21 Competencies |
Narrative |
Communication: Effectively listens to others; clearly and effectively presents and understands information orally and in writing; acquires, organizes, analyzes, interprets, maintains information needed to achieve school or team 21st century objectives. |
Listening first--Seeking first to understand, then to be understood--has become the foundation from which I build all communication. In communicating, it is important that everyone receives the same information delivered in the same way. As such my preference for communicating is as follows: Emails: as written documentation the exact information that is communicated; a quick way to communicate with faculty without disrupting their day. Phone Calls: Are most appropriate for communicating messages to parents/caregivers; especially messages that could have a negative tone Face-to-Face: The most personal way to communicate Example Artifact: Email communication about requirement to watch bus videos. |
Change Management: Effectively engages staff and community in the change process in a manner that ensures their support of the change and its successful implementation. |
Change is inevitable, but change requires consistent communication with all stakeholders in order to manage the change process effectively. Example Artifact: Memo to staff about implementing a new protocol for PLTs--"Here's What, So What, Now What" |
Conflict Management: Anticipates or seeks to resolve confrontations, disagreements, or complaints in a constructive manner. |
When managing conflicts, it is important to remain listen, outline the facts, treat all parties in an equitable manner and utilize policy to support the decisions that are made. My preference is to always communicate with parents directly so that all news regarding disagreements is first communicated by a responsible adult. Parents should never hear first accounts of confrontations from their child. Example Artifact: Appropriately managing a situation when a parent came in to talk about her child being picked on. |
Creative Thinking: Engages in and fosters an environment for others to engage in innovative thinking. |
Rather than the typical meeting, it is important to think of ways to engage staff in decision-making at the school. This increases ownership of school initiatives and fosters a positive culture amongst our faculty. Example Artifact: "Garage Sale" Activities to assess those things that staff value, want to work on or want to eliminate. |
Customer Focus: Understands the students as customers of the work of schooling and the servant nature of leadership and acts accordingly. |
Our primary stakeholders are our students! Every improvement and interaction should be with their best interest as a priority. Impacting student achievement and preparing students to become productive citizens is our business and responsibility. Example Artifact: I created a teacher evaluation "Cheat Sheet" to document the instructional practices observed in the classroom. This ensures that the focus is on quality of instruction to impact student achievement in the classroom. |
Delegation: Effectively assigns work tasks to others in ways that provide learning experiences for them and in ways that ensure the efficient operation of the school. |
When the expertise of a specialist is necessary, I defer to the appropriate party. This is necessary to maintain the structure of "the way things work" at West Greene Elementary. Example Artifact: Communication with counselor/social worker to talk to a student who threatened to harm others. |
Dialogue/Inquiry: Is skilled in creating a risk free environment for engaging people in conversations that explore issues, challenges or bad relationships that are hindering school performance. |
Taking time to build relationships is important when leading any organization, especially a school. A safe space is a crucial element in seeking open and honest dialogue with stakeholders--parents, colleagues and employees. Examples Artifact: We perfected the art of creating a safe space at our retreat at Franklinton Center at Bricks, understanding our own biases, those of others and the importance of treating stakeholders in an equitable manner. |
Emotional Intelligence: Is able to manage oneself through self awareness and self management and is able to manage relationships through empathy, social awareness and relationship management. This competency is critical to building strong, transparent, trusting relationships throughout the school community. |
We had the opportunity to take part in the Leadership Dynamics in Practice (LDiP) training, facilitated by BB&T. I took time to create a leadership "vision board", examine the frame from which I operate as a school leader, consider the impact I want to have as a principal, and what motivates me--and likely others--to accomplish the important work of managing a school. Example artifact: You may read about components of the program here: http://www.bbtleadershipinstitute.com/programs.php |
Environmental Awareness: Becomes aware and remains informed of external and internal trends, interests and issues with potential impacts on school policies, practices, procedures and positions. |
It is important to stay abreast of the latest events that could impact the work that we facilitate as school leaders. I intend to operate as a transparent leader, who supports those instructional practices, policies ad procedures that are in the best interest of our students! This means remaining vigilant of the things happening inside our building as well as those things that occur outside of the physical space that we conduct day-to-day operations within. Example artifact: Walkthrough schedule and feedback to teachers; post conferences as opportunities to discuss best practices. Additionally, district, state and federal policy and the things that we have to do to remain in compliance. |
Global Perspective: Understands the competitive nature of the new global economy and is clear about the knowledge and skills students will need to be successful in this economy. |
As a school administrator, one of my responsibilities is to make sure that we facilitate opportunities for students to grow both academically and socially such that they acquire the skills necessary to function as productive citizens. The things that we accomplish today affects their tomorrow! Sometimes this means monitoring teaching practices to ensure that students get what they need to succeed. Example artifact: An example of a monitored plan for a teacher in order to ensure student achievement. |
Judgment: Effectively reaching logical conclusions and making high quality decisions based on available information. Giving priority and caution to significant issues. Analyzing and interpreting complex information. |
As a member of the School Improvement Team, we have to make decisions about what the focus should be to positively impact our school. Example artifact: Minutes from SIT meeting when we adopted new indicators of focus. |
Organizational Ability: Effectively plans and schedules one’s own and the work of others so that resources are used appropriately, such as scheduling the flow of activities and establishing procedures to monitor projects. |
Sometimes, it is necessary to carve out time during the school day so that teachers can have benefit from professional development without it being a burden upon their time after school or upon the lessons that they have planned for their students. Example artifact: I had the opportunity to schedule subs so that each grade level (2nd and 3rd) could participate in PD sessions. We utilized the time to treat the teachers to a baked potato lunch. I called it "Spud Thursday!" |
Personal Responsibility for Performance: Proactively and continuously improves performance by focusing on needed areas of improvement and enhancement of strengths; actively seeks and effectively applies feedback from others; takes full responsibility for one’s own achievements. |
It is important to be able to analyze where one excels as a leader and areas in which they need improvement. I am always open to feedback on my performance and welcome the opportunity to show improvements over time. As a fellow of the NCLA at NC State University, we had the opportunity to participate in numerous specialized trainings to mold our thinking about school leadership and enhance our leadership qualities. As a lifelong learner, I will continue to seek out opportunities to positively affect my ability to lead a school. Example artifact: This is the link to a list of the trainings that I have had an opportunity to participate in. |
Responsiveness: Does not leave issues, inquiries or requirements for information unattended. Creates a clearly delineated structure for responding to requests/ situations in an expedient manner. |
Just as teachers establish routines within their classroom, school administrators must establish routines within their school. I will establish routines at the start of the school year so that teachers are aware of the procedures that will occur in various situations. Our school handbook is utilized as a tangible place to document procedures and expectations. Face-to-face meetings, newsletters, and emails will be utilized to convey whole-group messages that need to be communicated to staff members. Example artifact: I sent an email to teachers outlining the requirement for students to watch bus safety videos and participate in bus evacuation drills. |
Results Orientation: Effectively assumes responsibility. Recognizes when a decision is required. Takes prompt action as issues emerge. Resolves short-term issues while balancing them against long-term goals. |
As a member of the NCLA cohort at NC State University, formative assessment days have given me the opportunity to make practice decision-making within a time-restricted period, determining which issues take priority, which need to be delegated and which ones can be responded to at a later time. Example artifact: I included a video of a mock-phone call that I addressed. It is interesting to watch this video and see how I have evolved in how I would respond. I guess practice does make perfect! |
Sensitivity: Effectively perceives the needs and concerns of others; deal tactfully with others in emotionally stressful situations or in conflict. Knows what information to communicate and to whom. Relates to people of varying ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. |
Through my residency experiences, I have been immersed in materials and experiences that have laid the groundwork for how I interact with others. I believe in treating others in an equitable manner at all times, regardless to ethnic, cultural, or religious differences. Our retreat at Franklinton Center at Bricks gave a peek into how people receive others and how personal biases impact our ability to be effective leaders. Example artifact: A magnolia tree stands at Bricks where a whipping post once stood. We must treat everyone with the same respect that we want to receive. Listening an remaining tactful in all situations are arts of the craft. |
Systems Thinking: Understands the Interrelationships and impacts of school and district influences, systems and external stakeholders, and applies that understanding to advancing the achievement of the school or team. |
Both internal and external systems must be utilized to impact school achievement. We must keep district and external leaders abreast of and involved in happenings at the school level by inviting them to see the great things that are happening at our school and remaining visible via social mediums such as Twitter. In order to benefit from internal systems, we have to know our team, be mindful of the skills/talents of our team members and utilize those skills to impact the staff as a whole by coordinating PD sessions and/or peer observation teams to give each other constructive feedback. Example artifact: Utilizing 3rd grade teachers to remediate each others students in preparation for the EOG and utilizing staff members who are good at conveying a message and generating support to charter PBIS at West Greene. |
Technology: Effectively utilizes the latest technologies to continuously improve the management of the school and enhance student instruction. |
It is important to utilize technology that will keep our students, parents, and community members informed about what is happening at our school. Hence, Twitter, SeeSaw and Remind have become popular ways to communicate with stakeholders. Example artifact: Power Announcement sent out to parents/caregivers about the "Gobble 'til you Wobble" fundraiser. |
Time Management: Effectively uses available time to complete work tasks and activities that lead to the achievement of desired work or school results. Runs effective meetings. |
We must adopt practices which utilize the limited time we have within a school year effectively. Example artifact: Adoption of a new PLT protocol to run efficient meetings and drive data-informed instruction. |
Visionary: Encourages Imagineering by creating an environment and structure to capture stakeholders dreams of what the school could become for all the students. |
It is important that we foster a school culture that motivates both adults and students to be passionate about our cause both as educators and as students. Sometimes, this means having difficult conversations to identify potential roadblocks to the school that we envision. Example artifact: Special guest, Tara Brown, came to Greene County Schools to facilitate some of those conversations. The key that was lost here is follow-up and/or extension activities to extend the work on culture within each school. |