The
experiences Lamar University, including the internship, have been positive. The internship plan was somewhat scary and
overwhelming at first sight, but then turned to very interesting and
consuming. The internship plan was a
good alternative assessment for completing my Superintendent’s certification. The process of reflection and interviewing
has prepared me for becoming a Superintendent and furthering my administrative
career. The internship experience was a
learning experience and was a very positive involvement.
Throughout several of the
Superintendent certification courses, reflections have been a major learning
tool. Being able to reflect and learn
about an idea or competency has been invaluable in learning how to best handle
or deal with difficult situations. Reflections
are a very useful leadership tool. They
allow you to not only look at a situation from the beginning, but they also
allow valuable knowledge to be gained as one looks back to see how a situation
could have been handled differently or better.
One reflection from EDLD 5342
discussed ethical standards for Superintendents. Having ethical leaders in the position of
Superintendent of Schools is very important to the well-being of the school
district and the community as a whole.
Dr. Arterbury states, “Failing to meet that standard is disappointing to
the entire community. When individuals we have admired violate the trust we
placed in them to adhere to a commitment to be good stewards of the district’s
financial resources, it represents a major ethical violation (Week 5 Video
Transcript).” Failure to follow the
rules set forth by TEA as well as by ethical obligations is imperative to
successful leadership in schools. For example, standard 1.2 states, “The educator shall not
knowingly misappropriate, divert, or use monies, personnel, property, or
equipment committed to his or her charge for personal gain or advantage.” An example of this could be when an employee
purposely uses money for reasons not approved by the local school board or
TEA. It could also be reference to an
employee using school equipment for personal gain or advantage. Consequences for this would be a written
reprimand and possibly further trouble depending on the severity of the
matter. This type of matter might be
preventable if a close inventory is kept on equipment and the Business Manager
keeps a firm grasp on money and how it is being spent. In order to help prevent this type of mistake
from happening, the Superintendent should know the rules and regulations within
competency 8. This competency states in
part, “acquire,
allocate, and manage resources according to district vision and priorities,
including obtaining and using funding from various sources.”
Another
example of a reflection completed was in regards to how your campus facilities
compare with current standards. The
school district where I am currently employed does not have a written
long-range plan. This is partially due
to the fact that the population is not changing. Our schools are set to accommodate any
unexpected growth. Evaluation of the
facilities does occur once a year.
Changes can be made in the plans or any adjustments needed can be made
when this review is completed. The
computer classrooms in our school are within the law. The computer classrooms vary in size. Some
are a bit larger than the recommended 900 square feet, and others are the
minimum size. All of the classrooms are
all of appropriate size. Pre-K through 1st
grade classrooms are approximately 960 sq. ft., other elementary classrooms are
roughly 800 sq. ft., and the secondary classrooms range from 700 – 750 sq.
ft. The classrooms built after 2004, are
slightly smaller than those built in 1979.
The science lab built in 2011, is larger than the ones built in
1999. They both exceed the required 1000
sq. ft. requirement. The library at the
high school was constructed in 1999 and is approximately 3000 sq. ft. This is
in compliance to the square foot requirements for our school size. Our library is required to meet or exceed
1400 sq. ft. Overall, the facilities in
my school district all follow the TAC and TEC rules and regulations. Classrooms across the district were measured
and calculated as to the specifications given.
At each campus, there is also bit of room for unexpected growth. This too was a positive example of a reflection
that helped me learn about facility requirements.
Some
of the best reflections throughout the Superintendent certification courses,
were those after interviews with administrative personnel. For example, I met with the Superintendent of
Huntington ISD on June 19th. His
definition of leadership however, was not what I expected, “to guide and
facilitate a desired outcome.” I agree
with his definition, and understand the importance and magnitude of his
explanation. Set your goals, and advise,
assist, and support all stakeholders in achieving the desired outcome. He also stressed the importance of
communication in every question. On
developing a shared vision, he stressed how important it is to involve all
stakeholders, and to communicate to them what the vision is. He made a key point, that listening is as important
as anything else. If you allow the
stakeholders to provide input, they will be more apt to buy in to the
vision.
The
Competency Self-Assessment reflections were possibly the most eye-opening reflection. It allowed me the opportunity to reflect on
ideas and practices that I am familiar and comfortable with as well as those
that I need to improve upon. Most of the
ratings on the assessment were competent ratings, while there were a few
strength ratings and need improvement ratings.
For example in EDLD 5396, a reflection of our self-assessment reflection
was completed. For competency one, four
strengths were recorded and two competent.
Competency one, five, and six all accumulated four strength
ratings. Of all the competencies, these
three were the most comfortable and familiar to me. Competency one deals with fair and ethical
leadership, while competencies five and six deal with curriculum, instruction,
and staff. These three competencies are
where I feel most confident. As a high
school principal, these issues are at the forefront and therefore, seem the
most familiar and comfortable. Competencies
two and three were very similar scoring in the self-assessment as well. Two or more areas of improvement were noted
in each of the competencies. In
competency two, improvement is needed in situations regarding emerging issues
and diversity awareness. Competency
three noted three areas where improvement is warranted. These include identifying major opinion
leaders and their relationships to district goals, establishing partnerships,
and influencing the media. Competency
four was noted as the area that needed the most improvement. Three areas were noted as needing improvement
while only four areas were competent. No
strengths were recorded in competency four.
Areas requiring more knowledge include defining superintendent-board
roles, working effectively with board members, and working with political
systems. Competencies five and six were
very similar in score. Both included
four areas of strength. No scores for
needing improvement were recorded in these two competencies. Organizational factors stand out as the
strength in these two competencies. As a
principal, being able to organize and schedule all the various activities where
no one is excluded and all are focused on the aspects of teaching and learning
is typically a task in itself. Three
competencies were scored as all competent.
No scores for strength or needs improvement were recorded in
competencies seven, nine, and ten. These
competencies deal with the staff, evaluations, leadership in support systems,
and applying decision-making skills. Within
competency eight, eight statements were scored as competent, while three were
scored as needing improvement. The
three areas for growth deal with account auditing and monitoring, district
financial procedures, and obtaining funding from various sources. Overall, the self-assessment was very helpful
in identifying areas of strength, competence, and areas where improvement is
needed. I was able reflect on previous
skills and knowledge as well as learn more about topics where improvement is
needed. The self-assessment was an
effective tool.
The
reflections from the internship logs were also a helpful tool in re-evaluating
and discovering new concepts and ideas.
For example, one internship log included reviewing and developing the
master schedule at the high school level.
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. Students chose 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.
The master schedule was a tricky project to help with. Ensuring that enough classes were scheduled
and the arrangement of courses throughout of the year and school day was
tedious. In the end, the master schedule
was a success and knowing the time and energy that it takes to create such a
working document was important.
A
second internship log reflection included assisting and helping to plan and
organize a co-curricular activity. This
reflection helped me see more in depth to the tools and strengths that the high
school students possess. 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 to promote and recruit more students for these classes;
they’re awesome!
Leaders should use reflective practices
constantly throughout their work. The
saying, “hindsight is 20 20” is the reason why reflection is so important. Being able to step back from a situation and
reflect as to how it could have been handled differently or more appropriately
is a learning experience and a leadership tool.
This tool is invaluable especially to a new a Superintendent. Always accepting and making changes is the
proper way to grow in the leadership position and lead a school district to new
heights and expectations.
