Parents and close colleagues generally see things the way I do. They read the newspaper, live and work with children daily, and continually develop their ability to serve children well whether it be at home or in school. But some, distanced from children, but with power, simply don't see what I see when it comes to empowering and developing schools.
What I see is the following:
- Inspiring and developing teacher leaders make schools strong and provides wonderful mentors for students
- Creating and developing collective goals in transparent, strategic, and holistic ways with all stakeholders build strong schools
- Decisions related to how to spend dollars at school should be a collective decision by all stakeholders including those who work closely with children day in and day out
- Problems should be regularly addressed in strategic ways that look carefully at the data, observations, and anecdotal information w/teamwork and collaboration
- There should be a strategic plan related to budgets and activities that is informed by good research and created by all stakeholders
- Communication should be timely, inclusive, transparent, and accurate
- Research and development belongs to all, and new ideas should be readily explored and tried out
Vital, vibrant communities depend on empowering the people who make up those communities. There is so much lost potential when the voices of stakeholders remain silent and unused for important decisions that affect students and their families with regard to school.
There is so much good possible, but this good depends on strategic process that enlists that voice and choice of all stakeholders and does not rely on the opinion and decisions of a few distanced from those we serve.
