LeadershipPlatform

AngelicaAlvarado
EDL610
Spring2015

SanDiegoStateUniversity
ExtendedStudies
DepartmentofEducationalLeadership
InPartnershipwith
SanDiegoCountyOfficeofEducation


LeadershipPlatform

TableofContents
I.

Introduction

A.

EducationalBeliefs
B.

PersonalStory
C.

ProfessionalExperience
D.

LeadershipStyle
E.

Nonnegotiables

II.

Subsections

CurriculumandInstruction
ParentandCommunityInvolvement
DisciplineandSchoolClimate/Culture
Technology


I.

Introduction
Myleadershipplatformfocusesonthevaluesofequityineducation,myexperiences,
educationalbeliefs,andmyjourneyofbecomingaleaderinmycommunityofLakeside.

A. EducationalBeliefs
Ibelieve
alllearnersareabletoaccomplishagoalwithscaffoldingandequitableresources.
Learnerscomeinallcolors,shapesandcultures.Asaresult,childrenhaveabilitiesandskills
thatcanbenefitothers.Wecanlearnfromeachothersstrengthsandthroughthoseabilities,
educatorscanempowerleadershipskills.The
LeaderinMe
paradigmseesthateverychildis
capable,everychildisaleader.Ibelievelearningisapartoflifeandneverending.Human
beingsareinnatelycreativeandposequestions.Asaresult,Ibelievethatchildrenbeallowed
toexpresstheircreativityandaskquestionstosparkcuriosity.
Ibelieve
inmultilingualismandfosteringculturalawareness.Througheducation,wecan
fosterempatheticandcompassionateleaders.Thefirstpersonwhotaughtmethevalueinlife
andcarvedthepathonbeinganeducatorwasTiaPaty.Yearsbeforeenteringkinder,she
taughtmetocolor,cut,paste,andpaint.Inmyeyes,shewasmyteacher.Shetriedto
encouragedmymomthatshecouldhomeschoolme,butmymomdidntthinkitwasbestfor
mysocialskillsbecauseIwastheonlychild.Perseveranceandmotivationareessentialskills
thatneedtobemodeledinordertoovercomestruggles.Therefore,mybeliefisthateducation
allowschildrentobecomeleadersandenhancetheirskillsforaglobalmulticulturaland
multilingualcompetitivenessforthe21stcentury.

B.PersonalStory
Ibelieve
allstudentsareabletobecomeleadersbyfocusingontheirstrengths.Inaddition,
allstudentscanachieveacademicachievementthroughscaffoldingbasedontheirneeds.All

studentscanlearnandleadregardlessoftheirobstaclesoflanguageacquisition,creed,
socioeconomicordisabilities
Ibelievethis
becauseIwasaproductofalowsocioeconomicandSpanishlanguage
bilingualpubliceducation.Ibelievethisbecausethemostcrucialpersoninmylifelefta
lifetimeimpactonmypast,presentandfuture.Thesourceofmybeliefssolelylieonmy
experiencethroughthekeymomentsofdevelopmentofidealsthatpeoplearedifferent,but
theirdifferencedoesnothindertheiractions.Iwaseightyearsold,whenmyfavoriteaunt
passedaway.Tome,shewasmyworld,myeverything.Shedidnotallowanyobstaclesto
keepherfromachievinghergoals.Myauntwasarolemodelandactivelylivedthe7Habits.
Shewasdeterminedandpassionateabouteducation,soattendedcollegealthough,shehad
adisability.Shewasboundtoawheelchairduetochildhooddiagnosisofpolio.Fromher
actions,Ilearnedfromanearlyagethateducationalachievementcanbeaccessedwithall
individualsregardlessoftheirdisabilities.
Asaresult,mypassionduringinundergraduateyears,IwantedtopursueacareerinSpecial
Education.ThroughmyjourneyatSDSU,aSpecialEducationprofessor,
GeneValles
encouragedmetoenrollinAcquisitionofLanguageandAcademicSkills(ALAS).Ienrolledto
ALASbecauseIbelievedinthefoundationofstudentscanattainEnglishlanguage.Beinga
productofbilingualism,Ifeltempoweredtobecomearolemodelsimilartomyauntwholead
meinthispath.Therefore,ALASfocusedonincorporatingspecialeducationskillstomodify
andadaptinstructionalmethodstoeducateEnglishLanguageLearnerswithMild/Moderate
disabilities.HewasapillartomycareerandIamforeverindebtedtohimforbelievinginme.
Hepassedawayin2010fromleukemia.Thatyear,IgraduatedfromSDSUwithtwoteaching
credentials:BCLADandSPEDcredential.

C.ProfessionalExperience
Ihavebeenineducationforfiveyears.Iamanoviceteacher,buthavevariousskillsand
confidenceinmyteachingstyle.From2010,IgraduatedfromSanDiegoStateUniversity
withtwoteachingcredentials
ALASProgram
.Proudly,IhaveaBilingualCLADcredentialon
MultipleSubjectsandaSpecialistEducationcredentialinMildtoModeratedisabilities.That
schoolyear,20102011,IwasacollaborationteacheratCalvinLauderbachElementary
SchoolinChulaVista.IwastheonlyteacherthatcouldbeplacedinSDCclassfortwohours,

thenplacedinKinderorfirstgradespanishclass,thenfullEnglishimmersionforgrades26.I
learnedquicklyhowtomodifyandsharpenmybehaviorandacademicexpectationsbasedon
studentsstrengths/needsandgradelevels.InJanuaryof2011,IappliedintheSouthBay
SchoolDistricttogainfurtherexpertiseinfosteringlanguageacquisitionasanImpact
TeacherforNewcomerstudentsfromMexico.ImasteredSDAIEandGLADstrategiesto
enhancestudentcontentandlanguagedevelopment.Inaddition,afterschool,Iwas
responsiblefortheinterventiongroupofstudentsingrade35ontheonlineprogramof
ImagineLearning
andIhadthekeytotheschoolwidelaptopcartinthecomputerroom.From
thatpointintime,Ifelttechnologywasatool,Icouldusetoscaffoldstudentslearning.
Thefollowingschoolyear,20112012,Iwashiredasalongtermsubinasixthgradeclassfor
threemonths.Theprincipalwasimpressedwithmyopenmindednessinlearningmoreabout
technologyintegration.Asaresult,OlgaWesttrustedmewith25iPadsandaskedmetostay
atVeteransElementaryinChulaVistaastheGiftedandTalentedEducationSpecialist
(GATE)fortheentireschoolforgrades26.Inaddition,Iwasabletoutilizeprojectbased
learninganddepthandcomplexityiconstofacilitatecriticalthinkersforthe21stcentury.I
hostedaScienceFairinwhichstudentsshowcasedtheirlearninginourGATEclass.Also,I
wascomboteacherforablockoflanguagearts.MystudentscreatedvariousiMoviesbased
onCAcontentstandards.Fromthatexperience,Iknewthattechnologyshouldbe
implementedinclassbecausestudentshavefurtherengagementandcreativitywhenthetool
isinplace.Thefollowingschoolyear,20122013,wastheyearofdiscoveringmylearning
stylewithonegroupofstudentsbecauseitwasmyfirstyearasafulltimefourthgrade
teacher.ThatyearwasthemostchallengingbecauseIhadtobalanceSSTs,IEPs,CAState
4thGradeWritingandCSTs.Themostpositiveaspectaboutaboutthatyear,wasthesupport
frommyBTSAsupportprovider.SheencouragedmetouseCommonCorelanguageand
makestudentsaccountableandhavehighexpectations.Theadministrationhadclearand
conciseexpectationsforstudentsandteachers.Asafirstyearfulltimeteacher,this
experiencesolidifiedthetypeofteacherthatIneededtobecome:fair,structured,resourceful,
inspiringandrespectful.
Then,IarrivedtoLakesideUnionSchoolDistrict(LUSD).Lastyear,20132014,Iwas
privilegedtobeaGrade3and4comboSpanish/EnglishDualimmersionTeacher.Iworked
closelywithaMandarinTeacher,soIwasabletoenhancemycollaborationskills.Iwasable
tocompletemysecondyearofBTSA,whilebalancing50reportcardsand50parentteacher

conferenceseachtrimester.Inaddition,mystudentshadoneononeiPadstofostercreativity
andinnovation.Thisschoolyear,Ihaveflourishedasaneducationalleader.Ihave
participatedinvariouscommitteestodevelopmyleadershipskills.IaminLighthouseteam,
IDEAS2.0,
LearningHeadquarter
GradeLevelRepresentative,and
LakesideNGSS
.The
Lighthouseteamfocuseson7HabitsimplementationatRVtoreceivethehonorof"Leaderin
Me"school.IDEAS2.0isathreeyearcommitmentofthatincorporatesNGSSand
Science
andEngineeringPractices
.ThroughsummertrainingswithLearningHeadquarters,Ihave
learnedcrucialwaystoteachCommonCorewritingtomyfellowgradelevelteam.

D.LeadershipStyle
BasedonGreen'sContemporaryLeadershipStudiesandTheories,Ibelievemyleadership
stylesalignstoSynergisticLeadershipTheory(SLT).Asschoolleader,Ibelieveinthe
importanceofcultivatingandinspiringdiversityandequality.Asaneducationalleader,Iam
responsibletoadvocateforstudentswhodonothaveavoice.Studentswhohavedisabilities,
studentswhoaresecondlanguagelearnersandstudentswithlowsocioeconomicconditions.
Asaleader,Irespectallmembersofthecommunityandallowtheirvoicestobeheardwhen
itcomestodecisionmaking,inordertoseekandbuildaframeworkofeffectiveness.Leaders
"caneffectivelymakechallengingdecisionsdecisionsusingcollaborativeapproachwhile
keepinginmindthehumanneedsoftheindividualwhoareservingtheorganizations"(Irbyet
al.,2009).SLTprovidesleaderswhogettheirgreatestsatisfactionhelpingothersgetthrough
thedayandhelpingothersseethebiggerpicture.Theyempathize.Asaresult,Iamopento
change,valuediversityandintegrity,andvalueprofessionalgrowthtofosteracademic
success.Throughmyexperiencesineducationandmybeliefsandvaluesineducation,Iam
anadvocateforstudentsandensurethatdecisionsofstakeholdersareheardwhena

decisionismadebecausearespectfulsolutionshouldincludeeveryonevoice.

E.Nonnegotiables
ThreeNonNegotiablesbasedonmyeducationalexperiencestofosterstudent
academiclearningandsuccesscommunities.

ThefirstnonnegotiableisbasedonCoveysHabit6ofSynergy.Bestpracticesareutilized
andsharedwithstaffinordertosupportteachersonlearningsystems.Inaddition,when
educatorsareprovidedtosharetheirknowledge,theybecomeleadersandmentornovice
teachersschoolwide.ThroughHabit6,staffcanvaluedifferencesandhaveaplanthat's
betterforeveryone.Bycollaboratingandcreatingathirdalternativeratherthansettlingor
compromise.Thisisturnistruesynergy.
Thesecondnonnegotiableisprovidingaprofessionaldevelopmentoncurriculum,classroom
instructionandassessments.Professionallearningcommunities(PLC)providearesearch
basedstrategiesorinterventionsinordertoensuretheneedsofallstudentsaremetinthe
classroom.EachweeklyPLC,teachersareprovidedwith2hourprofessionaldevelopmenton
strategies,curriculum,andassessmentstheycanimplementintheirclasstobuilda
communityofequityandfairness.Inaddition,dataassessmentsystemtoprovideinformative
instructionforstudentlearning,basedonaclear,DistrictCurriculumalignedtoCollegeand
CareerReadinessStandards.Teachersshouldbeaccountableforstudenteducational
development,hence,utilizethetoolsofformativeandsummativeassessmenttodrive
instructionsandleadstudentstoacademicexcellencebasedontheCCSSandNGSS
standards.Thesamevisionandmissioncanleadtooverallacademicachievementforall
students.
Thethirdnonnegotiableisempathy.Empathyistheabilityofunderstandingand
imaginativelyenteringintoanotherperson'sfeelinginordertoidentifywithandunderstand
another'ssituation,feelingsandmotives.Asaresult,seekfirsttounderstand,thentobe
understood.Allstaffmustbalanceandmodelcourageandconsiderationtoexpressviews
withrespectandclarity.ThroughtheusageofHabit5,SeekfirsttoUnderstandthentobe
Understoodcandevelopacommunityofempatheticstaffandstudentstobuildawelcoming
communityoflearningforall.

II.

Subsections
CurriculumandInstruction
Ibelieve
thatcurriculumandinstructionshouldbedifferentiatedandhavetheabilityto
integraterigorousinstruction.
Ibelievethisideabecause
myeducationalbackground

ofspecialeducationcredentialandbilingualeducationcredential,whichtransformedme
intoanadvocateforstudentswithdisabilitiesandabilities.Asresult,bydifferentiating
instructionandbeingabletoimplementrigor,studentscanbechallengethroughtheir
zoneofproximaldevelopment.

Therearealotofaspects
ofcurriculumandinstruction,whichhaveevolvedduetothe
educationalchangeofCommonCore.Forexample,throughavarietyofnewly
developedCommonCorecurriculum,mycolleaguesandIexploredIready,which
focusesonlanguageartsandmathematicalskills.Inaddition,engageNYisa
conceptualformofthenewmathematicalconceptsbasedonCommonCore.SWUM
mathisanonlineprogramthatprovidesdirectinstructionforstudentswiththe
opportunitytoexcelbasedontheirneedsthroughqualitywordproblems.

I'dliketotalkabout
howcurriculumandinstructionneedstoimplementgradual
releaseofresponsibilityforstudentstoacademicallysucceedintheclassroom.Asa
result,educatorsmustalsoprovidedirectinstructionanddifferentiationallstudentsand
addrigortochallengestudentsacademicallywithintheclassroomsettingorleast
restrictiveenvironment.Thereneedstobeabalancebetweeninquirylearningand
directinstructionintheclassroom,inorder,forstudentstothrive.

ParentandCommunityInvolvement
Ibelieve
thatparentandcommunityinvolvementshouldinvolveparticipantslike
stakeholders.Forinstance,communitymembersincludeeducatorsandother
individualsintheschoolordistrictcommunity.

Ibelievethisideabecause
throughmy
personalexperienceineducation,wereIhighlyvalueparentinvolvementduringthe
developmenta504planofmynephewseducationalaccommodations.Itisimportant
forparentsandeducatorstoadvocateforthechildbecausethegoalofIEPs,504plans,
orSSTsaremeetingstoensurestudentsacademicsuccessintheeducationalsetting.

Thereareaspects
couldariseifparentsorcommunitymemberswerenotinvolvedin
thedecisionmakingofstudentseducationalexperience.Forexample,thelocalcontrol
accountabilityplan(LCAP)andlocalcontrolfundingformula(LCFF)askthe
participationofstakeholdersinthedecisionmakingprocess.Thisisapivotal
involvement,sinceitstheumbrellaforindividualsineducationtospeakupaboutwhat
theyvalueandquestionshowitalignstoschoolwidemissionandvision.Byincluding
districtsuperintendents,leadersinthedistrictcommunityandotherindividualswith
expertiseintechnology,specialeducation,bilingualeducation,etc.Thesevarious
expertiseallowandcanleadtoplansthatwillbenefitallstudentslanguages,cultures
andabilities.

I'dliketotalk
abouttheimportanceofparentandcommunityinvolvementwhenit
classroomorschoolwideinvolvement.Parentsshouldhelpchaperoneorinclass
tutoring.Thisadditionalinvolvementcanincreasechildslearninginapositivemanner.

DisciplineandSchoolClimate/Culture
Ibelieve
thatdisciplineinaschoolcultureshouldinvolvestudentsbeingaccountable
fortheirownactions.
Ibelievethisideabecause
throughCoveysSevenHabits,
studentshavethechoicebeingproactiveorreactiveinproblemsolvingsituations.In
addition,studentshavetheabilitytoseekfirsttounderstandthentobeunderstoodand
practicedtheskillsofeffectivelistening,also,calledempatheticlistening.Throughmy
experienceatRiverviewLanguageAcademy,studentshavedemonstratedtheactions
ofsevenhabitseachday.Byachievingtheirprivatevictory,studentscanworkwith
othersandbehaviorhasdecreasedsignificantly.
Therearemanyaspects
ofcommunicationandcommunityskillsforadultsand
children.Manystudentshaveimprovedtheirabilitytosynergizeintheclassroombased
onthesevenhabits.Forexample,whenitcomestoaproblemonschoolgrounds
studentsareabletocommunicatehowtheyfeelandbeabletolistentotheandthe

otherindividualsconcern.throughthisexperience,studentsareabletocriticallyanalyze
andcomeupwiththeirownsolutions.

Idliketotal
kmoreabout
theeffectsofimplementationsofthesevenhabitssinceit
hasgreatlydevelopedapositiveschoolcultureatRiverview.Overall,the7Habitshas
alsoincreasedpositiveinteractionsofadultsstudents,studentsstudents,and
adultsadults.Studentsneedtotakeownershipoftheirimprovementefforts.Students
shouldplayanactiveroleinsettingacademicgoals.Forinstance,eachchildownsa
leadershipnotebook.Theleadershipnotebookallowsthemtokeeptrackoftheir
academicgrowthanddevelopment.StudentstracktheirARreadingscore,spellingtest,
andmathtests.

Technology
Ibelieve
thattheuseoftechnologyisanessentialtooltoguidestudentslearningto
challengetheirthinkingandtodevelopinnovativeandcreativitylotsofdifferentaspects
havecomeupbasedontechnologyandtheuseoftechnologyintheclassroom.
I
believethisidea
becausethroughtheuseofassistivetechnologycanleadtomyfocus
onintegrationoftechnologyschoolwideforstudentequity.Technologyisan
expectationforthe21stcenturylearning,whichisnolongeranoptionbutitisatoolthat
shouldbeintegratedintotheclassroomtobetterenhancestudentlearningand
educationalneeds.

Therearevariousaspects
oftechnology,notonlyaneducationaltoolbuttechnology
isessentialtooltomeettheneedsofstudentswithphysical,mentalorlearning
disabilities.Forexample,educatorscanusetheapplikePopplettohelpstudentscreate
graphicorganizerstobeabletograsptheirideasbeforecontinuingonwiththewriting
process.Inaddition,AppslikeDragonDictationcanhelpstudentswithspecialneedsto
recordtheirvoiceandtheappautomaticallytypesthewords.

Idliketotalkmoreabout
howtechnologyisatransformativetoolineducation.During
thetransitioninCommonCoreexpectations,theuseoftechnologycanbeusedin
variousways.Forinstance,technologyisacommunicationtool,acollaborationtool,
andinnovativetool,sostudentscanexpresstheirownlearning.

Resources

Green,L.(2013).
PracticingtheArtofLeadership:AProblemBasedApproachto
ImplementingtheISLLCStandards.4thEdition.
PearsonEducation(Allyn&Bacon).

Fisher,DouglasFrey,NancyAuthors,IanPumpian(20120427).
HowtoCreatea
CultureofAchievementinYourSchoolandClassroom
(ProfessionalDevelopment)
(KindleLocations17661767).AssociationforSupervision&CurriculumDevelopment.
KindleEdition.

Irby,B.,Brown,G.,&Yang,L.(2009),
TheSynergisticLeadershipTheory:A21st
CenturyLeadershipTheory,
Huntsville,TX.

The20NonNegotiableCharacteristicsofHigherPerformingSchoolSystems.(2011,
April11).
AlignedDistrictPracticestoSupportHighQualityInstruction
.