The Value of Self-review

Annual school reviews have been a unique and vital aspect of The Cornerstone Initiative since the first review at Viola E. Lake Elementary School in Jackson, Mississippi in February 2001.  The basic philosophy of review has remained constant over the 114 reviews completed.  However, changes have been introduced each year to improve the overall process.  These changes stemmed from reflection, evaluation and review by team members, school-based colleagues, district administrators and Cornerstone staff in both formal and informal ways. 

One significant change in the construct of school review has been the addition of a self-review component.  It was first introduced to schools in their third and fourth year with Cornerstone.  School staff members were asked to reflect on how well their own school had addressed the recommendations made in the previous review.  In addition, schools were asked to describe circumstances that supported their ability to serve as a Foundation School.  Several schools reported that the process of piecing together this self-review was a valuable professional development experience in itself.  Last year, Cornerstone instituted self-review prior to a review team’s visit for all schools.

Value in the Process
Self-review provides a valuable mechanism which can contribute to school improvement.  Completing the Cornerstone self-review questionnaire can, in itself, be a rich learning experience.  It takes time and effort, and it isn’t easy.  In the end, however, the procedure heightens thinking about student learning, the practice of teaching, leadership and the learning environment in any school.

Some schools report that the principal and Cornerstone coaches completed the self-review document.  A larger group – a leadership team – filled in the evaluation form at other sites.  Some schools involved the whole staff – in much the same way as Cornerstone Asset Maps are completed.  We hear of instances where portions of the self-review document are assigned to small groups and other instances where the whole leadership team works through the entire document.  There is no single “right” way to complete a self-review.  Although to be meaningful, it should involve, at the very least, a representative cross-section of the school community.

At Hart Magnet School in Stamford, the Cornerstone self-review was completed during two full “Days Apart” funded by the district and used for this process.  The Literacy Leadership Team worked for the first day and then involved a representative group of the entire faculty on the second day.

Judgments about what is happening should always be substantiated by evidence.  Assembling a small amount of significant evidence that supports the self-review is more useful than enumerating an extensive list of less-consequential “proof”.   Evidence might include:

• Literacy Action Plan
• Coaching log
• Master schedule
• Environmental Scan
• Planned science units from each grade
• Materials and PowerPoint presentations from faculty and parent professional development experiences
• W.I.L.F. examples
• Grade level assessments and rubrics
• Sample student anchor papers
• Leadership/Literacy Team meeting minutes
• Standards-based bulletin boards
• Cornerstone Connections school & district goals bulletin board

“Two key things a school should remember are (1) to involve as many parts of the school community as possible when seeking information and (2) avoid writing lists of activities that have no evidence about the impact and outcomes that they deliver for the students.”  [“New Self-review: Why Do We Need It?” by Norma Empringham in Around the Corner, Volume 7-1]

Value for the Review Team
School review teams often report that they do not have enough time in the schools.  They cover a lot of ground in the two or three days that they generally spend in a building.  They observe students and teachers in classrooms – often completing more than 50 classroom observations.  They interview teams of teachers, administrators, specialists, parents and other community representatives.  They observe the day-to-day activities of the school – the morning announcement routines, activities in the media center, physical education classes, lunchroom situations, and the arrival and departure of students.  They study “evidence” which is provided in a wide range of forms.  And, they carefully consider student work.  A massive amount of information is available to the review team but the team sometimes feels that they do not have enough time to assess all of it.

Senior reviewers and review team members can get a jump start on their review work by considering the school’s self-review prior to the review week.  The senior reviewer will study the self-review in order to get a sense of the school, develop an understanding of the school’s strengths, learn about priorities the school is addressing, consider challenges that the school may be facing, and begin to organize evidence that the school has available.  Furthermore, the senior reviewer will begin to formulate questions that may guide the week’s work.  Senior reviewers will likely begin to plan out the week’s agenda by assigning team members to various tasks and organizing a work schedule based upon the contents of the self-review.

Review team members usually have the opportunity to read through the self-review prior to their visit.  This allows them to begin their work with some understanding of the context of the school as well as insight into the school’s current key issues.

Value for the School
In 2006-07 the protocol for the annual school reviews shifted so that ALL schools were requested to complete a self-evaluation prior to the visit from an external review team.  The new self-review questionnaire reflected lessons learned from the longer, more wordy self-review document that was completed by third and fourth year schools previously.

The self-review questionnaire is one way to document growth over time.   “This process of self-reflection should be cumulative, building on the first examination, with schools adding or amending the answers to the questions as they continue on their journey with Cornerstone” [“New Self-review: Why Do We Need It?” by Norma Empringham in Around the Corner, Volume 7-1].  Once it is completed thoughtfully, the school has a living document that focuses on the effectiveness of the work and the quality of outcomes.  It can be revisited annually – or more frequently – for revisions and updating.

The first year that a school completes the questionnaire will likely be the most challenging.  It is not essential for each and every question to be completed; there will be some gaps in understanding of the Cornerstone work.  Simply put, the first self-review and the first year school review provide a baseline against which subsequent progress can be measured.

A good self-review will assist schools in determining where they are, assure members of the school community that they are speaking the same language, and complement the annual external review for there is no better way to improve than to truly know yourself, to celebrate strengths, and to act quickly to address weaknesses.