Running Head: INTERNSHIP ACTIVITIES

Internship Activities
Suzanne M. Bryant
Houston Baptist University
EDAD 6291 Internship in the Principalship
Dr. Julie Fernandez
November 25, 2015

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Activity One

Working with a team at the school, develop and organize a summer school
or Saturday school program to address specific academic needs.

During the summer of 2015, I worked with four assistant principals to

manage and organize the daily operations of a summer school program at
Dobie High School in Pasadena Independent School District. The summer
school program consisted of Dobie High School and Pasadena Memorial High
School students for the month of June. These students were attending for
either credit recovery, STAAR review sessions, or to gain initial credit for
courses such as Health, Speech, or Economics. The summer school was
broken into two sessions of six days each. I worked every day from 7:15 a.m.
to around 3:45 p.m. or later under the four assistant principals. I monitored
during morning duty, bus duty, and managed the make-up-time table during
lunch for students who were tardy or absent on one day. I also sold
concessions with the other principals, collected and counted the money, and
collected daily attendance. I also assisted the principals with discipline, dress
code, report cards, and parent phone calls.

Activity Two

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Interview the person(s) responsible for the use of technology in instruction.

In addition, interview 3 teachers to determine the extent in which the
technology is being used. Explore other sources of data to indicate the
effectiveness of the technology in the schools instructional program.
Develop a plan that will take the curriculum utilization to the next level.
I interviewed Bobby Blackwell, the technology liaison for Dobie High
School. I also interviewed three teachers: Jody Janis who teaches AP World
and European History for 10th through 12th grade students, Breanna VorhisToppings who teaches English IV for senior students, and Cheramie Hopper
who is Dobie High Schools theater teacher for 9th through 12th grade
students. My overall conclusion is that the teachers at Dobie High School are
not implementing technology to the extent necessary to have a 21st century
classroom. All three teachers told me that they use the basics such as a
computer, the Promethean (Smart) Board, the document camera, and digital
textbooks for students. In fact the theater teacher told me that her
classroom just received WiFi connection this past school year. All three of the
classroom teachers felt like their students were able to complete
assignments with the technology currently available; however, the
technology liaison told me that he feels opposite. Mr. Blackwell told me that
the teachers at Dobie High School have very little motivation to use
technology in their classrooms. My plan of action would be for the teachers
to attend professional development trainings on the latest technology and

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watch other teachers implement technology into the classroom to see

student interest grow through the engagement technology can provide.

Activity Three

Interview a lead councilor or instructional administrator about the impact of

the master schedule on instruction. Give examples of the best practices.

I worked several days with Marcia Griffin, the assistant principal who
oversees the master schedule at Dobie High School. She had me enter
classroom homerooms for the coming school year and explained that the
students receive their homeroom teacher during their freshman year and
remain with the same teacher until their senior year. This method provides
students with an on-going relationship with classmates and a teacher over a
four-year period to provide the students with individualized support in an
almost four thousand student campus. Mrs. Griffins primary goal when
creating the master schedule is to look at the number of students needing
specific courses. If the numbers are larger than the previous year, a request
is then sent to the administration building for hiring new teachers. There are
many different variations of flexible scheduling across campuses such as
block schedule, alternating days, or rotating courses. Dobie High School
implements a seven-period per day schedule where teachers teach six of the
seven periods. Mrs. Griffin said her biggest challenge when creating the

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master schedule is balancing classes across the building with almost four
thousand students to place. Another challenge when creating the master
schedule is attempting to obtain a class for every single grade-level during
every single class period to provide students flexibility in their schedules.
Dobie High School implements a very different lunch system from other high
schools called, Mega Lunch. Dobie is currently in the third year of Mega
Lunch where the entire school breaks for lunch at the same time. Students
can eat anywhere on campus, but are encouraged to take their lunch to
various school club offerings or tutoring sessions instructed by teachers. Mrs.
Griffin said this also helps with absent students because they are required to
use this time to make up assignments and tests. I was told that the only
negative concern for Mega Lunch is the number of insects increased when
students were able to eat throughout the entire building. Mrs. Griffin
provided some best practices and tips when creating a master schedule. She
said her greatest tip is to remain patient with teachers during the master
schedule process and to create matrices where you can make content team
planning the first priority and then go back into the schedule and fill in
classes.

Activity Four

Interview a counselor or CTE representative about the impact of HB5 on high

school graduation plans and scheduling.

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I interviewed Jennifer Haynes, one of Dobie High Schools counselors

on the impact of HB5 on high school graduation plans and scheduling. Ms.
Haynes described that the difference between HB5 and the previous
minimum, recommended, and distinguished plan is that students are now
being directed down a career path with specific elective courses. She said
that HB5 has eliminated unwanted electives and provides senior students
with an internship-like year based on the path selected. Ms. Haynes stated
that the problem with the new graduation plans is that many districts and
schools are not taking HB5 seriously because the state has a pattern of
changing graduation pathways every three years. Counselors and
administrators are reluctant to implement a wide range of pathways because
they feel the graduation plan will end up changing to something new a few
years, so they do not want to waste money and time in creating new plans
for students. One benefit of the new graduation plan is that it provides
students with a glimpse of future careers and does so free of charge to help
guide students to success past high school. One drawback of the new
graduation plan is that fourteen year olds in the eighth grade are forced to
basically make a decision about their education and career path. Dobie High
School provides several endorsements including business/industry,
arts/humanities, public services, and STEM. The most popular endorsement
at Dobie is the public service track. As far as endorsements and the top ten
percent students, nothing has changed. Endorsements only provide students
with a seal on their diploma. Ms. Haynes discussed the importance of

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educating parents about the new graduation plans and Pasadena ISDs
approach to communicating the changes to parents. The district has had
several parent meetings, a parent night the different high schools, and
allowing parents to attend counselor meetings with their child. Ms. Haynes
concluded our discussion by explaining she and other counselors have
learned to be flexible with graduation plan changes and to help as best as
she can make graduation accessible to all students to success.

Activity Five

Shadow two assistant principals from two other schools that are not the
same level as the school you are employed. Document areas regarding their
job duties, how they manage time, their relationship to the principal, their
responsibilities with staff morale and school climate. Discuss their
perceptions of the effectiveness of the schools organizational structure and
parent/community involvement.
During my summer internship at Dobie High School I was able to
shadow four assistant principals from two different high schools, Dobie and
Pasadena Memorial High School. The contrast was quite different from my
limited view of administrators at the elementary level where there was only
one principal and one assistant making most the decisions. Each assistant
had very specific roles at their respective high schools. Dr. Martinez was over
the students needing credit recovery to graduate. Mrs. Swenson was the

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assistant principal over the class of 2017 and followed them from year to
year. Ms. Noise was over the eleventh grade class and did not follow the
students from year to year but gained a new group of students each year.
Mrs. Griffins role was curriculum and the master schedule. During the
summer, Dr. Martinez was the principal over the summer school program and
Mrs. Swenson and Ms. Noise were assistants who oversaw scheduling,
attendance, monitoring, and student support. Mrs. Griffin continued working
on the master schedule for the coming fall semester during the month of
June and did not help with summer school. I found being an assistant
principal at the high school level very refreshing as opposed to the
elementary level that I was used to observing. The principal of the school
give assistants great responsibilities at the high school and trusts in the
decisions they make by not micromanaging, but providing time and
resources to get the job done. Another difference that I observed at the high
school level was the respect the principals had for the teachers. They talked
to and treated the teachers as equals and never once took a side different
from the side of the teachers. At the elementary level, my principals treated
us like elementary students and micromanaged every part of our job. We
were never treated as equals and did not have the confidence that our
principals would back us up if needed. I could really feel the respect the
teachers had for the principals at the high school that was missing at my
elementary school. I believe the high school had to have exceptional
organizational structure due to the large student population of four thousand

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students. Dobie High School seemed to run like a well-oiled machine with
every administrator contributing his or her part. The principals were never
locked up in his or her office like my elementary principals. I loved seeing the
principals at Dobie High School walk the hallways, visit classrooms, and
monitor lunch by sitting at tables with students and interacting with them on
a regular basis. If a teacher needed a principal, they did not hesitate to help
right away no matter the issue. It is no wonder the morale of teachers, even
over the summer teaching a harder group of students, was so high when the
principals were so supportive.

Activity Six

Supervise morning and/or afternoon bus duties for one week. Manage the
discipline referrals for that week. Discuss with an administrator the primary
issues that have occurred and what interventions will be implemented to
prevent the reoccurrence of these behaviors.
I supervised afternoon bus duty for three weeks during the summer
school sessions at Dobie High School. Due to the combining of two high
schools for summer school, there were close to fifteen school buses to
transport all of the students to and from and school. I stood in the same spot
to monitor most of the days. I was at first shocked that I was the only adult
monitoring the main exit doors to the bus loading area. In elementary school,
we have to monitor each bus, check students names off of a list, and have

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multiple teachers and administrators supervising the bus riders. At the high
school level, students are on their own and have to get to the bus before it
takes off with or without them. Two administrators monitored the bus loading
and traffic and each carried a walkie-talkie in case of an emergency or to
receive notifications of late buses. There were not any teacher bus monitors,
but several teachers did supervise the hallways and car riders. One primary
issue that I noticed was that teachers let their students out before the
dismissal bell rang. The principal over summer school would always make an
end of the day announcement right before the dismissal bell rang that all of
these students missed because they were already out the doors getting on
the school buses. Another issue I witnessed once was a fight about to
happen between two boys over a girl. I was the only adult supervising the
area and being I was not even an employee of the school, I had no idea how
to intervene. Fortunately, they never actually fought and seemed to calm
down. Based on my observations, the intervention suggested was to
communicate with teachers not to dismiss students until the dismissal bell
rang so that students would not miss important end of the day
announcements. A second intervention that was suggested was to ensure
more faculty or administrators were present to monitor in the more highly
congested areas of dismissal. Several times after the potential fight, a police
officer stood in this area to help supervise.

Activity Seven

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Interview the school nurse regarding health procedures and HIPPA

regulations. Document ways HIPPA regulations are communicated to the
parents and community.
Prior to this activity I had very little knowledge about HIPPA and the
various components related to this health regulation. I interviewed Dobie
High Schools nurse, Carol deClercq about the HIPPA regulations. In short,
HIPPA is a health privacy rule that is federally protected. HIPPA ensures the
privacy of individuals health information, but still allows the disclosure of
certain health information needed for proper patient care or other purposes.
The nurse provided me with several forms that Pasadena Independent School
District uses to ensure the privacy of students health information. The most
important form is an authorization for disclosure of protected health
information to the school. The student or legal guardian is able to check off
the various health records to be released to the school. Several of the
records this form asks to be released include discharge summaries, medical
history, physical information, speech, occupational therapy, immunizations,
and general health. This form explains to the student and legal guardian that
the record disclosure can best provide for the educational, physical, and
emotional needs. There is also a portion of the form asking for the consent to
release or to request records and medical information. If students or legal
guardians sign this portion, they are permitting Pasadena ISD to release or
request confidential information to consult with medical professionals. High

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school nurses definitely seem to have a greater concern for HIPPA and the
protection of medical information, especially with students at the school who
are pregnant, have AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as
simply having a larger student population as opposed to elementary or junior
high school.

Activity Eight

Assist the administrator responsible for creating the daily schedule for
extracurricular classes, lunch, teaching planning periods, and student
schedule or picture day.
Due to the nature of the summer school program at Dobie High School,
I had the opportunity to assist several different administrators in regards to
lunch, teaching planning periods, extracurricular activities, and student
schedules. For the summer school program, I assisted Dr. Martinez and Mrs.
Swenson on creating a lunch schedule for all of the summer school students.
We had four lunch periods that were adjusted after the first few days of the
summer school session due to the imbalance of the number of students in
each lunch period. During summer school, each class set together at one
table and only had a short, twenty-minute lunch break. We created a
schedule for lunch times and labeled them A, B, C, and D lunch periods and
assigned each teacher to a lunch based on the number of students that
could fit at the cafeteria tables. I was also able to help assistant principal,

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Marcia Griffin, work on the fall 2015 semesters student schedules, teacher
planning periods, and extracurricular activities. Mrs. Griffin noted that
extracurricular activities and AP courses have recently created a challenge in
the master schedule. She accidently planned an AP math class at the same
time as orchestra. Many of the orchestra students were also AP students and
had to have their schedule readjusted after the start of the school year. My
role is assisting Mrs. Griffin was to code homeroom classes with a specific
number that was entered into the scheduling computer system. After Mrs.
Griffin created a master schedule, counselors are then able to enroll students
into needed pathways and courses. Mrs. Griffin did say that one of her top
priorities is ensuring content level teacher planning periods for PLCs to best
meet the needs of the teachers.

Activity Nine

Participate with your school administrators in the planning implementation

and evaluation of the beginning of the school years faculty orientation.
The second part of my internship was conducted at my new school,
River Oaks Baptist School, where I teach in the Lower School. I was not able
to help in the planning implementation of the beginning of the year
orientation, but I was able to participate and then evaluate the success of
the orientation to better serve the needs of new faculty for the following
year. I was also able to participate in an ongoing book study with my

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administration, Maria Franshaw, over working with independent school

parents and students. This was a great opportunity to read and discuss
literature relevant to what we were dealing with in class such as parent
communication and parent conferences. After the back-to-school orientation
for new and returning faculty, our administrators created a survey reflection
on the impact the orientation made to best prepare us for the year. The book
study I participated in was over a book called, Understanding Independent
School Parents, by Michael G. Thompson. Each week we read two chapters
and debriefed on what we read. We were also encouraged to come prepared
with sections that stood out to us or that we still had further questions about.
This was a great way to extend the beginning of school year orientation well
through the first trimester and help the incoming faculty form successful
family-school relationships. I was able to conduct an informal discussion with
the new faculty on their thoughts and perceptions of the back-to-school
orientation. We were all in the agreement that there was very little time to
work with our grade-level team or prepare our new classrooms due to all of
the other meetings. The other meetings consisted of technology training,
faculty handbook, content meetings, and curriculum mapping meetings. We
all felt very helpless at the curriculum mapping meetings because we were
not even familiar with the curriculum we were going to be teaching well
enough to vertically align the content. Overall the orientation was very
beneficial, but we would have liked some designated grade-level and
classroom work time to best prepare for back-to-school night.

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Activity Ten

Select an activity suggested by your principal or Director of Human

Resources: Joined ad hoc committee to address the possibility and need for
providing an infant childcare program for faculty and staff. Gathered data
and presented research to Head of School, Head of Curriculum, and Head of
Operations.
Under the recommendation of my principal, I joined an ad hoc
committee with the purpose of addressing the needs and possibility of
implementing a new infant childcare program available in fall 2016 for
faculty members children. The committee is made up of seven other
teachers and one administrator. I volunteered to create a survey to address
current needs and overall interest in the new childcare program that was
sent to our entire staff regardless of having infant children or not. To create
the survey, I used the web-based program, Survey Monkey. The survey took
a maximum of five minutes for our staff to complete and they were only
allowed to complete one survey per user. The survey was also anonymous,
which proved helpful in the comments section because faculty members
were able to safely and openly share comments or concerns. To gain an
understanding of what the entire faculty desired regardless of currently
having or planning to have a infant child, I formulated the questions from a
school-wide standpoint and the overall benefits this program could bring to

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the school. Many people who completed the survey commented that
providing young teachers the option of bringing their infant children to work
with them would help in teacher turnover and save the school money in
having to constantly hire and train new teachers. Overall the survey results
were very favorable. The next step was to interview other private schools in
the area that provided a similar program to gain a better understanding of
needs and costs. I was responsible for discovering what the teachers were
required to pay for the infant childcare and what the childcare employees
were paid. We discovered that most of the private schools in the area
charged less than one thousand dollars a month, with Second Baptist only
charging teachers eight hundred and fifty dollars a month. We also decided
that to avoid the regulations and rules of large childcare facilities that if we
kept the maximum number of babies to twelve, then we would save a lot of
money and time in implementing the program. The program will care for
babies ages six months through two years. After the children become two
they are able to attend our regular preschool program. We decided we would
need three employees. One of these employees will serve at the director and
will get paid more. The other two employees will be paid hourly with a
varying schedule. We also are blessed to already have the facilities to
accommodate two new rooms for keeping the babies and besides cribs, the
other furniture and supplies are already available to use. Our next step is to
meet on December 1st to combine our research and create a presentation
that will be presented December 14th to our Head of School, Head of

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Curriculum, and Head of Operations for approval to move forward in the

creation and hiring stages.

Activity Eleven

Select an activity suggested by your principal to gain experience with

executive leadership: Participate and attend meetings with the schools
architect over the new building campaign. Provide feedback on how the new
building design connects the schools vision and mission, as well as, meets
the needs of a 21st century learner.
River Oaks Baptist School is currently in an exciting growth period. I
was able to attend meetings conducted by the Head of our School, Leanne
Reynolds, and an architect, John Clements, of Jackson Ryan Architects. The
board of trustees approved the building campaign last year and work over
the summer consisted of purchasing land and beginning the design stages.
The new building will become a new middle school facility for fifth through
the eighth grades, and will be designed around learning communities that
will enhance interactions with students and one another. The learning
community design aligns with the vision of River Oaks Baptist School that a
strong community is most valued. The outside design will be a very modern
and iconic design that aligns with the schools STEAM (science, technology,
engineering, arts, and mathematics) curriculum. Each grade level will be on
one of the four floors with all classrooms connected by a collaborative space.

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Each learning community will have an exterior courtyard that expands the
learning environment to the outdoors. The library will no longer be in one
spot on campus, but will be throughout each learning community on every
floor. There will also be administrative offices within each learning
community to better support the teachers and students. We are currently
taking a break from the architect-designing period now that the initial master
campus plan has been created and refined to meet the needs of our students
and school. We are now in the building campaign portion where we will raise
funds to financially support and make possible the new building. Currently
we are looking at raising sixty million dollars to begin construction on the
first few phases of the plan. This year, we will host a gala event with dinner,
dancing, and silent auctions. Each ticket to the even will cost three hundred
dollars. Teachers will volunteer as greeters and with the silent auction. Each
grade-level is also creating silent auction ideas. My third grade team had the
students create a joint art project that will be auctioned off at the event. We
are also auctioning off an afterschool Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
party where forty students can attend for one hundred dollars each. Parents
and the school community is also provided with literature, videos, and other
information about the new building, the benefits it will provide, and the funds
needing to be raised to make the new master campus plan possible. The goal
is to raise the funds within the next two years. Throughout the entire
designing and campaigning stages, one theme remains constant: meeting

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the needs of the 21st century learners while continuing to ensure the
Christian faith is central to all plans.

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