Lessons Learned from Rural Schools - Alabama Department of ...

LLS-0010 Lessons Learned_Pub.qrk: 4/25/09 3:02 PM Page 17
What Happens When The Bell Rings?
By Owen Sweatt, Ph.D.
Do you remember your first grade classroom?
What color was the floor? What did your desk
look like? How big was the blackboard? What
was your teacher’s name?
My guess is that far more of us can remember who
taught us in the first grade than can remember our
physical surroundings. Which is why any serious look at
how a school performs as it does must look carefully at
how teachers work with their students, how administrators
interact with staff and how both students and staff
are motivated.
We studied these schools by using interviews, observations,
and questionnaires to obtain information. Each
school assembled a group of parents and a group of
teachers to be interviewed separately to share information
and perceptions about why they felt their schools were successful.
Each principal was interviewed and completed a
situational questionnaire to determine his or her leadership
style. Patterns were identified from the data, categorized
and used to display the results shared in this section.
This section examines the reasons for success as they related
to leadership and motivation of the students, teachers
and principal. Since only one of the three researchers
has worked in education, this study examined schools with
different perspectives than most “educational research.”
With these thoughts in mind, we share our findings.
Assumptions
1. Focus groups of teachers and parents were representative
of the general population of teachers and parents.
2. Participants were truthful and open regarding their perceptions
and experiences.
3. The assignment of motivational and leadership theory
by the author to the behavior described by the participants
is accurate.
Limitations
1. This was not an attempt to measure and assess all
aspects of the educational process because of the scope,
expertise, and time.
2. Information was gathered from limited observation and
question/answer sessions.
3. Only elementary schools (one K-8 school) were
assessed.
Lessons Learned from Rural Schools – May 2009
What we did not find
• a magic formula for success
• a consensus of leadership styles of principals
• a consensus of what motivates principals or how they use
motivation
• a consistent community profile
• a consistent uniform policy (4 out of 10 have uniforms)
• similar school construction and size
• consistent level of parental involvement
What we did find
• A lot of qualified and dedicated school personnel
• “Family” and “Team” used to describe faculty relationships
at school
• High expectations for success, both spoken and written
• State and Federal policies give structure and accountability
standards that have produced positive results. However,
these policies and procedures also limit some teacher’s involvement
in child development and can impede some of
the progress of high performing schools.
• Discipline in schools was, as one person noted, “an issue,
but not a problem.”
• Not all children were motivated by the same things, but
most children can be motivated to accomplish individual
and school goals.
• All faculty were not motivated by the same things, however,
all staff and faculty that were interviewed expressed a
love for teaching and for the children entrusted in their
care.
• Bigger is not always bigger--the size of the schools (seven
of the ten schools have fewer than 400 students) seemed to
facilitate building relationships. Other benefits from the
small schools and rural areas included high salary in their
communities (to attract and keep teachers), status, and affiliation.
• Schools used multiple avenues of communication with
parents and the community.
• Schools were the hub of their communities and were a
safe, secure environment for students.
• The cultures among the schools were quite different, but
reflected values of their respective communities. The really
strong cultures in some schools were influencing the
values in their communities.
• The perceptions of why the schools were successful were
not always the same between the faculty and administration.
17