A – Z School Improvement Planning Team Challenge

Activity: Teacher Training Closer

Purpose: Many schools throughout the nation are required to write a school improvement plan as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act. The training on how to write a school improvement plan that meets the state’s compliance mandates can be a tedious and boring process, yet, it is important that participants learn the various parts of the school improvement plan and its unique vocabulary. An effective way to close the training session and conduct a review of what the participants learned is to have them complete an A to Z School Improvement List. 

Tools: Prepare one A-Z School Improvement handout for each team. The letters A-Z are preprinted at the left margin. Prizes (listed below)

 

Process: Have participants count off by numbers or letters to develop teams. For example, if you wanted three person teams the letters could be S-I-P for School Improvement Planning.  Each combination of S-I-P forms one team.

Give one A-Z School Improvement handout to each team. Announce that the task is to identify one aspect of school improvement planning that corresponds to each letter of the alphabet. Also tell the group that each member of the winning team will receive a prize. Then say, “Go.” You will not need a time limit as one team is sure to come up with a complete list within 2-3 minutes, even if some of the items are “a stretch.”  After a team announces they have completed their list, have them read off each item. Tell the other teams that they may fill in their list with any of the items read off by the winning team. Be flexible. In addition to reviewing the parts and vocabulary of school improvement planning, this closer also ends the training session on a humorous and good natured note. As for the prizes? Cans of alphabet soup, naturally!

 

Dr. Zielke is a retired principal who currently works at the Professional Development Alliance in Joliet, IL., as a school improvement consultant.

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