BENCHMARK: REVIVING THE PROFESSIONAL CULTURE

Benchmark: Reviving the Professional Culture

Shayla Williams

Grand Canyon University: EAD513

August 2023
BENCHMARK: REVIVING THE PROFESSIONAL CULTURE

Cultural Summary

Maynard High School is a public learning institution in the novice stages of development, and

therefore the school culture is also in the introductory phases. To date, the school is in its second year of

operation, enrolling approximately 1,100 students in 9 th – 11th grade. The senior class is still in

development, but will operate in the upcoming year, bringing the school population to 1,450. The first

graduating class will matriculate approximately 350 students at the conclusion of this academic year.

Maynard High School faculty includes 45 full-time educators, seven who have submitted letters

of intent stating they will not be returning in the upcoming school year. The current school budget will

allow for all seven positions to be filled. Those positions are posted immediately to the District website,

with an addition positions being added in the guidance department. With the addition of a new

guidance counselor, each grade level with have its own counselor to accommodate student needs.

I will be entering the upcoming school year serving in the Principal position. In addition, a new

Assistant Principal will also be added to the staff roster. The school will operate under the

administration of one principal and three assistant principals. Additional administrative support includes

the office staff: clerk/secretary, data/attendance specialist, and three guidance counselors. The support

staff is fully staffed.

School culture is an essential piece of a strong and healthy school culture, as it is the common

thread and underlying theme in a school’s values and beliefs. The mission and vision of the school are

molded and shaped by the school culture, and the traditions that become the history of the institution

are driven by the culture of the school. The influence of the school culture dictate the behavioral norms

and expectations that ultimately set the temperature for student success and achievement (Deal &

Peterson, 2016). Maynard High School is struggling to establish and sustain a positive and healthy school

culture that will shape the purpose, vision, and history of the school and that will cultivate strong
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communal relationships amongst the school stakeholders. There is potential for improvement,

investment, and growth with the implementation of a solid and thorough action plan.

Archived data shows several teachers not having received formal evaluations in the previous

year due to the interim administrative transition. In the upcoming year all teachers will receive a formal

evaluation and constructive feedback on their performance. It was also observed that teachers were

struggling to utilize the standard curriculum and had not been properly professionally trained and

developed. Currently there are no professional learning communities at Maynard High School. This lack

in professional development has undoubtedly affected the school climate, as PLCs give educators the

opportunity to analyze data and performance outcomes, focus on strategies for improvement, and

engage areas of success and achievement (Keenan, 2020).

Professional Learning Communities are essential to the growth and success of Maynard High

School because they support student achievement and help cultivate a community of collaboration,

strong relationships, communication, respect, and opportunity for growth. In the upcoming year faculty,

staff, instructional support and administration will engage in professional development and

collaborative learning communities geared towards implementing strategies for improvement and

success. Throughout the year we will collaborate and work to create plans for improvement where we

are lacking, and promotion in areas where we succeed. Professional learning communities will offer a

direct return on our investment because the collaborative meetings will help teacher master the content

curriculum, an area in which teachers struggled the previous year. In turn, teachers will see more growth

and development within themselves and within their students as a result, thereby encouraging teachers

and other stakeholders to make long term retentive investments in the school community of success

(Roellke & Rice, 2008).

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Establishing the Mission and Vision

Maynard High School stakeholders are the driving force behind the community input that

ultimately leads to the school’s academic success. In the interest of growing the school culture into one

that reflects the school’s beliefs and values, a team of stakeholders will assemble to supply feedback

and input to improve the quality of education at Maynard High School. These stakeholders will be tasked

with, for example, completing a needs assessment survey to evaluate the needs and areas of

improvement in and around the school community, and which will help establish a foundational outline

for the mission and vision of the school. Performance levels are set to high expectancy for both students

and adults. Core values are shared amongst the stakeholder community.

Positive school culture is established and maintained, and all expectations are communicated

clearly and transparently to all stakeholders. Learning is purposeful, vigorous, lively, and ever-flowing,

and the institution in which learning is housed should be reflective of these traits. Maynard High School

is committed to evolving with the ever-changing climate of the world in a way that is keeps our students

and stakeholders physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and culturally safe. By doing this and

upholding high moral values, we afford our student the opportunity to accomplish incredible goals

(Cook, 2017).

Short-Term Goals, Long-Term Goals & Outcomes

Short term and long term goals are established so that all stakeholders understand the common

objectives, aims, and purpose behind the intentional learning at Maynard High School. Goals allow our

community the space to produce growth and work towards immediate and future success. Stakeholders

truly invested in this growth and achievement also believe in and uphold the mission and vision of the

school community.
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Maynard High School is committed to reaching two very important immediate and short-term

goals. The first goal is to obtain and maintain a fully enrolled faculty and staff, then retain these

employees into the following year, thereby reducing vacancies in places where there are needs. Teacher

retention will drive the professional development of our faculty, increase mastery of the curriculum, and

strengthen relationships in and outside of the classroom. Teacher retention helps build the positive

culture of the school as it strengthens traditions and creates norms. Maintaining a fully employed faculty

and staff lessens the load of any one or group of stakeholders, mainly teachers and administrators. It

also maximizes the chance to provide students with new learning opportunities and higher probabilities

for success.

The second short term goal, which can be met with the investment of the school community

stakeholders, is to develop and implement a mission statement and vision statement for the upcoming

years. School leadership will collaborate to develop a needs assessment which will be distributed

amongst all stakeholders, the goal being to receive feedback about the values and beliefs of our school

community. Through collaboration, communication, and transparency we will develop a mission

statement and vision statement that promotes the highest academic and behavioral expectations from

the students, parents, faculty, staff, administration, families and community members.

Long term goals include building a culture for Maynard High School that is time-tried and true to

the mission and vision of the school, and that is ever growing and evolving. The traditions that will

solidify the culture of the school will take ongoing commitment, dedication, authenticity, and time.

Long term goals also include implementation of professional development activity, professional

learning communities, valid and reliable verification of the content curriculum. Through professional

development of our faculty and staff, we can begin to grow as a learning community, then master and

refine our strategies and best practices. By cultivating professional learning communities, we allow

these stakeholders to collaborate and grow together in mutual respect and authentic investment in the
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lifelong success and achievement of our students. Teachers who continue to invest in themselves

professionally, and into our students educationally, should be given opportunities to advance in to

certified leadership positions. Maynard High School will be an institution whose culture reflects and

encourages advancement and professional achievement through commitment, dedication, hard work,

and a desire to create spaces for our students and our professional community to advance and grow

through higher education. We thereby reinforce the mission, vision, and purpose of Maynard High

School’s very existence.

Collaborating for Data

Collaboration with staff will be ongoing and frequent. Faculty, staff, and administration will

collaborate serveral times on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to collect and analyze data.

Collaboration amongst stakeholders will consist of: leadership meetings, grade level meetings, team

leader meetings, extended and guided planning, RTI and MTSS data meetings, time to collaborate about

student needs, committee meetings to plan for events, and other decision-making collaborative

gatherings as needed to maintain success at Maynard High School. When we collaborate, we agree to

share the responsibility, the successes, and the failures. When we agree to collaborate we multiply the

strength of our creativity, provisions, and skillset because we are able to make decisions based on each

other’s strengths and build trust between all who are invested (Graham, 2018).

Productive Family Relationships & Partnerships

In order for Maynard High School to be an institution of success, we must have strong, healthy,

and quality relationships with the parents and guardians of our students. When there is parental

involvement in the education of our students, it had been proven that student achievement increases,
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attendance is more consistent, and students are less likely to drop out before graduation (Murray &

Claussen, 2018).

The families of the students we serve at Maynard High School are no different than other

families. They all want what is best and healthiest for their children. Parents want to know that they are

sending their children to a school where they are loved and cared about, respected and listened to,

redirected and developed to be well-rounded, inspired and motivated. They want to see the people who

are investing in the daily lives of our students. Therefore it is imperative to be present and visible from

the very first day of school. Attendance and punctuality are expectations. Positivity and high moral

behaviors that reflect the beliefs and values of the school is expected.

Maynard High School will open its doors to parents and guardians throughout the entire year.

Parents and guardians are encouraged to stay involved with the daily activity of their student(s) classes.

They are encouraged to stay in open and constant communication with the teachers, and to visit the

school often. Maynard High School encourages parents to become involved in community service

projects for the school, and to be present and active as school events. Parents and guardians are

expected to volunteer, to chaperone, to tutor and coach, and to use their strengths to help strengthen

our culture. Parents are guardians are also expected to participate on decision-making committees and

to actively work to provide data and feedback that can be used to improve the quality of learning and

the culture of the school.

Throughout the year we will use the connections we have with our families to build extended

relationships with our community partners. Being that our students matriculate into college life, military

duty, or the career world, they will need opportunities to explore those option while they are attending

Maynard High School. Therefore, throughout the year we will invite community partners like local

fraternities and sororities to work community projects and promote college living. We will organize
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quarterly college tours, then work with and encourage senior students to apply. We will introduce the

ROTC program into our curriculum and in invite our local military presence into the building to mentor.

Our athletes can venture off campus to train at advanced facilities under trainers and coaches to can

elevate them to new heights and inspire them beyond high school. We will reserve space at the city’s

performance theaters so that our artistic and musical students can publically showcase their talents. We

will do the same for our career-ready students by providing career fairs, recruitment opportunities, and

avenues for immediate quality employment.

Public Advocacy and Stakeholder Involvement

The education profession is ever-changing, and the ability for leadership to collaborate in a

collective manner with common efficacy is essential (DeWitt, 2017). The school cannot succeed unless

the stakeholders collaborate. Therefore, regular communication and feedback from the community will

be established on a quarterly basis, at the very least. Resources like needs assessments will be used to

collaborate with stakeholders about the concerns, issues, successes, and suggestions from the school

community. Satisfaction surveys will focus on the area of success and achievement, where the school is

thriving, and strategies that are working within the school community.

Administrative involvement is also an essential and important piece of making this school a

success. Though the administrative staff will not be able to attend each event the school sponsors, it is

imperative that we are visible and active in the lives of our stakeholders. The more visible and involved

the administrative team becomes in the lives of our students, the more we are able to reinforce the

strength of the mission and vision of the school. The climate of the school will shift into a spirit of

support and positive reinforcement. Open lines of communication will be established and maintained

throughout the year so that parents, teachers, students, and community partners know that the
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administrative team and Maynard High School is open and welcomes receiving guests. We encourage

involvement through email, phone call, or scheduled collaborative meetings and conferences.

Open and honest communication with stakeholders will build the positive relationships that we

deem necessary for the school to thrive in success. All efforts and activities within our school will be

geared towards advocating for students and promoting their overall health and well-being. We will

actively engage in filling the school community positions with adults who are highly qualified in their

area and can deliver the curriculum content with efficacy and rigor. Maynard High School will develop

programs that promote academic challenge and help our students reach new goals, as well as programs

that help professionally grow our teachers and staff. The overall goal is that students recognize their role

in this all-inclusive learning community and that they feel they are represented and respected at

Maynard High School (Cook 2017).

Rationale

Creating a culture that is inclusive, safe, promotes academic achievement, and reflects the

nature of a highly effective school system is the overall goal at Maynard High School. The plan to

revitalize the school system was designed through the collection of essential data from the school’s

stakeholders and community partners. Based on the data we received, it is clear that Maynard High

School transitioned through a challenging period and the school culture suffered as a result of that

struggle. Regaining the confidence of the school community and the trust of our stakeholders will take

time, but we are confident that with perseverance and open lines of communication we can begin to

strengthen the culture and establish positive traditions within our school.

According to Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, Standard 1, evidence of effective

educational leadership is shown when the leaders can develop a shared mission and can advocate for

the core values of the learning community. Effective leaders are able to enact a high quality education,
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and promote the academic success and overall well-being of each student we serve (NPBEA 2015).

Therefore, we are tasked with the honor and responsibility of cultivating a culture on which our students

can reflect, of which they can be proud, for years to come. Our goal at Maynard High is to leave a legacy

that speaks to our belief that our students, regardless of their backgrounds, challenges, or disabilities,

can be successful in any area they choose to focus, and being students at our institution allowed them to

be challenged and respected while working collaboratively to achieve and exceed their goal. We want

our students to feel loved and protected, respected and included in the fabric of the culture. “Culture

impacts the way teachers, students, and administrators think, feel and act. The key characteristics of

school culture are a shared sense of purpose, vision, history, people and relationships” (Deal & Peterson,

2016).
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References

Cook, H. J. (2017). A Community of Collaboration, Principal Leadership, 17(5), 45-59.

Deal, T. E., & Peterson, K. D. (2016). Shaping School Culture (3 rd edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

ISBN-13: 978111921019.

DeWitt, P. (2017). Many Hands Make Light Work: How Collaborative Leadership Leads to Collective

Efficacy. Principal, 97(1) 20-35.

Graham, K. (2018). Effective Leadership in Education: A Brief Analysis. National Teacher Education

Journal, 11(1), 10-32.

Murray, M., Munger, M. H., Colwell, W. B., & Claussen, A. J. (2018). Building Capacity in Special

Education: A Statewide Initiative to Improve Student Outcomes Through Parent-Teacher

Partnerships. School Community Journal, 28(1), 91-117.

National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015). Professional Standards for Educational

Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author