Breaking Ranks Assembly
Three principals who have employed
many of the Breaking Ranks strategies
to improve their school outlined their approach
during the Assembly "Breaking
Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School
Reform."
Janice Ollarvia, NASSP's distinguished
principal for secondary school reform, opened
the panel by outlining the three core areas of Breaking
Ranks II: collaborative leadership, personalizing
the school environment, and focusing on curriculum
and instruction.
Other tips from the principals
included—
The department head model that is based on the belief that these people are natural leaders is a fallacy, according to Pamela Fisher, director of the Great Maine Schools Project. She urged school leaders to consider faculty councils that are open to any teachers wanting to participate.
Leaders should take the responsibility,
but none of the credit. Credit should go to the
teachers —Fisher.
The focus needs to be building
relationships with students and families and
improving the quality of teaching and learning
for students and adults—;Walter Thompson,
principal, and Mary Stewart, instructional coach,
Kansas City, Kansas; Wyandotte High School.
Tell your teachers that their
responsibility is "to create the
school you want your own child to attend."—Thompson.
"At Littleton (O)
High School, we have eliminated remedial classes,
opened enrollment to honors/AP classes to any
student who wants to participate, and offered
a freshman academy for students who may struggle;—Tim
Westerberg, principal.
Ask teachers to consider alternatives
to things such as grading. For example, giving
zeros for unfinished work is walking a slippery
slope. It makes no sense mathematically —Westerberg.
More information on Breaking Ranks II can be found on the NASSP Web site, www.principals.org.
