In mid last year, as a member of researching group studying the effective management of schools, I visited a U.S. public school. I wanted to learn more about the techniques of school management in the day to day operations of the school. Most students were non immigrants and Spanish speakers. On arrival, I was ushered to the principal’s office where I met the administrators and received an overview of the school. I would then proceed on a campus tour interviewing teachers, staff and few students. I had questionnaires about the techniques of school management, challenges faced by all parties involved in the effective running of the school. The principal of the school explained to me that the day to day operations of a school requires a range of policies and procedures to be followed. In addition he pointed out that, the school vision stipulated in the statement of the school philosophy is the driving force in managing the school that shape day to day activities. Moreover, a model should be set for effective management and must go hand in hand with what is known about successful approaches to the management of change. The administration committee explained that the model integrates the process of goal setting for the school and needs to be identified, policy making, planning, budgeting, implemented and evaluated in a continuous cycle. Since the administration is decision makers, leadership was elicited as the key technique to manage a school. It is very important for leaders to give attention to two key factors; accomplishment of the task at hand and establishing good relationships with and among members of staff (Beare et al., 1989). In this docket, emphasis were given to transforming change attitudes that brought about commitment to better state embodied in the vision of excellence for the school. School leaders should be outstanding and succeed in communicating the vision in such a way that they secure the commitment of others in the school and its community. The leadership encompasses technical, human, educational, symbolic and cultural and all should be present and be widely dispersed in school for excellence to be attained. I then interviewed a veteran teacher who has been in the school for 7 years. His comments zero grazed on the vision of the school. He suggested that the vision of the school must be institutionalized so that it shapes the everyday activities in the school. The vision should also embody a view of excellence and a view of preferred future for education and society in general, reflect different assumption and attitudes which are basic to life and education. In addition, he suggested that the administration should include in the decision making since they interact more with the students during class hours and understand their needs more. The new teacher who was at the school for her first semester was very impressed with how the school operated. She urged the leaders of the school to give teachers considerable amount of responsibility and authority in determining and addressing the problem of academics performance. This includes giving teachers authority over curriculum, institutional decision making and in distribution of resources. The leaders should also work with the new teachers to promote and ensure academic success of all students and promote their relationship with the veteran teachers for a favorable learning environment (Beare et al., 1989).
In summary, the school leader should use a wide range of symbolic leadership acts, broadly classified as words, actions and rewards since they are the pillars of the school. The educational needs of children and instructional programs for the school is determined by effective management processes wherein policies are formulated, priorities set, resources allocated and teaching and learning proceeds with regular systematic appraisal of the program (Beare et al., 1989).
References
Beare, H., Millikan, R., & Caldwell, B. J. (1989). Creating an Excellent School: Some New Management Techniques. Routledge, London