Leadership
PSEL Standard 1: "develop, advocate, and enact a shared mission, vision, and core values of high-quality education and academic success and well-being of each student."
PSEL Standard 2 : "act ethically and according to professional norms to promote each student's academic success and well-being."
"The real role of leadership in education... is not and should not be command and control. The real role of leadership is climate control, creating a climate of possibility."
~ Ken Robinson
I began the journey toward education leadership largely because of the crisis revealed through the pandemic - not the crisis caused by the pandemic. I began to wonder why few students demonstrated the resiliency necessary to overcome the obstacles they faced, and in turn, I started to consider that it is because we, as educators, have not provided them with challenges to help them build that resilience.
I am wired to help others and ask lots of questions. Throughout the last two years, I began taking an active role in building and district leadership both before and during my internship. As one of the few people who understood how to administer our Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas, I began holding trainings, developing standardized templates, meeting with leadership to determine best practices, and developing standards. Diving in to help in this way and maintaining an active membership in KNEA led to opportunities for advocacy in several committees: Medical Advisory Committee, Pandemic Response Committee, ESSER III Committee, and the Internal Communications Committee.
As I engaged in my internship, it became evident that there is very little time during the typical work day to attend to everything, so organization and time management are essential for success - so is growing leadership in others and trusting myself enough to delegate things that should be delegated. This is a growth area for me as I typically prefer not to lean on others.
Artifact 1
Some people wait to be asked - I've always been a person who jumps right in with both feet and contributes wherever I can to help however I am able.
This has led to me being seen as an informal leader in every building I've worked in, whether it be because of my expertise with technology, my passion for doing the right thing for students, or the fact that I am nearly always willing to set aside what I'm working on to lend an empathetic ear.
Since starting at Manhattan High School, I've improved our processes for collecting data for IEP meetings across the SPED department and aligned our practices and procedures for goal writing with state law.
I also work closely with the advisory committee to ensure students have access to all advisory lessons even if they are absent.
The link above is to the standardized form I created for the MHS SPED department. It took a while for all SPED teachers to accept that using it was the right thing to do, and the feedback from general education teachers has been 100% positive - which is further evidenced by the higher input rate from those teachers.
Artifact 2
April Faculty Meeting:
Manhattan High School holds a monthly faculty meeting both on Zoom and in person. I worked with my building administrator to develop the key points for the meeting. I led both meetings. This video is of the first meeting held on the afternoon of April 4th, 2022.
Reflections from this meeting - ensure you are monitoring the chat so you know when there is a problem. In person, you can see what others see, but not necessarily when there is a problem with a virtual meeting.
I received positive feedback from teachers and administrators after this meeting. I was much more comfortable in the Zoom than I was in person - which is always the case for me and will require more practice before comfort can be established.
Artifact 3
Because of my interest in leadership, I was invited to our district's meeting with the KESA Outside Visitation Team.
When the director of teaching and learning invited me, she explained that it would be a discussion about where we are and where we want to go for the final year of this accreditation cycle (2022-2023).
Small groups attended throughout the day, each sharing a piece of how are district is working toward our strategic plan.
This was an awesome experience as I learned how each team contributes to the vision and mission of the district.
Throughout the meeting we reflected on how our goals were written and considered whether they were still a reflection of where we want to move and grow in our district.
The link above is the itinerary for the meeting.
MeetingGuide20222023.pdfArtifact 4
I have attended all but two school board meetings since August 2021. Through attendance in these meetings, I have learned about everything from construction to the special events happening at each school. The most valuable information has come in the form of community comments and school board member comments.
I am impressed at the number of community members who have chosen to share their ideas, frustrations, and praise for our school district. I also find it helpful to fully understand how our school board members feel about a particular issue. Their personal ideals and ideas are a reflection of what is happening in our community, in our schools, and in our classrooms. Understanding their thoughts can only help us to increase our understanding of how our practice affects the whole community.