School Transformation Services

The responsibility of school principal is one of the most critical roles in school improvement. However, as long as school improvement is dependent on a single leader, or even a small group of leaders, in the end - these efforts are destined to fail. Every individual has leadership capacity. Successful principals develop skillful teacher-leaders who understand and buy-in to the shared vision of the school's goals with a bottom line of student success. Sustainable school improvement depends on the breadth and depth of collective responsibility to move the vision forward and keeping it alive in the midst of change.

The beauty of our work in education revolves around the individuality of the people we serve. Every student, teacher, parent and community member brings with them a uniqueness that is all their own. Regardless of age or background, our life experiences have colored the lens from which we see and first understand or interpret a situation. As leaders, prejudgment and implicit bias are two critical issues we must all contend with in order to eliminate the restrictions we have placed on others and ourselves. Developing cultural competence is a lifelong process that can begin today. This session is a starting point to understanding key issues regarding diversity and bringing out the best in yourself and the people you lead.

A traditional African proverb wisely advises, “ It takes a village to raise a child ,” and that village has never been more necessary than it is today! Some parents plan for their child’s financial success, others plan for their academic success, but how many stop and actually plan for their social and emotional success? Our students are living in a fast-paced, pressure-packed world and parents can’t be the only ones to meet their needs. This session allows guardians an opportunity to explore the world around them and determine who is in the village of their child’s life? Parent/Guardians will be surprised at how many untapped human resources encircle their children and are within reach of making a key difference in the life of their child.

Students are consistently crying out for parents to listen, trust, and love them. They want security yet freedom, answers but independence to choose. Often, parents mistake these cries for money, material things or possibly even disrespect. Have you ever stopped to think – a 5 year old has only been on this earth for 60 months?... a 10 year old for only 120 months?... and a 15 year old for only 180 months? They are all still learning how to communicate and many times their message is lost in the delivery and the same can be said for parents’ communication with their children. This is a full day training for parents and their students. The session allows parents and students the opportunity to start the day together; provides time to support them separately, and ends with reuniting parents with their students in order to practice their newly acquired communication techniques.

Creating a School Community doesn’t happen by chance. Collective responsibility can only developed through purposeful collaboration. Every parent, community member, school staff member, and student has a vital role to play as a stakeholder in the success of the school. It is important that each individual knows the role they play in maximizing academic, social and emotional outcomes for students in the School Community. This session can be divided into multiple 3-hour sessions that addresses each stakeholder within their respective group (parents, community members, school staff) or 1-full day training where key stakeholders collaboratively learn together and have the opportunity to directly hear from one another and receive clarity on their role in the success of their school. This is a perfect opportunity to help build and/or strengthen the School-Based Decision-Making team or any variation thereof.