Change

Camilla C. Moss

Blog 5

While I am by nature a creature of habit, I appreciate change in many ways.  It is not unusual for me to rearrange the furniture in my home or change paint colors frequently.  I am constantly searching for better, more efficient ways of completing home chores and routines.  As a professional, my students became accustomed to trying new strategies until we found the one that worked best for them.  Thus, change is a friend to me.   I am very excited about my new position and the changes that can be made to improve student success.  I have filled pages in a notebook with evidenced based ideas that can improve outcomes when completed with fidelity.  However, I recognize that not everyone in the world flourishes in an environment of change.  How many times have you been working in a school or place of business with new leadership and they begin changing everything?  Reluctantly, you follow the new procedures and develop proficiency and efficiency with the “new procedures”.  Then, at precisely the time that you have become an expert, new leadership arrives and changes things again.  Leaders must find the balance between developing and implementing the procedures, structures, capacity to fulfill their vision while keeping the climate of the staff in mind. The temptation to implement multiple changes at once is great, but full of potential pitfalls.  Too frequently in education, we “try” things once and discard them as ineffective without implementing the program or strategy with fidelity.  Leaders must work to gain buy-in of their staff that each new initiative or program supports the common vision of improved student outcomes.  That may require moving more slowly in implementation while working to gain support that in the long run will have greater success.  As I work to improve student outcomes in my new school, I am keeping this idea in the forefront of my planning.  I’m going to have to work to gain the support and develop the vision of the staff first, and then move to make changes.  The change will not occur overnight, which is my preference.  However, I’m working to long term change and stability, so I will just have to be patient.