport case study (Davenport & Anderson, 2002) found, disaggregation
was “a powerful driver for positive change” (p. 62). Disaggregation of data can be a catalyst when
creating a new vision for a district. In
Brazosport, disaggregation of data was used as a benchmark to determine student
mastery of essential skills at each grade and then how various subgroups were
comparatively mastering those same essential skills. That practice provided crucial data for professional
learning communities to identify and replicate what works or to determine when
change was needed.
As
implemented by
the Brazosport school district, the “Plan-Do-Check-Act
Cycle” (Davenport & Anderson, 2002, p.34) was an evolution of W. Edwards Deming’s Total
Quality Management (TQM) system. TQM
was comprised of 14 data driven points that Deming contended “were essential
for business success” (p. 33). Utilization
of the Brazosport Eight-Step Process,
which integrated the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle,
promoted implementation of results-oriented and research-based school reform
that was subsequently replicated at each of Brazosport’s schools as well as
other school districts. Additional research
on school reform by Comer (1998) and Childress (2009), indicates the Eight-Step Process, when integrating the Plan-Do-Check-Act
Cycle, and implementing principles of Effective
Schools Research in an interconnected approach, has been fruitful.
By
contrast, a school district’s education reform efforts and its continuous
improvement would be adversely impacted by the failure to consider the
interdependence of the Effective Schools Research correlates and elements
linked with reform. The importance of
the interdependence of the seven correlates of Effective Schools and the need
to avoid implementing correlates in isolation have been well researched (Lezotte
& Snyder, 2011). Although consideration
of each correlate in isolation is effective for becoming familiar with the
related research, Lezotte and Snyder are clear that each correlate must be
viewed as a necessary, but not sufficient, part of the entire school system’s
desire to successfully achieve the learning for all mission.
Reviewing systems change through the
lens of the Brazosport
Eight-Step Process, which integrates the
Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle, and implements the interconnected principles of
Effective Schools Research, helps to identify what school district initiatives
are effective and which are ineffective.
A strong leader makes educational reform
a moral journey by
making the efforts for followers to join
the initiative. While it can be a
detriment to rely on a charismatic
leader during reform efforts, this is mitigated by the inclusion of quality
principles such as those found in the Brazosport
Eight-Step Process. Therefore, whenever
leaders depart reform efforts can
diminish or gains may be quickly lost.
However, this potential problem is mitigated when a strong educational
leader interconnects the correlates of Effective Schools Research and institutionalizes
quality principles. Such was the
Brazosport case, whereby institutionalization was exhibited by analyzing,
synthesizing, and implementing Barksdale’s successful classroom approaches through
an eight-step process “similar to Deming’s Plan, Do, Check, Act, cycle” (Davenport &
Anderson, 2002, p. 48).
Following the success exhibited
by the Brazosport school district, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
(NCLB) advanced
the utilization of disaggregated data as a powerful motivator for change and
school improvement. While NCLB has been
criticized for promoting teaching to the test, the Brazosport Eight-Step Process promoted and
sustained success through effective school-wide management of focused learning
goals. Yes, a majority of time was spent
on “direct teaching of the Texas
Essential Knowledge Skills” (Davenport & Anderson, 2002, p. 90). However, once foundational
skills became observably mastered, teachers were empowered to assign
projects that encouraged independent learning and that demonstrated mastery of
content. Therefore, from an educational
reform perspective, any district implementing a system that replicates the Brazosport Eight-Step Process and the interconnected
correlates of Effective Schools Research, should be more likely to experience
success in its systems change initiative.
For students and other stakeholders within such a district, that
research-based initiative becomes a win/win opportunity.
To
Cite:
Anderson,
C.J. (April 30, 2019) Implementing
the
Brazosport eight-step process and correlates of
Effective
Schools Research: A case
study for systems change [Web
log post] Retrieved
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