PHILISOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

A good administrator is one who will focus on building relationships with all stakeholders, be a problem solver, a manager and an instructional leader. These topics fall within the Iowa Standards for School Leaders (ISSL). The other standards that are just as important to follow include sharing the vision with the stakeholders and collaborating with families and community members to establish a culture that supports education. Every administrator needs to have passion for students and the desire to inspire them to reach their full potential.

As ISSL standard three states, the leader will promote the success of all students by ensuring there is a safe, efficient and effective learning environment. I participated in interviews for four potential new Special Education positions at Davenport Central High School in the Fall of 2013. After the interviews, I organized the candidates portfolios, making sure that each had their application, interview questions, references with available numbers and any other information needed so the Associate Principal would be read to make reference phone calls. This interview process involves Standard Three, criteria a, b and e. I enjoy meeting the potential candidates and looking at their qualities and how they respond to questions. I am amazed at how well most of the candidates respond to random questions. I am most interested on how the future teachers can relate their experience and education to how they will facilitate great instruction so the students learn. ISSL #4 is evident when surrounding yourself with skilled teachers. It can cause an inverted pyramid, with employees and other stakeholders at the top and the leaders on the bottom. This will then motivate the employees and other stakeholders to be more successful. For Standard Four I chose to discuss the criteria a, b, c and d. I volunteered to help facilitate the eighth grade orientation on January 16, 2013. It was one of the Associate Principals responsibilities. We spent hours planning this event. The principal wanted this to be very impressive as

it is the first impression of the 8th grade families. We asked all clubs and departments to have representation there. We created a map that would place the departments, clubs and athletics together. We purchased table cloths of the school colors. I printed signs identifying who was at each table. I had them laminated so we dont have to make them for the next year. We started setting up at 2:30pm and was ready when it started at 6:00pm. I greeted the families at the door and gave them folders of information they would need. After the orientation, the families walked around the main floor and visited all of the tables with the clubs, academic departments and athletics. It ended up being a great event. We showed our future students and their families that our high school is a welcoming and safe place to experience for the next four years of their education. For Standard Five I chose to share 5a, b, c, d, and e. I have had opportunities to substitute for an administrator. I have had 10 days total that I have been in the role of the Associate principal in the last two years. I have talked with students, parents, teachers and other administrators. I have suspended students (with approval), mediated between students and teachers, mediated between parents and teachers, supported teachers with discipline issues, called the police to intervene and consulted the principal several times. As an intern taking the role of an administrator I believe that I demonstrated all of the above criteria. I used ethical and professional behavior in all situations. I

demonstrated values and beliefs that inspired students and teachers to higher levels of performance. I have received great response from the staff with respect to me acting in an administrator role. I always try and think how I would feel if I were the staff person, the parent or the student and make the best decision so that the students needs are met. Working in an urban setting I cant help but demonstrate appreciation for and sensitivity to diversity in our school community. I really appreciate the diversity of our school which leads to the divergence of opinions

LEADER OF CHANGE
The Associate Principal and myself were looking at data of repeat students that were tardy almost daily. These students did not receive SPED services. They did get written referrals from teachers for chronic behavior and tardies. The students generally did not like school. After looking at their grades, many of the students were failing classes and did not attend many of the classes. I researched Check/in, Check/out programs and implemented it for about 20 students. I found teachers who were willing to volunteer their time to spend with the students and received permission from the students guardians to do this daily. I started in October of 2012. I followed their progress on grades, office referrals and attendance until May 2013. This research project falls under Standard One and it includes a, b, c, d, e and f criteria.

I learned so much. It was usually positive relationships built with the guardians also! I had two students who checked in with me daily and they have already started in with me this year and I havent officially started it yet! The students love it and the teachers love it. I am starting earlier this year since I know the students and their needs. There are 1600 students in the school and it helps make it seem a little bit smaller! All students need to know that someone is there if they need something and that they care!

LEADER OF SERVICE
As stated in the Iowa Standards for School Leaders Standards #1 and #2, the leader promotes the success of all students by creating a shared vision and that the leader must be an educational leader. Servant leadership that takes the holistic approach is the second tenet. This ultimately benefits the long-term interests and performance of the organization. In ISSL Standard #3 it explains how the servant leader must be a manager that ensures the students have a safe environment to learn in. ISSL Standard #5 discusses the importance of acting with integrity. As an administrator, we need to demonstrate our values and beliefs so that we inspire others to higher levels of performance. Being a mentor utilizes the criteria in

Standard Five to guide the mentee through their first two years using the state requirements. I also believe that it is my goal to guide the new teachers on strategies that will maximize learning for their students. This includes effective lesson plans, classroom management, goal setting and implementing differentiation within the classroom. My final thought for being a mentor is to support the desire for teaching and to ensure that the new teachers have the passion to put the time and energy into being a great teacher. Being a mentor allows me to build relationships with new teachers so they feel comfortable coming to me when they try a new idea without the fear of failure. Even if the new teachers idea does not work, they do not feel like they are being evaluated from an administrator. I really enjoy building the relationships with the year one and year two teachers. I use the ORID questions when I talk to the new teachers about certain behaviors I see of them in the classroom or scenarios that the new teachers bring to me. I am also on a district committee that is discussing the bell schedule and how the new state laws will affect the district and the individual buildings schedules. This allows me to build relationships with the administration at the central office and become familiar with the issues that are happening district and state wide. This project is directly linked to Standard Six, which promotes communication of all stakeholders from the community. The superintendent invited me to sit on the committee with the associate superintendents, building

administrators, community members and the human resource director. We discussed whether we were going to go to the 180 day reporting or the 1080 hours of reporting for the State of Iowa. The Associate Superintendent, human resource director, and I presented the findings and our recommendations to our school board for approval.

LEADER OF LEARNING
The second Iowa Standard for School Leaders promotes the success of all students by ensuring there is a culture of learning going on (Wilmore, 2002). Teachers will be expected to challenge the students. As a staff, we will teach the students how to express themselves both orally and in writing. The students will receive feedback continually so they can adjust their performance accordingly. For Standard two I chose the opportunity I had to help with parent-teacher conferences. It relates to criteria a, h, I, j and k. I helped set up and then facilitate high school conferences. I know that people dont realize how much planning and time it takes to have these events be successful. I communicated with families and other professionals within the school environment. I addressed concerns and successes of my students. Conferences are held four times a year in the cafeteria from 3:10-5:30pm. I helped set up tables, posting signs, posting names and

departments so that the stakeholders could find where and who they needed. I like organizing and planning so this was fun for me. I always find conferences to be a positive experience. The parents and families that come are truly interested in the success of their student. I observed the administrators interacting with the stakeholders and then took mental notes of how I should be when I am the administrator. For Standard Six I chose to focus on criteria a, b and c. I serve on the BSAT team, which is the lead team that directs the individual data teams at Central High School. We meet bi-monthly to discuss how our specific departments are performing in our data teams. We also talk about successes and disappointments at this meeting. We meet after school every other Monday to discuss changes and future goals for our teams. We then take that information back to our individual data teams. I am also the lead for the SPED data team. I bring the information to our SPED team to improve our data. Data teams have become very important and I wanted to be involved so I have a better understanding of what the data provides to improve instruction to our students. I do believe that data teams are driving good instruction and even better learning. Teachers appreciate the time they are given to plan instruction that they are all doing together and where the students are performing so that they can see where the students need additional help.

This academic year I have been collecting the data from all of the data teams to put on a graph. It includes each cycle of data and interventions used to show outcomes from the pre-test to the post-test. ISSL One states that the leader promotes the success of all students by implementing a vision of learning. Reeves states that effective leadership requires a continuous engagement in moving individuals and organizations from their present state to the leaders vision of an ideal state, and the movement requires change. I am participating in the IS3 committee with parents, administrators, student leaders, and other teachers. Presented by the Department of Education, I attended a two day conference which included having a safe environment for the students to be in daily when they come to school for learning or extracurricular activities. After the conference, I created a power point presentation that I presented to the students, parents, staff and administration at Central High School. The intent of my presentation was to discuss ways to improve our climate in the high school.