L4L Capstone Year 2 Presentation Concie Pedroza 2013-2014

Building the Leadership Capacity of Others Supports Students "It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.” --Nelson Mandela There have been many instances after I have given my goals; I have had to take a step back. This is a classic example, my students and staff at a school board presentation where they presented to the board. In my new school, I have led, but I have also let others lead in every way; this is essential in getting the work done for students; building their capacity to do so incorporates elements of the four standards in order for it to be sustained, supported and analyzed for actual improvement.

Building Policies for Equitable Practices is Essential to our Work “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams I share this slide because I was that kid who was told by her own parents I couldn’t go to college; I am committed to working with our students because I want to be

My Leadership Matters Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

New Challenges & Opportunities Serving as a first year high school principal at a new model school for Seattle Public School serving ELL students. Beginning my internship at Tukwila Public Schools under Superintendent Nancy Coogan, Ed.D. Reflection from last year’s capstone – thinking about where can I gain learning in my areas that were challenging? Growth for year two – how can I work with my advisor to get the supports I need to stay focused on my goals within L4L?

Equity & Excellence Leadership Through several school board actions, I demonstrated leadership by fostering the collective responsibility, growth and capacity of others to reflect on and enact equitable practice within our school policies and school board action. I built upon the leadership capacity of students, staff, community and families to set forth of series of meetings utilizing current school board policy and procedures. During the fall, I became aware of a new amendment to the BEX Levy process that would allow my school to taken off the BEX (for the 4th time) and would be on hold until the district figured out an alternative location; thus making Meany vacant at an earlier time frame. Because the amendment was new, I had to begin a series of bilingual information sessions for my community while working with my staff and community supporters to strategize in building a case for our school. I had to create a common goal and plan specific levels of information culminating in a presentation to the board over three different sessions. Students, parents, community members and staff were involved each step of the way and students lead the presentations.

Inquiry Focused Leadership I have grown in my ability to analyze key data points with my administrative team in order to construct a theory of action that shifts adult practice and ultimately student learning . Through my inquiry process with my language arts team, I built the capacity for ongoing inquiry and problem solving with a focused on student learning in the context of their program. The Newcomer Language Arts Group; I was in the same place as last year in May but knew I had some time to continue the work. The team and I have met over the last two months looking at data, observing each other classrooms and creating some action steps based on our initial observations. They also restructured the program and placement of students and curriculum as factors to improve. There are still ongoing issues that we will be addressing, but it is important that the team came together to support each other and begin some action items for the entire system to support student growth and create better vertical alignment.

Leadership in the Improvement of Teaching & Learning I have improved my leadership practice by engaging relevant players collaboratively and draw from school- based and community expertise and resources in instructional improvement work. This includes collaboration with my CBOs in creating our strategic plan. I gained insight from the district view from a small and a larger district in terms of the complexity and support needed to implement an initiative for student improvement. TPEP Analysis Paper was a first step in learning how to coordinate and work with different stakeholders in creating professional development for principals. It was helpful to learn the different roles, responsibilities and layers within the structure that could support or hinder the work. My goal was in piloting the eVAL online tool and while initially I thought I was moving ahead and considered all possibilities; the project was thwarted due to other agendas that I was not made aware of until much later.

Strategic, Collaborative Governance & Decision-Making Leadership I have learned the importance in understanding and developing coherent organizational structures and policies that improve the equity and overall performance of the educational system. I gained knowledge related to the different partnerships and resources in order to identify, engage, and influence the broader policy, legal, and political environment to strengthen supports that matter the most for learning improvement. Discuss the LEAN process as well as the value of the Resource Map in understanding the complexities of the partnerships at SWS.

Growth & Next Steps Build policies and systems that support every student in success and learning to high standards. Support the learning of other adults to continuously strengthen their practice in ways that promise to improve results for all students. Fashion and enact systems to support and sustain instructional leadership, inside and outside of schools. Develop and guide decision processes that maximize collaborative problem solving and continuous improvement. I have identified opportunities for continued growth in this model. The last two are what I want to focus on for discussion as they are the two I’ve identified as needing the most support, especially considering my lack of success with the eVAL pilot. I am going to be working with the Director of Operations who has been facilitating the LEAN process with Seattle. He has asked to meet with me related to this work and I want to continue to support it and learn from him. The last bullet is one that I will need to develop and learn from others; I plan to work with my internship mentor to see how she implements this in year 2 of her strategic plan in order for the entire district to continue their strategic plan. The LEAN process will also be useful in this.

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