Domain I—Leadership of the Educational Community –
Competencies 1 - 4
Competency
1 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical
manner in order to promote the success of all students.
Within my Intern Plan this competency was used in several of
the activities laid out. The first case
was in Negotiating/Consensus building.
The particular activity that I was involved with was to present a parent
survey of possible problems that had caused a sharp decline in student
enrollment over the previous two years.
Once this survey was completed we held a town hall meeting in which the
issues were discussed and possible solutions were brought up. While leading this activity it was imperative
to remain professional and act in an ethical manner. The blame game can get tossed around and it’s
important to not get involved with the reasoning, but rather find a solution
and move forward.
The next area of my
internship plan where this competency was utilized occurred within the
personnel procedures. As Superintendent
I assisted the principal during the summer months in interviewing for three
teaching positions and worked collaboratively with the SBDM team to ensure we
were hiring the best possible candidates for our school district. Within this area it is so important that
school administrators act with integrity and are able to keep personal relationships
out of the way when making these hiring decisions. It is extremely difficult not to honor the
buddy system when participating in the hiring process, but one must keep in
mind that the most important thing is the students’ education. It is imperative that schools hire the best
candidates in order to give the student’s the best opportunity to succeed
academically.
The area of
Community and Public Relations is also an area in which a Superintendent must
remain honest and have a high level of integrity. As a school leader one must give honest
information and keep the community involved about the happenings at the school. Many times an administrator will hide
pertinent information from the public in order to keep negative information from
filtering out. To me this type of
behavior may mask the situation temporarily, but in the end it will only make
it worse. Being open and honest and
having the integrity to inform all stakeholders within a district is so very
important for the success of any school administrator.
An area that was
also addressed in my intern plan deals with interpersonal relationships. As Superintendent of a small school I had to
learn really fast how to deal with criticism and accept it. Not only must one do this, I think it is a
great opportunity to be honest with one’s self and see if the criticism is
warranted. If one can find some truth in
the criticism then I believe they must take that as a learning point and work
to improve in that area. It seems like a
natural instinct to automatically get defensive about criticism but it is so
important to use it in a positive way.
Competency 1 in my opinion is a
strong point for me in that I have been raised to have good morals and to
always act with integrity in everything I do.
I have tried to be honest and fair in every decision that I have made as
an administrator. When making important
decisions it is paramount that they are made with the school and student’s best
interest in mind.
Competency 2 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to shape district culture by facilitating the
development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of
learning that is shared and supported by the educational community.
While
working through my internship I was able to participate in the creation of a
new vision and mission statement for our district. I feel as if this is the most important
activity that could be performed within this particular competency area. The best part of this process and the reason
for its success is that so many different people were involved. We let every teacher have an input along with
many of stakeholders within the school district. Surveys were sent out to the board members,
business leaders, parents, and many other past and present school leaders. This was a team effort that would best fit
our particular district. I think it is
so important to involve all of the different stakeholders in order to get the
best possible vision statement that fits the different characteristics of the
district that it is being prepared for.
The
next area of the internship that I participated in that had to do with this
competency was in the interviewing process.
While interviewing the different candidates, I feel like to ensure the
candidate is the best fit for the district, it is important to see that their
philosophy fits with the vision of our district. If an individual has a different philosophy
of the district then even if they have good credentials they may not be the
best fit and it would be wise to look at other candidates. It is so important to have every person
within the school district on the same page and striving to meet the same goals
and expectations set forth. When a
district has this in place, then success will soon follow.
As
Superintendent, with the help of our principal, we were able to implement a
“Make Reading Important” program this school year. This program fits within the
Community/Business involvement and partnership section of the intern plan. Each month we invited a local business owner,
community leader, politician, and retired teachers to come and read to our
elementary students. We were even able
to have an MLB and NFL player be a part of our program. The overall purpose of
this program is to improve the overall reading within our school district, but
it’s also important that we are using community members. By bringing in these community members we are
able to bring a different perspective to the students and create a sense of
importance to their education.
The
last section in which this competency fell into was the Philosophy and History
of the school district. Being from this
area and attending the same school in which I now work, I had some previous
information about the philosophy and history.
However, I wanted to get the full details of the school, so I
interviewed Mr. Lanier Gibson. Mr.
Gibson was he principal and Superintendent for over 30 years. His father, Buck Gibson, was the founder of
the school and was the Superintendent for over 40 years. He was able to provide me with the entire
history of the school and gave me much information about many of the happenings
of our district. This activity was very
beneficial for me in that I have a better understanding of how our school was
started and the importance that is has on our community members and
ex-students.
Competency
3 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to communicate and collaborate with families and
community members, respond to diverse community interests and needs, and
mobilize community resources to ensure educational success for all students.
The
first activity that I performed within this competency was involved with
collaborative decision making. The actual activity involved leading the SBDT in
all of our meetings to this point in the year.
Our ultimate goal has been to improve the academic effectiveness of our
district. Working with all stakeholders
and taking ideas and suggestions we have implemented several strategies to
reach our goal. We have been successful
to this point and we only hope to continue improvement as we move forward.
The next activity
had to do with surveying parents, teachers and community members about the
problems that has caused such a sharp decline in the overall enrollment. Using this method and allowing these people
to have some say and input in the school gave them some ownership and has
started to create a trust within the community and district as a whole. The one thing that we found was that the
effectiveness of the overall academic environment wasn’t up to
expectations. Another area of concern
dealt with a trust factor with the administrators and an absence of
communication with parents, teachers and community members.
Within the
community/public relations section I participated in communicating with the
parents and communities about the many positive changes that are occurring
within our district. The means of
communication has varied between letters to parents, use of our local
newspapers to inform our community members, and the local television station
covering some of our activities. It has
been great to see the positive feedback that we have received by implementing
the avenues of reaching our community.
The next activity
had to do with parent involvement and finding ways to get a better turnout from
them. I was able to lead a group in
finding ways to get parents involved and in possible volunteer activities. Within this group we were able to get
suggestions and actually get several parents involved at the school. Once a week we have parents come to the read
to our elementary students in a one-on-one situation and then have the students
will tell them about the story. This
has been such a positive activity in that it obviously has helped with reading
comprehension, but it also puts an importance on education with those parents
and their children. When their children
see them helping at the school, it gives them a sense of how important school
is for them and also sets them up to a higher level of expectations.
I really think
community involvement is one of my stronger suits as a Superintendent. I think I have a huge advantage at current
position because I am from here and have always been active in the
community. This has been such a positive
for our district and with me being able to implement some of my actual
internship projects into actual school programs has been extremely helpful.
Competency
4 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to respond to and influence the larger political,
social, economic, legal, and cultural context, including working with the board
of trustees, to achieve the district's educational vision.
Leading school
board meetings and preparing the information for all of the fall of 2013 board
meetings has been such an eye opening experience. I have learned so much about the actual
process of running a board meeting and how to effectively run the meetings.
The first board
meeting that I had the privilege of running as a Superintendent, dealt with the
tax rate and adopting the budget for the 2013-14 school year. Our district has a tax rate of 1.17 which is
the ceiling and it cannot be raised, but it can be lowered. I had to give a presentation to several
community members explaining the importance of keeping the current rate in
order to receive the appropriate funding for our district. After the
presentation, the board then approves the rate and fortunately for a district
our size we were able to get the funding necessary to continue running
efficiently.
Throughout the
school year and at each board meeting, I will update the board on any new
changes that the state may be implementing to school districts. It is very important to keep the board up to
date on these events so they can communicate with their constituents and make
them aware of the reasons for certain policy and such.
During our October
meeting we had our ESC 6 service center come to the meeting and perform a legal
update on the newest legislation for school districts. This type of activity is beneficial in that
it provides board members with a clear understanding and for that matter it
helps administrators to understand the laws and expectations. When the board and Superintendent work
together in these types of activities, it also builds a positive relationship
between the two. When this occurs it is
such a positive for the school and the students as a whole.
The last activity
that I was involved with in this particular area deals with talking and communicating
with state representatives. Our current
representative and I have meet or talked periodically and discussed issues that
our board, community, teachers, and administrators see within the public school
system. I think by staying in contact
and letting these people know what the concerns are can be paramount for public
schools. If the appropriate changes are
made and it benefits the district then it has become a win-win situation for
all involved.
DOMAIN II—INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP – COMPETENCIES 5 -
7
Competency
5 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to facilitate the planning and implementation of
strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment among
curriculum, curriculum resources, and assessment; use the current
accountability system; and promote the use of varied assessments to measure
student performance.
Through my Internship there were
several activities in which this competency came into play. The first activity was to work with our
Principal and math teachers and come up with strategies and activities to
improve the overall math program. The
first step was to actually hire a highly qualified high school math teacher and
we were able to accomplish this. The
next step was to implement an enrichment program to find out where are students
are and target the areas that need improvement.
Our district worked with our service center and our special education
coop and implemented a pilot program that addressed exactly what we
needed. After all of our teachers were
trained, we were able to give an assessment to every student in our school and
identify their weaknesses and strengths.
Once these weaknesses were identified our teachers were able to offer
enrichment in those areas for a set amount of time and then reassess after that
time-frame.
During
the summer in collaboration with the Principal we made some teacher assignment
changes in order to better fit our needs.
We totally re-organized our elementary teachers and departmentalized
them. This has been such a great change,
because we were able to use the strengths of each of these teachers and gear
them towards those areas. Not only have
the teachers embraced this change, they have really excelled with it. The overall morale seems better and they are
all happier because they are actually teaching the subject area that they
like. We were somewhat lucky to be able
to make this change and be able to have such a positive outcome. I think with
these changes we will ultimately see better results on student grades and with
the state assessments as well.
The
last activity within this competency area deals with student discipline. When the board hired me as Superintendent,
this was one of the main areas of concern for them. The principal and I reviewed the student code
of conduct and began to draft some needed changes in order to improve the
districts discipline procedures. After
making these changes and getting board approval, our next step was to update
the teachers on the expectations and how to deal with different scenarios. Within the first month of working on the
small issues, these changes had made a great impact. The number of office referrals has been cut
in half and the number of placements has also declined tremendously. When these types of issues are resolved it
will ultimately enhance the teaching and learning that occurs within a
district.
Competency 6 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to advocate, promote, and sustain an instructional
program and a district culture that are conducive to student learning and staff
professional growth.
As Superintendent,
one of my first jobs was to find ways to improve the overall accountability
rating of our district. During the
summer, the Principal, core area teachers, and I began looking at ways to
collect data and determine what changes were needed and what needed to be
implemented. Through this process we
collected all of the students test results and began breaking them down. We also compared them to any and all
bench-marks to determine if the bench-marks were accurately measuring the
students’ ability to that point. Our
findings allowed us to have a better picture of the areas that needed to be
addressed and thus begin the process of creating a plan of action.
The
next activity that falls into this category is the planning of a master
schedule. In most cases this activity
would fall into the hands of the principal.
However, with our district being so small, we worked together to make
the overall schedule most effective for student learning. As I mentioned earlier we were able to
departmentalize the elementary and make the necessary schedule changes to
implement this situation. We were also able to make a master schedule that
allowed for enrichment periods so that we could address the areas of concern
for all of our students.
Working
with our UIL sponsor and principal we have created a plan to recruit more
students for academic competitions. Each teacher is encouraged to recruit
students for the events and make it important for them. We want to set a high level of expectations
for all of our students and I think this is a starting point. The sponsor also came up with an idea of
having a small banquet with a dinner for the participants in order to highlight
their accomplishments.
The
most important thing within this competency is set a high level of expectations
for the school district as a whole. By
creating that type of atmosphere and pushing the students, teachers, and
administrators is so important to creating that culture within a district. It’s so important to have students excited
about academics and to create a competitive nature for the district. When students are expected to perform at a
high level from all stakeholders, then they are more than likely to reach that
level and continue to stay there.
Competency 7 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to implement a staff evaluation and development system
and select appropriate models for supervision and staff development to improve
the performance of all staff members.
After researching
some of the districts problem areas, the principal and I began looking for ways
to provide the appropriate staff development.
Working with the core area teachers, we drafted a professional
development plan for each. Each core
area has a certain number of assigned professional development activities that
they must attend throughout the year at the districts expense. We have also set up weekly meetings with
grade level teacher and they report back the information they pick up and can
see what works and what doesn’t work.
Another activity
that is implemented is having every teacher provide the principal with a
progress monitor. This allows the
teacher to monitor each student and how they are progressing. This is unique and might only work for a
smaller school such as ours. Our
teachers do have more one-on-one situations and can spend more time with
students than in bigger districts. By
keeping a close eye on these students progress, our teachers have a better
understanding of what they need and it ensures accountability on the teacher’s
part.
The next activity
that I was able to participate in and get a wealth of knowledge was through
classroom walk-through. These classroom visits provide administrators with
several things. First, it lets the
administration know what goes in that particular classroom on a day-to-day
basis. These visits also allow the
administration to give quick feedback on the positive and constructive things
that they witness. This is beneficial in
that the teacher can build upon the positives and change the constructive. Between the Principal and me, we try to
walkthrough each class every two weeks.
I think this is important to the students also. When they notice that the administration is
serious about the educational process within the school district, then they are
more apt to catch that sense and strive towards better results for themselves
as well.
DOMAIN III—ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP – COMPETENCIES 8
– 10
Competency
8 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and
management in relation to district budgeting, personnel, resource utilization,
financial management, and technology application.
The
first activity within this competency that I worked on was to review and
discuss the job descriptions of each employee.
This activity not only allowed us to get an understanding of the
expectations of each job, but was also a great opportunity to get to know each
employee on a personal level. This also
allowed me to let each employee know what my goals were and how I would help
them to perform their duty.
Another
aspect within this competency deals with the actual starting of the school year
and relaying the expectations to teachers, staff, and students. So much goes into getting a school year
started and if it is going go the way one wants then everyone must be on the
same page.
The
most important and most difficult area within this competency is the actual
budgetary process. This past summer,
with the assistance of the out-going Superintendent, I was responsible for the
budget. The first part of the budgetary
process is to run the template to get the estimated target revenue for the
upcoming school year. Once that is
worked out then the actual budget can be started. It is important to understand where the
monies will be allocated to and what areas may need less or more. Allocating funds to the appropriate areas is
a tedious and important job. Once the
budget is completed and you ensure that it is aligned in the correct manner and
geared towards reaching the goals and vision of the district, it is then time
to adopt it. The board of trustees must
adopt this before September 1 in order to make it official. Once the board is adopted it can be amended
if so needed. However, this again
requires board action and approval.
The
budgetary process has been the most eye opening experience for me as a
beginning Superintendent. From
allocating funds to academic areas to transportation to the food services, this
process is complex and most important for a Superintendent. Having never worked with a school budget and
understanding the complexity of it has been a great learning experience.
This
area is probably one of my weaker points as a Superintendent and it will take
time for me to fully understand the process.
I will continue to work towards a better understanding of school finance
and how to appropriately allocate funds so the monies are utilized in the best
interest of the school district.
Competency
9 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to apply principles of leadership and management to
the district's physical plant and support systems to ensure a safe and
effective learning environment.
Understanding
the physical plant and how it is suppose to operate is another area that I will
need to improve upon. Initially it seems
like a fairly easy aspect, but in reality it is quite complex.
Hiring
and scheduling custodians and maintenance is the first thing that I had to do
when it came to the physical plant. Ensuring that the custodians knew what, when,
and how to perform their duties is so important to the efficiency of a school
district. Your maintenance people must
also be knowledgeable and know where all parts of the physical plant are
located in order to keep the school running and safe at all times.
The
transportation department is another area that must be kept up and watched very
closely. I am the transportation
director and I must make sure we have bus drivers and that they all have the
appropriate CDL and that they keep it current.
The maintenance on the school buses is also very important so that they
can be kept in running order. I have
learned a great deal about maintenance on these buses. Our fleet of buses is pushing 20 years of
service and most of that is on rural dirt roads. Needless to say our buses take
a beating everyday and the cost can be quite expensive for repairs. We are getting to a point that we are
spending so much on repairs that it may be more cost effective to break down
and purchase new buses. Not only is it
expensive to keep these buses running it is also time consuming to get them
back and forth to the shop.
Food
services are also an area that is very complex.
Federal and state requirements are complex and must be followed in order
to receive the appropriate funding. Food
services are an area that is next to impossible to ever balance the money
in. With the cost of food being so high
our district being so small it is extremely hard to feed our students without
losing quite a large amount of money.
Ensuring
that the all buildings meet specifications and codes is another example of the
challenge that this competency area brings about. Not only does the federal and state
government require certain specifications, one must also thing about ADA. The American Disabilities Act requires many
things within a public school and it’s imperative that districts are up to date
on the requirements. Not only could you
cost the district money, it is also morally the right thing to provide the
necessary adaptations.
I
have a long ways to go in this area, but I do enjoy working with the many
different aspects and learning about how each area works. Again, with experience I feel as if I can
master this competency and provide quality leadership for years to come.
Competency
10 Area:
The
superintendent knows how to apply organizational, decision-making, and
problem-solving skills to comply with federal and state requirements and
facilitate positive change in varied contexts.
This
is the ultimate competency for any Superintendent in that it covers all aspects
of a school district. It is ultimately
the responsibility of the Superintendent to ensure that all aspects of a
district are being implemented effectively and legally.
I have learned
first hand that one must be able to delegate duties and trust those individuals
to perform those duties. If that level
of trust is not there, then it will be detrimental to a Superintendent and the
district as a whole. This is why it is
so important to have every person within the district on the same page and all
striving to reach the same goal. I think
by involving every stakeholder within a district in the goal setting process is
the most important thing a Superintendent can do. When everyone has a voice in this process it
gives them ownership and they are more likely to work towards the goals set
forth. When this is the case, the
Superintendents job has automatically made easier.
Part of my
internship within this competency dealt with creating a list of issues that are
affecting teaching and student learning.
I think most educators have a list in their head, but by writing these
issues down and discussing them with others; you are better able to come up
with answers. Once I assessed the issues
I was able to put an importance factor on them and see how much emphasis should
be placed on each issue. This was a
great activity that allowed me to analyze these issues and get a better
understanding of the impact they may or may not have on education.
I have been
fortunate to have had the opportunity within my Internship to actually be a
Superintendent. I have been involved in
many activities that have allowed me a great learning curve and given me the
opportunity to improve within this area.
This job is very complex and involves tremendous amount of work of not
only the Superintendent, but everyone involved.
It is imperative of a school district leader to posses these skills in
order to provide the best possible situation for the district as a whole. I have gained a great amount of knowledge and
know way through this internship, but on the job training and working in this
environment each and every day is vital to becoming the best Superintendent you
can become.
Week One Assignment, Part 2 – Job Entry Plan
In Week One, Part 2, we asked that
you identify your career and leadership goals. One of the most important skills
in preparing for a career move is developing a job entry plan(s). The job entry
plan should describe what goals, objectives, activities, and resources needed
for you to accomplish your first day duties.
Please write a job entry plan
describing the following for your FIRST DAY, FIRST WEEK, FIRST MONTH, AND
FIRST YEAR.
We are not asking for a
comprehensive multi-page report. We are asking you to try to identify one or
two goals that you hope to address your first day, first week, first month, and
first year. Remember to include the following for each first:
First Day
Goal(s) Meet with all
administrators and office personnel.
Objective(s) To introduce
myself and get to know the individuals that I will be working with
Activities addressing goals
and objectives Individual meetings with each and then a group meeting
to wrap up the day.
Resources needed to achieve
goals and objectives Meeting room, allocated times for meetings.
First
Week
Goals:
Meet with Faculty, Staff, community
members, board members. Begin the
process of setting goals and understanding the culture of the district.
Objectives: To introduce myself and get to know each
person. To let everyone know how excited
I am about the opportunity. Ease some
anxieties that staff members may have and insure them that I am one of the
team.
Activities addressing goals and objectives: Group meetings with grade level teachers,
custodians, maintenance, cafeteria, transportation, coaching staff.
Resources needed to achieve goals and objectives: A list of
schedules for each person. Meeting place
for every meeting. Outline of goals and
objectives for each department.
First Month
Goals: Begin the process of
building a “Team” mentality with the Board of Trustees and with all
administrators. While building this team
mentality I hope to build trust and set our aim towards a common goal for the
district.
Objectives: To create a
trusting and open relationship with all members of the team
Activities: Have weekly
meetings with all administrators that address the needs for the district. During these meetings it will also be
important to talk about the solutions to the needs as well.
It will be important to have open
communication with all Board members. I
will send out weekly emails to all team members updating them on the on goings
of the district.
During this first month I would
like to update the board on any and all progress that has been made to this
point.
Resources: Previous academic
data, past goals and visions, previous knowledge of things that worked or
didn’t work, and time to have these meetings.
First Year
Goals: Shape a positive learning environment that fits the
districts culture and is conducive to learning for all students.
Objectives: Continue working
with the administrative team and board of education to ensure we are working
towards our previous goals and vision for the district.
Activities: Review financial status to ensure the funds are being
used appropriately to reach the overall district goals.
Have a district meeting to discuss
any and all activities that will allow us to reach the overall district goals.
Resources:
Financial reports
Budgets for the past 5 years
Time
Money
