Management of the Learning Environment
(K-12 Administrative Standard #3)
I had the privilege of completing 220 hours for my Administrative Internship at Hinoki International School, Japanese-English bilingual immersion charter school, in Livonia, Michigan, in 2012-2013. One of my two major internship projects was to help develop and disseminate clear, internally-consistent "Administrative Guidelines" to support the Board Policy Manual (including over 100 individual policies) drafted by the Hinoki International School Board in 2011-2012. The original idea was that I would be able to create English-language drafts of Administrative Guidelines for at least 20 “key” policies, including forms for staff members and/or parents, language to be included in Staff Handbook and Student Handbook, and so on, ready to be translated into Japanese as well and disseminated to student families and other stakeholders. The key board policies focus on ensuring the safety and welfare of staff and students, and promoting the ethical and efficient use of human, fiscal, and technological resources.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY OF THE ISSUE
Having served as a member of the Hinoki International School Board since 2010, I was directly involved in the development of the school's original Board Policy, an intensive 9-month process undertaken during 2011-2012 with the help of a consultant from the National Charter Schools Institute. At that time, the school had just 4 teachers and 34 students (in grades K-1), 2 administrative staff members, 3 members of the sponsoring foundation, around 25 members of the Parent-Teacher Organization, and 5 members of the school board (I was the only parent on the board). We also relied on the (mostly volunteer) assistance of an Academic Advisory Committee of at least a dozen members, led by an expert on bilingual education from Eastern Michigan University. The school’s mission--as stated in Section 2015 of the Board Policy--is: “To provide Japanese and American students with an opportunity to learn from each other, and become bilingual, bicultural, globally-minded individuals.”
IDENTIFICATION OF NEED FOR CHANGE
A needs assessment in the usual sense was not necessary, as we were starting from scratch and it was clear that our Board Policy must have Administrative Guidelines to "give it legs" for day-to-day implementation at the school. However, the board kept in mind the feedback gathered from a survey of Hinoki stakeholders (parents, staff, board members, and academic advisors) in Fall 2011, which achieved a respectable response rate of about 50%, and revealed a need for improved school-family communication, administrator-staff communication, and increased capacity of the bare-bones administrative staff.
While Board Policy Section 1230.01 clearly stipulates that the school's Educational Service Provider must develop Administrative Guidelines as required by law or by the board, our budget was limited and our Lead Administrator was already working 12-hour days trying to fill multiple roles (transportation director, technology director, human resources director, maintenance staff, bus driver, etc.), so the timeline for development of written guidelines, procedures, and forms (often in both Japanese and English) stretched far into the future without immediate, unpaid assistance.
PARTNERSHIPS AND VESTED INTERESTS
Hinoki has a history of creatively using partnerships to bolster its fledgling resource base, and this was true in the development of our Administrative Guidelines as well. A generic list of common Administrative Guidelines was obtained from the National Charter Schools Institute, and translated into Japanese by a foundation member. Those Administrative Guidelines supporting a legally-required Board Policy were marked in bold font. Since many of these pertained to staff and student issues (sections 3000 and 5000 of Board Policy), such as those highlighted in the stakeholder-survey results, the Board decided to give top priority to the development of a Staff Handbook and a Parent/Student Handbook.
Drawing on examples of similar documents from our feeder school, Himawari Preschool, the Japanese School of Detroit (JSD), Livonia Public Schools (LPS, Hinoki's charter authorizer), and other local school districts, a native Japanese-speaker board member and I drafted the Hinoki Staff Handbook, which the Lead Administrator distributed to the staff and obtained feedback about for future revisions/improvements. The schools named here may all be seen as having vested interests in Hinoki's success, as Himawari needs a place to send its "graduates" after preschool; the JSD needs a place to send students who cannot keep up with its intensive push to keep up with Japan's curriculum while living abroad; and LPS receives revenue by leasing Hinoki one of its empty elementary school buildings and providing authorizer services.
NEED INTENSIFIES AND MORE HANDS JOIN IN
In December 2012 and January 2013, several behavior incidents at the school were brought to the attention of the school board, the top link in the "chain of command" stipulated in the Board Policy on public complaints (section 9130). This brought a renewed focus on the need for a Parent/Student Handbook, including a Code of Conduct in Japanese and English. In a matter of weeks, through collaboration by the Lead Administrator, Dean of Students, board members, and our bilingual/bicultural teaching staff, a 25-page Parent/Student Handbook was drafted, in Japanese and English. Further grade-level and language-specific teacher meetings produced a set of consequences to be translated into Japanese and integrated into the Parent/Student Handbook--which was disseminated in May 2013--as well as a Behavior Documentation Form developed by teachers and an Exit Interview Protocol developed by the Lead Administrator and board members.
RESULTS
Obviously, my effort to draft a set of Administrative Guidelines for our start-up dual-immersion school quickly transformed into a collaborative effort, in which I shifted into more of a role of facilitating the development of those Administrative Guidelines. Even my "summary" list of recommendations regarding prioritization of policies with the greatest need for clarification for day-to-day school operations is now being revamped by a teacher who will soon be doing her administrative internship at Hinoki. As a result of all these efforts, Hinoki now has not only an English version of a Staff Handbook, and an English and Japanese version of a Parent/Student Handbook, as well as bilingual student-enrollment application forms, but also an enhanced capacity, particularly among its teaching staff, to participate in a very meaningful way in the development of bilingual forms, procedures, and Administrative Guidelines and their communication to other stakeholders. While there is still a long way to go, I am pleased to have served in some ways as a "leader of leaders, one who inspires others to lead the transformation" (O'Toole, 1995, p. 14).
REFERENCES
Hinoki International School Board. (2012). Board policy manual. Retrieved from http://bpp.charterinstitute.org/hinokiinternationalschool/
National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2011). Educational leadership program standards: 2011 ELCC district level.
Retrieved from http://npbea.org/
O'Toole, J. (1995). Leading change: The argument for values-based leadership. New York: Ballatine Books.
Reeves, D.B. (2009). Leading change in your school: How to conquer myths, build commitment, and get results. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY OF THE ISSUE
Having served as a member of the Hinoki International School Board since 2010, I was directly involved in the development of the school's original Board Policy, an intensive 9-month process undertaken during 2011-2012 with the help of a consultant from the National Charter Schools Institute. At that time, the school had just 4 teachers and 34 students (in grades K-1), 2 administrative staff members, 3 members of the sponsoring foundation, around 25 members of the Parent-Teacher Organization, and 5 members of the school board (I was the only parent on the board). We also relied on the (mostly volunteer) assistance of an Academic Advisory Committee of at least a dozen members, led by an expert on bilingual education from Eastern Michigan University. The school’s mission--as stated in Section 2015 of the Board Policy--is: “To provide Japanese and American students with an opportunity to learn from each other, and become bilingual, bicultural, globally-minded individuals.”
IDENTIFICATION OF NEED FOR CHANGE
A needs assessment in the usual sense was not necessary, as we were starting from scratch and it was clear that our Board Policy must have Administrative Guidelines to "give it legs" for day-to-day implementation at the school. However, the board kept in mind the feedback gathered from a survey of Hinoki stakeholders (parents, staff, board members, and academic advisors) in Fall 2011, which achieved a respectable response rate of about 50%, and revealed a need for improved school-family communication, administrator-staff communication, and increased capacity of the bare-bones administrative staff.
While Board Policy Section 1230.01 clearly stipulates that the school's Educational Service Provider must develop Administrative Guidelines as required by law or by the board, our budget was limited and our Lead Administrator was already working 12-hour days trying to fill multiple roles (transportation director, technology director, human resources director, maintenance staff, bus driver, etc.), so the timeline for development of written guidelines, procedures, and forms (often in both Japanese and English) stretched far into the future without immediate, unpaid assistance.
PARTNERSHIPS AND VESTED INTERESTS
Hinoki has a history of creatively using partnerships to bolster its fledgling resource base, and this was true in the development of our Administrative Guidelines as well. A generic list of common Administrative Guidelines was obtained from the National Charter Schools Institute, and translated into Japanese by a foundation member. Those Administrative Guidelines supporting a legally-required Board Policy were marked in bold font. Since many of these pertained to staff and student issues (sections 3000 and 5000 of Board Policy), such as those highlighted in the stakeholder-survey results, the Board decided to give top priority to the development of a Staff Handbook and a Parent/Student Handbook.
Drawing on examples of similar documents from our feeder school, Himawari Preschool, the Japanese School of Detroit (JSD), Livonia Public Schools (LPS, Hinoki's charter authorizer), and other local school districts, a native Japanese-speaker board member and I drafted the Hinoki Staff Handbook, which the Lead Administrator distributed to the staff and obtained feedback about for future revisions/improvements. The schools named here may all be seen as having vested interests in Hinoki's success, as Himawari needs a place to send its "graduates" after preschool; the JSD needs a place to send students who cannot keep up with its intensive push to keep up with Japan's curriculum while living abroad; and LPS receives revenue by leasing Hinoki one of its empty elementary school buildings and providing authorizer services.
NEED INTENSIFIES AND MORE HANDS JOIN IN
In December 2012 and January 2013, several behavior incidents at the school were brought to the attention of the school board, the top link in the "chain of command" stipulated in the Board Policy on public complaints (section 9130). This brought a renewed focus on the need for a Parent/Student Handbook, including a Code of Conduct in Japanese and English. In a matter of weeks, through collaboration by the Lead Administrator, Dean of Students, board members, and our bilingual/bicultural teaching staff, a 25-page Parent/Student Handbook was drafted, in Japanese and English. Further grade-level and language-specific teacher meetings produced a set of consequences to be translated into Japanese and integrated into the Parent/Student Handbook--which was disseminated in May 2013--as well as a Behavior Documentation Form developed by teachers and an Exit Interview Protocol developed by the Lead Administrator and board members.
RESULTS
Obviously, my effort to draft a set of Administrative Guidelines for our start-up dual-immersion school quickly transformed into a collaborative effort, in which I shifted into more of a role of facilitating the development of those Administrative Guidelines. Even my "summary" list of recommendations regarding prioritization of policies with the greatest need for clarification for day-to-day school operations is now being revamped by a teacher who will soon be doing her administrative internship at Hinoki. As a result of all these efforts, Hinoki now has not only an English version of a Staff Handbook, and an English and Japanese version of a Parent/Student Handbook, as well as bilingual student-enrollment application forms, but also an enhanced capacity, particularly among its teaching staff, to participate in a very meaningful way in the development of bilingual forms, procedures, and Administrative Guidelines and their communication to other stakeholders. While there is still a long way to go, I am pleased to have served in some ways as a "leader of leaders, one who inspires others to lead the transformation" (O'Toole, 1995, p. 14).
REFERENCES
Hinoki International School Board. (2012). Board policy manual. Retrieved from http://bpp.charterinstitute.org/hinokiinternationalschool/
National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2011). Educational leadership program standards: 2011 ELCC district level.
Retrieved from http://npbea.org/
O'Toole, J. (1995). Leading change: The argument for values-based leadership. New York: Ballatine Books.
Reeves, D.B. (2009). Leading change in your school: How to conquer myths, build commitment, and get results. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.