Administrative Tools Help Principals Lead The Way
By: Randy Hilleren
Administrative software and computer-based recordkeeping is a new frontier and another difficult challenge facing many principals in our schools. Principal leadership and principal vision is vital to successful automation in the school office, in the teacher's classroom, and, ultimately, serving the students and their parents. The three areas of emphasis for principals to consider include: a systemic approach to school information management, Web server vs. local server in the building, and staff training.
A Systemic Approach
Look for a systemic approach where one system can use multiple school databases built by the collaboration of many users and integrated to service many school processes. In the typical school of today, there are many discreet or separate systems in place. Moving information from one system to another is seldom a trivial matter, generally has a great deal of duplicity, and frequently requires expert assistance. Currently, there are many affordable options where a single system can manage many school business processes, such as cafeteria, registration, tuition, fees, nurse office functions, private messaging, plus the classic student recordkeeping process such as grade books, report cards and attendance.
Most of these system solutions provide an opportunity for a school community to gradually introduce services to school staff including administrators, school secretaries, support services staff and teaching faculty. A systemic approach uses many databases within one system in combination with the principle of extensible data. Extensible data is where each user of the system has a screen name and password, which determines their privilege to view information, the right to enter data into the system, and the right to author content.
Administrators build the database with the demographic data of the school families, while teachers author recordkeeping activities for academics and reporting. This provides many wonderful organizational benefits for all school staff members and for the whole school community. Students and parents could view only their own report cards, grade books, calendars, private messaging and financial records. Important school announcements, classroom communications and school newsletters could be viewed electronically instead of being printed or copied at school and then sent home with the children or mailed home. Once the concept of extensible data is extended to school families, the responsibility to stay informed and to stay current with academics is transferred to the parents and the students. This visibility into the classroom builds a positive relationship with the educator and the parent and students at home.
With the vision of a systemic approach, a principal considers the whole school community and the interdependency of each group. This approach sets the stage for a school principal to consider who the authors and record keepers of student information and business processes are. What are the rules-based criteria for attendance, grade scales and other procedural activities within their school? Does the cafeteria have an effective system for managing money and reporting? Can the school nurse benefit by automating the recordkeeping of nurse treatments and medications? Could the school successfully manage registration and tuition vs. a third party tuition management company? What other school business could be managed by a systemic approach?
All of these disparate areas are better served by one system. A principal can lead the way by introducing a handful of core school processes. The introduction of school processes can be gradual and offered in a "baby step approach." In the first phase, the school can give the teachers an electronic grade book and report card, place lunch orders, create a class Web page, make the class calendar, and use private messaging within the school community. Then, in phase two, a school can integrate a few additional school business processes, including school newsletters, lunch money, cafeteria menu, athletic and activities calendars for school organizations.
Over time, the promise of adding more services gives a school principal an awesome potential to equip and enable the whole school community. Step by step, strong leadership can move teachers and administrative staff into a single system instead of many disparate systems. Like the children in our classrooms, the first baby steps must be planned and prioritized by the head administrator and staff members. A principal does not need to know how to build the computer system, but rather the principal can provide leadership in the introduction and prioritization of services a school will use to meet the needs of our technology-driven society. The principal clearly understands the many school processes that are needed and can lead the way to a systemic approach to school information management.
Web Server vs. Local Server
The second area of emphasis for principals to consider is whether a school will be more successful using a Web server or a local server in the building. Both types of systems frequently have the exact same applications services and user functions. The critical question for the principal to consider is determining who is going to be responsible for system administration services.
Let's identify basic nature of system administration services of all computer systems. The starting point or the foundation is called the operating system (OS). All servers have an operating system that must be maintained with the current software services, system modifications, system enhancements, security protection and software fixes or patches. Regardless of what vendor provides the operating system, the principal and school decision makers must decide who owns the responsibility to maintain and monitor the health of the operating system. If the server is physically located in the school building, then a staff person, information technology (IT) contractor or technical volunteer is absolutely mandatory and must be stationed in the building or on call to visit the building.
Many schools have expert volunteers trained to maintain the operating system, but, frequently, their ability to provide real-time expert assistance is limited by availability or skill sets. The high cost of professional IT contactors is often a strain on the operating budget of a school. Anything less than a perfect operating system leads to failure or, at a minimum, a less-than-happy group of administrators, teachers, parents and students.
The Web server approach is based on the school purchasing a subscription service with an Application Service Provider (ASP). A school contracts with a School Management ASP to provide the same set school application services and user functions. Here, the ASP is the responsible party for software services and the health and maintenance of the operating system along with other system administration, including backups and the archival of data. Two additional benefits come with this Web server approach. First, most schools can afford to maintain a network infrastructure with Internet service in their own school building. Secondly, Web server applications are available from any location, including homes, offices, libraries or coffee shops for all users.
Training
The final area of emphasis is training. The principal must be absolutely certain that a school management system is easy to use and that reasonable funds are included for training. Many systems have basic services that are available for all skill levels, and some service companies include professional training services in their annual subscription fee.
The best leaders are committed to lead and always have better results when leading by example. This truism is critical when asking teachers and staff with little or no computer experience to become competent and happy users.
Randy Hilleren works for FastDirect Communications, www.fastdir.com. Since 1999, Fast Direct Communications has helped more than 150 parochial school principals design and implement a strategic plan for technology integration using Web-Server technology.
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Case Study
Walkthrough Observations on a Handheld Computer
By Bill Craig
I think about school improvement a lot. Like most principals, I wonder, "How am I going to improve my school?" especially when so many things compete for my time. After many years and many approaches, I find that walkthrough observations documented using my handheld computer are particularly effective and efficient.
Guarding Time for Classroom Observation
"Do you have a couple of minutes?" Principals hear that question every day. If I don't guard time for classroom visits, I find my day filled with many visits of a "couple of minutes," and before I know it, the day is over. Walkthrough observations of eight to 10 minutes let me stay in touch with classroom instruction and still say "yes" when my teachers ask if I have a couple of minutes.
The Importance of Feedback
Teachers often wonder, "What was that about?" when a principal visits their classroom and leaves without comment. The opportunity for school improvement is lost without systematic feedback. In my experience, a written summary of the observation paired with a conversation about the visit are powerful feedback tools. Before I started using The Administrative Observer software on my handheld computer, however, there were many times I did not get back to the teacher to share my thoughts and have that discussion.
The Right Tools for the Job
The Administrative Observer lets me record my thoughts on my handheld during the observation. Most of my work is done when I leave the classroom, and this makes it much more likely that I will get back to the teacher with a summary and a conversation.
Expectations
Feedback is most powerful when the expectations are spelled out ahead of time and when feedback is expressed in terms of those expectations. My teachers know what I am looking for when I make a brief visit to their classrooms. I tell them the seven or eight most important things I hope to see, and I ask them to focus on those each class period. The Administrative Observer lets me put those expectations into the software as preferences and record my thoughts easily while I am in the classroom.
The Actual Visit
The characteristics listed below fit into my handheld. The handheld screen isn't always big enough to show all of the text, but it's there. All I have to do is tap with my stylus to indicate what I saw. Sometimes I also indicate how well I thought the teaching behavior was done.
Qualities I look for currently include:
* Quiet, orderly classroom atmosphere
* Students appropriately engaged in meaningful activities
* Meaningful recitation from all students every day
* Teacher skillfully guiding direct instruction
* Friendly, welcoming classroom environment
* Skillful classroom management
* Accommodations for students with special needs
* Appropriate use of graphic organizers
When I close the cover on my handheld and leave the classroom after eight to 10 minutes, my data entry is complete.
Generating the Written Summary
Back in my office, I put the handheld in its cradle and hit the synch button. Thoughts about the classroom visit move to my PC desktop, and The Administrative Observer prepares a written summary, which can be printed out and placed in the teacher's mailbox. More powerfully, the software will also create the observation summary as a PDF file that can be attached to an e-mail and sent to the teacher. This is my preferred method, because feedback reaches the teacher before the class period has ended.
Follow-Through Conversation
Because they know it is coming, teachers check their e-mail after a walkthrough visit to find out what their principal thought. They get a chance to reflect on the feedback, and they know we will discuss it later.
Better Than Paper and Pencil
Why not just leave a note on the desk when you leave the room? Wouldn't a two-part carbonless form with a checklist do the same job? I have tried the checklist/note approach, and, for me, the comparison is much like that of a 1918 Ford to a brand-new Lexus. By using The Administrative Observer:
* The quality of the feedback is better
* The high-quality report elevates the importance of the feedback
* The computer file helps me keep my documentation in order
Reinforcing the good things you want to see in classrooms more often is key to school improvement. A powerful method supported by the right tools makes reinforcement more likely. For me, that means walkthrough observation summarized using The Administrative Observer. Its efficiency on a handheld makes it more likely I will get back to the teacher systematically and have a good reinforcing conversation about instructional issues important to school improvement.
Note: The Administrative Observer is available from Preferred Educational Software, www.pes-sports.com.
Bill Craig, a former high school principal, is a frequent presenter and consultant on the topics of school improvement and teacher observation.
Product Roundup
SchoolDude's PMDirect
Streamline the entire preventive maintenance workflow process online by creating, assigning and managing recurring maintenance tasks efficiently with PMDirect - SchoolDude's preventive maintenance scheduling tool. Using PMDirect, maintenance personnel can create recurring maintenance schedules on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis. The system includes a step-by-step wizard for quickly creating schedules, and PMDirect also stores your schedule templates for easy creation of frequently used schedules.
www.schooldude.com
Rediker Software's Administrator's Plus
Rediker Software's Administrator's Plus is a powerful, yet easy-to-use, student information system that quickly and easily manages your school's record-keeping. Since every school is unique, Administrator's Plus' integrated modular design allows educators to build a system that best suits their school's needs. Modules include a student/staff database, daily and period attendance, scheduling, grades/report cards, standards/skills, discipline, tuition/student billing, district management, PDA, Web access and e-mail.
www.rediker.com
EasyLobby
EasyLobby's SVM 9.0 Visitor Management software suite provides comprehensive, easy-to-use visitor registration, monitoring, reporting and photo badge printing, as well as Web-based pre-registration and centralized administration. EasyLobby SVM is also tightly integrated with the First Advantage Safe Schools Project, an optional service for automatically screening visitors against nationwide sex offender and criminal databases. EasyLobby makes your visitors, students and employees feel safer, and it enhances the professional image you present to anyone who visits your school.
www.easylobby.com
Pinnacle Plus from Excelsior Software
The next version of the Pinnacle Plus system from Excelsior will be released this summer. Incorporating innovative technologies, such as those used to create Google Maps, the new solution will be entirely Web-based. This transfer from server-based to online allows teachers and administrators scalability and mobility. In addition, hosting the software online gives districts a lower-cost alternative, as less maintenance is required for numerous servers and hardware. Its state-of-the-art technology offers an intuitive user interface, therefore, minimal training and operates on a centralized model, only requiring access to a Web server and an SQL server.
www.excelsiorsoftware.com
FastDirect
Now all of your school management software, plus all of your teacher tools, are available online. Access and work on them anywhere you have an Internet connection. Parent access to information is natural and easy. School data bases/directories, grade books/report cards, tuition management, lunch program management, attendance, Internet bulletin boards/calendars, secure messaging, health records, and much more are included in a service hosted on the Internet. The service also includes complete setup (even of grade books and report cards), training, and unlimited technical support for all users. The Web-based software is tailored for Christian schools and is priced on a per-student basis.
www.fastdir.com
infosnap
Put your school's admissions and re/registration forms online; plus, easily import the data to your school's database(s). Since 2000, infosnap has been providing private schools with completely custom online forms and unparalleled customer support. Satisfaction is guaranteed for your school and your school community. infosnap customers often get more inquiries, more applications and faster registrations for the next school year because infosnap makes it so easy for families to act. The time is right to go online with infosnap. You can save your school time, money and paper.
www.infosnap.com
