Great Expectations

Almost every school I work with when asked what they stand for, will talk about the high expectations that they set for their students. What this looks like in reality, at each of these schools, stretches across an expectation continuum that is incredibly vast. I dare say, if I spruiked anyone that listened that I was a strict parent, there would be a fair reason for a few to have a little chuckle, as I for the 100th time ask my two kids to leave the chocolate lane at the supermarket.

My four years in the Northern Territory as a Principal of a school in a small-town south of Darwin, is still one of the greatest experiences of my life. However, with every great experience comes the usual less than memorable stuff that I got busy trying to turn around as soon as I arrived. Uniform, litter, attendance which are commonly referred to as the one ‘percenters’, all needed to improve. It is incredible how the small things can change the trajectory of a school very quickly. But it took a united approach.

A plethora of research into school improvement, continues to point to the importance of high expectations as one of the preconditions for improvement, but it continues to challenge schools. One of the key reasons for this, is a lack of consistency across the school. ‘The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.’ If challenging the belief that you cannot expect more of ‘these kids’ is and should be a moral imperative at your school, then you need to call on your whole school community.

Calling on all staff to clearly communicate school expectations and the belief and understanding that every student is capable of learning with the right amount of support and instruction, is a vital step. However, there is a trade-off to get this level of buy in and it involves a focused approach to Professional Development that gives staff the capacity and confidence to ‘walk the walk and talk the talk’. Given the research strongly suggests that teachers with a strong sense of efficacy, confidently deal with challenges, put parents at ease and raise the bar for their students. Then maybe it is worth considering whether your Professional Development plan is up to scratch?

Finally, what role do your teachers have in directing their Professional Development needs? We are giving students more agency around their learning that is even allowing them input into teacher selection processes, so giving teachers agency over their Professional Development needs makes perfect sense.

While you do that, I’ll see whether I can get the kids out of the supermarket without yelling. They don’t seem to understand that they don’t have a strong voice in the confectionary aisle.