14 Tips To Improve Schools and Overall
Student Performance
July 27, 2022
Finding a way to improve schools and enhance student engagement and growth can be
difficult, especially because there are so many elements involved in a school district’s
decision-making process when trying to make changes. Not to mention, once a school
district implements changes, it takes time, data collection, and research to determine
whether those changes have proven successful or not. Regardless of the gains,
modifying and adjusting to acquire additional improvements is an on-going, never-
ending process. Nonetheless, over a five-year period, 62% of teachers and 81% of
principals feel school improvement initiatives enhance schools.
To assist in finding ways to improve the educational experience, here are 14 areas that
are worth considering when schools are looking to take education to the next level:
1. Technology Usage
Despite some naysayers who believe technology is a hindrance to education and a
distraction from student focus and performance, research indicates that educational
technology can be a helpful tool to increase student engagement and allow
unprecedented interaction with curricular content. Nowadays, most schools use
SMART boards, Chromebooks, video conferencing, and more to help students process
information. While there is a gold mine of untapped potential through technology, some
of the benefits include improved communication, advanced research opportunities,
lecture enhancement, effective assessments, and the option for a more open-ended,
student-guided learning experience.
2. Teacher Training
While the magnifying glass is often on technology, material resources, and
assessment, these are just tools that are a means to an end - one which hopefully finds
successful outcomes. However, no matter how promising these tools may be, it is
crucial to spend time ensuring that the teachers themselves are creative, engaging, and
efficient deliverers of their content. After all, the teacher is the classroom facilitator who
makes the plans, designs the lessons, and makes use of all resources at their disposal
(or doesn’t, as the case may be).
Therefore, it is imperative to ensure teachers receive adequate professional learning
covering ground-breaking technology and educational techniques. Far too often,
teachers attend training sessions, but the time is limited and they are not allowed to
actually engage with the new technology or material themselves. Instead, they engage
as an observer and they are forced to learn new content through a means that
research has proven ineffective. As a result, many teachers take in the information, are
overwhelmed or unsure about its usage, and never make an attempt to implement the
new resources or learning into their lessons.
3. Cultural Activities
Sometimes school improvement comes in a simple form: cultural awareness. Creating
opportunities for cultural awareness takes time and preparation on the part of teachers
and administrators. When schools find ways to connect content material to students’
cultural backgrounds, students become more engaged on a personal level and content
is brought to life in a way that has meaning to them. As a result, students are more
willing to put forth effort and are able to better understand how their learning relates to
their lives.
Schools can hold additional events to encourage cultural awareness as well, such as
social festivities, dance and music workshops, and heritage clubs. Creating these
cultural connections for students can make learning fun while transferring knowledge to
real-world situations.
4. Motivational Guests
Sometimes a teacher can motivate students without having to do all the work
themselves. Inviting guest speakers from various professions that can effectively
engage and interact offers students an endless set of topic possibilities. This can
happen in a variety of ways, including in-person appearances or online connections
through Skype or other video conferencing tools. Guest speakers have the potential to
relate to students and inspire them by describing problems, likes, dislikes, and
challenges throughout their own lives that connect to the classroom content. For
example, a science teacher could ask a scientist to speak about the biggest success
and the biggest learning experience they’ve ever encountered in a laboratory setting.
Students can then ask questions of the scientist and learn first-hand from someone
who is in the field.
5. Student Counseling
Not all students share the same qualities, not do they manage school pressure in the
same way. A school should understand that students spend a significant amount of
time away from their families during the school year. As a result, regular check-ins with
school counselors are paramount to help reduce student stress and assist with
students’ problem-solving skills - both academic and personal.
6. School Maintenance
Ongoing school building and its technological platform maintenance is important, as
this helps reduce lost educational time. Electrical and technological maintenance are
important to reduce lost educational time. In order to provide the best possible care for
students, school administrators should ensure that all campus maintenance issues are
resolved as soon as possible. Schools should also have backup generators and ensure
that all safety measures are working properly, not only to ensure students remain safe,
but also to allow teachers to continue their lessons uninterrupted. A technological
mishap can undo weeks of planning, especially since teachers often have to schedule
access to computer labs and other resources weeks or even months in advance.
There should always be a backup plan to combat outages and ensure that lights, fans,
and air conditioners are always operational.
Additionally, schools should ensure that hazardous chemicals, such as lead paint, lead
pipes or asbestos are not present on their campus. Though eliminating these toxins is
costly and time consuming, doing so is crucial to ensure student safety.
7. Parent-teacher Communication
It is imperative that school administration, teachers and personnel maintain an open
line of communication with parents and the school community. Doing so keeps all
parties up to date on a school's successes, challenges and general information.
Administration should conduct regular meetings to encourage teacher-family
involvement and give the school community an opportunity to be heard. The knowledge
gleaned from these meetings can potentially be used to modify campus procedures to
ensure that the learning process continues smoothly. These meetings also impact the
growth and development of a school in a way that satisfies all participants in the
educational process.
8. Activities Outside Classrooms
A great way to provide students with a rich learning experience that connects content to
real-world concepts is to provide them with activities that take place outside of the
classroom. An example of this might be to make a garden at school and ask students to
be involved in all aspects of the gardening projects. Students could then conduct
classes about their learning and invite community members to attend for a small fee in
an effort to raise money for the school.
Improving a school's "curb appeal" is another quick and cost-effective way to provide
activities outside the classroom and improve schools and school performance. Clearing
weeds, pruning hedges, planting flowers, and picking up garbage in fields and parking
lots are all student-friendly methods to improve the appearance of a school’s campus.
These activities can be connected to school curriculum and the real-world through
teaching lessons about plant growth when working in the garden or environmental
issues, such as littering, when cleaning up the schoolyard.
9. Local Campaigns
Another great way to engage students is to organize campaigns. Whether to acquire
funding or support for school initiatives or simply to give students a chance to have a
voice about important real-world matters, allowing students to direct a campaign not
only builds their leadership skills but also gives them the opportunity to demonstrate
important skills they learn in the classrooms. One of the main goals for education is to
transfer classroom learning into the real world, and campaigning provides a perfect
opportunity to show students that what they do can make a difference.
10. Sports Activities and Clubs
Research shows that the more involved students are at school, the better they perform
academically and socially. If a school lacks extracurricular activities or ways for
students to build a sense of community, they should consider providing opportunities
that encourage student-school connection.
With extracurricular options that appeal to the spectrum of student interests, students
will enjoy school more and be willing to try harder to complete their learning objectives.
Some possibilities to consider are:
Sports (baseball, soccer, basketball, etc.)
Arts (drama, drawing, dance, etc.)
Academics (quizbowl, chess, board games, etc.)
11. An Engaging Environment
Teachers are encouraged to experiment with an innovative classroom to provide new
experiences within the classroom itself. This includes a willingness to re-arrange
furniture or even take the classroom to new locations to provide deeper engagement
and interaction with the content matter and stimulate student minds. New experiences
generate student interest and when the atmosphere is a combination of rigor and fun,
students will learn far more - especially if they have the opportunity to actively interact
with the material.
12. Communication of Needs
Sometimes improving a school is like turning a ship around — it’s a slow process that
takes time. However, if nobody turns the wheel, that ship is going to continue on its
course, even if it plows into a sandbar.
Teachers, parents, administrators, and community members need to be vocal and
vigilant about improving the educational experience. This can include openly sharing
and expressing ideas and speaking to the appropriate officials who can make change
happen. Sometimes, this involves parents or teachers approaching school
administration, or administration approaching district or community members with ideas
to consider.
Holding meetings and communication forums with interested parties is another great
way to present research on new technology, techniques, and other ideas for school
improvement. This is also an effective way to generate interest and involvement in the
school community, and it helps stakeholders learn about the process and costs
required to make school improvements happen.
13. Compliments for Students
Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that can make the most difference in a student’s
life. Complimenting students makes them feel as if they are valued as individuals and
can provide a spark that encourages them to try harder and perform beyond
expectations. All school personnel should make a concerted effort to find the strengths
in students and compliment them on their behavior and performance.
Encourage staff members and teachers to give specific and genuine praises to each
student that highlight what they have done well and what makes them special.
14. A Positive Atmosphere
Efforts to create school improvements will only have a long-term benefit if they can be
sustained. Therefore, it is imperative to build a culture of success within the district that
includes continuously seeking new improvement options and campaigning for them. It
is also important to document change and place reminders throughout the campus to
keep school improvement while placing reminders throughout the school to keep reform
and creativity as a focus in everyone’s minds.
Positivity and reinforcement are important to ensure that initiatives do not lose
momentum and interest and eventually disappear into the box of good ideas that were
never realized. Be the cheerleader for educational revival and enlist students and other
faculty to join you on this neverending mission for improvement.
Keeping a visible record of the positive changes that have already taken place and
recording goals that the school wishes to achieve are tangible ways to keep school
improvement on the forefront.
Here are some possible ideas to consider:
Choose a historian for the school’s progress. They can keep track of any
improvements made to your institution and pass that information on to the next
historian so there is a solid and detailed record of changes.
Check with your school to see if a special location can be set aside to
memorialize this effort. This could be a space in the library or office displaying
successful school initiatives and a memorial wall with photos, plaques, and other
mementos of these successes.
The Bottom Line
Without individuals pursuing new opportunities to improve student growth, schools will
remain stagnant or even lose educational value. With new research showing the many
benefits of innovative and creative educational methods, it is important for all
stakeholders involved in education to find new and interesting ways to capture the
attention of students and improve engagement while working to ensure that content
learning can be transferred to real-world situations.
