Characteristics of an Ideal International School  

Hanna Siankevich 

SUNY EDL 704   

Seminar in Educational Change  

Professor Joyce Stallworth 

 
This paper seeks to identify and justify the most important attributes of an ideal
international elementary school program based on the course reading, watching,
listening and my own experience. I will describe how international elementary
schools demonstrate each of the attributes and provide my own opinion about
ways to realize the attributes. There are 6 characteristics I want to talk about:
effective school leadership, moral obligations and responsibilities, a clear and
shared vision, curriculum and assessments, focused professional development, ,
high level of community involvement.
Effective instructional and administrative leadership is required to implement
change processes; teachers, students, administration should be proactive and
nurture the school culture conductive to learning and personal growth. Michael
Fullan stressed out in his book ` Leading in a culture of change` that almost two-
thirds of employees on the average are not actively engaged in their
organizations. This applies to teachers and students as well as members of most
organizations. Also Michael Fullan and Maria Langworthy mentioned in the book
`A rich steam. How new pedagogies find new learning` that leaders in the new era
must have a broad picture of the future and flesh it out with the group.
Establishing a culture of learning leadership means recognizing and embracing
what it means for students and teachers to own the learning.. This cascading
model of learning through partnership extends through students, teachers and
leaders – all learning with and from each other. When leaders model this, it is not
leadership from the top, but leadership and learning from within. The research
made by The Reinventing Schools Coalition showed that if the students were
responsible for their own learning and supported during the process, they
achieved significantly more in less time. When students set their own goals for
learning, and teachers begin to see examples of what it is possible for students to
achieve, it takes the lid off. No one is bound by the expectations defined by the
formal curriculum for what should be achieved in a year’s time.
Moral purpose is about how we treat each other and our students. Teachers and
staff should believe that all students can learn and meet high standards. While
recognizing that some students must overcome significant barriers, these
obstacles are not seen as impossible to achieve. If you don’t treat others well and
fairly, you will be a leader without followers. Students are given the opportunity
to learn efficiently from educators that are diligently dedicated and
knowledgeable of their profession become confident, engaged and motivated.
Moral purpose is related to the school vision. It is another important
characteristic of an ideal school program, everybody should know where they are
going and why. Incorporating programs that reflects school`s mission ensures
learning that is flourishing. Visions statements guide people to a successful future.
The focus is on achieving a shared vision and all understand their role in achieving
the vision. It is not enough for a small group of people to create a vision and
mission. Students, faculty and families need to understand a school’s vision and
mission. Dealing with various groups of learners can be overwhelming and coming
to consensus about a vision and mission for all students can be problematic.
School should develop the understanding of multicultural and multiethnic issues
as well as the learning needs of struggling students. There are many ways to
develop the vision statement for a school. First of all, the school must agree on
the definition of vision. Huffman and Jane B in their article `The Role of Shared
Values and Vision in Creating Professional Learning Communities` noticed that
successful leaders usually have a mental model of their vision and use intuition,
creativity, and charisma to enthusiastically engage teachers in developing and
adopting the school vision. Administrators who do not have a focus for
improvement have difficulty in leading their staff in productive decision-making
related to helping students or otherwise improving the school. Instead, their
efforts are fragmented and driven by urgency rather than a collaborative strategic
process.
In my opinion the ideal school plan also includes different professional
opportunities for teachers. To talk about my experience I love getting new
knowledge and sharing with my experience, but unfortunately I`ve just once
enjoyed professional development training provided by school.
Teachers should deal with classroom management, instruction, curriculum, school
culture and operations, test preparation and administration, state standards,
parent relations, and interactions with other teachers and so on; there are a lot of
students with special needs they need to address as well; constantly changing
world requires new methods ways to reach the students. Professional
development is a key point to meet both teachers and students` needs. When
learning is part of the school day, all educators are engaged in growth rather than
learning being limited to those who volunteer to participate on their own. School-
based professional development helps educators analyze student achievement
data during the school year to immediately identify learning problems, develop
solutions, and promptly apply those solutions to address students’ needs.
Professional development also can be useful if it takes place before classes begin
or after they end. Also, investing in professional development helps to make
teachers feel valued and they would be more dedicated to find the way to meet
students` needs. A teacher can never know enough about how a student learns,
what impedes the student’s learning, and how the teacher’s instruction can
increase the student’s learning. Professional development is the only means for
teachers to gain such knowledge. Whether students are high, low, or average
achievers, they will learn more if their teachers regularly engage in high-quality
professional development. School leaders to improve with study, reflection,
practice, and hard work. Their learning supports not only teachers’ learning, but
students’ as well. When leaders know how to engage teachers, support staff, and
students in effective learning, the school becomes the center of learning for all
adults and students.
There is a sense that all have responsibility to educate students. Not just teachers
and staff in school. Families and school community play a vital role in this effort as
well. High level of family and community involvement should be the part on the
school program. A good plan should demonstrate a deep understanding of the
school’s context, including internal community, teachers and students, and
external community, parents and local community. The beauty of collaboration is
not only the ability to tap into various perspectives and ideas, but also to share
responsibility for our students’ learning. The more people invested in a student’s
education, the better the chance that student has to be successful. When
teachers come together to share information, resources, ideas, and expertise,
learning becomes more accessible and effective for students. Collaborating means
purposefully building interpersonal relationships and working towards healthy
interdependence, which occurs when teachers are comfortable giving and
receiving help without forfeiting accountability. For many schools, teacher
collaboration doesn`t exist, because of the lack of a true professional learning
community, lack of time to focus on working together, collaborative groups are
comprised of multiple personalities and unique belief systems which can lead to
unproductive experiences. Despite these challenges, data proves that Professional
Learning Communities and Professional Learning Networks are extremely
effective methods of teacher collaboration that have a direct influence on student
engagement and achievement, as well as growth for the educators who work with
them.
Another aspect which should be addressed in the school plan is curriculum and
assessment. The planned and actual curricula are aligned with the essential
academic learning requirements in the school plan; research-based teaching
strategies and materials are used; staff understands the role of classroom and
state assessments, what the assessments measure, and how student work is
evaluated.
For expatriate families who may be required to relocate every few years, the
global accessibility of a curriculum can be one of the few ways of providing a
common thread for a child in an otherwise ever-changing school life.