As Richard DuFour says, “The vision should be to get every kid over that bar.” That bar continues to be raised as the cut scores for PSSA’s are in the sights of every school district in the Keystone State.
The most important link to vision planning is to start with leadership, both district-wide and building-wide. Bernhardt notes that strong leadership inspires a shared vision and ensures its implementation.” Further, Bernhardt conveys the vision relying on focus acts of improvement.
It is crucial for the values and beliefs to be understood, which defines a sense of purpose. Next the team needs to develop and share the vision. Finally, an action plan is put in motion, based on accurate and valid data. Bernhardt focuses on establishing ground rules while creating a shared vision. Similar to the protocols in Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s), the steps are to first understand that “this is a safe room.” In addition there is no rank in the room and everyone’s opinions and ideas count. Each person gets an opportunity to speak and each person gets the chance to listen. The focus is on the future and the purpose is improvement.
The Result’s Fieldbook, by Mike Schmoker lists not only administrative leadership as a key to creating and fulfilling the vision, but also teacher leadership. The empowerment of teacher leaders is a way of delegating responsibility and creating teamwork, rather than an environment where teachers may feel micromanaged. The bottom line is that teachers are smart and they need feel validated for their talents. A team of five or six can share a vision while a team of one cannot see very far!
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