Belief is a powerful factor in achieving any goal, in an situation, and in any organization. Collective efficacy in a school is the perception of teachers that the faculty as a whole can execute courses of action required to positively impact student achievement....in short, the school sees itself as an effective agent of change. Every great outcome starts with a belief. Research demonstrates collective efficacy in a school has the highest effect size in increasing student achievement. As an educational leader, do you believe in yourself and your team? Do you truly believe that you and your team can positively impact every child every day in your school? Doesn't every child that walks through our doors deserve to have teachers, staff, and administrators that believe in them and believe in themselves to achieve greatness? Does your school (people in the school) believe they are truly effective agents of change for every child every day?

The biggest part of being successful and seeing ALL students achieve at a high level comes down to collective efficacy…..the belief that we can make a difference for every child that walks through our doors each day. John Hattie’s Visible Learning Research quantified the effect or impact size on student learning of almost everything we do in education. John Hattie says “the major argument underlying powerful impacts in our schools relates to how we think! It is a set of mind frames that underpin our every action and decision in a school; it is a belief that we are evaluators, change agents, adaptive learning experts, seekers of feedback about our impact, engaged in dialogue and challenge, and developers of trust with all, and that we see opportunity in error, and are keen to spread the message about the power, fun, and impact that we have on learning.” (Visible Learning Teachers, p.159) Teachers and school leaders who develop these ways of thinking are more likely to have major impacts on student learning.

Our mission and vision is simple…..”Commitment to Excellence”, “Every Student, Every Day.” You’t can’t commit to the vision of our school without believing that we can make a positive difference for every single child that walks through our front doors. While we have strategic commitments that outline what we are dedicated to in school, it all goes back to the vision of “Every Student, Every Day” in that we believe we are the change agents that will make a positive impact for every student every day and the belief that our team can collectively accomplish this goal. This is our “educational swagger!” To many people 1.57 is just a number, but to the great teams and great schools it’s a team commitment to success and the belief that we will collectively find a way to be successful. It’s the embodiment of leadership’s vision for the school and the most efficacious way to win. Don’t overcomplicate the process of success in schools, it all starts and is grounded in the belief that the team is supposed to be successful and will collectively find a way to win!