Organizational Assessment Assignment

Organization’s Effectiveness

Completing the Organizational Assessment assignment for the internship seminar course revealed the characteristics that make Playhouse a successful learning environment. The assessment also delved into some of the hardships that the site faces each year and how the directors, staff, and board members work to overcome these hardships. As an intern, the Organizational Assessment assignment was helpful because it allowed me to go deeper than the surface of the site and see why the site is run the way that it is run. Arguably the most important aspect of a site itself is the history. The history reveals why the site is run the way that it is, what challenges were faced, and how the site has adapted to change. In

Currently, with six classrooms, the playhouse curriculum continues to offer a play based and hands on curriculum. At Playhouse there is an importance of the child learning by “doing.” To make sure that the employees, parents, and children enrolled at Playhouse continue to reflect the founding values of Playhouse, a document called “The Pillars of Playhouse” was created around fifteen years ago. Jeanie Ginsberg created The Pillars after she was unable to continue to be present at Playhouse on a daily basis. The Pillars are used to continue to represent the practical beliefs, administrative beliefs, and the philosophical practices and beliefs of the school. From my experience as an intern, I can see each day that the staff members try their best to uphold the values that are listed in The Pillars. I think that The Pillars are an excellent way to establish what is expected at the school from everybody involved. The Pillars help to create the environment that was established when Jeanie was able to be at the school and the employees are very dedicated to upholding those values through practice. Each staff member at the school holds Jeanie at such a high regard and credit her for making Playhouse a great environment for not only the children, but

There is a system wide consensus on the issues the organization confronts, the policies it adopts, and the means to achieve them” (Lauffer, 2011, p. 219). Through the creation of the Playhouse Pillars and through weekly staff meetings, Playhouse staff members come to consensus on issues based on the history of the school and the Playhouse Pillars. In order to make sure that Playhouse is continuing to be effective, there are weekly staff meetings and monthly board meetings. Each week the staff members meet to speak about issues in the classroom and the staff members give advice to one another. The monthly board meetings are about conducting research to develop and adopt a budget for the school, teachers’ salaries, and organizing activities and functions in order to fundraise for the school. The board meetings are important because the board is made up of current or past Playhouse parents. At the board meetings the important topics that keep the school in good shape are brought up and decided on. I would say that the organization is very good at meeting it’s goals through the staff meetings and through the board meetings. For a school setting, the goals are a