Second Place, West Division, Elementary Schools
Lynne Shuttleworth, Principal
425 Berry Street
Jackson, TN 38301
Madison County Schools
Recipe For Success:
As principal of one of the best elementary schools in the state, I would like to share a few recipes that are working in our school for student success:
- Flexible, committed faculty and staff
- School-wide discipline plan that rewards both short-term and long-term behavior
- Formative assessments given on a regular basis throughout the year
- Constant data dissemination with a strong monitoring process in place
- Individual student files in each classroom to record any and all interventions, whether to reinforce at-risk students’ skills or to challenge students with higher order thinking skills.
- All available school personnel are involved in the 90 minute reading block at the beginning of each day.
- Strong Leadership Team that reviews and makes decisions on a regular basis for the entire school.
- Grade level teams that meet with the principal or instructional coach every week, sharing strategies, probes, and interventions.
- Collaboration in every endeavor concerning students, both grade level and multi-level.
- Consistent walk-through evaluations by the principal and instructional coach.
- Move teachers to their best suited spot. Usually, they will be refreshed and will do a better job in a new position.
- A principal should know the strengths of his/her teachers by high visibility and consistent evaluations. Even in an elementary school, if possible, allow teachers to teach what they teach best. They do a much better job, and the students comprehend the subject matter more thoroughly.
- When interviewing for new positions, choose personnel who will fit your team and be a team player. One teacher can destroy the positive climate in a school.
- Faculty and staff that reinforces and supports the goals of the administration.