Sunday, October 23, 2011
Ch. 7
Chapter 7 was a good way to conclude a very good book. I enjoyed how the book began with Jeff's story as a new administrator that possessed the traits outlined in the book. It was great to see his journey come to an end in such a remarkable way. The testimonies from people that worked for him were heartfelt. It was amazing to see the impact he had on so many people's lives and that they came from all stakeholders in the schools from teachers, to secretaries, to custodians. Jeff clearly epitomizes the kind of administrator that I want to be. This book, along with The Speed of Trust, was my favorite and really allowed me to reflect on myself as a person and administrator.
Weekend Seminar
I really enjoyed the learning that took place at the Clovis Center. The speakers were extremely competent with the material that they presented. Rebecca Rowe's presentation ran the gamut of what you need to know as an administrator especially in the areas of discipline and special education-two areas that can get you in trouble if you make mistakes. I felt the most important thing to do is document everything. Documentation is vital to ensuring that due process is used when dealing with students or teachers. Another critical learning was how to deal with probationary, temporary, or ineffective teachers. I believe this is similar to the Trust chapter in Leadership Connectors in that you have to be honest when supervising teachers. It is important to give accurate evaluations so that they may understand how critical it is to improve their instruction or classroom management. It is very difficult to enact change when teachers become tenured.
Dr. Hauser's presentation was my favorite because she presented ideas that can be implemented immediately. It becomes very clear pretty quickly that meetings are a constant expectation as an administrator and learning ways to run more effective meetings was encouraging. An effective meeting must be pre-planned with objectives, outcomes, and processes to ensure that decisions are made in a timely manner. Her presentation further demonstrated the need to design a collaborative meeting in which everybody has a role and an equal voice in the decisions that affect a school. I look forward to using her model when developing an effective meeting.
Dr. Torosian is definitely a knowledgeable person in the area of discipline. His attention to detail has proven to be effective based on the low percentage of cases being overturned through the appeal process. His honesty when dealing with administrators ensures that things get done correctly the first time. As an administrator, it is very important to develop a good working relationship with your Director of Child, Welfare, and Attendance as there will be many situations where you are unsure how to proceed. A phone call to them is always good to get direction or confirm your ideas for how to proceed.
Finally, I felt that Dr. Wise and Dr. Buster's presentation on the FRISK process was very good. I have used the FRISK model this year and am a big fan of it. It makes writing a difficult letter much easier because the design forces you to focus on the facts and limits your desire to embellish the situation with unnecessary details.
I appreciated very much that we did not have down time. All of our time was used to learn strategies that are critical in becoming an effective administrator. I am not a fan of losing my weekend but there was a lot of good learning that I can start using immediately and for that I appreciated the opportunity to attend this weekend.
Dr. Hauser's presentation was my favorite because she presented ideas that can be implemented immediately. It becomes very clear pretty quickly that meetings are a constant expectation as an administrator and learning ways to run more effective meetings was encouraging. An effective meeting must be pre-planned with objectives, outcomes, and processes to ensure that decisions are made in a timely manner. Her presentation further demonstrated the need to design a collaborative meeting in which everybody has a role and an equal voice in the decisions that affect a school. I look forward to using her model when developing an effective meeting.
Dr. Torosian is definitely a knowledgeable person in the area of discipline. His attention to detail has proven to be effective based on the low percentage of cases being overturned through the appeal process. His honesty when dealing with administrators ensures that things get done correctly the first time. As an administrator, it is very important to develop a good working relationship with your Director of Child, Welfare, and Attendance as there will be many situations where you are unsure how to proceed. A phone call to them is always good to get direction or confirm your ideas for how to proceed.
Finally, I felt that Dr. Wise and Dr. Buster's presentation on the FRISK process was very good. I have used the FRISK model this year and am a big fan of it. It makes writing a difficult letter much easier because the design forces you to focus on the facts and limits your desire to embellish the situation with unnecessary details.
I appreciated very much that we did not have down time. All of our time was used to learn strategies that are critical in becoming an effective administrator. I am not a fan of losing my weekend but there was a lot of good learning that I can start using immediately and for that I appreciated the opportunity to attend this weekend.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Leadership Connectors: Trust
I found that this is one of my favorites books I have read in this program. I really enjoys the way it breaks up the traits you must possess in order to be an effective leader and then puts them together to say that you need all of them. You can not be an effective leader if you only possess one or two of them.
Trust is a major challenge for any new leader. It is not something that happens overnight. You have to work hard to gain the trust of teachers. I am still working on a few after a year as their supervisor. In order to earn trust you have be available for your teachers and show them you are there to support them through your actions. It is also important that you communicate with them in a positive manner each day. Tell them hello, find a strength each day in their teaching, and follow through on what you said you were going to do. A good leader goes to the PLC meetings not to check up on them but to participate as a member of the team. A leader that has earned the trust of her teachers will have teachers going to them for assistance when they need it. One of the best moments as an Assistant Principal was the first time a teacher came to see me for help in designing a lesson. We sat in my office after school for over an hour developing that lesson and then the teacher asked me to visit the class when the concept was taught. This was not for an observation but just because the teacher wanted to deliver an effective lesson for a difficult concept and came to me for help. Those moments make you feel good about your decision to go into administration.
Another important point mentioned in the book was to be careful with how you communicate with teachers. One bad choice of words or one facial expression can take months to recover from. The best thing to do is be honest even if it is not what the other person wants to hear. They will respect you more for it than if you sugar coat the issue or give false hope because you don't want to deal with a challenging situation.
Trust is a major challenge for any new leader. It is not something that happens overnight. You have to work hard to gain the trust of teachers. I am still working on a few after a year as their supervisor. In order to earn trust you have be available for your teachers and show them you are there to support them through your actions. It is also important that you communicate with them in a positive manner each day. Tell them hello, find a strength each day in their teaching, and follow through on what you said you were going to do. A good leader goes to the PLC meetings not to check up on them but to participate as a member of the team. A leader that has earned the trust of her teachers will have teachers going to them for assistance when they need it. One of the best moments as an Assistant Principal was the first time a teacher came to see me for help in designing a lesson. We sat in my office after school for over an hour developing that lesson and then the teacher asked me to visit the class when the concept was taught. This was not for an observation but just because the teacher wanted to deliver an effective lesson for a difficult concept and came to me for help. Those moments make you feel good about your decision to go into administration.
Another important point mentioned in the book was to be careful with how you communicate with teachers. One bad choice of words or one facial expression can take months to recover from. The best thing to do is be honest even if it is not what the other person wants to hear. They will respect you more for it than if you sugar coat the issue or give false hope because you don't want to deal with a challenging situation.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Chapter 4L Leadership Connector: Competence
Competence is definitely a trait you must possess as an administrator. The people that you supervise will eat you up if they believe that you do not have the skills for the job and you will crumble if you do not have the confidence in yourself. The job as an administrator is mind-boggling at times. Just like your first day as a teacher, you will report to work that first day without a clue as to what you are supposed to do. Everything that comes your way those first few months are issues that you really don't know how to handle. Missing cell phones, behavior on the bus, needs for supplies, parent complaints about teachers, teacher complaints about students, people calling in sick, SARBS, discipline, observations, evaluations, etc. will definitely be issues that you must handle. The thing is to remain calm, ask for clarification from the others, and make the best decision you can. Just make sure you own that decision and support it once you make it. If you made a mistake, well own that too, learn from it, and move on with your day. The great part of the job is the impact you can have on teachers and students. You get to visit classrooms every day and have positive conversations with most of your staff. Every school will have the two-percenters that will attempt to ruin your day. Don't let them.
I enjoyed reading this chapter as it outlined my year as an administrator. The best thing you can do is say, "I will get back you on that." However, when you say those words, you must be sure to prioritize that commitment.
If you can get through the first semester of school, you will see that it gets much better than that. You have learned how to do many of your duties but still require the conversations with your colleagues. That will change however the next year when your duties change and you have to learn them as well.
I guess the things that helped me the most was that I was an effective teacher and I can speak to people. I have to continue to improve my communication skills though, if that makes any sense at all. Be kind, be humble, and always reflect at the end of the day.
I enjoyed reading this chapter as it outlined my year as an administrator. The best thing you can do is say, "I will get back you on that." However, when you say those words, you must be sure to prioritize that commitment.
If you can get through the first semester of school, you will see that it gets much better than that. You have learned how to do many of your duties but still require the conversations with your colleagues. That will change however the next year when your duties change and you have to learn them as well.
I guess the things that helped me the most was that I was an effective teacher and I can speak to people. I have to continue to improve my communication skills though, if that makes any sense at all. Be kind, be humble, and always reflect at the end of the day.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Chapter 5: Leadership Connector, Continuous Renewal
Wow! This chapter probably caused me to reflect the most. I am very proud to be an Assistant Principal and look forward each day to the challenges and new learning that I will experience, however I know that it is really easy to lose focus of the other important things in your life. The job requires a tremendous amount of time. It is not unusual to put in 65-75 hours a week with instruction, discipline, supervision, and extra duties. I have gained weight and struggle to spend as much time as I'd like with my family due to the myriad responsibilities involved with the job. This chapter really allowed me to reflect (which also happened to be the theme of the chapter) on how I can best manage my time. I do look forward to the end of the program so that I can use my entire weekend for family but until then I will be brainstorming some ideas to help.
Another part of the chapter that I felt was meaningful to the position was to pick your battles. You simply cannot go to war on every issue. You wouldn't get anything done during the day. Our role as an instructional leader is to coach teachers to be the best they can be and learn from them too. I go back to the importance of building a collaborative culture with all members of the school so that we can be proactive vs. reactive and people feel comfortable going to another for help.
As an administrator, it is very important to keep your emotions in check. I have always struggled with this even before I became an AP. I get happy at the littlest of things but I can also blow up or show extreme anger on my face. This is probably the one area that I have been very aware of these past two years and I work tirelessly to control. I can't see how anyone will trust a hot-head therefore I now try to listen to the entire conversation and ask questions rather than trying to prescribe a remedy for every problem that exists at the school. I believe in ownership of a decision and that only comes through a collaborative conversation.
Lastly, the part about your health really made me wonder about my current practices. I really need to make time to eat lunch and work in some exercise regardless of when I come home. I still can't comprehend how Mrs. Logan, the high school Principal, can leave at 5:00 each day. Regardless, health needs to be a reflective point especially leaders with families.
I enjoyed reading this chapter and I expect to make some changes in how I manage my day, interactions, and my well-being.
Another part of the chapter that I felt was meaningful to the position was to pick your battles. You simply cannot go to war on every issue. You wouldn't get anything done during the day. Our role as an instructional leader is to coach teachers to be the best they can be and learn from them too. I go back to the importance of building a collaborative culture with all members of the school so that we can be proactive vs. reactive and people feel comfortable going to another for help.
As an administrator, it is very important to keep your emotions in check. I have always struggled with this even before I became an AP. I get happy at the littlest of things but I can also blow up or show extreme anger on my face. This is probably the one area that I have been very aware of these past two years and I work tirelessly to control. I can't see how anyone will trust a hot-head therefore I now try to listen to the entire conversation and ask questions rather than trying to prescribe a remedy for every problem that exists at the school. I believe in ownership of a decision and that only comes through a collaborative conversation.
Lastly, the part about your health really made me wonder about my current practices. I really need to make time to eat lunch and work in some exercise regardless of when I come home. I still can't comprehend how Mrs. Logan, the high school Principal, can leave at 5:00 each day. Regardless, health needs to be a reflective point especially leaders with families.
I enjoyed reading this chapter and I expect to make some changes in how I manage my day, interactions, and my well-being.
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