The following information has been adapted and/or quoted from the FPLS Matrix (2023).
Domain 3: Organizational Leadership
Standard 6: Decision Making
"Effective school leaders employ and monitor a decision-making process that is based on vision, mission and improvement priorities using facts and data."
Indicators:
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"Gives priority attentions to decisions that impact the quality of student learning and teacher proficiency."
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"Uses critical thinking and problem solving techniques to define problems and identify solutions."
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"Evaluates decisions for effectiveness, equity, intended and actual outcome; implements follow-up actions; and revises as needed."
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"Empowers others and distributes leadership when appropriate."
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"Uses effective technology integration to enhance decision making and efficiency throughout the school."
Reflection on Coursework & Experiences
The purpose of standard six is for school leaders to demonstrate their ability to make meaningful decisions about the school, instructional practices, and learning environment using student data. Standards two and six are closely aligned in that they both focus on placing student learning and success at the heart of every decision. The data-driven decision making project is a thorough example of my leadership skills and experiences in both of these standards. As mentioned in standard two, the data-driven decision making project was created as a plan to close learning gaps in a specific subgroup of 3rd grade students. Before I was able to develop a plan for remediation, I had to analyze student data. The data showed that 58% of the bottom 25% of students in 3rd grade scored at a kindergarten or first grade level on a district-wide assessment. Furthermore, exactly 50% of the ESE students in the bottom 25% of 3rd graders scored at a kindergarten level. Based on this data, I decided to create an instructional remediation plan for the ESE subgroup within the 3rd grade level.
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Expanding on my reflection from standard two, I believe the data-driven decision making project displays my leadership strengths in organizing and analyzing data, applying data analyses to improve instructional practices, and proving that student success is my priority as a school leader. Pertaining to my leadership growth plan, I would like to capitalize on this strength as I work to assert myself into the administrative school setting by initiating the creation of a data room for all grade levels, training teachers to use student data to drive instruction, and leading weekly PLC meetings to discuss how data-driven decisions are implemented in classrooms.