Monday, March 25, 2013

EDLD 5398 - Internship Reflection

During my internship, I gained a lot of knowledge as well as in the program at Lamar University.  I gained experience by shadowing the administration at my school and I was also able to gain more experience while taking on leadership roles throughout the campus.  I feel this experience strengthen me not only as an instructional leader but also as person.  I have enjoyed my internship and courses and look forward to putting the knowledge I've gained into use really soon! :)

edld 5398 - Three Year Professional Development Plan


Goal
TExES
Competency and Domain
Objective
(What do you want to improve?)
Course Work/Book/
Workshops
(How do you want to improve?)
Mentor
Professional Support
(Who will help you improve?)
 
Date of
Completion
Evaluations
(How will you know you have improved?)
1
Domain I
Comp. 001
I want to improve the campus culture by implementing a stronger vision of learning that is shared by the all stakeholders.
I will study my leadership books, attend any workshops offered through my district or region service center. I will work to improve the culture by implementing programs for teacher collaboration, team building, community outreach, and parent connections.
Cedric Sewart (AP at Reed Academy)
To be mastered by the end of May 2014
I will see an improved moral among teachers, new business/community partners and more parental involvement.
2
Domain II
Comp. 4
Participate in technology meetings for district, such as budget meetings and train the trainers seminars.
District Technology trainings
 
Technology Specialist, Rick Melby
To be mastered by the end of May 2015
CPE hours and professional development certificates will be used for documentation. 
3
Domain II Comp. 5
I will facilitate the use and integration of technology, telecommunications and information systems to enhance learning through by becoming a curriculum assistant principal . 
I will continue to take technology classes and improve my skill of teaching others how to implement technology in the classroom. I will increase trainings to teachers and conducting professional development classes on my campus.
Cedric Sewart (AP at Reed Academy)
To be mastered by the end of May 2016
I will have the skills, experience and confidence to become a curriculum assistant principal pushing more technology in valuable instruction in the classroom.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

EDLD 5398 - Campus Supervised Summary and Validation Report


Campus Supervised Summary and Validation Report
 
 
Directions: This report should summarize all Campus Supervised Internship Activities that have been completed.  You will document your activities on this form and submit the completed form in your 12th course.
 
·         The Internship requires a minimum of 150 campus supervised internship activities. These activities should match the candidates’ Internship Plan activities.
·         The intern must use the 38 leadership activities, located in their textbook (pages 22-65) as the starting point for these activities. There needs to be a minimum of 38 Campus- Supervised entries that encompasses the 38 leadership activities and nine competencies. *Educational Technology Leadership candidates must include the 33 ISTE Technology Performance Indicators associated with the eight Technology Facilitation Standards in addition to the 38 principal leadership activities.*
·       All columns are required for completion of form.
·       Name ___Shanaya Kuykendahl____________________
·         Total Number of hours ____205  hours__________________
 
 
State Competency Standard/ISTE Technology Facilitation Standard
Skills and Experience Area/ ISTE Performance Indicator
Date Completed
Time Spent on Activity
Description of Activity
Reflection (150 words or less detailing what you have learned from this activity)
SBEC-Domain I Competency 001
Vision and Mission
August 2012
40 hours
Help with master schedule to make sure that is conducive to campus vision and mission
Working on the master schedule was very time consuming consisting of reviewing several documents to plan the official schedule of the campus.  I worked on the master schedule for two school years starting August 2011.  My campus vision is to find a mission is to use our data as much as possible to drive instruction. The four core classes are important to make sure that there is enough time allotted for them.   Reading/Writing must be allotted double time slots to ensure adequate learning.  All students must have a PE period and an elective. 
SBEC-Domain I Competency 001
Strategic Planning
August 2012
3 hours
Develop strategic plan for my action project. 
After speaking with my campus supervisor Dr. Stewart, we decided the best project for me to assist the campus would be working on increasing parental involvement.  We collectively decided that this would be a good project as well as benefit the campus. 
SBEC-Domain I Competency 001
 Strategic Planning
Data Collection & Analysis
May 2012
10 hours
Seek to improve the use of assessment data and use data to implement interventions for students
Research based interventions are the best to improve student achievement.  In order to find out what intervention is best for my campus, it is important to use data such as assessments, grades, and possible interventions to see what intervention would be best to implement on campus.  This will drive instruction and determine tutoring needs. 
SBEC-Domain I
Competency 004 and 014
 
Effective Communication
Staff
 
Development/Adult Learning
May 2012
10 hours
Plan, implement, and evaluate a staff development on effective classroom practices.
Staying current with effective classroom practices is important to student achievement.  I administered 4 two hour professional developments during the school year on effective classroom practices.  Before each development I had to plan and use feedback to adjust the next professional development.
SBEC-Domain I
Competency 005
Collaborative Decision Making
June 2012
20 hours
Attend and participate in Campus Improvement Committee
I participated on the campus improvement committee where we worked to improve student achievement.  WE met monthly and discuss various ways to improve the campus.
SBEC-Domain I
Competency 006
Collaborative Decision Making
May 2012
2 hours
Attend an administrator meeting and actively engage in the collaborative decision making process
I attended an administrator meeting where all administrators collaborated.  They shared ideas and found new ways to address issues on the campus. 
SBEC-Domain II
Competency 007
Analyzing the Curriculum
July 2012
20 hours
Work on the curriculum writing team to decision the curriculum for next year and make sure we are aligned with state standards.
I worked on the curriculum writing in the summer to make sure that the curriculum was aligned to what was being taught in the classroom.  Guidelines were made to assist teachers with instruction.
SBEC-Domain II
Competency 009
Supervision of Instruction/ Instructional Strategies
April 2012
10 hours
Perform classroom walkthroughs and evaluate instruction in the classroom and provide constructive feed back to the teachers
I assisted the principal with walkthroughs and evaluating instruction in the classroom.  This helped me as a teacher and an administrator. 

edld 5398 week 4 Compentencies 8-9


Week 4, Part 1 Assignment:  Reflections on Domain III Competencies 8-9


Domain III

Competency 008 - The principal knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to campus budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management and technology use.

Through the course of this competency, I found I completed this component being a part of the site based decision making team (SBDM).  Each year, the school's SBDM committee along with the campus improvement team (CIP) determines the best use for the school's budget to best serve the students' needs.  For unforeseen expenses, the committees will review, revise, and make adjustments as needed.  The committee also decides which assets are allocated when and where.  Teachers requesting certain resources may submit their requests to the SBDM committee where they will be reviewed and determined if the need is beneficial to student learning.

I spent about 40 hours on this competency because this is a major role of a principal.  Instructional leaders are required to monitor spending and adjusting plans by making sure funds are used efficiently for meeting the needs of the students within the district.  One of the most important aspects of being an administrator that I have learned from my internship experiences in this area has been the need to listen to your staff, as they have a working knowledge of how best to make daily operations better, and then to trust them to take your decisions and make them work.

Competency 009 - The principal knows how to apply principles of leadership and management to the campus physical plant and support systems to ensure a safe and effective learning environment.

As an administrator, it is imperative that you have a working knowledge of all of your facilities and trust your maintenance, custodial and administrative staff to take care of the day-to-day issues.  If you can trust to notify you of any assistance they need, this will help maintain the facility.  Safety of the students and staff is imperative, and any issues that affect these groups needs to be addressed immediately.  In addition, development and planning of a crisis management program and practice of safe and secure procedures are mandatory.  These drills are practiced routinely every month to ensure the safety of the school and all students.

In this competency, I had about 10 hours in learning the 009 competency. I modeled strategies for teaching legal and ethical use of technology in the classroom as stated in the district’s acceptable use policy. Through the use of videos and presentations, I taught staff members about cyber ethics, internet safety and copyright laws.  In addition, I applied technology resources to the staff on how to differentiate instructions based on the individual needs of all my students.  During my internship, I assisted teachers with appropriate technology materials, equipment, strategies, and resources to address the diverse needs of students.

 

 

 

 

 

EDLD 5398 - Competencies 1-7


Week 3, Part 1 Assignment: Reflections on Domain I Competencies 1-3

DOMAIN I: School Community Leadership

Competency 001 – The principal knows how to shape campus culture by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.

During the course of this internship, I spent over 60 hours in a variety of leadership activities that led to approaching the mastery of this competency. I learned the importance of creating a positive campus culture that allows for collaboration between colleagues and stakeholders that provides for a environment and climate that ensures high expectations and success. Collaborating with others gives the leader an opportunity to take ideas to a higher level from the input of others. 

One activity that I completed was serving on the Campus Improvement Team.  The CIT provides strategies and procedures to implement and assess successful achievement of community, campus, and district vision for teaching and learning within the district.  I have actively collaborated with administrators and campus leaders to facilitate more trainings of aligning district curriculum to improve student achievement.

In addition, I actively participated on the campus’s discipline committee that worked hard at controlling and maintaining discipline issues on the campus.  The focus is on ensuring that there is a plan of action in place to promote good behavior versus improper behavior. This committee included all stakeholders that are committed to having a positive campus culture that supports student learning.

 

Competency 002 - The principal knows how to communicate and collaborate with all members of the school community, respond to diverse interests and needs and mobilize resources to promote student success.

As lead 5th grade math teacher, I have spent numerous hours working on several projects and committees that assist teachers and students. My mission is to be the liaison between administration and teachers in our department and collaborate with other departments to cross content collaborate.  I also communicate various administrative and instructional and directives from the principal to the staff in order to communicate the goals of the campus.  This allotted me the appreciation of working with the diverse characteristics of the stakeholders in the community to improve students’ achievement.

I implemented a parental involvement committee that worked diligently in getting parents more involved in students’ success.  This committee included all stakeholders that were motivated to improving student achievement.    The goal is to get parents actively involved in education, extra-curricular activities, and school events to improve the campus culture overall.

 

Competency 003 - The Principal knows how to act with integrity, fairness and in an ethical and legal manner.

An instructional leader must always act with integrity, fairness and in an ethical and legal manner.  Often principals’ ethical standards are put to test but it is important to stay ethical at all times. I had to model fairness when dealing with student discipline, apply the rights to all students equally, and keep information confidential. I learned from my internship that it is the responsibility of a leader to do what is right even if others may not agree with the decision.  I will be an advocate for all students ensuring their rights are protected and have equal opportunities to be in educational environment where learning occurs. 

As the principal, I always will be in compliance with The Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators and report any violations.  The laws, and policies, and procedures must be administered in a fair and reasonable manner.  The instructional leader must remember that he/she is there to serve as an advocate for all children.  My entire internship as well as my teaching career, I was able to master the competency.  This was not difficult since I always practice integrity, fairness and am ethical in all situations.



 
Week 3, Part 2:  Reflections on Domain II Competencies 4-7

Domain II

Competency 004 - The principal knows how to facilitate the design and implementation of curricula and strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment of curriculum, instruction, resources, and assessment; and promote the use of varied assessments to measure student performance.

As an instructional leader it is important to monitor students’ progress thru student’s learning, the quality of the student’s work, and the degree of implementation of teaching and learning strategies through multiple data sources.  Through the course of this competency, I found myself to be extremely data driven.  The use of a variety of assessment and the observation approach to collect evidence of learning is an important factor where analyzing the data is needed.   Reflection should be given to the curricular and strategic plan on a regular basis when reviewing data so that any adjustments needed can be made immediately.    

Throughout the year I spent over 40 hours working on this competency.  I continuously attended professional development on analyzing data and collaborating on how to improve student achievement in deficit areas.  I also provided trainings to the math department on materials that I learned at district and out of district staff development.  I also lead the search on finding more resources to implement the strategies to improve student achievement for the campus. 

 

Competency 005 - The principal knows how to advocate, nurture, and sustain an instructional program and a campus culture that are conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

During the course of my internship, I not only worked as part of the campus and discipline committee to improve student achievement but I also worked as an interventionist for underachieving students.  I worked with the students that were not successful on district benchmarks every six weeks to help improve the gaps in academics these students needed.  I was also responsible for finding the best resource of intervention that was beneficial to each student. 

I also had the opportunity to be a part of my campus’s Professional Learning Community. In PLC, we collaborated, shared and communicated on great ideas to use in the learning environment.  Facilitate the development of professional learning communities to support instructional improvement and change is important to the nurture of a good staff.  By analyzing the instructional needs and allocating resources effectively and equitably to the teacher, the student’s needs are met.  Overall this improves the campus culture in the goal of improving student achievement. 

 

Competency 006 - The principal know how to implement a staff evaluation and development system to improve the performance of all staff members, select and implement appropriate models for supervision and staff development, and apply the legal requirements for human resource management.

PDAS is the instrument tool used to evaluate teachers in my district.  During my internship, I was warranted the opportunity to participate in doing various teachers evaluations by doing walkthroughs.  Prior approval from participating teachers was given before the walkthroughs.  A few teachers allowed me to sit in on their final evaluation and summative with the principal.  It was a great experience because I saw the great deal of experience a principal has in the competency.

Also in this competency, I was able to sit in on the interview committee.  I was able to see the process of how new teachers were selected and all of the criteria behind it.  I was actually given the opportunity to give feedback and suggestions on the qualifications and opinions of applicants.  My opinion, as well as the others on the committee, was vital to the selection of the new teachers.  It was important to select someone that was qualified and fits with the current campus culture. 

 

Competency 007 - The principal knows how to apply organizational, decision-making, and problem solving skills to ensure an effective learning environment.

An instructional leader has to possess skills in organization, decision making and problem solving to have an effective learning environment.  Continuous professional development is the way to keep current with these skills.  Staff development is a process that seeks to promote professional and individual growth and development for all stakeholders.  Staff development activities should be research based, mission and vision driven, quality activities that are meant to lead to high levels of student learning. 

My internship has provided my opportunity for me to demonstrate my abilities to manage group of students, parents, and staff to ensure the maintenance of an effective learning environment.    One of the activities I spent some time was serving on the district improvement committee and conducting a comprehensive needs assessment.  This committee examined data for curriculum, instruction, and assessment.  Overall, a principal must possess great problem solving and decision making skills to guide and lead the campus to a path of student success.