I want to dispel the myth that you must keep track of hundreds of complex and confusing indicators to help YOUR campus become high performing.
The truth is, out of the hundreds of indicators that you could track, there are only five that truly matter. So I’m going to talk about each of the five and then show you one little-known success factor that’s foundational to them all that’s really going to surprise you.
Here are the 5 Key Indicators of School Performance:
- Student Achievement
- Discipline Referrals
- Attendance Rates
- Graduation Rates
- Teacher Satisfaction
Got that? You want to improve student achievement, decrease discipline referrals, increase both attendance and graduation rates, and skyrocket teacher satisfaction. Whew! That is NOT an easy task!
Now, in just a moment, I’m going to share that one little known success factor that will dramatically shift all 5 key indicators in as little as one school year. But, first let’s quickly discuss these five.
- Student Achievement
If you get this wrong, anxiety increases on your campus, students quickly lose their motivation and teachers become frustrated. But if you get it right it’s celebrated on campus, throughout your community, across your boardroom, and you attain rock-star status among your peers.
- Discipline Referrals
If you get this wrong, your time and attention are lost on inappropriate student behavior, redirection, issuing consequences, and your teachers end up burned out. But if you get this right both your teachers and students become happy together because your campus is safer and teachers feel respected.
- Attendance Rates
If you get this wrong, your students simply don’t show up in the classroom, they’re not learning, and grades plummet. But if you get this right then you at least have the CHANCE to teach students because they’re in the classroom. Not to mention the fact that in many cases, funding is tied to your attendance rate!
- Graduation Rates
If you get this wrong, your drop-out rates increase, students in your community are not prepared for post-secondary jobs and opportunities, crime in your community increases, and your area’s real-estate values decrease. But if you get this right students and parents see your campus as a place where students receive the skills they need for success in post-secondary education and most importantly, their future careers.
- Teacher Satisfaction
If you get this wrong, recruiting excellent teachers is like pulling teeth, your teacher retention rate decreases, and campus complaints prevail from the teacher’s lounge to social media. But if you get this right your teachers are excited about opportunities to help students succeed, they see possibilities rather than problems, and they’re willing to go the extra mile to innovate and take instruction beyond the classroom.
So, let me ask you… how do you improve these five indicators of high performing schools – literally in as little as ONE year?
Current thinking suggests that you can improve these indicators by using tactics like these:
- passing new legislation
- setting even higher standards
- adding new levels of academic rigor
- analyzing more data
- holding teachers more accountable
- even more student testing
But that’s just not true. It’s a myth that you need to focus on all these little tactics. If you’re focusing on 15 or 20 or 40 or 70 or 100s of different tactics, you’re going to be stressed out, spread too thin, and paralyzed by data analysis. You can’t possibly FOCUS on executing this many tactics and really master them.
Some people would tell you that ‘one’ is a dangerous number because it can’t possibly be that simple. But having worked with 100s of campuses around the country, I can tell you that there’s ONE foundational tactic that winning schools FOCUS on that moves the dial on all 5 key performance indicators in a remarkably short period of time.
And, I’m about to share it with you, so stick with me.
But, first, let me reiterate.
The goal is FOCUS.
Follow One Course Until Successful – that’s what I mean by FOCUS.
From the board member to the bus driver. Everyone needs to FOCUS on the one thing that will move the dial on these 5 Key Indicators of School Performance. It’s the one thing that lays a solid foundation for everything else to follow quickly and easily.
And, here it is… Are you ready?
Groundbreaking Research Demonstrates that High Performing Schools are Distinguished by Exceptional Culture and Climate.
Yes, that’s right. Exceptional culture and climate is THE foundation that provides strength and stability for relevant curriculum, inspiring instruction, effective processes, and the right strategies to drive student achievement through the roof.
So, that’s the 5 Key Indicators of School Performance and the ONE success factor you should FOCUS on that’s foundational to them all.
But, just how do you go about constructing a foundation of exceptional culture and climate? That’ll be the subject of our next video.
For now, here’s your homework.
If you’re serious about building a foundation with an exceptional culture and climate in your school and district, then learning more about the Capturing Kids’ Hearts™ process is your ideal next step.
It’s a school-level intervention that impacts student behavior by enhancing school culture and climate through improved relational and conflict management skills.
By Dr. Debbie Emery
