EDLD
5399 Capstone Superintendent Internship
Week
Two Assignment, Part 1 – Description
of SBEC Superintendent Leadership Experiences by Domains and Competencies
Using your Intern Plan,
your course and campus supervised logs, please prepare at
least one page describing how your experiences attempted to address each of the
elements of the 10 competencies. Be sure to comment on lessons
learned from these extensive experiences.
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.
Many experiences were directly
related to competency one within the internship plan. I was able to
complete many tasks that helped me better learn how to act with integrity,
fairness, and in an ethical manner in order to promote the success of all
students.
The first activity that
I completed dealt with organizing, monitoring, and conducting meetings with not
only the high school staff, but also with a group of high school principals
across two counties. The meeting was held on my campus to help determine
what local county principals would like to see happen within the new
accountability system in Texas. Several principals form all different
size schools came to the meeting to voice their opinions and ideas to then be
collected and organized into one document that would be given to the local
superintendents for consideration. The meeting was well organized and
successful on many aspects.
A second activity was completed in regards to applying the
knowledge behind ethical decisions. The board policy and campus policies
were reviewed and changed in order to better serve the staff and the students
of the school district. Leadership styles and policy regulation play a
large role in ethics. Ethical decisions must be made daily as a
superintendent. This activity not only let me see how policy and ethics
can sometimes be in conflict, but also how leadership styles can play a role in
ethical decisions as well.
A
third idea that I provide for my staff is the idea that I will do what I
instruct my staff to do on a daily basis.
For example, if I expect my staff to be at school by 7:30 am each day,
then I too will be at school on or before 7:30 am each day as well. Another example is when a student spills a
drink in the hallway, I will not go find a janitor and ask them to clean it up,
I can get a mop or towel to assist in cleaning up the mess. Taking pride in the school and the students
is a must for any leadership position.
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.
An activity that helped
me learn more about competency two dealt with creating the master schedule.
In creating the master schedule, the school and district mission and
vision must be maintained. The
vision and mission of the school and school district were visited and reviewed
in order to help promote academic achievement.
This was done through the use of a master schedule with help from the
assistant principal for curriculum and instruction. Adhering not only to TEA rules and
regulations regarding class time and state-approved courses, a master schedule
was created to ensure that students would have the greatest ability to be
involved in and take whichever classes they chose.
Another piece to the
master schedule is scheduling students into courses. Students choose their classes based on four
and six year plans that were identified by the counselor and career preparation
software and computer programs. Allowing
the students to check their career aptitude and choose their own learning
paths, students felt a huge amount of pride.
Student needs must also be kept to the forefront of
discussions. A creative and well organized master schedule must be
maintained in order to provide students with the best possible learning
opportunities. This took an enormous amount of time and energy, as well
as dedication in order to ensure that student success was at the forefront of
all scheduling decisions.
A third activity
conducted that dealt with competency two was the meeting to discuss issues that
affect our accountability system, and to make suggestions for
improvements. We addressed the current
system, and talked about the inequalities that exist within it. All were in agreement that the system needs
to be tweaked, fixed, or completely revamped.
The outcome of the meeting was very positive. We were able to accumulate several ideas of
interests to include in our accountability proposal. We spoke with each other, and e-mailed each
other ideas and suggestions for the next couple of weeks. After putting together a final product, we
presented an accountability measurement system to the East Texas Consortium of
Superintendents, who will in turn, present to our state reps and senators.
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.
An activity was completed to help learn about competency
three. This activity was not a difficult activity to complete; however,
it is an extremely important piece to have in place. A list of local and
state agencies was made that listed social outlets and agencies that students
and parents could use. These supports we're listed to help support
students, teachers, parents, and even administration.
We recently met to
discuss the upcoming school year, and to discuss the goals for the district to
be included in the district improvement plan.
We were given the direction that the school board was looking for, and began
working together to satisfy the needs assessment for the district. We were divided into groups, and each group
was given a specific area to concentrate on.
The superintendent and assistant superintendent monitored our progress,
and provided suggestions as to where we might focus some of our interest. We were never told as to what a goal or
objective must state. We were only given
parameters to follow. This allowed each
group to work within itself to develop the goals and objectives that they felt
were important for our district. In the
end, we were able to create a document that addressed the needs of the
district, and provided the district with goals that are legitimate, obtainable,
and sufficient.
Activities are a major
piece to the school district puzzle, especially at the junior high and high
school levels. Many activities can be
offered to the students. At the high
school where I am currently employed, the following activities are available: boys and girls athletics, cheerleading, Highsteppers,
band, FFA, TAFE, Student council, Christians in Action, Destination imagination,
yearbook, robotics, archery, drama, KYSSED, drug free all-stars, UIL,
newspaper, and FCCLA. The percentage of
students involved in regards to our total student population is approximately
64%. Of that 64%, a large percentage of
our students do participate in more than one activity. We strongly encourage our students to
participate in activities at school and to be involved. We invite them to join as many as they want,
as long as they can handle it. Some of
our students are involved in as many as four to five activities. Some students join groups because they are
interested in the activity, while others join groups just for social
interaction. Either way, both concepts
provide students with benefits.
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.
Board policy dictates
most of the decisions that we make as administrators. Policies are in place to provide guidance,
and to ensure that everyone has a fair and equal opportunity. Our district does a great job of following
our policies, and putting new ones into place where and when needed. Our administrative team is solid, from the
top to the bottom. We all have one goal
in mind, and that is to provide our students and staff with every opportunity
to be successful. I also feel that our
administrative works collaboratively with each other. We meet as a team, at least once a month, but
sometimes more than that. We discuss
issues from campus and the district, and also discuss best practices that can
be put into place to better our schools.
There are instances however, where top down leadership is utilized, and
necessary. There are times when things
need to be taken care of, and direction is given.
A second activity that
was completed regarding competency four included attending board meetings and
on special occasions the executive session.
Being able to see and understand the on goings with the school board is
imperative to being able to conduct business not only with the members of the
school board, but also with the community in general.
Another activity that
was completed included attending many meetings with regards to community
members as a whole. For example, the
campus and district level site-based decision making committees are a good way
to ask for support and assistance from the community, but also to ask for their
opinion and values. Keeping the
community and the political and social factors a part of the school district’s vision
and mission are an important piece to being successful in the role of a
superintendent.
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.
I met with one of our
instruction assistants, and made her aware that I was going to be visiting her
during one of her inclusion classes. She
had three special education students in Algebra I inclusion class, and did an
amazing job in working with those students.
She listened to and took notes over the lesson, and then proceeded to
monitor the students as they began their guided practice. There were two students who seemed to struggle,
and were immediately given assistance by our aide. After visiting with the students and
providing them assistance with their questions, the aide continually monitored
them as they worked. She never sat down
and she never took a break. She even asked
the teacher in the classroom for some assistance. I was extremely pleased with the dedication
shown to our special education students in this classroom. I left feeling confident that they are
receiving the needed instruction that is necessary to be successful. The only item that needs to be addressed is
making sure that all of our aides are as productive as this one was.
Our robotics team has
had some success in the past years.
These students are at the forefront of incorporating 21st
century learning into their lessons.
They use so many different skills in their problem solving adventures
including: math, science, engineering,
technology and each other. I wanted to
give them a problem, with little instruction, and see where it would take them. With help from their teacher, we gave the
students a problem of creating a robot that could maneuver a mine field, and
reach its destination unharmed.
Students went right to work. First they brainstormed ideas with each
other, and then they began to use their computer to design a program that would
be able to detect the mines throughout the course. They were asked to record and document all
involvement, and the process of creating the robot and its program. When the project was complete, the students successfully
maneuvered the robot through a mine field consisting of 15 mines. It was very impressive. Students that have the ability to
problem solve, and create learning experiences, have a great opportunity for
success. The only advice I would give
our teacher/sponsor is promote and recruit more students for these classes;
they’re awesome!
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.
Assessment data is used
at the district and campus level in our district. We use DMAC to disaggregate our data, and
then teachers, administrators, and board members have access to reports that
provide feedback on student success/failure.
In the past, most of the data only consisted of state standardized
scores. This year we are taking a
different approach, and using the data as a tool throughout the year. We are utilizing curriculum based assessments
each nine week grading period. These
tests are administered two times each nine weeks, and then the data is used to
assess where our students are at the time.
It can be a tremendous tool if used correctly and efficiently. There were many unhappy teachers at first,
but most now are using the information to better their instruction in their
classroom. There are a few that are
still a little reluctant, but in the end, the use of this data is for improved
instruction and better results. It is
not punishment from the administration.
Staff professional
growth is a major concern for superintendents.
Being able to provide meaningful staff development for teachers,
paraprofessionals, and administrators is important. Being able to budget for activities that
could benefit students and teachers alike will in the end help benefit the school
district and will keep pressing on towards the school’s mission.
A third activity that
helps support competency six includes looking at student data across several
areas. For example, not just looking at
state STAAR data, but also looking at all AEIS data and even data beyond that
is important. Using measureable and objective
data on many fronts will help the superintendent decide which direction to
begin leading. For example, SAT and ACT
scores for the school district are low; however, the lowest area is in
writing. This trend is true also for the
STAAR exam. As a superintendent, one has
to be able to look at this data and decide how students can be served to better
learn to write.
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.
I have instigated,
compiled, and led two CLIC meetings since my internship plan began. Items of interest that were discussed during
these meetings: district goals, campus goals, needs/wants within departments
and for campus, federal funds, campus/building concerns, OFYP, Calendar for
2013/2014, attendance waivers, and school safety. The meetings were conducted with the use of
technology, which provided both positive and negative feedback. The positives were easy access, all members
were able to view together, and members weren’t able to jump ahead to future topics. The negatives were that the screen didn’t
always show all content as to what we were looking at. This caused some delays, and time after
school is valuable! This was the only
negative comment that I received when I surveyed the group. In the future I’ll look at providing handouts
for information that might have multiple screen shots.
We planned a technology
staff development day for our entire staff before school began in August. We are trying to utilize 21st
century curriculum and learning in many of our classrooms. In order to do this, our teachers need access
to, and education on how to use digital devices. Our students are allowed to bring their own
devices to school now, but we also have 50 IPod touches available for student
use as well. With this being the case,
we organized staff development with the help of an ESC 6 representative, to
instruct our staff on the best practices for digital devices. Many teachers were already very familiar with
the devices, while some were rookies.
Throughout the day we were engaged in activities that allowed the staff
to learn from the devices, and to also gather some insight on good apps and
webpage’s to utilize in their classrooms.
All staff are also
evaluated in many different forms. PDAS
is used for all professional each school year.
Walk-through data is also compiled on a weekly basis to help ensure that
what needs to be taught is being taught.
The walk through data also looks at how the students are being engaged
in learning, what form or mode of learning is taking place, and how the teacher
is facilitating such learning. This data
is critical to improving the performance of all staff.
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 that
dealt with competency eight related to the personnel, specifically the high
school secretary position. I spent the
better half of one morning visiting with, and monitoring our high school
secretary. Our high school secretary is
basically the main hub of our campus.
She is responsible for the following: substitutes on campus, purchase
requisitions, entering and giving POs to staff, managing all activity accounts
for the campus, maintaining the bell system and intercom system, checking in
visitors to the campus, preparing documents for the administrative team, monitoring
student office aides, answering the phone, and taking messages for the staff,
and assisting with the staff as needed. She
basically has her hand in a little bit of everything. She also deals with an incredible amount of
confidential information, and does a great job at addressing this aspect of her
job. She has access to her own computer,
and uses multiple web-based and software based programs to perform her duties. I have great respect for what she does for
me, and our campus, and I let her know that frequently. One item of interest that we improved was the
location of a new door into her office. We also rearranged her desk/seating
area so that she could have a better view site of individuals coming into the
building. The next item that needs to be
addressed is a larger monitor for her computer.
Another activity for
this competency dealt with meeting with our attendance officer to discuss
attendance law and its effect on finance and school operations. Having been responsible for attendance and
truancy in a previous position, I had a good understanding of attendance and
its ramifications on school structure.
Students are responsible for coming to school, and if they’re under 18
years of age, then their parents are responsible too. There are several consequences for students
not coming to school:
·
Lack of
education. If you’re not there, you’re
not learning.
·
Truancy – our
students must pay court fees on top of any fines levied by the judge.
·
For high school
students – loss of credits.
·
For the district
– loss of funds!
The district’s budget is driven from
calculations on attendance. So it is of
major importance for students to come to school in regards to finance. Again, for high school students, they are
required to be in class for 90% of the time that the class is offered. If they’re not, they may lose credit for
their classes. For truancy to be filed,
students will have 3 unexcused absences in a 4 week period, or 10 unexcused
absences in a 6 month period. To avoid
problems with the school, with a student’s education, and with the courts, it
is imperative for students to come to school.
We stress the importance of this to our campus, and offer incentives for
good attendance.
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.
In meeting with maintenance personnel, I was able to
gather some insight into the complexity of taking care of school
buildings. At our district, we have
individuals responsible for HVAC, electricians, custodians, grounds workers,
construction, and general maintenance.
There are individuals in each area with expertise, but all can do
multiple jobs. Our maintenance works
hard, and does a great job with our school, and is also very proficient with
their timely service. I followed our
custodian around the high school one afternoon to watch him, and to visit with
him about his duties and responsibilities.
He is a hard worker, and takes a lot of pride in his work. I appreciate that, and let him know that
frequently. His schedule starts early in
the morning, and ends around 4:00 p.m.
He is responsible for all aspects of cleaning within our building. One of his biggest concerns on our campus is
the inability for all outside doors to shut and lock properly. Especially with school safety being top
priority right now, we need to know that all of our doors are working
properly. This is an issue that I have
already discussed with our Maintenance Director.
I also observed our food service employees to gather
information on what their job entails.
There is an incredible amount of prep time that is required to prepare
the food for our students. There are
also many guidelines that must be followed in order to prepare and serve meals
to our students. I don’t feel like our
food service staff is over worked, or undermanned. I feel like to the job that is being done on
our campus is adequate, and that our students and staff are served in a timely
manner, with appropriate portions. One
aspect of this department that needs to be addressed is the cleanup of the
cafeteria between lunches. We need to do
a better job of making sure that the cafeteria tables are cleaned and sanitized
before second lunch eats. We can also do
a better job of maintaining the trash removal between lunches. This may need cooperation from maintenance
department so that our food service staff has ample time to finish preparation
for the second lunch.
The
transportation director and I also met to discuss the buses and student
transportation. Issues pertaining to
school start and ends times, as well as student management on the buses were discussed. The current transportation director does a
good job of managing the buses, drivers, and routes for before and after
school. He is also the one who organizes
drivers and buses for field trips. This
too has run very smoothly for the current school year.
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.
Gathered discipline
data for the time period of August 2011 thru December 2012, to see if there
were any trends as far as grade level, race, gender or special education. With our student population being ninety
seven percent white, there weren’t any significant trends due to race. There were minimal infractions during this
time period with the few Hispanic and African Americans on our campus. As I am sure with most high school campuses,
the ninth grade students had the most referrals, while the twelfth grade class
had the fewest. There were not any
significant trends involving special education students or gender as well. Most infractions on the high school campus
during this time period resulted in corporal punishment. The number of placements in SAC, and our
alternative education campus, dropped significantly from the years past. The introduction of the Optional Flex Year
Program, or “OFYP”, had much to do with discipline infractions. Students had to meet discipline requirements
to meet the OFYP qualifications.
A meeting was held with
the supervisor of food services. During
the meeting the discussions about the new federal guidelines pertaining to
school lunches was discussed. Many
changes are coming from the federal government over the next few years, and
adapting to these changes is not an easy task.
However, our school district relies heavily on federal funding and with
that in mind, there is no choice but to find ways to still feed children things
they will eat while at the same time adhering to the new federal food
guidelines.
