Leadership and Planning - Week 4

Well, the Change Game certainly was interesting this week. I think our group felt pretty frustrated when we were denied moves for going too fast or not getting enough information. It was good to see that we were in the same place as the other groups when the hour was over.

After the game was over I took some time to think about the change process in our school. I should have applied what I know to the game. Instead, I tried moving too fast. I compared the game to what we recently went through with changing our high school schedule.

For years we had a straight 8 period per day schedule. A few years ago we looked into alternative schedules including modular, block, and rotating day schedules. We surveyed schools, talked with students, staff, board members, and parents. We gathered all of our data and presented it to the administration. They then took the information and did some more data gathering and research before making a decision. That process took almost 2 years.

After it was decided that we would switch schedules we had to plan the change. We setup professional development days and days when we tested the schedule with students. That feedback was gathered we were able to tweak the schedule to fit our needs. The beginning of this year was the implementation of the schedule. We have been reviewing it and taking feedback along the way. We will also ask for teachers to complete an end of year survey. This information will help us further refine our schedule.

Now, I need to apply that method to the game next week.