The school executive will build systems and relationships that utilize the staff’s diversity, encourage constructive ideological conflict in order to leverage staff expertise, power and influence to realize the school’s vision for success. The executive will also creatively employ an awareness of staff’s professional needs, issues, and interests to build social cohesion and to facilitate distributed governance and shared decision-making.
School Executive Micro-political Leadership: The principal develops systems and relationships to leverage staff expertise and influence in order to influence the school’s identity, culture and performance.
Artifact: Half-Day PLT Planning CoverageI was charged with arranging coverage for classes to relieve teachers to participate in a half day of planning for Quarter 4. In the past, the schedule was developed without consultation or input from Instructional Assistants. This led to problems with both securing coverage and frustration on the part of the IAs. To avoid this frustration and to mend relationships between administration and staff, I took great care to bring all those affected into the planning process. This change was well-received, and I was thanked by several IAs and classroom teachers.
Artifact: 30-Second Feedback Response In an effort to build upon the instructional strengths of the teachers, I systematically did 30-Second Feedback. That is, visiting a classroom for 10-15 minutes and then, in writing, calling attention to one observed positive practice and its impact on student learning. This practice was very gratifying both in terms of building instructional capacity as well as building relationships
Artifact: BEST NC Principal Preparation Video I had the opportunity to contribute to a video produced by BEST NC, a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of business leaders supporting public education. This video highlighted several principal preparation programs, including DPLA. It was an honor to represent the program and share my passion for learning.