Reflection on growth from the 2021/2022 school year

Even though the school year still has 3 months left, I have been reflecting on my professional growth throughout the year. If you read through my past posts, you will see a number of reflections on activities and projects that have taken place in my school to enhance student learning. There have also been a few unexpected events that have forced growth upon me (and my staff).

Overall, I feel that this year has been a year of positive growth and development. Who I was as a principal in September 2020 is very different to the instructional leader that I am now. My targets and goals for the school year have been focused around LQS 2 (Modeling Commitment to Professional Learning) and LQS 4 (Leading a Learning Community). Below, I have outlined the breakdown of my work in each area:

Leadership Quality Standard 2

A leader engages in career-long professional learning and ongoing critical reflection to identify opportunities for improving leadership, teaching, and learning.

Goal – To engage members of the school community to build a shared understanding of Bon Accord Community School educational priorities.

Performance Measures/Outcomes

• 50% response rate to the survey sent to families
• Maintain Parent Council attendance of at least 10 participants
• Over 50 people participating in monthly ‘celebration’ assemblies at the school

Analysis

• Successes
  • There were 71 respondents to the survey, which is approximately 48% of the school family population.

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PDF Survey Results

• • Our school hosted a virtual Christmas Concert. This video has been seen across Canada with 865 views.
    • See the blog post and Christmas Concert video here.
  • Parent Council attendance has been, on average, 10 to 12 people per meeting, which I feel is a success considering the limitations on meeting together. As these meetings have been hosted online, there has started to be some reflection and discussion around if meetings should stay online post-COVID. More talks about this will happen in the near future.
• Opportunities for Growth
  • Follow-through with the survey results.
    • I met with the chair of the school’s Parent Council and we reflected on the results collected.
    • The one item to seemed clear to us was about accessibility of supports for families. Specifically, about creating a location for families to access resources to support them at home (online learning, mental health, etc)
      • We will be starting work on creating a dedicated page on our website for family and student resources and supports. This work will continue into Fall 2021.
  • Due to COVID-19 protocols, family members and volunteers have not been able to enter the school. As well, school-wide assemblies have not been taking place. Continued work surrounding family engagement via online tools remains a priority.
    • During the month of April, BACS will be hosting a ‘Literacy Celebration’ for all students. It will include a variety of activities which will include:
      • Reading Bingo – for every row/column/diagonal that students complete, they will be entered into a weekly draw. This is a great opportunity for families to engage in reading activities together.
      • Family and celebrity reading – family members and local ‘celebrities’ (firefighters, etc) will record themselves reading their favorite children’s books and then send their videos in. Videos will be shown during the first 2 weeks of April in all classes.
      • Dress like your favorite character day. There will also be a special treat that day for the students!
      • Book Fair (in-person & virtual) for all students and their families.
    • Some staff and I are talking about what a year-end online assembly could look like. Traditionally, a Grade 4 Farewell assembly takes place and we would still like to have this. We will be developing plans to include as many family members as possible for this.

Reflection

The work to engage with the school community has been challenging but rewarding this year. COVID-19 protocols has provided additional challenges to our school’s ability to take on more ‘traditional’ ways of interacting with family and community members, but we are developing new and innovative ways of having the community connected to the school and for the community to understand what we do at BACS.

As I move into next year, this will continue to be an ongoing effort to educate family and community members about our priorities in learning, strategies for learning, and how family and community members can be connected to BACS. With the same Parent Council executive, this will be already a step ahead as they understand my goals and intentions, and they will be able to continue to promote the work we do into the community.

Leadership Quality Standard 4

A leader nurtures and sustains a culture that supports evidence-informed teaching and learning.

Goal – Increase Project Based Learning (PBL) strategies being used by teachers within classrooms.

Performance Measures/Outcomes

• Plan and team-teach with at least 3 different teachers throughout the school year, focused on Project Based Learning strategies.
• Host at least 4 PD sessions with staff regarding PBL and UDL (school-based and division-based) throughout the 2020/2021 school year.
• Formal, weekly PLC time for teachers to meet, discuss, and plan teaching strategies.

Analysis

• Successes
  • 4 team-teaching events have taken place (Grade 4, Grade 3, Grade 1, and Makerspace).
    • Grade 4 – Design a toy train that can move under its own power
    • Grade 3 – Sound, Pitch, and micro:bit coding
    • Grade 1 – PBL Penguins!
    • Makerspace – variety of PBL activities in each class every Monday
  • During the weekly makerspace time (Monday afternoons), teachers were provided with time to meet with a colleague to actively plan and implement learning sprints (PBL, literacy, numeracy, etc)
  • Multiple Professional Days were focused around Project Based Learning (and Universal Design for Learning)
    • August 2020 – Introduction for the year’s work on Universal Design for Learning & Project Based Learning
    • September 2020 – Bringing together Literacy & Numeracy results with Project Based Learning
    • October 2020 – Universal Design for Learning, Project Based Learning, and Differentiation
    • November 2020 – Universal Design for Learning: Engagement and Representation
    • January 2021 – Work with Ochre Park School on developing Project Based Learning projects by grade
    • March 2021 – Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Project Based Learning
    • April 2021 – Division Wide Professional Development on UDL: Action and Expression
• Opportunities for Growth
  • The opportunity to work with every teacher to develop and implement a Project Based Learning task did not happen. This work will need to continue into next year ensuring that I work with, at minimum, all the other teachers in my school. This will be important so that all staff see and experience my vision, outside of professional development sessions.
  • All teachers choosing to engage in PBL units within their classroom without being requested to attempt.
  • Continued and focused Professional Development for multiple years. This would allow for a deeper understanding and engagement with the process.

Reflection

The target of the work around Project Based Learning is to have all staff actively engage in this learning strategy without the request coming from administration.  The work to adjust teacher pedagogy can require multiple school years as well as regular support and engagement from the educational leaders in the school. Even though there has been significant growth by all staff, the work is far from complete and must continue as we move forward. Even after one year, there are already teachers who are champions of PBL, and those who are resistant to change. As we continue to work as a team to develop the implementation strategies, intentional and active work will be necessary to support all staff on this journey. I have enjoyed my work with my teachers so far and I look forward to continuing this next year. It has been a wonderful opportunity to take part in active classroom teaching and learning. I have been able to get to know my teachers better and they have continued to understand and appreciate my educational leadership abilities. The growth that will continue to take place next year will continue to solidify the learning strategies of our school.