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.