Reflection on PDP

I approached the plan in three phases:  (1) focused on financial literacy improvement; (2) focused on internal team structures/systems for improvement; and (3) focused on my leadership of others resulted in their professional success.  Working with budgets, bonds, and facilities remains my area of growth, but for the role I recently stepped into and plan to be in the next five years, instructional leadership must remain my focus.  I know I will continue to grow in my weaker areas, as we anticipate having a bond study within the year and I will be very involved in that process.  To make an impact in my position in the next three years, it is essential that I work to put some new collaborative structures in place for principals to learn together and from one another, as well as provide them professional development.  This will result in higher performing leaders, who will influence teachers, who will ultimately influence our student success.

Reflection on Supervisor's Evaluation

Having the opportunity to receive feedback from my supervisor was a welcomed opportunity.  Her affirmation of my efforts and hard work over the past six months really meant a great deal to me professionally and motivates me to continue to strive for excellence in my work.  She views me as a strong instructional leader who is very involved in overseeing the implementation of our curriculum, staff development and campus leadership.  As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, she has had the opportunity to observe my involvement in dialogue about district decision-making, and at many district events she has seen my collaboration with community members.  For the first time in several years, I am truly energized by my work and look forward to helping to shape our district culture in a positive manner.  That positive energy comes from a strong team with a shared sense of purpose and drive toward the common goal of student success.

Reflective Leadership

Leaders are, by nature, busy people.  Most leaders I know are driven individuals and are not content to be idle for any substantial amount of time.  In this world of smart phones, tablet and laptops, it is commonplace to multi-task at all times and have many irons in the fire at once.  In a recent Franklin Covey workshop I attended the presenter shared that technology innovations intended to increase our efficiency actually add about ten hours on to our work week.  Think about it.  Aren’t most of us always “connected”?

Leadership coaching has been my area of study and passion the past few years.  In studying the skill set associated with any sort of coaching, reflection is always an important component. It is imperative that leaders take the time to think about our actions, our responses, our though processes, what worked, what could be improved, and what we may do differently next time.  Reflection is part of the “study” in the plan-do-study-act cycle of continuous improvement.  Without it, we are in a cycle of continuous flat-lining.

Lessons Learned

My biggest take-away is not anything too new….change is hard!  Over the past six months I have learned that every time I feel I am responding in a positive way to an expressed need from campus leaders, I will receive both positive and negative feedback.  The majority did not like the way we used to do CIPs.  We changed.  The majority had issue with the change.  Upon reflection I have to wonder if it is because they were not involved in the change process.  Although they were invited to preview the tool before we ever purchased it, not all of them did so.  I continuously struggle to find the balance between involving principals in the decision-making process for district issues and taking too much of their time to weigh in on district decisions.

Job Entry Plan

Thinking specifically about goals and objectives to be accomplished the first day, week, month and year of a new position is a great way to hold oneself accountable. This year I have been working though Franklin Covey's Five Choices program with our elementary principals, and a large component of the professional development centers on the importance of connecting with your role and setting attainable goals.  This activity aligns perfectly to that work.

Competencies Reflection

I found the process of reviewing each competency in relation to my work over the past six months to be a valuable experience.  Research is clear that adult learning is maximized when time is provided for reflection, and in this fast-paced world of educational administration, sometimes we do not carve out the needed time for reflection on our practices.  Drafting a narrative about my work in each competency area provided me the opportunity to think about my work over the last six months.  Too often I leave work wondering what I really accomplished in that day.  It was affirming and rewarding to realize a lot of positive work has been done.

Reflection on Competencies

My strengths lie in the areas of my passion and experience - curriculum, instruction
and assessment. I feel confident in my leadership abilities to bring a team together with a
common mission and vision to put plans in place to reach the common goal of student success. I
feel confident in my abilities to work with all stakeholders and lead positive change efforts.
My growth areas are all in what is sometimes referred to  in my district as "the other side of
the house" - business, finance, and facilities.  I know I need to learn more about federal
programs, Title funds, bond planning and school construction.  Although I make Board presentations, I lack experience in directly working a school Board.

I am looking forward to attending the National Title Conference this coming week, as I intend to
deliberately seek out the learning opportunities to help me better understand and work with
federal programs.