Week 2 - Job Entry Plan & Reflections

Competency Review:

Reflection is always an eye opening experience that I naturally do not want to go through, but once it is finished I am thankful that I did.  This ten page reflection was no different.  I was astonished at how many activities we accomplished to experience all ten competencies.  I was pleasantly surprised to remember activities from eight months ago as we began this journey.  And Lastly, I was proud of the program and the effort put in to plan the course work to address all the major components for superintendent competency.  We have all reflected and probably have seen how the structure and organization of the program has prepared us to have the knowledge and understanding of what the superintendent position entails. It is very clear to me that the only step left is to develop these skills through as many experiences possible.  We must grow as leaders, and extend our knowledge into experience, and that is why the internship activities have been so important.  What a journey, and it is really only beginning.

Job Entry Plan Reflection:

This entry plan was harder to put together than I expected.  One thing I am very thankful for is the perspective I have gained from the transition my district is currently going through.  We had a superintendent retire, and our new superintendent had his first day two weeks ago.  I have watched and learned from his tactically planned entry into our district.  He has done it gracefully and has managed in two weeks to make a lasting and positive first impression.  I have taken notes and honestly appreciate the effort it takes to start such a challenging job.  He has been a fantastic example and I hope I can handle the stress and fast pace nature as well as he has.

First Day:

Goal(s) Establish initial contact with school personnel.

Objective(s) Walk 100% of school facilities, spending time with supervisors at each location.

Activities addressing goals and objectives

Set aside time to visit each location in the district, make contact with school personnel, begin the process of establishing a warm climate of leadership.

Resources needed to achieve goals and objectives

Physical addresses of all locations, names of supervisors to meet, possibly a guide


First Week:

Goal(s) Survival... initiate district evaluation, assess immediate concerns, staffing, academic performance

Objective(s) Organize 100% of the information needed to proceed with goals

Activities addressing goals and objectives

Set aside time to visit with each campus supervisor and directors in district departments, create a system to compile all information, gain access to TEASE, meet with board president

Resources needed to achieve goals and objectives

3 yrs of AEIS reports, NCLB Report Cards, Budget, Purchase Orders, past 3-years board minutes, journal or log system for information


First Month:

Goal(s) Settle in... solidify district’s and board’s goals for the upcoming year

Objective(s) Correlate 100% of the district’s and Board’s goals together, ensure all decisions are 100% in the best interest of students.

Activities addressing goals and objectives

District site based decision making meeting, review District & Campus Improvement Plans, review and evaluate district’s mission and vision.

Resources needed to achieve goals and objectives

Improvement Plans, previous 3-yrs district site based decision making meeting minutes, school calendars, master schedules, NCLB grant figures and applications.

First Year:

Goal(s) Success... complete district evaluation, address all concerns, staffing, academic performance, present a balanced budget, establish student centered climate

Objective(s) 100% balanced budget, 100% meeting AYP and above state standard, 90% positive results in staff evaluation of district.

Activities addressing goals and objectives

Budget planning meetings, Professional Learning Communities at all campuses, Administrative meetings, board meetings

Resources needed to achieve goals and objectives

Meeting minutes, Reports and analytics from past 3 yrs assessment data, last 3 yrs budgets, last 3 yrs AYP reports, any staff evaluations available.

Goals

Position Goal:
Like some of my cohort members have posted, I am not sure if I am ready to be a superintendent, but in the past four weeks that has changed.  We have transitioned to a new superintendent in Childress, and although our past superintendent was a great leader, our new superintendent is close to the opposite in leadership style.  With that aside, he has already talked with me about career goals, possibly being moved up into an assistant superintendent position and in turn adopt a few more personnel responsibilities to increase my scope of administrative experiences.  We have also talked about accountability and evidence based decisions, which speaks to my leadership style.  I think this will be key in evaluating my desire to be “the” man in charge.  From my current point of view, I lack some experiences, but the prospect of being exposed to valuable administrative experiences without the title or responsibility will be highly influential on my career goals.  I would not change a thing about my current career path as curriculum and federal programs director currently, with the possibility to transition to assistant superintendent, and maybe in the future, superintendent of a school district.

Leadership Goal:
As a seasoned educator and now an experienced district administrator, I have had the opportunity to extend my reach for educational influence.  If I were going to sum up my motivation for leadership in education, it would be to reach more students through effective, ethical, student focused decisions.  Through this internship I have been able to see the overall big picture of school district administration.  For me, that big picture begins with the board and is communicated through the superintendent to the campus administrators. Without this effective relationship direction is missing and the focus is lost.  I hope to be a part of connecting a district firmly to their vision, creating by collaboration and moving an entire district in a positive direction.  It is exciting.  It is why I became an educator, to positively impact students.

Competency Reflection - Week 1 Part 1

As I reflect on the changes in my Self Assessment, it is apparent that over the past several months the experiences outlined in this program have provided opportunities for professional growth.  I had a different level of competency in all ten areas of the reflection, with significant growth in competency 4, 8, and 10.  The competencies that included aspects related to my current position in my district changed the least, and yet there were still some areas of increased competency.
Competency four is about working with the board and achieving district goals. Over the past four weeks we have transitioned to a new superintendent and although the coursework in this program opened the door to a better perception in this competency, our new superintendent has emphasized areas within this competency on a regular basis.  We have looked at short and long term aspects of our district’s vision and have begun the process of communicating this outside of the context of school district personnel.  We have also touched base with the political representation locally and within our region by attending a grass roots meeting in Amarillo.
Competency eight is also one of the ten that showed significant growth through the investigations and activities we performed in our course work.  Specifically, the budgeting activities in our finance class opened my eyes to many additional aspects of school business. Although, I cannot rate myself as “S” in most areas of competency eight, I could move my rating from “I’s” to mostly “C’s.”  Our business manager has been instrumental in learning about budget planning and forecasting.  Also our new superintendent has increased the level of staff evaluation and allocating resources to the proper aspects of school finance.  
Competency ten encompasses federal requirements, organization, and decision making in a positive context.  I must admit that as I have worked in my current position this competency seemed to always be at my fingertips, but without a high aspect of understanding.  As I reflect, I believe it was the interviews with my superintendent that made the largest impact on this change.  I was able to ask hard questions, and in turn receive straight answers concerning leadership, decision making, and change.  I learned that change in school districts does not happen in a flash, but rather over time with careful consideration and specific attention to the needs of students.
Overall, I have found growth in most aspects of superintendency competencies.  It is really interesting to reflect and see that growth.  What an incredible journey.