Texas Principal Competencies Reflection by Sarah Paulsen

Domain I School Community Leadership

Competency 001 The principal knows how to shape campus culture by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.

How was this addressed during my internship? Through my work with the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), Choir Booster Club, and Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) I was able to ensure that parents were an integral part of our campus culture. I was also able to help align financial, human, and material resources to support the implementation of our campus vision by fundraising money to purchase audio equipment for our stage which had broken speakers and only one microphone at the beginning of the school year.

What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency? I would continue to work on facilitating the collaborative development of a plan that clearly articulates objectives and strategies for implementing a campus vision. Although I have reviewed the campus plan, I have never been a part of writing it. I believe that participating in the writing would help support my growth as an educational leader.

Competency 002 The principal knows how to communicate and collaborate with all members of the school community, respond to diverse interests and needs, and mobilize resources to promote student success.

How was this addressed during my internship? I was able to participate in the implementation of effective strategies for systematically communicating with and gathering input from campus stakeholders. We sent a parent survey through the PTO, the school uses an auto-call program to get information to parents, and letters are sent home in both English and Spanish.

I was also able to establish partnerships with parents/caregivers, businesses, and others in the community to strengthen programs and support campus goals. A local church donated school supplies and uniforms for our students, the Choir students provided entertainment at a community Fall Festival and at a charity Holiday event. The school also participates in the Target grant program, as well as has a partnership with Investex. The school also holds a Career Day in which community members are invited to share careers with our students.

What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency? While I experienced a great deal of community outreach through my campus, I noticed that my campus does not do a very good job of communicating within the campus. Many times teachers are not informed of changes in schedules, meetings, required trainings, or student assemblies until the last minute. As a teacher I found this very frustrating. As a future administrator I would like to make sure that my school has great inter-campus communication.

Another area I would like to gain more knowledge of is forming a relationship with the media. This is not an area with which I have come into contact during my internship, but I feel it would be very useful in promoting my campus and instrumental in times of crisis.

Competency 003 The principal knows how to act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical and legal manner.

How was this addressed during my internship? This was addressed as I observed administration dealing with students for discipline referrals. It is important that students are treated fairly and that procedures are implemented for all students. This ensures a campus environment which runs smoothly. When students are aware of expectations (and consequences) they are able to function more effectively throughout the day.

I have had the fortune of helping promote awareness of learning differences, multicultural awareness, gender sensitivity, and ethnic appreciation through programs such as Black History and Hispanic Heritage, as well as working with the counselors to provide training for our students to look beyond themselves and be sensitive to others around them.

What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency? Although I worked a lot with the students in the Special Education (SPED) program and the Structured Learning Center (SLC) this year, I always find that there is more to know. Keeping up with legal guidelines will be an ongoing task as laws change to protect our students and their right to learn.

As a teacher, I have always served as an advocate for my students As a teacher, I have always served as an advocate for my students. This is not a foreign concept to me. As an administrator, however, I will have to learn to do this on a larger scale as I will be an advocate for every child in the school.

Domain II Instructional Leadership

Competency 004 The principal knows how to facilitate the design and implementation of curricula and strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment of curriculum, instruction, resources, and assessment; and promote the use of varied assessments to measure student performance.

How was this addressed during my internship? I believe that I have a strong base for facilitating the use of appropriate instruments to measure student learning. As an elective teacher I have experience in assessing students in non-traditional ways. For example, a written exam does not measure how well a student can sing, dance, draw, etc. Through my internship I have also worked with core curriculum areas and become familiarized with their assessments. I believe that the combination of my experiences will lead me to be very well-rounded administrator with regard to student assessment.

What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency? As my eight years of teaching have been spent in an elective subject I believe that I could benefit from more staff developments on best overall practices as well as content-specific trainings for curriculum areas such as math, science, and language arts.

Competency 005 The principal knows how to advocate, nurture, and sustain and instructional program and a campus culture that are conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

How was this addressed during my internship? My campus uses student assessment data frequently to decide which students should be placed in tutorials. After each benchmark exam student tutorial lists are re-examined and changes are made to fit student needs. Students with failing STAAR scores were also placed in our campus’s All Star Math/English enrichment program at the beginning of the year and attended two days a week until the STAAR assessment.

What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency? As I continue to work on this competency, I will strive to make sure that my staff is encouraged to achieve the campus vision. A big complaint that teachers on my campus have is that they do not feel valued or recognized for their contributions, or supported in their endeavors – they are just always asked to do more. Consequently, many teachers have stopped contributing to the campus. Our campus frequently has a shortage of teachers for Saturday school and after-school events. As an administrator I will have to keep in mind that teachers need recognition and motivation.

Another goal I will continue to work on is ensuring that all students are provided high quality, flexible instructional programs with appropriate resources and services to meet individual student needs. This is something that I have seen my campus struggle with throughout the year and it is always blamed on the fact that we have a smaller staff than other schools. I would like to see how other schools accomplish this with regard to special testing situations and students with behavioral problems. I feel like there must be a better way to do this, even if a campus has a small staff.

Competency 006 The principal knows how to implement a staff evaluation and development system to improve the performance of all staff members, select and implement appropriate models for supervision and staff development, and apply the legal requirements for personnel management.

How was this addressed during my internship? Teachers in our district are encouraged to engage in ongoing professional development. This is a part of our yearly evaluation. The more development hours a teacher acquires the higher he or she can score in this area of the evaluation. I have also helped evaluate some new teachers on our campus with regard to classroom management and student discipline. I worked with the teacher to pinpoint his/her target area. We came up with a plan to measure it and reviewed the results together after the observation took place.

What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency? As I work on this competency I could benefit from further experience in recruiting, screening, selection, assignment, promotion, discipline, and dismissal of campus staff. As I am a peer to the teachers on my campus I have not been privy to disciplining of staff members or to the dismissal process.

Another goal is to allocate appropriate time, funding, and other needed resources to ensure the effective implementation of professional development plans. The important word here is EFFECTIVE. In many schools I have seen teachers sit through many staff developments which do not apply to them (especially elective teachers) simply so that a principal can say that they were “fair” because everyone had to attend the development session. Therefore, many teachers associate professional development on campus with negative images and often view it as a waste of time. As an administrator I would like to ensure that my staff is engaged and feels that their time is well spent. For example, maybe the Math teachers have a staff development one day, and another content a different day. This way my staff is engaged and the school is not wasting money on development which does not benefit my staff.

Competency 007 The principal knows how to apply organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills to ensure an effective learning environment.

How was this addressed during my internship? I was able to implement appropriate management techniques to define roles, assign functions, delegate authority, and determine accountability for goal attainment through the fundraiser I oversaw, my role as PTO secretary, my hosting the district intermediate solo contest, and through my management of the school talent show.

I will also able to implement procedures for gathering, analyzing, and using data from a variety of sources for informed campus decision making when the campus STAAR scores are returned and we make decisions regarding student tutorials and summer school placement for students who did not pass the exam. I have also been able to encourage and facilitate positive change as the school has begun re-vamping the master schedule for next year. Elective classes would like classes grouped by gender to reduce behavior problems, and this is currently under investigation to determine if it can be done. The school is also considering shifting teacher classrooms so that teachers are grouped by content area although this will mean that students must move throughout the building instead of staying in one courtyard. Our campus will do a trial run of this later in the school year.

What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency? One area that I can continue to work on is monitoring and evaluating change and making needed adjustment to achieve goals. This will be challenging for me because I have always been the only teacher in my content area on a campus, so all of my evaluating has been in relation to myself. As an administrator I will have to evaluate my teachers and also make adjustments which will effect entire teams of teachers not just one or two.

Domain III Administrative Leadership

Competency 008 The principal knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to campus budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management, and technology use.

How was this addressed during my internship? I gained experience with budget planning and management as I led a fundraiser to buy audio equipment for the stage. Through this same process I worked collaboratively with stakeholders to develop a budget for this project. I also had to apply laws/policies to ensure sound financial management in relation to accounts, bidding, and purchasing.

What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency? As I become an administrator I will continue to work on this competency as I will have to balance a budget for an entire campus, not just one project.

Competency 009 The principal knows how to apply principles of leadership and management to the campus physical plant and support systems to ensure a safe and effective learning environment.

How was this addressed during my internship? This area has been addressed by the various safety measures our school has in place: metal detectors, fire safety plans, and lock-down procedures. I also attended our diabetes training at the beginning of the school year so I am on the team of teachers who has been trained to deal with a child in a diabetic-related crisis.

What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency? As I continue on the path to educational leadership I would like to be more familiar with the laws regarding safety on our campus so that when I become an administrator I will be prepared to oversee my campus’s emergency procedures. What are my goals as I continue to work on this competency?

As I near the end of my internship I feel that I have learned a lot, and look forward to continuing to learn and grow as I move into the role of administrator.