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.
My internship activities for Competency 1 were to provide evidence which demonstrates what I actually do is what I tell others to do. First of all on a daily basis I tell my students and teachers to speak English in the hallways. Coming from an area where about 90 plus percent of our students speak Spanish at home I feel it is important that everybody speak English in school. It is important we practice as much English as we can. When I say we, I mean everybody on campus. As leader of the campus I model this practice every day. I tell my teachers that they need to come to work on time everyday and sign-in time is 7:30, and as a result,I arrive to work one hour before sig-in time. I feel it is important that the leader of the campus be the first to arrive to school every day. I tell all our teachers that they need to dress appropriately for work. I tell the teachers what is allowed and what is not allowed and as result I make sure I wear the appropriate clothing that of an administrator. I treat everybody with respect, it doesn’t matter what the situation is, everybody on my campus is treated with the respect they deserve and in turn my expectation is everybody else does the same.
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.
I took part in district team meetings with leaders of the district. I participated in book readings in which the superintendent and principals from different campuses shared their personal perspective in readings and shared information or ideas in which we can improve our working environment and the teaching and learning process in our district. Many of our district and campus goals are articulated in these meetings. These meetings have helped me grow as a leader and it has improved the working relationship of all principals. Most of all, these meetings have helped the superintendent build a team of trust between him and the principal and improve academic performance on our district.
I worked collaboratively with my assistants and teachers in developing a strategic plan in implementing a campus wide TAKS camp. It became a team effort in which articulation of best teaching practices were part of the implementation process. As a result, our students were provided with a well planned and executed camp for our upcoming TAKS tests.
Assessment Data collection is used at the district, campus and community level (SBDM). Data is used to see where our students are at and it used to drive instruction. This data is vital in determining if our students are performing at the level where they need to be at and it is also used to implement teaching strategies for the struggling student.
We were able to increase morning and after school tutorials by communicating the importance of tutorials to our students and parents. Home visits were done for those students that were not attending and student incentives helped us increase the number of students attending tutorials. Holding teachers accountable for their students also helped with the tutorial attendance.
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.
I implemented, led and conducted faculty meetings and PLC meetings at Ramiro Barrera Middle School. I met with all our teachers for a staff meeting once a month to discuss issues regarding student learning and at times these meetings were used as professional development for all teachers. I met with tested area teachers (PLC) twice a week to review assessments, teaching strategies and timelines to assure ourselves that the teacher is clear on what needs to be taught and tested. These PLC meetings are where teachers and administrators can share and articulate best teaching strategies for all students.
I met with the parents of our upcoming sixth graders to discuss the transition from 5th to 6th grade. I provided them with information regarding our dress code, student code of conduct, classes, bell schedule, extra-curricular activities, tutorials, counseling and our expectations of our all students.
I met with our literature teachers to discuss and review the literature that will be used for the upcoming school year. We were careful in our selection but made sure we selected literature that was diverse and meaningful for our students.
I met with local business leaders to raise funds for incentives for our students. I was able to provide our students with 50 prizes that were put into a raffle for those students that had perfect attendance. Our students were excited with the prizes they won and are looking forward to next year’s raffle.
All of the above activities helped communicate and collaborate with families and community members, respond to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilize community resources to ensure success for all students.
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.
The following are my internship experiences related to competency four.
I attended all board meetings. Our district’s board meetings are held on the last Thursday of every month. I was able to see how the meetings were conducted and carefully examined how the board of trustees and superintendent interacted with one another. These meetings were truly a learning experience.
I interviewed a retired local principal to discuss his philosophy and his experience as a principal. I learned a great deal from this interview as we discussed many of the changes in education today compared to 30 years ago. One thing that hasn’t changed is the focus on student success.
This past year our school applied for a competitive grant that was completed by administrators and teachers from our school. It was unfortunate that we were not chosen as a recipient of the grant. I met with an experienced administrator that has experience in writing grants and he gave me many pointers on the language that should be used while writing grants. His main advice was to seek professional grant writing help when applying for completive grants.
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.
The following are my experiences related to competency five. I interviewed people involved in the implementation of the school curriculum. I was part of the district administrative team involved in the development of our middle schools curriculum building during summer. After are teachers were updated and trained on what changes were to be made for upcoming year’s curriculum to prepare our students to be successful in the new STAAR exam. I met and interviewed the teachers involved in changing and or developing the new curriculum to see if they were all on the same page in regards to college readiness standards and supporting standards and what needs to be taught and tested. I believe the hard work both the teachers and administrators put into the curriculum will help us prepare our students for the upcoming school year.
I participated in the development of the master schedule. The previous two years I told my assistants which classes we were going to offer and they pretty much set up the master schedule for me. This summer I made it a priority to be involved in the planning and implementation of the master schedule.
Before the 2010-2011 school year was over I randomly selected students that were part of our co-curricular activities and asked them to give me some strengths and weaknesses of our programs.
The above internship experiences helped me facilitate the planning and implementation of strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment among curriculum, curriculum resources, and assessment to enhance student performance in the classroom and in co-curricular activities.
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.
The following are my experiences related to competency 6. I met with students and parents to discuss the student code of conduct and discipline procedures of our campus.
I worked with administration, teachers, parents and business leaders to provide incentives to improve attendance at our school. We were able to come up with 50 prizes that were part of a raffle for students that had perfect attendance.
I met with teachers on a weekly basis to breakdown assessment data from our bi-weekly tests, six weeks test or bench mark tests to see which areas need to be addressed for our struggling students and implement strategies to address the needs of those strugglers.
These activities helped me advocate, promote, and sustain an instructional program and a district culture that are conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.
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.
The following are my experiences related to competency 7. I interviewed the superintendent and the director of student improvement to seek advice on the right questions that should be asked while interviewing for openings for administration. I gathered a list of questions that are asked to potential candidates that are interviewing for a principal position. These two administrators are the same people that interviewed me when I applied for a principal position. This activity was a learning experience.
The activity that was most meaningful was our staff development plan we proposed in EDLD 5396. In order to produce a proposal for staff development one needed to interview administrators and teachers to come up with a good plan. I feel the staff development I proposed was good in which met the needs of our teachers for the upcoming year. Again, this activity was a learning experience. This activity allowed me to develop a staff development system to help improve the performance of all teachers and improve the quality of my interviews.
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.
I interviewed our district manager to ask him questions about his job responsibilities and questions related to budgeting and financial management. He has one of toughest jobs in the district and has done an excellent job for the district. Our district consistently scores high on the First Report and is one of the top accountable districts in the State. The interview was a learning experience and I still need more experience in regards to school finance and if I ever become superintendent of a district I would surely hire our current district manger or seek his advice for any problem regarding school finance.
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.
The most meaningful experience that is related to competency 9 is my involvement in our districts EOP committee. My experiences in this committee include school security and safety audits, implementation of school safety drills and school safety presentations for teachers. This activity allowed me to apply principles of management to the district’s physical plant and support systems to ensure a safe and effective learning environment.
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.
The following are my experience related to competency 10. I participated in a career educational program session with a counselor and students. I chose an issue in our school and devised a resolution that helps both sides. The most meaningful experience was my participation in the district’s TAKS to STAAR transition team. My responsibility was to educate middle school teachers on the STAAR exam. Myself and other administrators from the district met with teachers in summer to break down our curriculum and make changes to it so that teachers will have the appropriate lessons to prepare our students to be successful in the upcoming STAAR exam. We made changes to the curriculum, created six-weeks and bench mark assessments that would help drive instruction. Our assessments created were similar to the blueprint of the new STAAR exam.
These activities allowed me to apply organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills to comply with federal and state requirements and facilitate positive change in varied contexts.
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