2. School-wide collective responsibility for raising student achievement
There is a school-wide collective responsibility and accountability for raising student achievement at Mangere Central School through targeting learning and teaching the individual.
Target students change through the year as they reach the standards. Each teacher’s appraisal includes a focus on five target students in each area. The middle leaders’ appraisals are linked to their team’s 25 students in each area and the principal’s appraisal is linked to the success of all 100 students in each area.
Aligning target students with charter targets and teacher inquiries with teacher appraisals has led to transformed pedagogies and practices.
Focusing on a small number of targeted students, and then digging deeper into their learning processes and progress, has enabled teachers to more effectively support the learning of the other students in those classes. Dialogue about learning is deepened. It is specific. It is unrelenting, and according to staff “there is no place to hide” when specific students are named and followed in this journey of learning.
This early version of the tool Targeting Teaching and Learning has been used by teams to frame their dialogue and identify factors that positively impact upon but also impede student outcomes. It reinforces the partnership approach where both teachers and leaders are responsible for closing the gap together.
Reflective questions
- How do your leaders promote collective responsibility for student achievement in your school?
- How does your school ensure an unrelenting focus on the teaching-learning relationship? What does this look like during staff meetings, team meetings, leadership meetings or casual conversations?
