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RUNNING HEAD: The Leadership Challenge

The Leadership Challenge

Elizabeth Kvamme

University of New England

EDU 701: Educational Leadership
Professor Lovejoy
April 6, 2014

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The Leadership Challenge
Introduction
I am a principal at an elementary school of about 400 students. I have recently decided
that I would like to departmentalize my staff in grades three through five, meaning that each
teacher would be assigned one core subject and would be responsible for teaching that subject to
all of the students in that grade. Students would rotate classes much like middle school and high
school students. This innovation would replace the self-contained model that is currently in
place. Teachers would be assigned subjects based on their area of expertise and experience.
Kindergarten through second grade classrooms would remain self-contained.
Rationale
This decision is being made because student achievement scores are stagnant, and the
school district would like to see our scores improve. For the past few years roughly 80% of our
students have scored proficient or higher in reading, writing and math. The superintendent and
district leadership team would like to see this number increase to closer to 90% over the next five
to seven years.
By departmentalizing the intermediate teachers, students will receive instruction from a
teacher who is highly qualified and highly competent in that particular subject area. Many
elementary teachers, me included, acknowledge they have areas of strength as well as areas of
weakness. Teachers would be able to collaborate vertically as well as horizontally, meaning all
intermediate teachers responsible for teaching math would be able to meet regularly. This would
allow a greater understanding of how the skills in Common Core State Standards build on one
another from year to year. Additionally, professional development could be more focused and
specialized for each group of educators.

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The Leadership Challenge
Throughout the country schools have begun departmentalizing their elementary teachers.
In order for this to work effectively, teachers need to also commit to forging strong studentteacher bonds with their students despite the increased number of students they will be teaching.
In one particular school in Georgia where teachers focused on keeping those positive
relationships, they noticed the scores of the fifth grade students improved in math and
significantly improved in reading the first year they departmentalized (Baker, 2011).
Data Collection
The first two years of this innovation will be pilot years for the building. One of the
intermediate grade levels will pilot this new configuration. During these two years student
achievement data will be collected. Data and student scores will be gathered from AIMS web,
DRA 2, District Common Quarterly Assessments, Performance Series and the Alaska Standards
Based Assessment. The achievement data will be compared to data gathered from a different
elementary school in the district that uses the self-contained traditional model. Additionally, we
will compare the achievement data of each student to his or her performance in previous years
using a growth-model so that we can determine the level of growth for each child. This level of
growth will also be compared to the data of the cooperating elementary school. The data
gathered will justify the innovative restructuring of our intermediate classrooms.
Challenges
Parental Concern
Parents may be concerned about the departmentalizing of elementary teachers.
They will certainly have questions as to how this benefits their child and the
impact this will have on them. Helping parents to see how this will be beneficial

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The Leadership Challenge
for their child is essential in getting the support of the parents and the community.
Informational meetings will be offered to families that will be impacted by this
innovation. Questionnaires will be distributed to families, and feedback will be
used to make decisions regarding how to move forward with this change.
ISLLC Standard Addressed:
Standard 4: A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes
the success of all students by collaborating with families and community
members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and
mobilizing community resources.
Performance Indicators:

information about family and community concerns, expectations, and

needs is used regularly

credence is given to individuals and groups whose values and opinions

may conflict (North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders, 2009)

Staff Hesitation
Staff may be hesitant to try an innovative model of teaching due to unfamiliarity
with departmentalizing. Having staff buy in is crucial for the success of this
innovation. Staff will be provided with research and rationales to support this
decision, as well as anecdotal evidence from fellow classroom teachers.

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The Leadership Challenge
ISLLC Standard Addressed:
Standard 3: A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the
success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations,
and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
Performance Indicators:

knowledge of learning, teaching, and student development is used to

inform management decisions

operational procedures are designed and managed to maximize

opportunities for successful learning

emerging trends are recognized, studied, and applied as appropriate

operational plans and procedures to achieve the vision and goals of the
school are in place

effective problem-framing and problem-solving skills are used

effective conflict resolution skills are used

effective group-process and consensus-building skills are used (North

Dakota Council of Educational Leaders, 2009)

Timeline
Year One
The focus for year one will be getting staff buy-in. This will be done
through open communication about the plan. We will first examine the
possibility of moving to a departmentalized intermediate wing at a staff meeting

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The Leadership Challenge
in the fall. I will present the idea along with my rationale as to why this would be
good for our building. Related research will be shared with the staff. The faculty
will be asked to consider the idea and come to the next staff meeting with a
completed questionnaire. This questionnaire would be designed to focus the
conversation at our next staff meeting.
At the next several staff meetings, we will look at anecdotal evidence from
schools with this practice in place. We will examine what teachers who have
done this have to say about the departmentalizing, both the pros and the cons.
Intermediate teachers to meet with their grade alike colleagues to determine who
has the expertise and qualifications for each of the three major subject areas:
reading, writing and math.
Once personnel with expertise have been determined, one grade level team
will be chosen to be the pilot team for the next two years. This decision will be
made in early January. I will determine the team by looking at the qualifications
of each member and deciding which team currently has members with expertise in
the desired areas. It is essential that I am knowledgeable about the skills and
qualifications of my staff members, and that I carefully select individuals that will
be the right fit for this innovation (Green, 2013). I will let the other teams not
chosen know that I made this decision so that we could get started with a team
that already has the expertise and qualifications in place, and that I will be
providing professional development to other teams prior to implementing this
structure across the grades.

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The Leadership Challenge
I will meet with the pilot team twice a month from February to May. The
focus of our meetings will be on scheduling and developing class lists. We will
discuss how students should be grouped, and decide whether they should be
heterogeneous or ability-grouped. We will use the Nominal Group Technique to
develop ideas and share in a round-robin format. Further discussion and
clarification will occur for each idea until we are ready for a final vote (Green,
2013).
In April, I will hold an informational night for parents. At this night I will
explain departmentalizing and why it will be positive for our school. The teachers
on the pilot team will be at the informational meeting as well. Each teacher will
have the opportunity to share his or her qualifications and experience in his or her
chosen subject area. Parents will be given the opportunity to ask questions and
share their thoughts. A questionnaire will be given to parents that attended the
meeting. Any families that did not attend will receive any handouts from that
evening along with a questionnaire in the mail.
The pilot team and I will examine the parent feedback from the
questionnaires. We will make adjustments if we decide it is necessary. By the
end of the year, our plan for roll out in the fall will be complete. Pertinent
information for parents will be mailed to them prior to the end of the school year.
Additionally, by the end of the year I will contact other elementary principals in
the district to find a cooperating school that we can use to compare testing data.

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The Leadership Challenge
Year Two
The pilot team will begin departmentalized instruction. They will meet
twice weekly during their planning period to discuss data, instruction and student
behavior. The team will meet with me once a month to discuss the
implementation of this schedule, and any difficulties that they may be having.
Problems will be solved as they arise. The pilot team will update staff quarterly
on their progress and any decisions that have been made. When problems arise,
the team may ask for staff input to help make decisions.
In the fall, the other intermediate grade levels will be assigned to a
tentative subject area. This will be their teaching assignment once the school is
ready to implement this fully. Professional development in each subject area will
be provided to applicable teachers three times during the school year.
At the January monthly meeting of the pilot team, we will examine current
AIMS web, DRA 2, Common Quarterly Assessments and Performance Series
data. We will compare the current data to the past performance for each student.
Additionally, we will compare our students data to the data of the other
elementary school involved in this project.
In March, a parent feedback questionnaire will be sent to all parents of
students participating in the pilot classrooms. The feedback will be gathered and
examined at our April meeting. We will make changes for the following year if
the team feels it is necessary.

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The Leadership Challenge
At the last team meeting of the year, the pilot team will again examine the
data as it relates to past student performance and the cooperating elementary
school in the district. At this point we will also have our end-of-year DRA 2
scores and Alaska Standards Based Assessment scores to compare. Our findings
will be shared with the staff.
The team will examine the data, and any decisions that are made moving
forward to the next year will be data-driven.
Year Three
The pilot team will continue with departmentalized instruction for this
school year. Teachers will meet twice weekly to discuss data, instruction and
student behavior. I will no longer require that the team meet with me monthly;
however I will let them know that I will be attending one of their team meetings
each month. I will meet with the team in January to review AIMS web, DRA 2,
Common Quarterly Assessments and Performance Series data. We will meet
again in May to review all data gathered up to that point. We will compare
student scores to previous performance and to the scores of the cooperating
elementary school. Our findings will be shared with the staff.
Teachers of other intermediate grade levels will continue to receive
professional development in each subject area three times during the school year.
In April, grade level teams will begin planning scheduling and class lists. An
informational night will be held for all parents of intermediate students, and the
new configuration will be shared.

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The Leadership Challenge
Year Four
All intermediate teachers will begin departmentalized instruction. Grade
level teams will meet twice weekly to examine data and instruction. I will attend
these meetings twice monthly for each grade level. Data will continue to be
examined regularly, comparing student performance to previous achievement and
scores of the cooperating elementary school. Teachers will spend collaboration
time working both with grade level colleagues as well as subject area colleagues.
Staff Engagement
From the beginning the staff will be involved in helping plan and implement this
innovation in our building. Staff input and feedback will be gathered from the very beginning.
The staff is instrumental in helping to make this innovation a success in our school. A grade
level team will be engaged in the task of piloting this structure in our building for two years.
They will provide frequent updates to staff, and will elicit staff help in solving problems as they
arise. Grade level teams that are not piloting the departmentalizing will be engaged in high
quality professional development in their area of strength. Consistent communication at staff
meetings and through email will help the staff feel engaged and a part of the process. It is
essential that the intermediate staff feel as though they are involved this shift in our building.
Conclusion
This innovation is a large shift from the traditional elementary classroom to
departmentalized elementary classrooms. Because it is such a big change, it is important that it
is done correctly and done slowly. Rushing a decision this big could potentially cause problems.
However once the shift is made, student achievement scores on a variety of assessments should

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The Leadership Challenge
show an increase. In addition, the residual effects of implementing a change such as
departmentalization could potentially minimize the high teacher turnover rate by decreasing
workload and exhaustion and increasing teacher self-efficacy (Strohl, et al., 2012, p. 12). The
innovation of departmentalizing my intermediate teachers will have a positive impact on both
students and staff.

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The Leadership Challenge
References
Baker, B.A., (2011). The role of institution, ideology, interests, and information in the decision
to departmentalize in elementary schools. (Doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State
University). Retrieved from:
file://my/data$/e10935/Documents/Downloads/BetsyABakerDissertation.pdf
Green, R.L. (2013). Practicing the art of leadership: A problem-based approach to implementing
the ISLLC standards. Boston, MA: Pearson.
North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders. (2009). ISLLC Standards. Retrieved from:
http://www.ndcel.org/domain/190
Strohl, A., Schmertzing, L., & Schmertzing, R. (2012). Elementary teachers experiences and
perceptions of departmentalized instruction: A case study. Retrieved from:
http://aabri.com/manuscripts/131774.pdf