Effective Management: An educational leader integrates principles of cultural competency and equitable practice and promotes the success of every student by ensuring management of the organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
To be an Effective Leader, I believe...
- Effective school leaders model positive student and staff interactions at all times: in classrooms, in hallways, during public and private meetings, in the community, during phone calls, while conducting investigations, etc.
- Effective school leaders listen more than they talk, ask more questions than they answer, truly believe someone else in the room has a better solution than they do, and seek ethos, pathos, and logos in equal measure.
- Everyone I work with has strengths and weaknesses, and often someone's strength can ignite their greatest weakness.
- Empowering others doesn't just mean keeping them active and successful in their niche. It also means discovering what they are on the verge of doing better or becoming, and challenging them to achieve where they didn't see the possibility.
- The details are equally as important as the vision. One without the other fails no matter how much passion and right is present.
- Ignoring or hiding from unrest and distrust only serves to give them power.
- Engaging in difficult conversations makes your job easier and more meaningful.
- There is not a single job in a school that is beneath a leader's stature and responsibility.
- The quietest voices are often the most profound and observant.
- "All stakeholders" mean more than you will ever initially believe.
- It would be wrong to believe that all people know how to be honest with themselves or understand when they are hiding behind layers of truth and experience. A good school leader will gently probe to help others self-reflect and gain awareness.
- All plans are subject to debate, disagreement, revision, failure, and the waste basket.
Experience Artifacts: Coordinate District Materials Adoption
As the district Curriculum Adoption Coordinator, I revised the Supplemental Materials Review Form to align with Common Core State Standards and helped Language Arts department chairs begin the process of reviewing all the district approved supplemental texts to evaluate them for grade-level use matched to CCSS expectations. I also reviewed the district's previous history with materials adoption and created a new adoption cycle plan to reflect current needs and goals.
Experience Artifacts: Teaching & Learning Website Redesign
I was tasked with reorganizing the district's shared teacher resources within a new share site. I worked with a variety of departments across the district, became trained as a "super user" for the share system, and renamed and reorganized all the resources. This included developing a consistent page format and filtering/categorizing system that attempted to remove folders from the storage platform. Below are screen shots of the main Teaching & Learning landing page, and the English Language Arts and Talented & Gifted Home pages, and supporting documents.
Experience Artifacts: Secondary Curriculum Specialists
As the Secondary Curriculum Specialists leader, I supported and facilitated a team of content-specifc district-level specialists. This work involved leading project planning and process reflection in small groups and one-on-one. I supported their work with teachers and administrators behind the scenes and with side-by-side facilitation. I served as a mentor for new specialists and as a coach for those stepping out of their comfort zone with new projects, difficult conversations, or personal reflection. Below is a sample template I created to help support their work with department leaders on a long-term project, and minutes from a team meeting.
Experience Artifacts: Secondary Courses-From Standards to Effective Instruction
A large project I managed was the creation of a Planned Course Statement and Curriculum Map for each secondary course. This work began with the four core subject areas in the summer of 2012, and then expanded to all elective courses in the spring of 2013. I facilitated the work with Social Studies, supported other secondary Curriculum Specialists in their work with ELA, Science, and Math, created an extension plan to carry the work through all facets of instruction and assessment, worked with district and building administrators to revise and implement parts of the plan, led all workshops with elective teachers (see the Instructional Improvement page for more details about this work), and coordinated efforts to revise and publish the Planned Course Statements. Below are samples of the entire professional development plan, including actual communications, revisions, and budget options. There is also a link to the current versions of the work on the district's public website.
Experience Artifacts: Counselor-Admin Effectiveness
The following data sets and reflections are based on interviews I conducted with 4 counselors and 4 administrators in one high school, using the Effective Administrator-Counselor Relationship Self-Assessment Tool.
Experience Artifacts: CCSS Introduction Design
As part of my work with Lenox Elementary School, after spending time in all classrooms, I collaborated with the principal and teacher leaders to create professional development that introduced staff to the Common Core State Standards. Because of the variety of experience with or exposure to the CCSS, differentiation was the heart of the plan. Below are samples of how the plan shifted, communication, and feedback. Specific workshop artifacts can be seen on the Visionary Leadership page.