Kimberly+Zambito

====Over the course of the last year, members of the Hickory Ridge High School faculty, staff, parents and business partners were driven towards a multitude of reform initiatives. Unfortunately they had minimal success, as their test scores reflected. Standards based education reform has been a driving force in the United States since the 1980’s with the publication of //A Nation at Risk//. The vision to create and ensure that every state had rigorous standards was pushed forward when the No Child Left Behind policy was passed in 2001. This predominant issue requires components that Hickory Ridge High School seems to be lacking. These components consist of the following: concrete, measurable and higher standards in an integrated curriculum, criterion-referenced testing, efforts and attention put towards lessening the academic gaps, and high-stakes standardized testing (Stillman, 2009). Hickory Ridge administration lacks the direction and intent needed to help drive the remaining faculty and staff towards the reform initiatives that need to be met. ====

====Principal O’Connor needs to set a framework of reform for his staff. Powerful leadership will help increase staff performance and student achievement. Principal O’Connor is lacking in this area, as his knowledge is focused primarily on the community, people, and existing programs and policies within the school district. A concrete plan and vision can help Principal O’Connor relay the expectations of reform to his faculty and staff. Effective planning of a vision and instruction will provide administration with a standard to measure implementation against. These standards will serve as a concrete set of goals for staff behavior and performance and for student knowledge and skills. Teachers in Hickory Ridge are currently being given a choice right now in regards to their instruction, responsiveness and reform efforts. Principal O’Connor needs to eliminate his fixed mindset and set the expectation that participation in standard based school reform is not an option, but an expectation as they strive towards their vision every day. The older teachers need to move towards having a growth mindset. They need to realize that education is ever-changing and it is time to jump on the bandwagon. Over time, consistency will need to be applied across classrooms and through these efforts of reform, achievement will increase if standards and expectations are put into place and people are being held accountable for following them (Supovitz & Poglinco, 2001). ====

Reform initiatives are vital for the success of Hickory Ridge, however it takes more than just creating and implementing the change. If a school is going to be successful with their reform initiatives, they must evaluate their improvement efforts. Technology plays a large role in the efforts of standard based school reform. Educational applications can provide teachers with feedback in a time efficient and constructive manner (Bain & Swan, 2011). This technology and feedback will allow teachers to see the evidence needed to help them improve and drive their instruction. Technology tools can provide Hickory Ridge teachers with the necessary information they need to differentiate instruction and create classroom groupings where necessary.

====Evidence based practice provided through technology gives room for constructive feedback about instructional practice of the teachers of Hickory Ridge. For the older teachers at Hickory Ridge, this technology driven evidence can give them the information they need to see that reform and change is necessary, rather than staying in their fixed mindset. For the younger teachers, they can utilize it as an opportunity to see where growth can take place for themselves as educators or where they are most strong. Collaboratively, the educators at Hickory Ridge can use this technology to help recognize where instructional focus needs to be placed. It can also be used for professional development as they discover who on their team of educators has the skills and techniques that are currently working for their student population. Technology and data analysis is a vital component in evaluating the success and efforts of school reform (Bain & Swan, 2011). ====

__**References Used**__
====Bain, A., & Swan, G. (2011). Technology enhanced feedback tools as a knowledge management mechanism for supporting professional growth and school reform. Educational //Technology Research and Development//, //59//(5), 673-85. doi: 10.1007/s11423-011-9201-x ====

====Stillman, J. (2009). Taking Back the Standards: Equity-Minded Teachers' Responses to Accountability-Related Instructional Constraints. //The New Educator//, //5//(2), 135-60. Retrieved from Education Full Text database ====

====Supovitz, J. A. & Poglinco, S. M. (2001, December). Instructional leadership in a standards-based reform. Retrieved from http://notebook.lausd.net/pls/ptl/docs/PAGE/CA_LAUSD/FLDR_ORGANIZATIONS/FLDR_INSTRUCTIONAL_SVCS/INSTRUCTIONALSUPPORTSERVICES/INSTRUCTIONAL_SUPPORT_SERVICES/ISS_RESEARCH/SUPOVITZ.PDF ====

__**References Researched but not used in final piece:**__
====Knoeppel, R., & Brewer, C. (2011). Education Reform, Equal Opportunity and Educational Achievement: Do Trend Data Adequately Report Progress?. //Education Policy Analysis Archives//, //19//(10), p. 1-28. Retrieved from Education Full Text database ====

====Lakshmanan, A., Heath, B., Perlmutter, A., & Elder, M. (2011). The Impact of Science Content and Professional Learning Communities on Science Teaching Efficacy and Standards-Based Instruction. //Journal of Research in Science Teaching//, //48//(5), 534-51. doi: 10.1002/tea.20404 ====

====Incandela, J. (2011). Seven Lessons Learned from General Education Reform at Saint Mary's College. //Liberal Education//, //97//(1), 40-7. Retrieved from Education Full Text database ====

====Howell, W., West, M., & Peterson, P. (2011). The Public Weighs In on School Reform. //Education Next//, //11//(4), 10-22. Retrieved from Education Full Text database ====