A Leadership Action Plan
During the last eight weeks, you have completed a significant amount of work. Take some time to revisit your assignments, especially from Weeks 3-7. Drawing from concepts learned from the previous weeks, develop an action plan for Foothill Academy’s improvement plan. Your “Action Plan” should have three sections: Section 1 should include the first three components of the action plan; Section 2 should consist of components 4 and 5; and Section 3 should consist of components 6 and 7. Components 1-7 are listed in the case scenario.
Case Scenario:
Foothills Academy is a middle school located in a disadvantaged area of town where most students qualify for free and reduced lunch. There are 2,100 students and 100 teachers and staff at the school. Ms. Jury is the school principal at Foothills for the last four years, known for a task-oriented approach. One of the teachers says, “she just shows up and asks if the paperwork is ready.” Staff from the school complained that they used to have spirit nights and dances for the students, but they no longer do any of that. Ms. Jury had a long track record of “turning schools around” by implementing school improvement strategies. After she arrived at Foothill, the students’ scores improved.
Ms. Jury is appreciative of the contribution made by the teachers, staff, and parents. Ms. Jury feels that teachers’ commitment has helped the school improve students’ annual assessment scores. Especially, the scores have improved significantly in math. However, the reading scores are still a concern. The Foothills Academy is struggling to maintain grade level scores for a majority of the students. Ms. Jury has worked with teachers to develop academic goals to improve the students’ performance. Over the past year, Ms. Jury met with a group of teachers to implement systemic improvement plans.
Additionally, she has tried to work with the Parent-Teacher Association to involve parents in the decision-making process. Ms. Jury argues that during her tenure, she has focused primarily on developing critical thinking skills among students. In her words, “test scores don’t mean much.” She has also said that the lack of motivation among families and students has resulted in low scores in the district-wide assessment.
Ms. Jury has decided to leave the Foothills Academy on short notice. As a newly employed leader at Foothills Academy, you have been assigned the task of improving the school’s performance.
Using the assigned readings for the course and at least seven additional applicable scholarly sources, develop a personal leadership action plan to improve the school’s performance. Describe in sufficient detail with supportive references by citing the following action plan components:
Assess the Foothills Academy’s previous leadership style and why it was possibly ineffective. (Weeks 1, 2, and 3)
Evaluate the Foothills Academy’s current culture, climate, and performance. (Weeks 3 and 7)
Determine the areas in need of school improvement. (Weeks 1, 3, and 6)
Explain your leadership style, including your internal qualities and behavioral practices that would improve the Foothill’s performance. (Weeks 4, 5, and 6)
Defend why you believe this leadership style would be the most effective leadership style to improve the school’s performance (complete the Leadership Legacy Assessment to help you to assess your instinctive leadership style). (Weeks 4, 5, and 6)
Use your explanation of your leadership style to indicate the research-based leadership approach(es) foundationally supporting your leadership style. (Weeks 7 and 8)
Describe how you would apply your leadership style to improve the determined areas in need of school improvement at Foothills Academy. (Weeks 7 and 8)
Length: 12-15 pages, not including title and reference pages
References: Include a minimum of 7 scholarly resources.
The completed assignment should address all of the assignment requirements, exhibit evidence of concept knowledge, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the content presented in the course. The writing should integrate scholarly resources, reflect academic expectations and current APA standards, and adhere to Northcentral University’s Academic Integrity Policy.
Sample Solution
Previous leadership at Foothills Academy appears to have been a task-oriented approach, meaning that the primary focus was on completing tasks, such as paperwork and organizing spirit nights and dances. This type of leadership can be effective when there is an emphasis on short-term goals and logistical support (Rudd & Brown, 2017). However, it may not be adequate in addressing long-term academic goals or students’ critical thinking skills (Gronn, 2002). Additionally, this style of leadership does not encourage collaboration among teachers or provide adequate resources for families with low motivation levels (Defourny et al., 2018). Without adequate resources and proper collaboration between staff members and parents, this type of leadership may be ineffective in improving student performance.
The current culture of Foothills Academy has been heavily influenced by Ms. Jury’s task-oriented approach to school improvement strategies. Although test scores have improved significantly since her arrival—particularly in math—reading scores are still a concern (Lane et al., 2020). While she implemented systemic improvement plans with teachers and tried to engage parents through the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), many staff members complained about reduced extracurricular activities such as spirit nights or dances that had previously occurred but no longer take place under Ms. Jury’s tenure (Kulakovich et al., 2019). It appears that while Ms. Jury has laid the foundations for improved academic performance at Foothills Academy; more must be done if they are going to meet their district-wide assessment targets.
