Final Blog Post

We're done!  We have survived and successfully completed all courses!  It feels great!

I appreciate the time and feedback from Mr. Garza after the mock interview.  It was a great learning experience.

This entire scholarly journey has been a great ride!  There have been smooth roads with great faculty and cohort members to collaborate with.  Through the rough roads, I learned the importance of patience, good communication, and integrity.  Now I sit at the end of the road, and I wouldn't change a thing!  Every aspect of the journey has prepared me to an effective leader.

I feel well prepared for the untraveled road ahead, thank you to my professors and collegues.  Sit down, buckle up, and hold on!

Capstone Paper Reflection

As I wrote the capstone paper, I was reminded of the importance of identifying the current reality.  Before we can move forward, we must identify where we are.  When moving forward, the destination (vision or goal) should be clearly communicated to all stakeholders.  Once the current reality is identified and the vision is communicated, then a plan can be created to make the vision a reality.  Staff, students, parents, and community members should all have a voice in the vision as well as in the plan.  The support of all stakeholders will be needed to carry out the plan.  As barriers are encountered, an effective PLC can address and conquer them. 
Each and every person at a school site is important!  We must work together as a team with the guidance of the school leader.  Leadership can have a positive effect on a school.  It's a process.  A positive leader will stay close to the community and have good systems in place. 
We can not make excuses for children not performing at proficient or advanced.  There are no acceptable excuses why not every child can learn.  We must hold tightly that every child can learn and ensure there success! 

Budget/Funding Activity

Working on the site categorical funding budget is a part of my every day duties as GIS.  I have become familiar with the allocations of funding and working within the budget.  I am thankful to the department of Special Projects and to the site office manager for their patience and guidance as I learn.
An important thing I have learned is to use all "most restrictive" funds first.  That way, you are left with the "least restrictive" funds to meet the needs of all students.  As an administrative team, we work to identify the needs of our site.  We work with our staff, students, and parents to identify the needs.  Next, a proposed budget of how the site would like to use the funds is presented to the School Site Council for review and approval.
I work with an exceptional staff and members of the site council who work closely to ensure that funds are used to best meet the needs of all students.

Face2Face Reflection

You are who you hire.  I strongly agree with that statement.  I enjoyed listening to the HR managers from Clovis, Sanger, and Visalia Unified School Districts.  Although each district is very different, I found many similarities in what they look for in a new hire and as well as in many "operational" areas.
I believe that their is a right fit for each new administrator.  A right fit in a district, as well as at a school site.  It is important to be patient and trust the interview panel, the site administration, and the district administration.  They know the site well and can best identify a good fit.  I interviewed for three GIS positions before getting the one I currently have.  I have also spoken with numerous administrators who said they interviewed several times before getting a position in administration.  It can be a challenge to be patient, but I feel it will pay off in the long run.
When the CADA members guided us through a few activities, I gained a new perspective on how to listen with respect.  I also learned more about how the school climate is developed by the activities on campus.  Even though it was a Friday night after a long week, I could have sat and listened and learned for hours!
Dr. Terry Bradley's presentation on school finance was incredible!  I learned so much that can help me in my job right now.  From the history of different propositions and court rulings, to the components of a budget, I have a lot to do on Monday in the office.  Dr. Bradley was able to clarify many areas of school finance that I had questions on.  For example, revenue limit and unrestricted revenue.  I feel much more confident as we prepare to pass a bond in Clovis.  Another weekend of valuable information - thank you Dr. Buster, Dr. Wise, and Dr. Darrow!

Leadership Connectors - Putting it all Together

Relationships.  It is all about relationships.  Relationships with teachers, classified staff, parents, students, members of the community, and colleagues.  The key to all 6 leadership connectors is relationships.  In the relationships that I build, I must ensure effective, clear communication; provide support; ensure safety; be competent in my abilities; maintain continuous renewal; and ensure trust.

I absolutely love my new position as a GIS and the opportunities that I have to build more relationships.  I feel that in my administrative role I have more exposure to parents, students, and community members.  I feel that every opportunity I have out on campus, in the classrooms, and while attending co-curricular events is another opportunity to establish and build relationships. 

I know that I will make mistakes along the journey as an administrator, but it's what how I respond to the mistakes and what I learn from them that will make a difference.  It's not that I set out to make mistakes, but I see mistakes as a necessary part of learning.  I want to improve and I want to grow.  From my mistakes I can do that.

Face2Face Reflection

As a new administrator, I found the presentations this weekend to be extremely valuable.  Roberta Rowe's presentation provided information on student discipline.  I appreciated the bound copy of information.  There are things I have encountered, such as cyber bullying, and it was nice to gain legal information on the subject.  At times employees may be hired to a position with little experience, although qualified, and are asked to sink or swim.  I feel that with what I learned from Ms. Rowe, I can swim in any position requiring discipline of a student or employee.

Dr. Hauser started our class Saturday morning with enthusiasm and energy.  I absolutely loved listening to her!  The presentation, the activities, and the discussions were great ways to model an effective meeting.  Not only did I learn a lot from her, I enjoyed myself and time flew by!  One "Ah ha" moment for me was that I should spend more time planning the meeting than the meeting itself will last.  I love that! I also took pictures of a few posters created by my peers - everyone did a great job!

Dr. Torosian's presentation was insightful.  At one of my school sites, I feel consumed by discipline.  It was wonderful to receive a thorough explanation of the education code as it relates to student discipline.  More than that, I appreciated his attitude towards modifying student behavior.  Our goal is not to suspend or expel students, our goal is to change the negative behavior.  What are we doing to change the behavior?

I feel it's important to remind students that the poor choice they made does not define their character.  It's how the respond to the situation and what they do next.  I want students to know that I believe they are not bad kids, they may have made a bad choice, but that does not mean they are bad.  I want them to learn from experience and grow in a positive direction - that shows great character!

EAD 269 has provided me with valuable information that will guide me as a new administrator.  I appreciate the time that each of our presenters gave - as well as giving up a Friday night or Saturday.  With everything I learned, I didn't mind sitting in class on a weekend.  Thank you to Dr. Buster, Dr. Wise and Dr. Darrow!

Leadership Connectors - Trust

Without good communication, support, safety, competence, and continuous renewal, it is difficult to establish trust.  All six connectors are vital for an effective leader, yet you can not have one without the other.  How does one learn to build and strengthen all of the leadership connectors?  For me, I work on identifying my weaknesses. I want to take my weaknesses and turn them into my strengths.  For example, my weakness is a lack of knowledge and experience at the elementary level.  How do I expect elementary teachers to trust me when I have little elementary experience?  Beginning over a year ago, I began using personal days to job shadow leaders at the elementary level.  I wrote a curriculum guide for first grade mathematics for the new common core standards.  I taught second grade summer school.  I work for one hour per week with each grade level during PLC time to collaborate, look at data, and discuss ways to use the data to drive instruction.  More importantly, I am honest in what I know and don't know.  I recognize the teachers as experts and work hard to support them in any way possible.  If they have a question that I do not know the answer to, I work to get the answer.  In doing so, I hope that I am building trust.