STANDARD TWO
Instructional Leadership- focuses on learning and teaching, creates an environment of distributive leadership and teacher empowerment, demonstrates knowledge of 21st century curriculum, ensures alignment between school curriculum and state accountability program, creates processes and schedules that facilitate collaborative planning, creates processed for collecting and using student data, and creates processes to provide teachers with feedback to improve their instruction.
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.
2A- Focus on Learning and Teaching, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
The school executive leads the discussion about standards for curriculum, instruction, and assessment based on research and best practices in order to establish and achieve high expectations for students.
In table format, I listed various data points for the school that I taught at. Additionally, I identified when and where the data point was collected, its target population, the purpose for collecting it, how the data point is used, and who requires the data point. As a school leader, it is important to know what data is being collected in your school and what goal or process in your school improvement plan that data point is measuring. If the data you are collecting is not aligned with goals and/or processes in your school improvement plan, then you probably shouldn't be overly relying on that data point when making school based decisions.
I wrote this reflection to identify ways that I think staff members would receive professional development best, along with strategies I could use as a leader to make sure teachers are implementing the best practices learned from the professional development. When rolling out new initiatives in accordance with your school improvement plan, it is critical that the school leaders arranges, delivers, or plans effective professional development.
With 3 other principal fellows, I developed a professional development module that could be shared with my staff related to the digital learning competencies. Since technology is constantly evolving, it is important that the lessons teachers are planning are relevantly using technology to enhance student learning. As a school leader, you must realize that your staff will be in all different places in terms of knowledge around technology tools. Therefore, before rolling out professional learning around the digital learning competencies, you should observe and survey your staff about where they are at in terms of knowledge around the digital learning competencies.
I worked with the school improvement team to create and implement the professional learning plan at my residency school for the 2019-2020 school year. I also worked with the PBIS/Intervention chairs to plan and arrange the professional learning delivered by the MTSS coach around research based classroom management strategies based on teacher working conditions survey, observations made during learning walks and my day-in-the-life assignment, and through discussions with teacher's during PLT meetings. I also assisted in leading the professional development training at the beginning of the year that helped teachers, especially new teachers to Carroll to understand the competencies better through the implementation of the Empower platform. I participated in math rounds with Carroll's math specialist to observe and provided structured feedback to math teachers across grade levels. Finally, I led the Carroll Equity Committee.
After observing and surveying a Professional Learning Team that I normally work with, I wrote a reflection about how this team might improve and what steps as a school leader I might take to move them forward. Professional Learning Teams are the key ingredient to student success when they hold each other accountable for the norms that they have created, work together to unpack their learning standards, and when they work together to analyze data so that they can determine next steps for their students.
I collaborated with a variety of stakeholders to evaluate how well my residency school is implementing and sustaining all components of Multi Tiered System of Support for students. The assessment was facilitated by our MTSS coach and one our area superintendents special assistants. The purpose of the assessment is to help the school and district level leadership determine next steps for MTSS implementation in terms of professional development and strategic planning. I was not able to attach the FAM document with our school's data, as it was collected by district personnel, but this is a blank document of what we collaborated as a team to fill-out during this process.
2B-Focus on Instructional Time
The school executive creates processes and schedules which protect teachers from disruption of instructional time or preparation time.
A document that all WPLP cohort members collaborated on to highlight terms, definitions, and video examples of best practices that teachers can use to increase student engagement and learning in the classroom. By focusing on these strategies, teachers can focus more on instructional time.
A presentation that teaches teachers how to build character and trust in their classrooms, so that students feel safe and comfortable learning. A learning environment that's built on trust will allow a higher probability of student engagement with fewer disruptions to instructional time.
I was part of the instructional leadership team that created the master schedule for this school year. When serving on this team, I really took into consideration that there was time each day to incorporate the school's magnet theme, that an intervention block was created for tiered instruction, and that teachers had adequate planning team. All of these areas of focus align with the two school improvement goals of increasing student achievement and retaining quality staff. As a future school leader, it is very important to have multiple stakeholders involved in creating the school's master schedule, as well as the school vision and school improvement goals at the forefront. Ultimately, though every school's master schedule should focus the maximization of instructional time.