Maintaining a Culture of Achievement: Minooka High School

Christopher Tagler

Department of Education, American College of Education

LEAD 5233: Cultural Leadership

Dr. B. Courts

December 14, 2023

 The ability to implement and maintain a program that institutes a culture of achievement at

Minooka High School requires the support of all stakeholders: Board members, community leaders,

parents, administrators, faculty, staff, and students. Creating a collaborative, respectful classroom

with the freedom for students to explore topics, find results and solutions, and share findings can

improve student learning and bring a culture of achievement to the school (Chicago Public Schools,

2021).

A steering committee will be formed to discuss, debate, organize, and recommend changes

that will transform the learning environment from one that is teacher-driven with rigid curriculum

standards, to one that is student-led, dynamic, and allows free flow of ideas (Jacobs, 2022). Care

must be taken to ensure that the committee is accurately and adequately represented from all

groups of stakeholders as well as all backgrounds represented in the district. Due to the increasing

demand in the workplace for relevant job skills, partnerships will be formed through the county

Chamber of Commerce to collaborate on ideas to bring those skills into the classroom (American

College of Education, 2023). From the recommendations of the steering committee, administration

can form and prioritize short-term goals that lead to the establishment of a culture of achievement.

Data collection will be an important function moving forward. The data, when compiled and

analyzed, will guide the steering committee in making changes to policies, identify ones that have a

positive impact on student learning, and altering or eliminating ones that have minimal or negative

effect. Factor analysis will allow decision makers to view correlations between all points and discover

variables that correlate with areas of concern (American College of Education, 2023). A correlation

matrix will provide solid data on how different variables impact scores in reading, math, science, and

language arts. Positively correlated variables will give evidence to the public and the stakeholders

that aspects of the instructional vision are having a positive impact on student learning, which can

translate to college entrance exams as well as critical thinking in the workplace.

 References

American College of Education. (2023). LEAD 5233 Cultural Leadership: Module 5 [Part 4

presentation]. Canvas.

https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1843213/external_tools/118428

Chicago Public Schools. (2021). (rep.). Whole School Safety Steering Committee Report &

Recommendations (pp. 1–4). Chicago, IL.

Jacobs, B. (2022, November 15). Creating an Instructional Vision Can Connect a Community.

Education Elements. https://www.edelements.com/blog/creating-an-instructional-vision-

can-connect-a-community