Why Many Approaches to Creating a Great School and Great School Culture Don’t Work — and One Approach That Does Work
“An exciting and inspiring approach to tackling deeper systems transformation.”
– Professor Michael Fullan
Creating a Great School and Great School Culture
As a the leader of a school, school district or parent body, you are probably flat out trying to get through the day to day things that need doing, let alone finding time to focus on more important things like generating significant school change and enhancing your school’s culture.
You may be in a school where the morale is not quite what you would like and where some teachers are less than fully engaged and enthused.
Your academic achievements may be good but you would still like them to be a little better - and you probably seek to achieve those enhanced results while simultaneously focusing on the development of the whole child.
And you may have dreams of building a stronger school community.
You may be needing to develop a school strategic plan. Or you may have developed a plan in the last few years which has not been fully supported and implemented by the school’s relevant stakeholders.
Or you might be thinking that you would like a stronger focus in your school on your own particular faith or school values, so that they are reflected in everything that happens in the school.
It could have possibly dawned on you that there is a limit to what can be achieved on your own with top down leadership — even if you have a committed school leadership team.
You may now realise that essential to the creation of a great school in this day and age is the full engagement of a cross section of all relevant stakeholders. And when you give effect to that engagement in the ideal manner, it will not only benefit the school as a whole and the students individually, but also bring greater purpose, joy and meaning into the lives of the school’s teachers, staff and other external stakeholders.
Finally, you may be wondering whether you are using the best that is available in education and organisational development to create the best school you can.
“No other thing in the history of my own professional career changed my ability to function as a leader more than this process. It could be used in nearly any situation. It is a positive, energizing and productive approach to dynamic leadership.”
– Dr. Sandra Chapman, Principal, Oak Hill Elementary School
A new, simpler approach
You may wonder if there is a simpler approach that can help you achieve all of this at once.
Well, there is such an approach.
It is an approach based on 60+ years of management theory and practice.
It is an approach called Future Search and it is the approach which global education expert Michael Fullan described as ‘exciting and inspiring’. It has been used largely in North American schools and is now emerging in Australia.
Creating great school culture, school communities and school strategic plans
It is an approach that will help you simultaneously achieve all the things you want for your school including one or more of enhancing the school’s teaching and learning, building a great school community, generating school change, creating a school vision, changing the school culture and creating a school strategic plan that actually results in change.
It is an approach which recognises that although a strong focus on teaching and learning is absolutely critical to creating a great school, there are other areas which also require strong attention. Such areas include dispersed leadership, committed staff, engagement of students, personal and professional development, abundant resources, safety, technology, school community partnerships and school faith or values.
Unlike any other approach we know of, this approach results in enthusiastic collaborative action towards achieving that which the school was previously unable to achieve.
If this sounds like it might be of interest, check out The Approach.
Despite the enormous benefits of this approach, it does not suit all schools. More on what makes an Ideal Client for this approach.
The work of Great Schools Australia applies equally to school districts as well as schools.
Our Commitment to Australia’s Children
Given our knowledge of the enormous benefits of this approach and given our deep desire to ensure that no Australian child is left behind, our commitment is to do whatever it takes to ensure that that our work is available to your school or school district based on ability to pay.
One way we do this is through our Great Schools Fund.
School Culture, School Strategic Planning, School Communities, School Meetings, School Change
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School Parents
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Case Studies
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Testimonials
“I can now honestly say that I have never seen such an approach produce such positive outcomes, goodwill and energy.”
– Deidre Anderson, CEO, U@MQ, Macquarie University
“An exciting and inspiring approach to tackling deeper systems transformation.”
– Professor Michael Fullan
“The Future Search conference encouraged me to take risks. When I heard about TIMMS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study), I went back to my colleagues and said, “I think we can do something with this. We finished 1st in Science and 6th in Maths.”
– Pat Franzen, Science Teacher, Naperville Community School District
“These exemplary principles for facilitating group process have helped us create the space where individuals can take responsibility for their own learning and act upon the decisions they make.”
– Deborah B Reeve EdD, Deputy Executive Director, National Association of Elementary School Principals
"The average scores for youth apprenticeship students went up 200 points on the Statewide standardised tests and enrolments increased by 300%. Today there is a waiting list!"
– Mike Erwin, Principal, North Montgomery County Technical Career School
“I was very impressed with the Future Search approach and have used aspects of it in my own school.”
– Richard Morgan, Principal, The Pittwater House Schools