Differences in Use of Data
The differences in the use of demographic, student learning, perception, and school process data by the governing board, school system leaders, school site leaders, and instructional staff reflects more on working towards creating that proactive environment from which to determine school improvement needs and opportunities. Firstly, the use of demographics may help in conducting a comprehensive needs assessment focusing on individual students. Murphy, Louis, & Smylie (2017) point out that usage of demographic data helps in highlighting specific areas of needs and opportunities among individual students. Thus, this ensures that decision makers are well accustomed to the varied needs among the students, which, in turn, defines the requirements of the entire school district. Decision makers find themselves in a situation where they are expected to make decisions that would not only benefit individual students but would help the whole school district.
Usage of student learning data allows the decision makers to examine the effectiveness of the model used as part of the learning process as ways of highlighting the overall possibility of maintaining efficiency in the learning process. The student learning process is one of the essential elements to enhanced learning, as it defines the effective approaches taken by stakeholders in the education sector in ensuring that students achieve their learning expectations (Torrance & Forde, 2017). Evaluation of student learning data helps in determining the impact that instruction, as well as, mechanics of teachers’ practices and actions in creating that positive environment that supports students’ learning. The decision makers are then expected to highlight the specific areas where gaps exist with the focus being towards the adoption of compelling opportunities to advance set out expectations for system improvements.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
On the other hand, the use of perception may help in the evaluation of expectations and the outcomes associated with the learning system, which would assist in defining a specific gap between needs and expected opportunities. Perception is one of the critical elements that determine the rate at which institutions are shifting their focus to promoting quality outcomes. However, it is essential for the decision makers to use the perceptions associated with specific learning environments to determine the areas of needs and opportunities. The perception may help in promoting system improvements in areas such as leadership, curriculum, and school climate and culture with the focus being towards ensuring that indeed students achieve positive outcomes. From a general perspective, this means decision makers find themselves in a situation where they are expected to implement improvements that would help ensure that indeed the outcomes in the learning environments match the perceptions.
Lastly, usage of the school process data helps in the determination of needs and opportunities by examining every aspect of the school functioning to determine the specific areas where performance does not match the set objectives. School process data is essential when making decisions, as is evaluates how school districts are using resources, initiatives, and policies as part of their capacities to leverage outcomes matching set objectives. The data is essential in ensuring that the stakeholders can examine the individual components associated with the school system with the focus being towards promoting motivation to support the overall learning process within a given system. From a general perspective, this means that the decision makers would be able to identify specific areas where improvements are needed. Ultimately, this helps in the development of a continuous improvement plan that not only seeks to adopt advances in the current state. Instead, this would also help in the adoption of improvements depending on future challenges.
The manner of Data Use Collaboratively
The manner in which demographic, student learning, perception, and school process data are used collaboratively by decision-makers in a given learning environment reflects on the viability of the data in advancing the learning system for better outcomes. Firstly, the decision makers use the data in goal setting with the focus being towards ensuring that indeed the learning system works towards a specific objective (Dotson & Dotson-Blake, 2015). As highlighted in the previous section, the different use of the data helps in ensuring that the decision makers can identify the needs and opportunities in the learning system. In this case, the decision makers are expected to set goals that would advance their positions in ensuring that the measures taken to meet the specific needs and opportunities remain reasonable.
In other words, this means that the decision makers are expected to weigh the measures that they adopt with the aim of trying to determine some of the possible challenges that would arise in a situation where the measures are adopted effectively. The expected outcome of this is that the decision makers will find themselves in that positive avenue from which to ensure that indeed the learning system achieves the expected improvements. Secondly, the decision makers are also expected to use the different types of data in a bid to set out effective organizational practices (Dotson & Dotson-Blake, 2015). These practices are essential in ensuring that the stakeholders focus much of their attention towards maintaining their improvements.
The focus for having to enhance the idea of having to create alternative organizational practices reflects more on ensuring that each of the stakeholders has a clear understanding of his or her roles in enhancing systems improvements. Additionally, this also means that the stakeholders will also be able to reflect on their strategic positions in ensuring that the learning systems meet their respective objectives depending on the set-out priorities. Lastly, the usage of the different data forms plays a critical role in providing that the decision makers can create a standard environment supporting student performance (Dotson & Dotson-Blake, 2015). One of the essential challenges expected after the adoption of the measures to meet the needs and opportunities is that they would create an uneven environment impacting the performance of specific students. Thus, this creates the need for having to examine how the decision makers may use the data in a bid to ensuring that the proficiency of each student improves significantly based on the learning system improvements adopted.
Communication with Stakeholders
The communication of prioritized needs and opportunities for stakeholders is necessary to enhance improvements that are necessary towards the achievement of set goals and objectives. Communication plays an integral role in ensuring that the stakeholders such as the governing board, the staffs, and community have relevant information concerning the needs and opportunities concerning a school system. The communication process should ensure the proper use of appropriate channels to reach out to the stakeholders effectively in a bid to pass the required information effectively (Pounder, Reitzug, & Young, 2002). The stakeholders in a school system require having adequate information regarding key aspects influencing the performance of the students and be in a position to identify needs and opportunities that require priority to enhance significant improvements within the system. To capitalize on effective communication, it is necessary to focus on several communication approaches that are expected to define possible success outcomes.
The first communication approach to use is the school district website, which every stakeholder will have access to in a bid to gaining information on some of the possible aspects associated with the needs and opportunities. Usage of the website will help in ensuring that the report on the prioritized needs and opportunities remains public, in the sense that, every member of the community may be able to access. Thus, this means that it becomes much more comfortable for members of the public to raise any queries or questions that they would have touched on the prioritization of specific needs and opportunities.
The second communication approach would involve having to use social media as a way of ensuring that the school district can get the backing of the entire community. The school district must capitalize on the fact that a significant number of the stakeholders are within different social media platforms. Thus, this means that the idea of using social media may help towards ensuring that indeed stakeholders engage in the presentation of the final report on the prioritized needs and opportunities. Lastly, the school district may also use memos that would be sent out to different stakeholders with the sole focus being towards ensuring that the stakeholders engage effectively. The idea of using memos as part of the communication process is to help to advance the effectiveness of the approaches taken as part of communication with the focus being towards meeting the strategic outcomes.
References
Dotson, K. B., & Dotson-Blake, K. P. (2015). Factors of engagement: Professional standards and the library science internship. TechTrends , 59 (3), 54-63.
Murphy, J., Louis, K. S., & Smylie, M. (2017). Positive school leadership: How the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders can be brought to life. Phi Delta Kappan , 99 (1), 21-24.
Pounder, D., Reitzug, U., & Young, M. D. (2002). Preparing school leaders for school improvement, social justice, and community. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education , 101 (1), 261-288.
Torrance, D., & Forde, C. (2017). Redefining what it means to be a teacher through professional standards: implications for continuing teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education , 40 (1), 110-126.
