AkU GuRu BaHaSa MeLaYu

Effective Schools Have School-Wide Procedures

At Harris Elementary School in Bakersfield, California, the principal, Wanda Bradford, showed tape three of the video series, The Effective Teacher. She did not mandate anything, rather her staff chose to start each day with a bellwork assignment. Thus, this became a consistent school-wide procedure.

She reports, “We start each day with a structured opening. Each teacher has a daily opening and the students start the day on task.” She describes the success of her school in a poem.

Each day begins with learning
When students come to class.
And without a lot of chatting,
They start the day on task.

With assignments clearly posted
Students need not be told,
To quiet down and get to work
While the teacher takes the roll.

If daily routines are followed
Less wasted time is spent.
Classes will run smoothly
With great class management.

Research has been proven
Achievement gains will rise,
When effective teachers start the day
With time that’s maximized.

 
The key words in the poem are “achievement gains.” The staff at Harris School in Bakersfield was able to obtain student achievement because of its knowledge of “classroom management” and the implementation of “procedures and routines.”

The goal in the above poem is student achievement and the teachers achieved this by using routines to manage their classrooms.