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.
Activities I chose to address my
learning in competency 1 are:
1. Provide evidence that I do what I tell others to do.
2. Interpersonal skills, share self,
resolve conflict constructively, shares responsibilities
A superintendent
must provide ethical leadership. They must do what they tell others to do. As a
principal, I have displayed these qualities. I led staff development on Math
Instruction from 3D to 2D with test transfer and followed it up with modeled
lessons in classrooms and by leading Math Rocks with all third graders. I led
staff development for my campus on Common Intervention Time and Inclusion
Through Co-Teaching on my campus and others as well. Then I opened up my campus
to visits by over 200 people and over 25 districts. When first arriving on
campus, I led a book club with students on Ron Clark ‘s Essential 55, then led
staff development with teachers, then supervised and monitored our efforts to
improve the climate and culture. This resulted in reductions of 86% in
discipline referrals. I provided leadership and modeled a focus on instruction
by arranging Monday Learning Meetings around staff development topics and not
faculty meetings. I tutor children weekly, putting kids first, like I tell them
to do!
There are always
opportunities to share myself with others and work to resolve conflict. I consistently work to share my core
values, beliefs, and experiences and make sure there is a constant focus on
what is best for kids. Recently, there was a tense situation involving PTA. Through
it all, I kept the focus on teaching and learning. I learned how to show my
true character and integrity by being professional during conflict. I was able
to model for others while undergoing an extreme amount of stress. In the end,
the faculty rallied around me and made good decisions for kids. I learned how to help principals if they
ever encounter a similar situation. My new position as an Area Superintendent will
allow me to work with so many leaders and I believe I was allowed to go through
conflict so I might be a better leader for them.
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.
Activities I chose to address
this competency are:
1.
Compare district vision and mission
statements from two districts (Mansfield vs. Houston)
2.
Serve on strategic planning team. Develop
plan for local project, implement, evaluate (*K-Prek Roundup)
3.
Review ways data is used by multiple
layers in district, with specific emphasis on roll out of DMAC
4.
Choose current issue, work with different
views, come to consensus. Related to local project. *(pre-k
k-roundup)
5.
Use collaborative decision making skills
in leading activities and seek evaluation of skills
How
do you reach consensus on a vision for a project, or for that matter- the
district. How does one do this with a group of people from across the district
who had no part in creating the strategic plan and no part in writing the goal
to create a district wide Kindergarten Registration Event? That was the task I was faced with on
November 4, 2011. I was a new
principal in the district, and part of the superintendent’s intern group that
met weekly. The superintendent
chose me to develop the plan for this event. I consulted the area
superintendent to get some background about the history of Kinder Roundup and
seek his advice about holding the committee meeting. When the first meeting was
held, I began by reading the part of the strategic plan pertaining to
Kindergarten Registration, then gave the committee the direction that we would
create a unified event and that it would not be on elementary campuses. The
committee responded by sharing ideas. Then a subcommittee of elementary
principals met separately to create a plan for the structure of the event. We
were creating something from scratch. When the whole committee met back on
December 9, 2011, there was this grand idea of “Passport to Kindergarten” that
surfaced. The synergy was amazing. Each department, from nutrition, to sped, to
transportation, to campuses threw out ideas that became a very successful
community event. When the event
was held, I distributed a real time evaluation that included registration
counts and a record of things that went well and improvements that could be
made. I think consensus was reached because communication was clear, good, and
continuous. The first meeting of the strategic planning committee for
“Kindergarten/PreK Roundup was held on November 4, 2011. At this meeting, I was
the chair. I explained to the committee, made up of campus principals and reps
from several different departments, what our task was. I solicited the
selection of co chair at this first meeting. The district plan called for
creating a unified, spirit filled, event that would be held at a small number
of sites in the community rather than the traditional procedure of hosting a
small event at each campus. The committee chose to host the event at the four
high schools and divide up by feeder pattern. The rationale was to provide many
services in one spot for parents, increase campuses and departments working
together, and create a consistent process. Site coordinators were selected for
each high school. They were elementary principals. The committee noted that
some campuses had carnival like events while others held low key registration
days. In addition, a concern was shared that the traditional events had been
held during the school day and were not convenient for parents who work. Additional committee meetings were held
on December 9, January 20. Site visits to the High Schools by each cluster were
held on March 20, with the event being held on April 14, 2012. Communication for my chosen project, Passport to Kindergarten 2012 was also
key to development of a common vision. It began with our committee meeting on
November 4, 2011. Once the structure of the event was set, the committee as a
whole planned the event. The nutrition department offered snacks and online
apps for free and reduced lunch. Transportation offered bus tours and general
bus info. Things like payroll had to be coordinated for the Saturday event. All
of this required communication. Through 4 committee meetings, numerous emails,
and 30 minute review sessions at each principals meeting, we were able to pull
off a very successful event. We registered 1000 students early for PreK and
Kinder and provided a unified event, full of services for families. Upon
completion of the event, participants completed an evaluation that included
positives and suggestions for improvement. Participants and organizers were
also asked about communication during the whole process. 95% of all
participants and organizers felt communication was excellent, thorough, and
frequent. Several key players complimented the communication and mentioned that
my co chair and I were always thinking ahead and anticipating issues before
they arose. The event itself got a 4.5 rating out of 5 and it was noted that
any problem or concern was minor and fixable next year.
I met with
Theresa Stegall for two hours in
February to discuss roll out and implementation of DMAC. DMAC is a student data
management system that relates to testing. As testing and data coordinator for
the district, Theresa conducted multiple sessions in the fall and provided
training to campus principals. We learned how to access the system, run
reports, use TAKS data that had been imported into DMAC. We also learned how to
create answer keys to benchmarks that could be put into the system in order to
scan common assessments and benchmarks. Campus counselors then trained teachers
on how to use the system. When I interviewed Theresa, she said early trainings
were critical to the success of implementation but expressed some concern that
not all campuses were accessing and using the new tool. By February, there had
been over 2000 log ins to the system, but they varied greatly from campus to
campus and varied by level. We discussed reasons for this variability, future
trainings for principals, teachers, and counselors. DMAC can be a very valuable
tool for data analysis if it is used and if it leads to changes in instruction!
In both examples, it is clear
that communication, training, communication, planning, communication,
implementation, communication, and evaluation, and communication are key to
creating a unified vision for any project and the district as a whole.
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.
Activities I chose to
address this competency are:
1.
Choose current issue, work with different views, come
to consensus. Related to local project. *(pre-k k-roundup)
2.Prepare
written communication to be sent out to entire district*(pre-k K roundup
3. Examine parent involvement
policies, procedures, and parental perceptions. Create proposal.
During the planning of Passport t Kindergarten, it was
imperative that I mobilize community resources. I consulted the area
superintendent to get some background about the history of Kinder Roundup and
seek his advice about holding the committee meeting. When the first meeting was
held, I began by reading the part of the strategic plan pertaining to
Kindergarten Registration, then gave the committee the direction that we would
create a unified event and that it would not be on elementary campuses. The
committee responded by sharing ideas. Then a subcommittee of elem principals
met separately to create a plan for the structure of the event. We were
creating something from scratch. When the whole committee met back on December
9, 2011, there was this grand idea of Passport to Kindergarten that surfaced.
The synergy was amazing. Each department, from nutrition, to sped, to
transportation, to campuses threw out ideas that became a very successful
community event. We worked with
local ministries, clothes closet, local businesses that sponsored bags, etc.
When the event was held, I visited each campus and interviewed parents about
the event, then distributed a real time evaluation that included registration
counts and a record of things that went well and improvements that could be
made. I think consensus was reached because communication was clear, good, and
continuous. Communication
and community outreach is essential to the development of positive
relationships with the parents and community. I interviewed Richie Escovedo, one of the main district communication
officers. In our interview, we discussed that communication must be planned in
advance and that he lays out a communication plan for every initiative that
requires publicity. He also said communication must be timely and that not all
communication requires the same plan. Different methods and avenues of
communication must be used. Together we worked on a plan for communication for
Passport to Kindergarten. He developed, and I approved, a calendar of
communication that included a plan for when newspaper ads would be placed. I
approved them. The plan also included a post card mail out for the
neighborhoods that typically had low turn out in the past. The flyers for the district and
passports given to families were created and approved collaboratively. In
addition, a plan was developed for mass emailings and teleparent calls to
families in the district. There wasn’t simply one communication created, but
multiple print and verbal communications crafted by the two of us
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.
Activities I chose to
address this competency are:
1.Acquire
superintendent job description and evaluation. Compare.
2. In relation
to local project I lead, review historical background.
3.Review board
training processes and role of supt.
I was
pleased to discover that the superintendent job description is closely aligned
with the evaluation. I found that the areas on the evaluation clearly reflect
back on areas in the jobs description. This held true for the position of Area
Superintendent as well. Alignment is good and helps delineate responsibilities,
as well as how to tell if he or she is successful.
In preparation
to meet the goal of developing a community wide Passport to Kindergarten Event,
I met with Kyle Heath, the Area Superintendent who normally has this event fall
under his domain, and the Director of Campus Support (David Wright) to discuss
the history of the Kinder RoundUp events. Interestingly, both came from high
school backgrounds and had limited information about the history of the event.
What I was able to determine was that the event was held on a school day at
each campus in the past. I was told that it is used to plan numbers of FTEs
needed for K and PreK and that some campuses did extravagant carnival like
registration events while others did very little. I was also told that the district
plan was aiming to be more friendly to families and working families by doing
something together at one site and during non work hours. I was told I had cart
blanche to create and event that was unified , festive, and not held at the
campuses. History played very little into the created of the Passport to
Kindergarten event that was recently held at each high school.
I interviewed the superintendent about board member training
requirements. He informed me that board members are required to go through a
certain number of hours of training and that he is not personally involved in
delivering it, but that he does meet with new board members and get them
acquainted to the processes. He mentioned they are to get their hours on their
own, but that the board does workshops. He also said he occasionally has to
talk privately with board members when they step out of their lane. He teaches
board members how to respond to parents and how to stay in their designated
duties.
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.
Activities I chose to
address this competency are:
1. Analyze
implementation of district curriculum. Interview those leading the effort and
review successes and problems in process (7)
2.
Observe first week of school and note issues, successes from
multiple perspectives (8)
3.
Implement “Instructional Rounds” and seek
feedback from teachers observing and learning from other teachers (9)
4.
Choose co-curricular area. Develop Friday
Clubs during school. Evaluate attendance, discipline, instruction, etc. related
to implementing multi age elective clubs (13)
5.
Attend initial placement ard and recommend
changes (34)
I have
learned that the superintendent must have his hands in all areas of the
district, yet trust people and processes to get the job done. I interviewed Toni Clarkson, our math coordinator. We met on 9/19/2011 to discuss
development and implementation of the math curriculum. The district did not
choose a pre-written curriculum like Cscope (Yay). Instead, the used principals
from Margaret Kilgo’s training and the viewpoint that teachers are creative and
capable professionals to create their own scope and sequence. Toni said the
process began two years ago, with a committee of teachers and coordinators
studying the TEKS and organizing them into logical order in each grade. Over
the course of two years, meetings were held during and outside of the school
day to align and organize the curriculum. Once it was organized, the district
began writing exemplar lessons. A wiki was developed that provided access to
teachers. The scope and sequence/curriculum was posted online and continues to
be updated. New exemplar lessons continue to be added. Toni also provides
monthly trainings to principals, attends campus faculty meetings, grade level
meetings, and even does model lessons. The goal for this year was to have 50 %
of teachers following the district curriculum and they have surpassed that
goal, with nearly 80% reporting that they are following the scope and sequence
and using exemplar lessons.
Planning
is Essential: Our campus held a two day
retreat in July. During this retreat, we focused on teamwork, Ron Clark’s
Essential 55, and development of a plan for reducing discipline referrals and
creating a positive climate that aided in increasing student academic
achievement. A plan was developed to use tickets and team points to train
students on school expectations and praise and reward them for all good
behavior and work. The pick and drop off plans were changed, as was the master
schedule. The master schedule would include a common intervention time, no
staggered release, and all traffic would be directed to the back loop at 3:15
for release. It was discussed with
teachers that success of failure depended on our fidelity to implementation of
our plan. Watching the first week of school was magical. The school had a
reputation for horrible discipline and a bad climate. But during week one I saw
all staff giving tickets for good behavior and work and training their kids. I
saw positive, smiling faces. I saw traffic patterns that worked, etc. I saw
less wasted time. By the end of week one, students and teachers, as well as
parents, were commenting on the improved climate and procedures. By the end of
12 weeks, discipline referrals were down 86%
In tune
with instruction and learning from others: In the fall semester, I approached the faculty with the idea of
observing other teachers during their conference period. I developed a form for
teachers to record their feedback and comments. The first walk abouts were held
in November. I was able to take two grade levels with me as we observed their
peers. The target was “engagement”. We talked about what the teacher was doing
to keep kids engaged in instruction. It was interesting to see teachers either
get excited about what they were seeing or totally reject anything they saw. By
this time in the year I was noticing which grade levels and teachers were
positive and excited about the changes and which were resistant. I noticed 1st
and 4 th grades soaked up anything they saw and learned that was good, whereas
third grade made excuses or could not identify what they saw that was good or
bad.
This would be an indicator of
future problems with third grade. They would become the most resistant to
change and the lowest performing grade level on campus.
Giving students more than
the test:
Beginning in the Spring Semester of 2012, we began
work on addressing the co-curricular program. It was noted that the only extra
programs we had were Math Pentathlon Club, which was new to our campus this
year, and Battle of the Books. We added Tuesday and Thursday thirty minute
tutoring in March. Then, we started work on a plan to implement Friday Morning
MultiAge clubs. We developed a
list of 20 clubs and assigned teachers based on their talents and interests.
This included Drama, Robotics, Glee Club, Gardening, World Travelers, Science
Experiments, and more. Students
were given a brochure and asked to pick their top three choices. We then worked
to get students assigned to one of their top three choices. Clubs will begin
April 27 and be held on Fridays during the school day as a bare minimum. It is
our hope we can give kids integrated and meaningful, fun learning experiences
and that these will carry on into next year.
Special
needs too: On April 18, I attended an initial ARD for a
student that would be qualifying as a student with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Back in November, we received two Vietnamese twins. They came straight from
Vietnam. Immediately it appeared
that something was wrong. Though it was understood that there would be plenty
of language issues, they would play with their feces, get naked in the
bathroom, not stay seated, stem on certain objects or subjects, etc. One of the
twins progressed quickly with English. The other progressed but showed many
characteristics of autism. He also was difficult to control and was negatively
influencing the classroom environment. We ended up using tutoring money to hire
a tutor just to work on behavior with the boys. At the initial ard, one of the
boys qualified as autistic and showed a severe need for an ISLE classroom.
specifically designed for autistic students. The other twin showed his issues
to be more language oriented. It was interesting to analyze the differences
between the boys and find a correct placement for him.
All pieces work together to make sure all
kids get the education they need and deserve. The superintendent can’t be
everywhere, but his leadership can!
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.
Activities I chose to
address this competency are:
1. Survey
faculty and students on ways to motivate students. Compare the two. Review
Impact of Camp Star Induction efforts related to this area. Incorporated into
Book Study with At-Risk Students. Ron Clark’s Essential 55 (10)
2.
Review board policy on technology. Compare
to district plan, strategic plan. (11)
3.
Form and lead a team of teachers to study
and develop a plan to address test scores. (12)
4. Review
discipline referrals from two periods and compare data. First 12 weeks (10/11
and 11/12) and first
12 weeks of same years. (16)
The superintendent must create positive
learning environments at every campus and that job must be done through
principals. Our school embarked on an effort to create a more positive school
climate. During the summer, I led a student book club on Ron Clark’s Essential
55. My book club created a list of 10 expectations for our school based on his
book. It was presented to the teachers at our July retreat. During this retreat, we formulated a
four week plan for induction of students to the campus. We would be giving away
tickets for good things. Each would count as a point and go in a drawing for
prizes at assemblies. We also had
a classroom and hall decorating contest to brighten the environment and I asked
teachers to design their rooms to be comfortable, positive, and home-like in
their feel. I asked teachers to
share how things were going at their Monday Learning Meetings. I kept meeting
with my book club on Fridays and recorded a video of students explaining to their
teachers what they noticed had changed about their school. Students were able
to identify that the building was more beautiful and positive. They talked
about their happy teachers and all the positive things happening. They talked
about kids being happy and trying to good things. I showed this video at a
faculty meeting and there were tears in the eyes of some teachers. They were learning that students had to
have positive environments, clear and high expectations, happy and invested
teachers, to succeed and be motivated!
To address academic issues,
I formed and led a team of teachers in K-2 to develop a plan to raise
TPRI scores and DRA levels among K-2 students. The scores were dismal in grades
K-2 before this year. When I began the year as their new principal, we targeted
these areas. We implemented a Common Intervention Time that was scheduled into
every teachers day. 50 minutes a day would be given to intervention and
somebody would push in to help the classroom teacher. 25 minutes for math and 25
minutes for reading intervention. I also brought in a trainer twice that would
teach them the Spalding Spelling Phonics Program and how to do writers
workshops. After Christmas, we met
as a team to share data improvements. Last years group of kindergarteners had
10 per class that were not on level as of Christmas. This year, we had 10 in
the whole grade level. In 1st grade, 87% were still developing at
the beginning of the year. At the MOY testing, only 27% were still l
developing. Teachers were noticing that children were able to do more, read
more, write more, etc. The plan to address TPRI and DRA scores was
working!! Discipline is also a
crucial area. I asked my secretary to run a discipline report after the first
twelve weeks of school. Last year, there were 200 discipline referrals. This
year there were 40. This was an amazing improvement and one that I was able to
share with my staff in a Monday Learning Meeting. It served to motivate staff
and remind them that what we were doing was working. The Ron Clark strategies,
the tickets for good behavior and work and the raucous award assemblies were
working! This spring a new
discipline report was run and it still showed an 80% decline in referrals over
last year as of April1. It just goes to show that having an entire campus
unified in plans to recognize the many good things people do, and unified in
using good practices, leads to good results regardless of “what kind of
students you have”. My
experience has helped to prepare me for the job to which I was just promoted. I
will be the Area Superintendent for the district, working directly with
elementary schools and principals. I will take these successes with me
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.
Activities I chose to
address this competency are:
1. Collaborate
with professionals in the area of staff development. Plan, present, evaluate.
(14)
2.
Participate in hiring/screening and interview process for a
professional position at district level (23)
3.
Implement “Instructional Rounds” and seek
feedback from teachers observing and learning from other teachers. (9)
Superintendents must work to
create environments in the district and at their campuses that promote learning
and development among staff. In the fall semester, I approached the faculty
with the idea of observing other teachers during their conference period. I
developed a form for teachers to record their feedback and comments. The first
walk abouts were held in November. I was able to take two grade levels with me
as we observed their peers. The target was “engagement”. We talked about what
the teacher was doing to keep kids engaged in instruction. It was interesting
to see teachers either get excited about what they were seeing or totally
reject anything they saw. By this time in the year I was noticing which grade
levels and teachers were positive and excited about the changes and which were
resistant. I noticed 1st and 4 th grades soaked up anything they saw
and learned that was good, whereas third grade made excuses or could not
identify what they saw that was good or bad. This
would be an indicator of future problems with third grade. They would become
the most resistant to change and the lowest performing grade level on campus.
Developed a presentation on Transformative
RTI and presented at the School Improvement Conference in Austin in October of
2011. I worked with the council to prepare a presentation on RTI and common
intervention that was available to staff from schools in the school improvement
process. It was well attended and
well reviewed. Also stayed in Austin for the two day conference and
participated as a conference attendee. Met with Linda Cranmer from
ProjectShareTexas.org. Discussed the presentation, their website and offerings,
etc. This experience helped to
polish my skills as a presenter.
On September 12, 2011, I was involved in the
selection of a Director of Campus Support. As part of the committee, I was called in ahead of time and
the process was explained to me. I would have to sign an oath of
confidentiality. I would be assigned a question to read. The interview would
last approximately 30 minutes. Once the interview was done, we were to score
the responses of the candidate. At the end of the 6 interviews, we ranked the 6
candidates on a score sheet. Then, we went around the room and said our
rankings outloud. These rankins were recorded on the board. Once all rankings
were recorded from the committee members, we decided on a top three, as a
committee. It was so interesting to see how this process worked. It allowed for
quick feedback on interviews and candidates and seemed to eliminate bias. Then,
the top two or three names were sent to the Superintendent for a final
interview. The process was efficient and allowed for wise decisions to be made
in a timely manner. It also allowed me to learn so much about hiring, from the
central office perspective.
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.
Activities I chose are:
1.Interview
school attendance officer. Discuss rules, procedures, budget, issues, etc. (19)
2. Participate in budget
process. Provide overview /recommendations (24)
3. Create brief
professional development plan (in progress)
4. Compile list of books, resources, affiliations for professional growth
(in progress)
A superintendent must be a steward of the
district finances and the taxpayers money. Two experiences thus far have shed
some light on this topic.
I met with district attendance officer. He
explained that the district works with schools to investigate issues of
truancy. He reiterated that children are required to attend 90% of school days
to be promoted and that there are procedures for the campuses sending home
letters and working with parents before they reach 10 absences. The district
provides standard letters and forms to be sent home when students start being
absent excessively. However, he indicated that the state is trying to tie the district’s
hands by limiting when you can filed truancy charges. He said districts must
now work with the student or the families even more than in the past before
filing charges and that sometimes this delays taking action. Because I know funding is dependent on
the number of students and their attendance, it makes the job of the attendance
officer and the efforts the campuses are making to increase attendance even
more important.
Though small in scale, the development of a
brand new kindergarten registration event called Passport to Kindergarten
required the development of a brand new budget. It was an event that had never
been done before. Things that had
to be considered were: advertising, signage for each high school, decorations,
prizes for game stations, pay for professional staff to work on that Saturday,
etc. One evening, I had a nightmare that I broke the bank. I went to the Chief
Financial Officer and she explained to me that the budget we were probably
going to end up with was a drop in
the bucket for a multimillion dollar district budget. So, I relaxed. We created
budget accounts for payroll, advertising, materials and brochures, balloons and
decorations, etc. When all was
said and done, it appears the budget will be around 15K for the event, mostly
in personnel costs. The next step is to analyze and report out on the budget
and plan for next year. Next year, we will have a starting place and that
should help with planning.
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.
Activities I chose are:
1. Meet
with district maintenance director or head custodian. Review procedures, rules,
duties, needs, budget, etc. (20)
2.
Review bus discipline referrals and
recommend plans for improvement (21)
3.
Observe food service workers. Review. Make
recommendations (22)
Maintenance is a huge area that effects so many different parts of
the school district. From my assignments, I learned how important it is to have
good people in charge of the department, good employees, adequate supervision
and procedures, and adequate leadership at the campus level.
I met with Maria, head custodian. Maria described her day. She arrives at
work at 6:30 am and unlocks all areas, turns on lights throughout building,
then proceeds to set up cafeteria for the day. All tables are stacked along
walls from the day before. She places all tables back in the appropriate spaces
and is ready to help with breakfast. She then cleans up after the breakfast.
After breakfast, Maria embarks on the rest of her day. This includes checking
and cleaning bathrooms as needed, going to classrooms as needed, responding to
calls from the office about needs, restocking paper, etc. Lunch duty arrives
and she is in the cafeteria helping clean up after students. Maria is the only custodian on duty all
day long. The afternoon custodians come in around the time school dismisses.
They are responsible for cleaning classrooms, taking out trash, vacumming, etc. I also reviewed incident referrals from
the bus referrals for the time period January through April 1. At this time
there was only 1 referral. I found this hard to believe or understand. Probably
about once every two weeks, I am alerted to a situation on the busses, by a
student who might be complaining about another child bothering him/her on the
bus. When I checked into this, it is indeed true that the bus driver must
complete a form and document an incident before I can really assign a
punishment or suspend a child from the bus. However, I am not getting referrals
from the busses. Is this a false positive result? Should I assume the busses
are not having behavior problems.
This issue was brought to light again over the last two weeks as I have
addressed concerns from students. I dealt with two incidents myself because
they sounded serious enough to warrant an investigation, yet I had not
referrals from the driver. I would recommend this procedure be improved and
that bus drivers receive additional training. Consistency seems to be a problem
that needs improvement. I spent an hour in the cafeteria one day before lunch
was to be served. I watched the workers. It appears there is very little actual
cooking that goes on nowawdays. Many of the foods seem to be processed and put
into ovens already prepared. I watched as the packages of chicken nuggets were
put on trays an placed in ovens. The mashed potatoes were in trays and put out
in warmers. I did not get to see the process for this and do not know if they
came ready or are some instant mix. The workers were diligent in preparing
their serving lines. They seem to be adequately staffed. I also had concerns
about the use of Styrofoam trays and the shake and stack method of getting kids
to dump their trays then stacking them neatly on top of each other for the
trash. When I asked about this and pointed out the waste involved, I was told
there was not enough money in the budget for a worker to wash trays. It made me
sad to see the processed foods and the excess trash created by Styrofoam trays.
I feel this needs to be address because our kids deserve the highest quality
foods and the environment can not tolerate non biodegradable waste at this
level.
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.
Activities I chose are:
1. Identify
conflict. Meet with opposing sides. Develop resolution (35)
2. Within
local project, implement change. Evaluate two persons and their acceptance or
resistance to change, progress, etc. Related to Implementation of RTI project
(15)
3. Interview
counselor and collect information about their role in regards to student
services for children in a variety of areas such as divorce, abuse, needs, care
(17)
A Tale of Two Teachers:
When I
arrived at Morris Elementary, I trained the staff on Common Intervention Time,
among other initiatives. Most jumped on board. One teacher took everything to
heart. She is a second grade teacher. She has ELL students and the Inclusion
cluster in her class. Yet, because she completely bought into the idea of
serving all kids in their classroom, she was able to be successful. She had
probably the hardest class in the entire building. Yet, she went home and
researched, She invested totally in change. She has been nothing but
successful. Acheivement and behavior is better and you can see how much her
children have grown. Recently, she was selected as a finalist for Teacher of
the Year in Mansfield ISD. She reported to me, and to her interview committee
that if she had been as good a teacher as she is now last year, her kids could
have done so much more. On the other hand, another teacher chose to act like
she bought in to the changes and RTI plan and decided to do whatever she wanted
in class. Somehow she could not become successful, regardless of the help
given. She would make excuses for her class, call them a low class. Two
different responses to change. One professional. One destructive.
Counselor or Test Administrator?
Interviewed
counselor about the above issues. She explained that her main jobs were
classroom guidance and testing. In the fall, she does classroom guidance
according to the times teachers sign their class up for and then switches to
more of a testing facilitator role in the spring semester. When asked how she
handles students with individual needs, she explained that she works with
parents and must have permission to see students multiple times. She also
explained that she is not allowed to meet with students who are seeing outside
counselors. Her role seems to be very limited and be centered around referring
parents to community resources in the case of individual students and families.
Small Group
or Not Small Group: That is the Question
Pro
Small Group- This group of professionals sees small group instruction and
intervention as an opportunity to differentiate instruction, hear children
read, respond to needs and provide intervention to all students,etc.
Anti-Small
Group- This group of teachers prefer whole group instruction and sees small
group as a management nightmare. They do not see the value in forcing small
group instruction down the throats of a group of teachers who don’t like it and
don’t find it valuable.
I completely understand the viewpoints.
However, the research supports small group instruction. The resolution is to
hold firm and provide additional training once STAAR is over!
As
Area Superintendent, it will be paramount to help principals lead their staffs
to success in all areas and help staff be fully devoted to the learning of
kids. My experiences have helped me to be ready for this.
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:
ENTRY PLAN
Objective(s)- Complete a successful first year as the
new Area Superintendent for Mansfield ISD.
Activities
addressing goals and objectives-
Before the First
Day- (I was selected in February, 2012 and will officially begin this position
in July, 2012).
1. Attend weekly
Executive Council meetings and any other meetings that will help me to learn
about the position before my first day. Meet with my direct supervisors about
their vision for me in this position. (This has been and is being done already)
2. Meet with outgoing
Area Superintendent weekly. Address budget, projects, job duties, scheduling,
etc. (in progress)
3. Visit with the
other Area Superintendents on a regular basis. (in progress)
4. Visit with the
secretary. (in progress)
5. Meet with all
principals in the area I will be serving. Try to visit all campuses I will
serve after this year’s testing is complete. ( still to do)
First Week-
1. Meet with Central
Office Administrators to review current goals and objectives.
2.
Meet with my
secretary and get acquainted with the office, get organized.
3. Plan my schedule and calendar
First month –
1. Meet with principals
I will be serving and visit campuses.
2. Continue to meet
with central office superiors for guidance and direction.
First Year
1. Meet monthly with
elementary principals and the principals in my area.
2. Provide staff
development, guidance to principals in a variety of areas that meet district
goals.
3. Consistently visit
and work with principals. Conduct calibration visits, etc.
4. Ensure alignment
between the Strategic Plan, District Improvement Plan, and Campus Improvement
Plans.
Resources needed to
achieve goals and objectives
District
Improvement Plan
Curriculum
documents and calibration data
AEIS report
PBMAS report
Personnel
TELPAS data
RTI procedures
Technology Plan
Budget
