Standard 3: Ensuring effective management of the organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment
An education leader promotes the success of every student by ensuring management of the organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
Reflections of learning environment management/budget
To successfully manage a learning environment a school leader must assure that the school is safe, efficient, and effective. To create a safe school the principal assures there is plenty of supervision in the halls before school, after school, and during lunch and passing periods. They also assure that classroom teachers are teaching safe procedures in their classrooms and monitoring students. Rules are set to provide expectations for no fighting, bullying, or sexual harassment, and positive relationships are modeled and expected.
To create an efficient and effective learning environment a school leader ....
Building Needs Assessment
In my current building things are in pretty good shape. There are a few things that need some attention, and they are as follows...
Just recently our district started expecting us as teachers to write and post learning targets for each class in our classroom each day. Although many teachers were doing things similar to that, it was a big enough change that it caused a lot of griping and growing pains. First of all we were asked to watch a video about learning targets and practice writing them during a PLC meeting. The next week for our PLC meetings all of the teachers in our district met together and our principal explained more about Learning Targets. We watched another video, and then he explained to us his expectations. We were asked to write down our learning targets and submit them at the beginning of each week and to post them for each class each day in our rooms. It was an interesting staff meeting because I felt as if our staff were almost attacking our new principal. Most of them had valid questions, but others had rude comments and bad attitudes. The principal handled the questions well, and has held us to his expectations. He comes into our classrooms looking for the learning targets, but one time he yelled at a teacher in front of their students for not posting them.
Most of the teachers feel the training received was inadequate, and would like to read more of the research so they can really understand why learning targets are so important. Other teachers feel like it is just one more thing to do, and have had a hard time with the transition. Some teachers realize it is a good thing, and are excited to improve learning in their classrooms. That is how I feel even though I’m not perfect at writing learning targets.
Although there are several good things that my principal did as he instigated learning targets in our school, I will focus on what would have improved the process. First of all, it is important for teachers to understand whole-heartedly why learning targets are important. I think our administrators should have done a better job of presenting the research and made sure everyone understood why we are doing it, and that it has been a proven method of improving instruction. Secondly, many feel as if the whole thing was just thrown on us, so I feel the human relations part was missing which in turn made it more difficult for many teachers to buy into the change. “Effective principals lead through persuasion and influence, and must have an ability to communicate accurately and concisely for achieving quality outcomes. Good human relations skills are central to motivating people, attaining their cooperation and sustaining their unity and commitment. Principals have to build strong communication networks among their staff to minimize misunderstanding and conflict and to maximize trust and credibility” (Hackman, Schmitt-Oliver, & Tracy, pg. 98). In this sense I believe our motivation to cooperate would have improved and we would have been more committed to the change and had less misunderstanding if our administration had more credibility in the eyes of the teachers. To be fair, our principal is new this year, so being a new principal it would have been critical for our principal to “engage the parents and teachers in the decision-making process” (pg. 99). This would have helped with buy-in, and getting more opinions on the process could have only improved it.
Lastly, I believe we need to be rewarding the teachers who are doing a good job, and recognizing their efforts. This will bring a positive spin on the whole thing. Good examples of learning targets could be shared at staff meetings, and teachers could share success stories. As this is done the whole process of creating and posting learning targets should be discussed in light of our mission and vision statements so teachers know that as we fulfill this assignment we are helping to fulfill the schools mission and vision. These are the ways the I would have improved our instigation of learning targets.
Hackman, D. G., Schmitt-Oliver, D. M., & Tracy, J. C. (2002). The Standards-Based Administrative Internship Putting the ISLLC Standards Into Practice. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Standard 3 Reflection Log:
Wow, there is so much that I have learned these past two months. My most impactful experience was a mentor conference my school sent me to. I had won a free registration to a principal mentoring training put on by NAESP in Austin, Texas. I was excited to go, but didn’t know what to expect. It ended up being the best conference I have ever been to. We used the book Leading Learning Communities and learned what it takes to be a good mentor. I was the only teacher at the conference, so I got to meet, learn from, and connect with 22 principals and district leaders from around the country. I learned about each of the ISLLC standards and gained insight from everybody’s (650+ total years) experience in education. We discussed issues and hardships that first year principal’s experience and how to guide them as a mentor. With regards to standard 3 I learned strategies of improving rigor and effectively managing a school environment. It was inspiring to see how many good dedicated people there are from all over the country. Those I met are so passionate and dedicate their lives, talents and strengths to education. We spent time discussing how important it is to build on and use the strengths of each individual in your school, staff, and community. Efficiency in an organization is vastly improved when a school leader recognizes the strengths of their teachers, assistants, secretaries, and gives them opportunities to shine. As a leader I learned that I must recognize my areas of weakness and get people on my team who can help me in those areas. My top 5 strengths are learner, strategic, belief, futuristic, and focus. I need to beware of getting so focused on tasks that I forget to take time to build vital relationships and celebrate success. It will also be vital to have an organized secretary and a team of teachers who will help me stay on top of issues that are affecting our school.
My participation and leadership in a committee to create an induction and mentoring program in our school district continues to be a success. It has been such a valuable experience to participate with a team of teachers and administrators in the creation of these programs because it has helped me to see the power of many minds coming together in one cause. After each meeting we leave with to do lists and create the necessary documents. We formally met with our superintendent and presented our work to him. We will have one more meeting to clean things up and finalize our plans and mentoring booklet before presenting our program to our staff and school board. We discussed creating a board policy, but opted to have discussions about our mentor program become part of our school board meetings 2 to 3 times a year. Once to report on who has been chosen as the mentors for the following year, once to report on progress half-way through the year, and once to discuss changes that need to be made to the program at the conclusion of each school year. It is nice seeing what it takes to create a strong program. We are really cognizant of what it will take for this program to be sustainable from year to year. We don’t want it to be one more thing we start that fizzles out in a few years. We have also had a lot of discussion about how much a mentor should be paid for their time. We ended up adding up the hours they would most likely spend as a mentor and giving that figure, which ended up being 50 hours to our superintendent so he can decide on how much their stipend would be.
I have been in contact with our building and grounds manager and he is going to allow me to take part in a building and grounds assessment. The nice thing is that he needs to do one anyway, and the work I do will reflect in their plans and timelines for the upcoming years. I know that having a safe and nice environment really is important to effective learning. I
Lastly, we have realized the need to totally revamp and renew our student and staff handbooks. A lot of information is outdated, and the handbooks aren’t very complete. It has been valuable to assess what is missing, confusing, or needs updated so that teachers and stunts know exactly what is expected for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
Overall I am learning so much about what it takes to be a great leader. Currently I am taking an organizational leadership class and it is helping me to internalize leadership principles. Every time I study research articles on leadership styles it allows me to reflect on leaders I have known in my life and what helped them to be effective. It also gives me a lot of time to reflect on my leadership skills. I am learning that I have a lot of good qualities that will help me be a good leader, but I am also learning about what I need to improve and do differently to transform those I lead and empower them for success.
To successfully manage a learning environment a school leader must assure that the school is safe, efficient, and effective. To create a safe school the principal assures there is plenty of supervision in the halls before school, after school, and during lunch and passing periods. They also assure that classroom teachers are teaching safe procedures in their classrooms and monitoring students. Rules are set to provide expectations for no fighting, bullying, or sexual harassment, and positive relationships are modeled and expected.
To create an efficient and effective learning environment a school leader ....
Building Needs Assessment
In my current building things are in pretty good shape. There are a few things that need some attention, and they are as follows...
- Need to update bathrooms and clean walls and ceilings.
- Need to power-wash outside bricks to clean off hard water stains from the sprinklers
- Need to finish light-posts on building entrances.
- Updates to the bus barn
- Fix floor in art room
- Repair holes in walls from old heaters
Just recently our district started expecting us as teachers to write and post learning targets for each class in our classroom each day. Although many teachers were doing things similar to that, it was a big enough change that it caused a lot of griping and growing pains. First of all we were asked to watch a video about learning targets and practice writing them during a PLC meeting. The next week for our PLC meetings all of the teachers in our district met together and our principal explained more about Learning Targets. We watched another video, and then he explained to us his expectations. We were asked to write down our learning targets and submit them at the beginning of each week and to post them for each class each day in our rooms. It was an interesting staff meeting because I felt as if our staff were almost attacking our new principal. Most of them had valid questions, but others had rude comments and bad attitudes. The principal handled the questions well, and has held us to his expectations. He comes into our classrooms looking for the learning targets, but one time he yelled at a teacher in front of their students for not posting them.
Most of the teachers feel the training received was inadequate, and would like to read more of the research so they can really understand why learning targets are so important. Other teachers feel like it is just one more thing to do, and have had a hard time with the transition. Some teachers realize it is a good thing, and are excited to improve learning in their classrooms. That is how I feel even though I’m not perfect at writing learning targets.
Although there are several good things that my principal did as he instigated learning targets in our school, I will focus on what would have improved the process. First of all, it is important for teachers to understand whole-heartedly why learning targets are important. I think our administrators should have done a better job of presenting the research and made sure everyone understood why we are doing it, and that it has been a proven method of improving instruction. Secondly, many feel as if the whole thing was just thrown on us, so I feel the human relations part was missing which in turn made it more difficult for many teachers to buy into the change. “Effective principals lead through persuasion and influence, and must have an ability to communicate accurately and concisely for achieving quality outcomes. Good human relations skills are central to motivating people, attaining their cooperation and sustaining their unity and commitment. Principals have to build strong communication networks among their staff to minimize misunderstanding and conflict and to maximize trust and credibility” (Hackman, Schmitt-Oliver, & Tracy, pg. 98). In this sense I believe our motivation to cooperate would have improved and we would have been more committed to the change and had less misunderstanding if our administration had more credibility in the eyes of the teachers. To be fair, our principal is new this year, so being a new principal it would have been critical for our principal to “engage the parents and teachers in the decision-making process” (pg. 99). This would have helped with buy-in, and getting more opinions on the process could have only improved it.
Lastly, I believe we need to be rewarding the teachers who are doing a good job, and recognizing their efforts. This will bring a positive spin on the whole thing. Good examples of learning targets could be shared at staff meetings, and teachers could share success stories. As this is done the whole process of creating and posting learning targets should be discussed in light of our mission and vision statements so teachers know that as we fulfill this assignment we are helping to fulfill the schools mission and vision. These are the ways the I would have improved our instigation of learning targets.
Hackman, D. G., Schmitt-Oliver, D. M., & Tracy, J. C. (2002). The Standards-Based Administrative Internship Putting the ISLLC Standards Into Practice. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Standard 3 Reflection Log:
Wow, there is so much that I have learned these past two months. My most impactful experience was a mentor conference my school sent me to. I had won a free registration to a principal mentoring training put on by NAESP in Austin, Texas. I was excited to go, but didn’t know what to expect. It ended up being the best conference I have ever been to. We used the book Leading Learning Communities and learned what it takes to be a good mentor. I was the only teacher at the conference, so I got to meet, learn from, and connect with 22 principals and district leaders from around the country. I learned about each of the ISLLC standards and gained insight from everybody’s (650+ total years) experience in education. We discussed issues and hardships that first year principal’s experience and how to guide them as a mentor. With regards to standard 3 I learned strategies of improving rigor and effectively managing a school environment. It was inspiring to see how many good dedicated people there are from all over the country. Those I met are so passionate and dedicate their lives, talents and strengths to education. We spent time discussing how important it is to build on and use the strengths of each individual in your school, staff, and community. Efficiency in an organization is vastly improved when a school leader recognizes the strengths of their teachers, assistants, secretaries, and gives them opportunities to shine. As a leader I learned that I must recognize my areas of weakness and get people on my team who can help me in those areas. My top 5 strengths are learner, strategic, belief, futuristic, and focus. I need to beware of getting so focused on tasks that I forget to take time to build vital relationships and celebrate success. It will also be vital to have an organized secretary and a team of teachers who will help me stay on top of issues that are affecting our school.
My participation and leadership in a committee to create an induction and mentoring program in our school district continues to be a success. It has been such a valuable experience to participate with a team of teachers and administrators in the creation of these programs because it has helped me to see the power of many minds coming together in one cause. After each meeting we leave with to do lists and create the necessary documents. We formally met with our superintendent and presented our work to him. We will have one more meeting to clean things up and finalize our plans and mentoring booklet before presenting our program to our staff and school board. We discussed creating a board policy, but opted to have discussions about our mentor program become part of our school board meetings 2 to 3 times a year. Once to report on who has been chosen as the mentors for the following year, once to report on progress half-way through the year, and once to discuss changes that need to be made to the program at the conclusion of each school year. It is nice seeing what it takes to create a strong program. We are really cognizant of what it will take for this program to be sustainable from year to year. We don’t want it to be one more thing we start that fizzles out in a few years. We have also had a lot of discussion about how much a mentor should be paid for their time. We ended up adding up the hours they would most likely spend as a mentor and giving that figure, which ended up being 50 hours to our superintendent so he can decide on how much their stipend would be.
I have been in contact with our building and grounds manager and he is going to allow me to take part in a building and grounds assessment. The nice thing is that he needs to do one anyway, and the work I do will reflect in their plans and timelines for the upcoming years. I know that having a safe and nice environment really is important to effective learning. I
Lastly, we have realized the need to totally revamp and renew our student and staff handbooks. A lot of information is outdated, and the handbooks aren’t very complete. It has been valuable to assess what is missing, confusing, or needs updated so that teachers and stunts know exactly what is expected for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
Overall I am learning so much about what it takes to be a great leader. Currently I am taking an organizational leadership class and it is helping me to internalize leadership principles. Every time I study research articles on leadership styles it allows me to reflect on leaders I have known in my life and what helped them to be effective. It also gives me a lot of time to reflect on my leadership skills. I am learning that I have a lot of good qualities that will help me be a good leader, but I am also learning about what I need to improve and do differently to transform those I lead and empower them for success.