2016-18 Professional Growth Plan

2016-18 GOAL:

To create the conditions for a more positive staff culture in the school.

BCPVPA Standards that are the focus of the goal:

Domain 1: Moral Stewardship
Standard 1: Values, Vision, and Mission

  • Principals and Vice-Principals guide the development and implementation of shared values, vision, mission, and goals to support engagement, learning, and success for all learners.

Domain 3: Relational Leadership
Standard 5: Intrapersonal Capacity

  • Principals and vice-principals demonstrate self-knowledge and personal qualities that support positive relationships and build cultures of integrity.

Standard 6: Interpersonal Capacity

  • Principals and Vice-Principals build and support positive, effective working relationships within the school and community for all.

Standard 7: Cultural Leadership

  • Principals and Vice Principals build and support positive, effective working relationships within the school.

INQUIRY QUESTION:

If I focus on the strengths of staff and create the conditions for a more positive, collaborative staff culture, will we engage in more regular, reflective dialogue and create actions for change that drive staff and student learning forward?

ACTIONS:

  • Determine with staff the qualities of a positive staff culture (Completed)
    • Determine with staff the barriers to a positive staff culture

  • Create a strengths-based culture for staff

  • Build trust through active listening, effective management, and caring leadership.
  • Attend workshops sessions as a team
    • Dr. Ross Greene sessions
    • Making Connections Conference – Resource team – October, 2016
    • Faye Brownlie sessions
    • Shelley Moore session
    • All staff attended a session at Kwantlen Cultural Centre on cultural bias and privilege. Following this, we all attended the First Salmon Ceremony.
  • Create the conditions for staff leadership by tapping into strengths
    • Pro-D Days, staff meetings, collaboration time
    • Numerous examples of staff members facilitating sessions on professional development days. Staff often chose to stay at the school to work with and learn from each other in the areas of numeracy, writing, technology, strengths-based leadership, and physical education.
    • Staff-led discussion at staff meetings on SOGI, Truth and Reconciliation, writing, and thinking.
  • Provide space to discuss and implement strategies for wellness (balance, rest, happiness, care)

EVIDENCE:

    • Some evidence embedded above.
    • Online anonymous staff survey on school culture and my professional growth. Questions can be found here (live survey is a private link). Survey results from June 2017 are here.
    • Shared our experience with organization culture at workshops in Edmonton and Calgary (Feb/Mar 2017) with administrators and school leaders (slides are here and embedded below). Positive feedback was received by organizers.
    •  

PERSONAL REFLECTION:

My Inquiry Question is:

If I focus on the strengths of staff and create the conditions for a more positive, collaborative staff culture, will we engage in more regular, reflective dialogue and create actions for change that drive staff and student learning forward?

By focusing on the strengths of staff, we have built more capacity and trust as a school. We have increased the number of people engaging in professional dialogue and this has created change in the classroom and driven student learning forward. With a number of new teachers starting at our school next year, a focus on this inquiry question will help set the tone for continued growth in the area of staff culture.

It has truly been a year of growth for the staff at James Hill Elementary. By bringing a focus on staff culture to the forefront, we were able to dive deeper into dialogue about what makes an effective culture and how to get there.  I do feel we have made great strides this year and that, overall, our staff is more collaborative and more positive. My favourite reflections come from thinking about first, the emotion and vulnerability that many staff members were able to show in various staff learning opportunities, and second, the fact that many staff members were willing to take the lead on collaborative professional learning events. As we still have work to do, this will continue to be an area of focus for me in 2017-18.

The time spent on this focus seems to have helped as survey results show that staff culture has indeed improved this year; we are a more collaborative and caring culture as a result of our efforts. All staff have acknowledged that they are aware of the strengths of themselves and colleagues and are able to use this at work.  Staff feel they are able to safely take risks but there is still improvement that can occur. One area of needed growth is the aspect of happiness and positivity. This will be a larger focus for 2017-18.

For me, as a principal, the vast majority of staff feel that I have listened, that I care about them, and they trust me. One area of growth for me that will help school culture is communication. Some staff feel that more clarity is needed for steps that are required for specific processes within the school. Other staff feel that more time needs to be allocated to discussing school events and processes at staff meetings. Communication will be a focus for me, personally, for 2017-18.

Staff continue to work on our school vision and values so this work will also continue in the coming year.

RESOURCES:

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email