STANDARD FIVE
Managerial Leadership- Establishes budget processes and systems focused on results (student growth and achievement); creates transparent systems to manage human and financial resources; effectively and efficiently manages human interactions; discusses and implements discordant issues; designs and utilizes multiple forms of communication with all stakeholders; enforces expectations for students and staff members.
Click on each button to view my artifacts, after reading the description below.
*Certain artifacts have restricted access for confidentiality purposes.
Click on each button to view my artifacts, after reading the description below.
*Certain artifacts have restricted access for confidentiality purposes.
5A- School Resources and Budget
The school executive establishes budget processes and systems which are focused on, and result in, improved student achievement.
Carroll Middle School operates on a restart budget. Schools that operate on a restart budget get more flexibility. However, they do not receive any additional money and have to operate on the same budget as traditional public schools, but can use that money in different ways. I was able to participate in several budget meetings with my principal mentor and bookkeeper at the district level and school level. During these meetings, we moved money around to invest in the Empower Learning Platform, give teachers bonuses for taking on multiple roles (similar to an opportunity culture), money for substitute teachers so staff could engage in professional learning during the school day, and money to expand the schools after school tutoring program.
When I first began my residency, I completed the application for the Family Engagement Award. One part of the application process involved creating a brief budget of how my school would spend the money being awarded. This was my first time ever creating a budget, and I did it with only the guidance of a model given to me from another school that been awarded the grant in the previous year. The focus of my budget was to provide teachers with an additional stipend for participating in home visits and purchasing professional learning books on family engagement to read and reference during staff development.
As part of my coursework, I worked with a few of the other fellows on creating a school budget, determining how to spend the money in each fund in correspondence with the school improvement plan. When developing this budget, we prioritized student achievement/engagement, support systems for all students, retaining quality teachers, and increasing family engagement. When collaborating around how we would invest school funds, we used a protocol in which we: 1. Stated the Decision, 2. Established and Classified Criteria, 3. Listed Alternatives, 4. Considered Risks, 5. Trusted Each Other's Work to make the Best and Balanced Choice. We also created a slide presentation to present to the school improvement team detailing how we spent each line item of the budget and why. Finally, to create transparency across the school community, we created an info-graphic for parents and community members with how we are investing our money in each school improvement goal. It is important that as the school leader that my budget reflects the vision of the school and the school improvement plan.
5B- Conflict Management Resolution
The school executive effectively and efficiently manages the complexity of human interactions so that the focus of the school can be on improved student achievement.
Throughout my teaching career and my time at my residency, I have had several crucial conversations with different stakeholders at the school level. The artifact attached is a reflection of one of the crucial conversations that I engaged in during my last year of teaching. When engaging in a crucial conversation, it is important to always state the facts in the beginning, and then give the person you are having the conversation with an opportunity to state their path. By doing this, you can start using contrasting and effective questioning to try to come to some sort of mutual understanding around what is best for kids, which should be what the conversation ultimately comes back to as an educational leader.
As part of my coursework, I partnered with another fellow to write a letter as a follow-up for a situation within the fourth grade team that was not in compliance with the school's mission/vision statement. The letter summarizes the undesired behavior being addressed and why it is not appropriate, as well as the discussion that took place at the meeting between the teachers and why, and the next steps that the fourth grade teachers were told to take going forward that are in compliance with the school's mission/vision.
At CMMS, one of the school improvement goals was to retain high performing staff and that 90% or more will indicate that Carroll is a good place to work and learn as measured by results on the Teacher Working Conditions Survey. Therefore to progress monitor this goal, teachers participated in a condensed version of the Teacher Working Conditions Survey quarterly. Data from these surveys was presented, analyzed, discussed, and action steps were taken by the administration, school improvement team, and grade level PLTs. In November, I was tasked with leading the 7th grade PLT in reviewing/discussing the October TWC results. Actions steps that occurred based on the review/discussion from this meeting were planning days with substitute teachers provided, strengthening communication with parents, discipline professional learning on how to better utilize ECATS, relationship building with staff, and discipline data dives with staff to create more transparency.
During my residency, one of the 6th grade teams was struggling with the behavior of three students on the team and needed more clarification around the intervention process for behavior. I listened and had them document their concerns in their Professional Learning Team minutes, then I followed up with the intervention chairs, a team member on the intervention team, and the 6th grade Assistant Principal regarding their concerns and questions. I sent them a follow-up email with next steps and have continued to support them in their Core PLT meetings.
Within the first couple of months of my residency, a group of teachers came to me in regards to concerns that they were having about students following directions and being safe during dismissal. Therefore, I worked with my principal mentor to create school-wide expectations during dismissal that were introduced and gone over by me at grade level PLT meetings. In addition to putting these expectations into place, in February I asked my mentor principal if I could move away from bus duty to supervise the hallways during dismissal to ensure that these expectations were being followed. Both of these actions greatly reduced concerns around discipline and safety during afternoon dismissal from staff members.
5C- Systematic Communication
The school executive designs and utilizes various forms of formal and informal communication so that the focus of the school can be on school achievement.
At the beginning of the school year, we were having a lot of difficulty with our intercom system working when we were calling our students for dismissal. As a result, several of our students were missing their buses. Therefore, based on suggestions made from some teachers and from my experience at my previous school, I worked with our clerical assistant to create a live document that teachers project on their tv screens to dismiss different groups (carpoolers, walkers, different bus routes, athletics/clubs) of students daily. This document can also be referenced when parents call to check on the time that their child's bus dismissed from campus.
Most of the year at my residency school, I worked with one of the assistant principals to facilitate transportation. Based on the assignments made in the quarterly PM duties schedule, I would send out a very brief weekly email reminding the staff members assigned to this duty of expectations, as well as communicating which staff members needed to stay with the buses that arrived late, which was based on a rotation. The purpose was to hold staff members accountable for being at their duty and remind them of the expectations around student safety.
Each week myself and the administrators contribute to the weekly staff and parent newsletter. I have attached a sample of each. At the beginning of the school year, there were so many documents of expectations, information, and schedules coming out Therefore, to reduce emails and make things easier for staff to find, we created a documents called Carroll Leaders Communication that streamlined all of these essential documents for staff reference.
During my residency, I was tasked with putting in all of the sporting events, clubs, field trips, and pictures days onto the Google Calendar. This calendar is referenced when recording each week's events in the staff and parent newsletters. It is also the calendar that is displayed on the school website.
5D- School Expectations for Students and Staff
The school executive develops and enforces expectations, structures, rules, and procedures for students and staff.
Since it is always important for students to have expectations posted and gone over with regularly, I worked with the PBIS chairs to create, laminate, and provide teachers each with a poster that quickly and clearly articulated the expectations in the classroom, while embedding Covey's 7 Habits to exemplify the magnet theme of leadership. In order for to students thrive, they really need consistency in expectations school wide. The posters that we created serve as a visual reminder of that.
In an effort to support student learning and safety, the intervention team created classroom procedures flow chart of tier 1 and tier 2 strategies and routines that are to be done on team before referring students for more intensive tier 3 intervention. The PBIS/Intervention chairs went over this with the whole staff at the firsts community meeting of the school year, and this flow chart was consistently reviewed by me at the Core PLT meetings that I attended through-out the years. When teachers would reach out to me regarding behavior problems with individual students, I would always refer them back to this document.
When I began my residency, prior to teachers returning back to work, the administration and I worked together to create this document of professional expectations for teachers around areas such as: daily hours, morning/afternoon duties, leave, communication, instruction, PBIS, and Magnet expectations. The purpose of this document is to take the WCPSS staff/student handbook and simplify it, building in expectations that reflect the school's mission/vision. Staff, students, and parents are still expected to read/review the Wake County Public Schools handbooks, and they are still held accountable for adhering to these expectations.