FORM 2: REPORT OF EDAD FIELD-BASED EXPERIENCE

EDAD Fieldwork course # and title:
EDAD Course # and title for current
semester:
Student’s Name: Daniel Costa
EDAD 624A Beginning Field Work
EDAD 610 Leading School Communities
EDAD 612 Professional Leadership
Perspectives
Semester: Fall 2018

School Site: Bonsall High School District: Bonsall Unified School District
Email
Site Supervisor: Dr. Jason Fowler contact: Jason.fowler@bonsallusd.com

Leadership Standard(s) Met:

EDAD 610: CAPEs 1, 2, 11

EDAD 612: CAPEs 3, 9

I believe that through culmination of my field work experiences combined with reflections,
writing, collaboration with peers and administrators, and completion of coursework in both
EDAD 610 and EDAD 612, I have successfully completed the above-stated leadership
standards.

Project expectation: Briefly describe the field experience you had planned

Coming into the fall 2018 semester and learning about the field experience assignment, I felt
confident about meeting and exceeding the requirements. Starting in early August, my
schedule has been very busy with campaign-related activities, and I knew that I would only
become more inundated with meetings as the fall semester got underway. As founding teacher
of Bonsall High School, I am currently a member of my School Site Council, Parent
Information Networking Group, Safe and Strong Bonsall Schools Committee, Site Leadership
Team, and Humanities Team. I am also faculty advisor to our student Europe 2020 Club,
Legion Gazette Newspaper Club, and Honors Humanities Club. I hoped to have field work
experiences across a wide swath of meetings, from IEPs to school bond gatherings, in order to
have opportunity for multiple lenses of reflection. I believe that one of my strongest
characteristics of leadership at the onset of this program is that the nature of my tenure at
Bonsall High School has been one of leadership, flexibility, and engagement with
shareholders, and I enjoy that I am involved in most aspects of both the day-to-day and vision-
oriented considerations of the school.
Project outcome(s): Briefly describe the field experience you had if it differed from what you planned

I completed the 15-hour semester one field work assignment requirement over the time period
of September 7 – October 4, 2018.

 IEP Meeting for Angel (School Office, BHS): September 7, 2018 from 9-10AM (1.0
hrs.)

Angel is a student in my World Studies 10 class, but is a 12th grade student. She is retaking the
class after failing it with me as a 10th grade student. Angel had previously been taken off of our
A-G track and was now working toward certificate completion. Angel moved to BHS at the
beginning of her 10th grade year from Texas, where she was involved in marching band. Angel
has been diagnosed with Asperger’s and she does not have many friends. She gossips and has
upset several students in the past. Currently, Angel has a 52% F in my class. This is due to
increased number of absences, and not turning in work after IEP additional time
considerations. Angel and her mom attended the meeting, along with our principal, special
education teachers, counselor, and me. At the meeting, we learned that the family will be
moving back to Texas in late October, as Angel’s mom has lost her lease on the mobile home
they are living in.

 IEP Meeting for Mariah (School Office, BHS): September 11, 2018 from 9-10AM
(1.0 hrs.)

Mariah is a student in my World Studies class. She has some processing challenges and works
very slowly, but is extremely diligent with her work habits so earns top grades. Mariah is
quiet, but is well-respected by her peers for always having a strong moral compass. Currently,
Mariah has an 88% in my class. All of her grades are either A/B. Mariah lives on the Pala
Reservation with her mother, father, and two brothers. Mariah and her mom attended the
meeting, as well as our principal, special education teacher, counselor, and me. Her family life
is stable and supportive. In the meeting, we discussed that Mariah could potentially test out of
many of her current goals. She also discussed becoming a healthcare worker.

 School Site Council (Palomar Room, BHS): September 11, 2018 from 4-5PM (1.0 hrs)

This was the first School Site Council meeting of the school year. Last year, I served as Vice-
President of our School Site Council. The 2018-19 team is composed of several new members,
including two new parents, three new students, and is led by our new principal, Dr. Jason
Fowler. We reviewed the Site Council expectations and methodology of funding, discussed
immediate funding needs, and talked about leadership positions. Funding is determined to be
slightly over $100K. During the last part of the meeting, the committee voted to approve
immediate expenditures related to upcoming field trips and science lab equipment needs, and
also voted to approve agreement with our Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) and
Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).

 Safe and Strong Bonsall Schools Committee Meeting (Private residence in Bonsall):
September 11, 2018 from 6-8:30PM (2.5 hrs.)

This was the sixth meeting of our Safe and Strong Bonsall Schools Committee. The committee
was formed in support of Measure EE, a $38 million school bond for the November general
election. Measure EE will fund phase one construction of the permanent Bonsall High School
on Gird Road/Highway 76, improve security and safety (cameras, key locks, fencing) at the
five district school sites, and build or renovate track and field spaces at the five district school
sites. Our team is composed of district employees, community members, parents. I am the one
teacher on the committee and report out to district teachers. Our campaign committee has
contracted with TBWB Strategies, a public affairs campaign firm specializing in local school
bonds. Our meeting was very long but very productive, as we discussed current fundraising
(grassroots vs. corporate), were introduced to the canvassing app Politifact, and were
introduced to turf captain policies, FAQs, and scripts for talking with residents. Expectations
for the next month were discussed and agreed to. My agreed-upon expectations included
determining 6 turf captains to canvas my assigned region of Gird Valley (with 9 sub-regions),
timeline for canvasing, and personal plan for canvasing (I agreed to personally canvas 3 sub-
regions or approximately 300 individual residences).*

*I completed canvasing of my three sub-regions during the same time period of September 7-
October 11, but did not count that time toward my fieldwork data. Total time spent on those
three sub-regions was 14.5 hours. Canvasing was conducted on weekends and after school.

 IEP Meeting for Jade (School Office, BHS): September 12, 2018 from 2:30-4PM (1.5
hrs.)

Jade is a student in my World Studies 10 class. As a 9th grader, she struggled academically and
was very social. She did not pass two semester-length classes. Her home life is very
challenging, and she missed a lot of school last year. Jade currently holds a 48% F grade in my
class near the midway point of the semester. Her behavior is excellent. In attendance were the
principal, special education teachers, counselor, general education teacher (me), her father, and
her grandmother. During the IEP, she mentioned that she would like to test out of having an
IEP. She receives very few services other than one Guided Study class for additional
homework time. We discussed that her work completion rate was still lacking. One point of
concern was that the Special Education teacher who ran the meeting as Jade’s case manager,
and is also her Guided Studies teacher, was called out by the grandmother for being ineffective
and clueless. Jade jumped in to say that she receives no assistance in the Guided Studies class
and that it is a waste of time because of the teacher. My principal and I were already aware that
many students and families were not in favor of this teacher, who is new this year, but we
weren’t expecting the frustration to boil over into this specific IEP meeting. I appreciated my
principal handling the situation professionally and without becoming emotional.

 BUSD Board of Trustees Meeting (Bonsall Community Center): Thursday, September

13, 2018 from 6-8PM (2.0 hrs.)

I have attended BUSD Board of Trustee meetings regularly for years. Currently, I pay much
more attention at the meetings because of our YES on EE campaign. During the Public Forum
portion of the meeting, the majority of speakers were in favor of Measure EE, with only 2
speakers against it. The other important issue on the agenda was approval of our BHS
Education Specifications document, which had undergone recent revision to more properly
reflect the needs of our project-based learning community. Our BHS staff all took time to
review and edit the entire document at the request of the school board. The presentation of this
third draft was received favorably by the school board.

 Confidential IDT and CIF Policy Discussion Meeting (Superintendent’s Office):

Friday, September 14, 2018 from 3:30-4:30PM (1.0 hrs.)

I requested this meeting. In attendance were our district Superintendent, district Director of
Student Services, BHS principal, and myself. Purpose of the meeting was to confidentially
discuss my personal concerns as founding teacher the following: 1) current inter-district
transfer policy allows graduating 8th grade student families to choose to leave or stay within
the district for high school, which has had a detrimental effect on us as a young, shared
campus high school as top academic students opt for Mission Vista High School; and 2)
planning for a future CIF agreement with Fallbrook High School or Mission Vista High
School to provide our BHS students with the opportunity to play sports such as water polo,
football, and swimming/diving. End results of the meeting was that superintendent will review
current IDT policy and will alert all current 7th grade families that their students will be
attending Bonsall High School in 9th grade, and that he will meet with both superintendents of
neighboring districts to discuss creation of a CIF agreement. I left the meeting feeling very
grateful that I work in a district small enough to facilitate a meeting such as this, and that my
superintendent is aware and amenable to changes that will benefit Bonsall High School.
  BHS Staff Meeting (Fairview Room, BHS): Thursday, September 20, 2018 from 2:30-
3:30PM (1.0 hrs.)

Purpose of this staff meeting was to discuss creation of a BHS Leadership Team. Purpose of a
BHS Leadership Team is to determine concepts such as master schedule, restorative practices,
after school tutoring, and credit recovery program. Facilitated by our principal. All staff
brainstormed ideals and visions for what would be nice to accomplish through creating this
group.

 Safe and Strong Bonsall Schools Committee Meeting (Private residence in Bonsall):
Wednesday, September 26, 2018 from 6-7:30PM (1.5 hrs.)

Purpose of this campaign committee meeting was to critically review all pieces of upcoming
mailing campaign. Six pieces were designed, and campaign consultants asked committee to
conduct detailed +/- on all six pieces. Positive discussion took place, and it was exciting to see
our efforts coming to an additional level of fruition.

 Superintendent’s Community Collaborative Discussion Meeting (Bonsall West

Elementary): Tuesday, October 2, 2018 from 6-7:30PM (1.5 hrs.)

The purpose of the superintendent’s community collaborative discussions are to share the
current realities of the district financials and to educate voters on Measure EE. Our
superintendent, David Jones, is a very engaging speaker, and he enjoys these collaborative
discussions to speak with constituents. These meetings are currently of particular importance
as our YES on Measure EE team considers these meetings beneficial to educating community
voters and eventually encouraging them to vote in November. The meeting was attended by
approximately 30 individuals, mostly parents of Bonsall West Elementary students. Overall,
the conversation was well-received and positive.

 BHS Leadership Team Meeting (School Office, BHS): Thursday, October 4, 2018
from 2:30-4:30PM (2.0 hrs.)

This was our first Leadership Team meeting of the school year. Hosted by our school
principal, the purposes of this group is to determine innovation moving forward and plan for
remediation for those stuck in place. A decent number of our students are in need of credit
recovery services, which the school district has previously financed. We discussed how credit
recovery programs should look, the rigor in which they should hold, and what specific
objectives students should accomplish in the program. Of the greatest challenge was
determining staff availability for the additional responsibilities of working either before or
after school, or on the weekends. Many are either unavailable or uninterested. Our principal
will speak with district staff to request availability of credentialed long-term substitutes.
Report of Implementation: Add attachments to verify your experience such as logs, agendas,
documents, etc.
 Self-evaluation and reflection: What did you learn about leadership for yourself in the context of
others?

More than anything, I appreciated this fieldwork focus because I was able to reflect on the
additional commitments I undertake. None of these meetings were of the “can I sit in and
observe” variety; I am already an active participant in all of these groups, so would have
attended assignment or otherwise. The focus allowed me to step back and appreciate the time I
put in on behalf of student success and the development of Bonsall High School, which I am
very passionate about. I also realized that I am most passionate about meetings when they
involve visionary future-leaning concepts; I am a big-picture thinker and am always attempting
to turn the traditional models of education into innovation. Lastly, I appreciate this fieldwork
experience because it allowed me to spend additional time with my new principal. He is a very
caring and logical individual, who understands our current school needs and reality, while
maintaining a visionary approach. It was very beneficial for me to observe his handling of
parents and leading staff.