How To Start a School Improvement Program

In the United States, the Education Department instituted the No Child Left Behind policy that required all public schools to provide documentation on the annual progress of students in terms of reading and math skills.  If a school fails to meet its own AYP, or Adequate Yearly Progress, for two consecutive years, a school improvement plan is required to be put into effect.

But it is not only in the United States that school improvement programs are implemented.  Other countries have their own policies and programs which aim to improve their public school systems.

Even for private schools in different parts of the globe, education improvement programs are necessary to continually enrich the quality of education and produce graduates that are fully equipped to meet the requirements for the next stage of their lives – whether it is a higher level of schooling or as part of the workforce.

Simply put, a school improvement program is a way to make the school a better place for learning.  Schools should have existing measurable standards that, if not met, will alert school officials to implement a learning improvement program.

If you are planning to start a school improvement program, consider the following:

1.    Check the local websites of your education department to find out whether they already have a school improvement plan that you can adopt and if they have specific requirements in creating such a plan.

2.    Check with other school principals if they have their own improvement plans.  They can give you valuable input, especially if they have successfully implemented their plans.

3.    Whether there is an existing plan or not, set up a core group composed of key members of the administrative staff, faculty, parents and the community (if necessary).  You can even include member of the ruling student body.  If this is your first time in preparing such a plan, you may want to consider hiring a consultant to keep your plan on the right path.

4.    Discuss the following:

• Strengths and weaknesses of the school in terms of curriculum/instruction, faculty, administration, auxiliary services and facilities; include all issues, concerns, problems, areas for improvement
• Possible causes why the school has failed in measuring up to performance standards that were previously set

5.    Draft the school improvement plan that is tailored to the needs of your school based on the discussions with the core group.

• Identify priority areas of concern
• Set measurable school goals for the improvement plan
• Time frame for implementation
• Strategies to be used to meet the goals and key people responsible for implementing these strategies
• Budget needed for the implementation

6.    Implement and monitor the plan.  Upon implementation, make sure that there is proper monitoring and periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of the plan.

7.    At the end of the implementation period, determine if goals were met.  If not, review and update the existing plan to cover any changes in priorities and strategies.

A school’s failure to meet its goals may be due to a number of reasons.  This may point to a need for faculty, facilities or administrative and leadership improvements.  Schools should never be complacent.  Even if the school meets its goals each year, school officials and faculty members should consistently review and raise their expectations and standards for the betterment of the students and school community as a whole.

The goal of any school improvement program is to enhance and develop the method of instruction, auxiliary services, school programs and organizations, as well as the general environment for the benefit of the students.