1 Golden Bomber Dr.
Ilion, NY 13357
Phone: 315.894.9934
Fax: 315.894.2716
Superintendent
TOTS - Think Outside The School
The
Ilion Central School District is committed to finding and implementing
innovative solutions that increase the capacity of our students,
parents, faculty, staff, community and administration to achieve
success. We recognize that the answer to school improvement lies in
the creation of an environment where risk taking, in the interest of
improvement, is not only accepted but encouraged. We will take pride
in our ability to work together to create solutions that help us
fulfill our mission. Leadership will be distributed and our emphasis
will be on the creation of a collaborative culture.
The call to improve our educational system has resonated among policymakers and the public since the publication of A Nation at Risk (1983) and been highlighted through the introduction of legislation like the federal No Child Left Behind Act. A growing awareness that American students must ultimately compete in a global arena has had an incendiary effect on the outcry for reform of the educational system. President Barack Obama has asked us to believe real change is possible. He is quoted as saying "I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours." We believe we can change and that through our collaboration and innovation we will be a model of a school community that truly prepares their children for their future.
A lesser known definition of the word "ecology" is the branch of sociology concerned with the spacing and interdependence of people and institutions. As we consider how we will improve our district and evaluate our school ecology, we will observe the following tenets related to our examination and improvement of our school culture:
E ffective and Best Practices
We will identify and emphasize effective practices and support our faculty as they implement them. We will continually strive to develop, recognize and support master teachers as they develop students who perform at mastery levels.
C ommuncation, co-reflection, collaboration and capacity building
Everyone in the school community will know about our initiatives and understand their individual and collective roles in improvement. We will discuss and consider both our obstacles and our progress. We will reach out to educational leaders within our school, other schools, institutes of higher learning and prominent consultants with an eye on increasing our capacity for success through synthesis of what we find for its relevance to continually strengthening our school.
O rientation to student learning and achievement
The mnemonic for "Thinking Outside the Schools" is TOTS. This is no accident as the focus of everything must be our students. We will work to inculcate our student body with an appreciation of the importance of hard work and academic rigor. It is all about the TOTS and their learning.
L eadership will be distributed
ALL interested personnel will be involved in leadership projects related to our mutually developed CDEP and other plans.
O ptimal use of all resources
All resources (personnel, equipment, technology) will be considered in relationship to our goals. We will consider the efficacy of existing resources before expanding.
G oals are mutually established
We will develop and assess goals collaboratively. We will consider the impact of our initiatives and engage in action research where appropriate so that our experiences will not only inform our school community but may have positive benefit for others.
Y our Community
We will involve parents, community agencies and foundations in supporting our students.
Schools are becoming increasingly more complex to manage and to lead (Fullan, 2001). Demands for standards responsive, scientifically based best practice and public accountability for effectiveness have contributed to an overwhelming coppice of responsibilities for school leaders at all levels. In recent years, the individualized heroic approach to leadership has been increasingly challenged as not providing adequate explanation for successful reform initiatives in schools. Danielson (2006) in her discussion of "The School Improvement Imperative" indicated that while principals are the technical leaders of schools that "there is increasing recognition in both the academic and practitioner literature that even if principals wanted to be the sole leaders of their schools, they could not meet the standards now being set for them" (p.21). Distribution of instructional leadership has been suggested as a necessary and promising practice to support reform by increasing overall leadership capacity (Spillane, 2006).
WE WILL "THINK OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL!"
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Marsha L. Mays-Smith
LOGO DESIGN BY: Marsha Mays-Smith and Jeremy Rich (All rights reserved.)
Eagle Leadership
Eagle Leadership - Recognition for projects that envision school improvement and change.
Instructional Support Center
ISC Procedures - Faculty and staff resources to create manipulatives for the classroom.
