[Ous-lp-rp13] EDAD 6020, Answer to Question # 2

[Sylvia, Molly]

The structure at Green High School most clearly resembles a professional
structure. It's my opinion that this decentralized structure has been
created over time by our current administration who places a lot of
authority and faith in its specialized staff members. Of course, our system
does have necessary bureaucratic characteristics, such as hierarcy, rules
and regulations, policies and a normed social process. However, our
administration places a strong emphasis on the human resource perceptual
lense which allows for the professional structure to prevail. For example,
our principal recently placed it in the teacher's hands to create our own
OTES walkthrough tool. The system he was using was clunky and expensive. As
a district, we are becoming more comfortable with Google, so it was
suggested in a BLT meeting that a walkthrough tool be created on a Google
form. Around this same time, our district had been deeply exploring DOK
levels. Our TBTs and BLT felt like the walkthrough tool could be
personalized by department so that our principal could have specific
"look-fors" that could help him easily identify what DOK level is being
taught no matter what classroom he is evaluating. Our principal simply put
it in our hands to create our own walkthrough tool. Within a few weeks, our
staff had developed one that satisfied the needs of OTES and our high
school staff. This dispersion of power is no exception. Our administration
was active, as they set deadlines and checked in with us informally to make
sure there was proper completion of this task, however it was up to us to
create the tool in our own way and by our own means. Additionally, our
administration looks to their employees to maintain their own classrooms by
their own authority and to make decisions about student discipline,
scheduling, rules, policies, and even state required safety drills. As a
result, our staff feels a strong sense of control, self-worth, morale, and
professionalism which in turn enables us to follow our administrators when
they cast vision or when they do take on an authoritative voice, as is
sometimes needed.

The structure at Green High School least resembles a chaotic structure. In
my years at Green, there have been very few times that staff have expressed
dissatisfaction due to a lack of structure, a sense of disorder, or even
lasting dissension between employees. Again, our administration are strong,
effective managers who maintain a healthy sense of bureaucratic structure
which is necessary to prevent a chaotic structure from penetrating. We have
typical procedures, rules, and deadlines to follow as a staff for leave
requests, fundraisers, submission of SLO's, and time sheets. Staff knows
what is expected of them and we know what to expect from management, as
expectations are communicated regularly throughout the building.
Administration keeps communication strong by holding quarterly staff
meetings and sending weekly blogs and updates from the superintendent's
office. Additionally, our building principal takes time to speak to each
teacher on a regular basis about our personal and professional goals,
helping us move forward to reach our highest potential. Each of these
examples show how our administration is made of competent managers and
leaders, focused on maintaining orderly day to day operations while
developing leaders within our buildings, which allows us to maintain a
professional, not a chaotic system.

*Molly Sylvia*
*7th/8th Grade Social Studies Teacher*
*Jr. High Quiz Bowl Advisor*
*Youth in Government Advisor*
Green High School
4057 Gallia Pike
Franklin Furnace, Ohio 45629
office 740.354.9290 ext. 3212
fax 740.354.9904
*BELIEVE*
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