Week 5 of 565

As we begin to finish up our coursework for this class, discussing the completion of our latest project definitely seems like a great way to segue into our current tasks.  Our groups were to complete years two and three of our simulations, and it went much better this time around!  We started figuring out that in order to effectively make change happen, there had to be buy-in, especially at the highest level.  This transitions well into the other work for the week, which focused on how change occurs at our individual place of employment.  At my particular school district, even though change usually comes from the top, we benefit from being at a small district.  Because we don't have hundreds of faculty members, it is much easier for us to compromise with our school board and other leaders (superintendent, principal, etc.).  Another aspect of our individual work was discussing how standardized testing can be the catalyst for change.  Our district uses MAPS and WKCE.  This data helps us determine not only how well we compare to other similar schools; but what kind of progress are students are making throughout the year.  I personally feel that MAPS data is more beneficial, but WKCE is undeniably more important to funding.

All of the aforementioned information affects me on a professional level.  As a secondary educator, understanding the chain of command, along with using test data is an everyday part of my work life.  I've found that the source of change doesn't matter; what does is that a person adamantly tries to embrace the change.  It is all too easy to write off an initiative as insignificant, without ever giving it a chance.  After all, if it doesn't work, odds are a new initiative will be right around the corner to take its place.