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Real School Improvement
By Susan Rismiller
I’d bet money that right now your school is headlong into some kind of improvement plan. Most are. Mine is. It’s massive, and it’s taking over my life. Does any of this sound familiar?
Enrich the School Wide Behavior Plan. Tweak the Professional Learning Communities initiatives. Implement research-based strategies. Improve statewide test scores. Close achievement gaps for Black and Hispanic students. Model testing language. Partner with parents. Eat ice cream at PTA social. Write Smart Goals. Mentor new teachers. Mentor at-risk students. Mentor anything that moves….Meet here. Meet there. Build consensus. Support your colleagues. Differentiate to meet all students’ needs. Meet again.
The truth is, student needs do rule the day: One of our kids topples every chair in her line of vision when she’s angry. Another insists I always hold her hand in line. Any writing assignment makes Jordan scream bloody murder. “I want to go home,” is Moshi’s mantra. Sexy jokes are another’s specialty. (He’s 6.) Carl, age 7, still doesn’t know his alphabet. I’m nursing a bunch of bruises from one of the new kids. And did I mention the child who must hold my hand in the hall, or else?
When I’m with my kids, in the moment, the idea of school improvement obviously takes on a different meaning. Priorities shift and goals become real. What looks good on paper might fall by the wayside. That upcoming 3:30 meeting to discuss the cafeteria behavior plan means very little when a first grader is desperately banging his head against the wall. The pressure of finding the key to solving every academic and behavior issue can be exhausting. Who could blame me for wanting to skip a meeting after a day like this?
Besides, like most teachers, I bristle at the idea of having another meeting. It’s clear; even as we are known as “people-persons,” getting a group of teachers to agree to anything is a feat in itself. Maybe it’s because we are used to leading the pack. We like being in charge. We are often an (overly) passionate bunch. Still, we resent being forced to do anything that doesn’t seem immediately relevant. Want to see cut-ups and daydreamers? Check out the back row at any tedious staff development meeting.
But meet we do. Luckily I’m still basking in the optimism that colors the first few weeks of school. Possibilities dance around me like butterflies; I’m full of ideas and the energy to try them. I can still find some value in most of what we are being asked to do. I still smile on the way out the school door. Each morning as I get myself together, grace reminds me that in offering my best, I am living the life I was meant to live.
Isn’t that key to real school improvement?
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Special educator Susan Rismiller has mentored 14 new and preservice teachers, some in conjunction with Fairfax County, Virginia’s Great Beginnings Teacher Induction Program, as well as George Mason University’s unique year long internship program. A1980 graduate of James Madison University, Susan completed her masters degree in 2001 through George Mason University’s Initiatives in Educational Transformation (IET), and was awarded its Program Award for outstanding achievement and academic excellence. Information about GMU’s IET program can be found at www.gmu.edu/departments/iet .
