Give me some feedback

Hi all ! I started the internship plan and want some feedback. Can you all take a look and tell me if I am on the right path:

1	Vision	I plan to invite parents and students to two separate meetings to develop a new vision for the upcoming year. We will look at the district vision, make a list of our desired outcomes and then come up with a vision for the upcoming year.	Parents from my school and students from each grade level	May 2011
2	Strategic Planning	We are very close to reaching exemplary status. To reach this we must improve with our ESL group, science at 8th grade and to do this we need extra time. I will set up a schedule of tutorials for Saturdays to  allow fro each group to have this extra instruction.	Dept chairs, team leaders, instructional specialists and administrators	Begin in January 2011 end April 2011
3	Data Collection and analysis	I will interview the district director of curriculum directly involved with ensuring we are meeting the requirements under NCLB. I will ask what actions are being taken, what is in place and their roles to meet these guidelines.	Dollie Mayeux, Dir. Of Curriculum, Nancy Webster, Dir. Of Testing, O. Bazan Exec. Dir. Of Secondary Schools	Completion June 2011
4	Effective Communication	I want to improve how students voice is heard and what is done with their input on my campus. I will survey a group from each level, hold a discussion with an advisory board that will be comprised of two per grade level and we will discuss their wants and needs and if possible how we can meet each other to achieve success for both sides.	Students, administrators on campus, my leadership group of aspiring leaders on campus	June 2011 and again Nov 2011
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Transfer Theory In Education

Transfer theory of learning states that one is taught a skill or learns from an experience and then uses that information to make future decisions, to make better choices, using prior knowledge to guide the next step taken. Dr. Artebury gave a great example of how we learn to tie our shoes and how we transfer this from one pair to another and even with different laces we still use the prior knowledge to complete the task and hopefully be successful. This occurs from at a very early age and guides the choices and decisions we make in new situations.

 An example using today’s technology is the use of a smart phone. Here we are combining characteristics of a computer and a phone in one. We all have experience with a phone and a computer and we try to transfer this prior knowledge to the use of this new smart phone. There are new aspects that the smart phone will offer that can be seen as a challenge or an asset. At first, it is easy to be frustrated, but then we remember the things we already know about our phones- call waiting, speaker phone, the directory, etc. The more we use it the easier it is to use. Then when we combine a camera with this and internet service we tread slowly until confidence is built. We then take for granted how quickly we can access the internet, how we can link pictures to our contacts and how we no longer have to memorize people’s phone numbers as they are all at our fingertips. We then transfer the new experiences and knowledge we obtain from these smart phones to our laptops, our desktops, our computers in our cars, and from all of this our knowledge continues to grows. It is easy to see how we use prior knowledge to learn more.

To enter a program such as ours, one year of leadership is a requirement and in my opinion this is very important. Prior leadership experience helps as the experiences you go through in one year as a campus leader teaches you a tremendous amount in so many areas that can be transferred to the superintendency. Dealing with parents will not disappear the further up you go, they will be more intense and the prior experience you have had dealing with parents prepares you for the “bigger” deals a superintendent will have to deal with. As an administrator, you learn about so many different aspects of evaluation and appraisal of employees and as a superintendent personnel is one of the biggest headaches. Having appraised someone, having to explain their areas of proficiency and helping teachers grows gives you some skills that you will transfer when you have grievances to deal with or when you listen to a hearing. Without these experiences, you view these situations with different lenses and that can be detrimental to your success as a superintendent. Your experiences impact a lot of your opinions, as well as how you are respond to these situations. Therefore, experience is respected and many times a prerequisite to superintendent positions.

Interviewing My Superintendent

“The chair of the superintendent is the only place in a school district where you can see all the pieces come together” a quote shared with me by Dr. Mark Henry, Superintendent of Galena Park ISD for the past seven years. He stated that the view he has in his position is unlike any other and he felt this quote stated it just right.

I entered the district the same year he did, 2004, and have seen him grow and make gradual changes that have been positive for the Galena Park community. Prior to Dr. Henry, Dr. Shirley Neely, who left GPISD to become the commissioner of education for the state of Texas, led our district. He had very large shoes to fill and has been doing a great job since.

So, how does he define leadership? He is a believer in servant leadership. He sees his role as one in which he works to make our lives as principals easier, to make sure that we have whatever we need to ensure student success. What are some of the positives aspects of your position? As a leader, he loves the fact that he gets to work with people and impact their lives. He has the opportunity to get to know each party (teachers, students, business members, community leaders, etc.) a little more than he did as a campus administrator; in his current role, he has the opportunity to work with state officials to impact our educational system. Any drawbacks? The higher your position, the less interaction you have with children, but he does remind me that we must always lead with them in mind. He recalls when he worked in a smaller district everyone knew him and that wasn’t always fun, but in a district like ours in such a big city, he can still have some autonomy.

How does he develop a shared vision, build relationships with all stakeholders, promote and sustain climate and maintain a good relationship with his bosses, the board? Honesty. He claims that if they trust you, if you are honest and there are no surprises, each of these areas work themselves out. He has to have the vision of what is coming, for example how we are preparing for this budget deficit. He pushed for our district to save over the past five years for a day like today so that we would not have to "pink slip" anyone. Having this vision and talking honestly with all stakeholders has brought a sense of stability to GPISD. This is not something that just comes naturally; he states you have to work at it, like all relationships.

As I stated earlier, he came in after Dr. Neely, so I had to ask- how did you create your culture? How did you communicate how you wanted this ship to be run? Compared to his predecessor he stated he isn’t the type that says, “Exemplary or you are out of here” as principals had heard in the past. He feels principals put more pressure on themselves than anything he could put on this group anyway. He also points out that he has never spoke ill of Dr. Neely and to date is thankful for the district she passed down to him. He feels lucky to have gotten a district in such great shape, in so many ways. He says he has worked hard to get the “yellers and screamers” to yell and scream less or to find a new place to do that. He doesn’t believe in leading with fear, he thinks he can be friends with his principals and feels he is with his board as well. He stated that its easier to do business with someone you trust and to get criticism from a friend. He says that every year around contract time he tells the board if they are ever unhappy with him, he wants to part as friends, they just need to tell him and he will leave, that there is no need to be messy. They do not have to push him out, when it is time he will leave.

So what stuck with me- I asked what is his biggest headache? Two things- personnel and always being “on”. I could totally sympathize! As a principal, these are my biggest headaches from day to day. He states that with over 3,000 employees I would be amazed, in total shock and left speechless if I only knew of how many times a week they deal with reprimands, firings, disgruntled parents and employees, And what does he mean by being “on”, well the only time he is not constantly being called upon is over a holiday season like Christmas. He knows when the phone rings he has to answer it, deal with the situation, solve it, etc.

Question after question he referred to being honest and the importance in this. I truly believe this is vital to your longevity as a superintendent. If they feel you are holding something back, that you are not on their team, you will never win them over. Superintendents usually last three years and for him to last seven says volumes. When I asked about building relationships, culture, climate, planning he referred to being honest throughout, communicating and not surprising anyone. As a principal, I understand, I never want to be surprised when it comes to my school. Does that mean I want to micro manage every aspect, NO, but I do want to know what is going on, why did we choose to do this or that and I see my superintendent that way as well. Lastly, in this time with budget cuts and so many changes coming what does he recommend for me and for those wanting to be a superintendent? “Don’t do anything unethical, immoral, illegal, hire the best people, do you research to get the best and always be positive. Negativity will kill your career, it is always easier to see the downside and as the leader they want you to show them why we need to stay in the game!

Action Research In Education

Action research is defined as research that occurs in its natural setting, this is research that can be done in a classroom. As I researched this topic I realized so many of the things we do in school can be linked to action based research. Example being: when we want to change an instructional setting for a special ed child, we see them successful in a resource setting and want to continue to challenge them, so we propose to move them to a coteach model and continue to monitor, document and test to see if this is working for the child. Another example- the coteach model- developed via action research.
So many things we do in schools today came from teachers wanting to improve their classrooms to give kids better opportunities, to challenge them to improve and this type of research many times goes unnoticed.
Action research does not come without problems, one is many times no one knows it is going on and many times two different people could be doing the same or similar projects. As a leader it is important to be aware of what teachers are working on and creating some way for everyone to be aware of this project, offering support to these teachers and if it is something that can be used at a district wide level, being the voice that promotes the work that has been done by teachers at the campus.
Action research is important for schools, as many times it can help schools make that little change that can be the difference for getting from good to great. This type of research can investigate many things: analyzng the structure of the master schedule, passing periods, safety issues, teacher discipline plans, use of technology in a particular content or as a partner, for example, in the science classroom.
Where to start you might ask? Solicit projects, ask for a specific situation to be looked into, have teams evaluate a system that is already in place. Where will I start? At my school, we have numerous teachers who looped up with their kids. I had read so much research on the benefits of looping, on how the teacher makes the biggest difference. Therefore, I decided to have two strong reading teachers and one strong math teacher loop up with their students. Now the items we will need to evaluate include, but are not limited to: Did this improve scores, retention of new material, build stronger relationships/trust? We will need to evaluate the benefits, the possible problems, use data to show statistics.
What do you think? Will looping help our most at risk kids? This is the group I was targeting.

How Education Leaders Might Use A Blog

Blogs are an easy way to communicate with your staff and let them know about what we have done, where we are, what we want to do and their role in making our school exemplary. A principal can update it weekly, daily, before and after major events. A blog would allow the leader to get as many people involved , a leader can also check to see who has visited the blog and even invite those who are reading the blog to participate, give feedback and add to the discussion.