Assignment 1: Reform Proposal – Changing a School District to a Learning Organization

Due Week 4 and worth 180 points

Students, parents, teachers, principals, central office staff, superintendents, and school board members all play important roles in school systems. Use the Internet to research a school district in your area and use the information you locate to complete this assignment. Imagine that you are a teacher leader and you have been asked to supply ideas to the selected school district to help it transform into a learning organization with more effective leadership practices.  You will research one reform policy to assist in changing your district into learning organization. Write a proposal to change your district into learning organization.

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you: 

1. Briefly (one (1) paragraph) describe the size and setting of the school district. Propose a new model in your reformed school.  Describe the model and the reformed school into a learning organization.

2. Evaluate the relationship of the selected policy to historical and traditional methods of adopting school reform policies.  How could you change or modify this policy to assist in creating a learning organization?

3. Propose and describe three or four best practices of effective leadership in the learning organization.

4. Propose the modifications that you would like to make to the existing school reform policy. Determine three (3) ways to implement the desired changes and lead the change of the policy.    

5. Provide one (1) suggestion that will help to transition the each of the following stakeholders (all 7 below) from their current role to their role in a learning organization.Then pick 5 of the 7 stakeholders to discuss how each stakeholder supports the transition from a traditional bureaucratic model to a learning organization.Describe the Learning Organization and Model’s impact on students and staff.Then describe how the school would work for students and staff using the proposed model.

1. Students

2. Parents

3. Teachers

4. Principals

5. Central office staff

6. Superintendent

7. School board

6. Describe the Learning Organization and Model’s impact on students and staff.  Then describe how the school would work for students and staff using the proposed model. 

7. Include at least three (3) references with (1) of these needs to be from a peer reviewed journal.  Note: Make sure references are no more than five (5) years old from material outside the textbook.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

· Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

· Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. 

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

· Compare various models of school organization to distinguish effective leadership practices.

· Explore historical and traditional methods of adopting school reformation policies.

· Evaluate the components of school systems and attempts to reform specific aspects of the system.

· Differentiate between traditional bureaucratic school systems and learning organizations. 

· Use technology and information resources to research issues in teacher leadership. 

· Write clearly and concisely about teacher leadership using proper writing mechanics.