Week One Part Two

Rebecca Prentice

EDLD 5399 Week One, Part 2:

Section A:  Position Goal

Career positions that I would like to pursue would be that of an assistant superintendent or director.  I do not feel I am ready for the job of superintendent without serving in one of these positions first.  I have been reviewing jobs on TASA, and the ones that appeal to me include a director in a large urban district or an assistant superintendent in a small to medium size district.  The job in the urban district appeals to me for a variety of reasons.  In order for me to grow as an educator, I believe it would be helpful to be in a position where I have the least experience.  A large urban district could provide that for me since I have relatively no experience in that area.  I could learn about issues I have never had to address:  management of a large number of schools, extensive diversity, economies of scale, etc.  The position of an assistant superintendent in a smaller district also appeals to me.  Having experienced the blessing of working at a large, competitive, and highly successful high school, I have a stronger foundation for working in a smaller district as an assistant superintendent.  While I understand that the learning curve would still be steep, I believe it would not be a huge transition for me to make.  I have served on many committees that deal with bond, facilities, technology, human resources, and policies. The positions I have held to date have prepared me for the next step.  I served as a math teacher in a middle school, a junior high school and three different high schools. My role as a department chair for a small department and for a larger department has prepared me for working with a team toward a common goal.  I was fortunate enough to open a new high school as a department chair.  I have served as an assistant principal at the high school level, moving to a principal of a middle school, and eventually to my role now as a principal of a high school.  As principal of the middle school, I experienced the excitement and frustrations of construction with a bond package.  As principal of the high school, I have experienced another construction phase in addition to serving on many committees which include, but are not limited to, policy review, interviews for key district positions, budget committees, strategic planning, bond committees and leadership.  I have had the fortune of learning from The Academy of the National Staff Development Council, TSDC, TASSP, as well as serving on the Board of Directors for TASSP.  These learning opportunities, coupled with my online learning experiences with Lamar, have helped me become a stronger leader who is more informed and knowledgeable about issues in education that can help our students be more successful.  

Leadership Goal

I have often asked myself the question “why do I want to lead?”  I ask myself this question most often when I am struggling with an issue that doesn’t seem to have an easy answer.  Perhaps it is because I struggle with these issues that I feel I must lead.  If I leave decisions and actions for others, I would feel I have not done my part to improve conditions for all. 

I truly believe that serving as an educator is a calling.  Not everyone can do it.  Not everyone should do it.  There are days when I’m not even sure I should be following the call.  It is only through my faith that I believe there is a purpose for my answering the call.  My prayer is that I make a difference in someone’s life because of the decisions I make and the way I lead.  I am humbled by the opportunity to make that difference and, through my leadership, allow others to make a difference.  I have been blessed by observing and learning from some of the best educators and leaders I know.  I have learned from them and been mentored by them.  They have provided me with outstanding opportunities to learn and grow and give back. 

As a leader, I hope to accomplish motivating others to lead.  I am a very collaborative leader.  I realize that can be frustrating to some, but I truly believe that ownership in decisions provides motivation to succeed.  I believe that through collaborating, people learn conflict management skills, presentation skills, and gain greater perspective on issues.  I would hope that others gain confidence, learn more about the issues, and use that knowledge to help create change for improvement. 

The accomplishments during my internship that have prepared me to lead school improvement are more internal than external.  I have grown in my understanding of the delicate relationship between the board and the Superintendent.  I have gained a stronger appreciation of having a competent team to provide their leadership in areas of finance, policy, human resources and facilities.  My observations of and conversations with the superintendent about the various political, community, and media arena that he must juggle have made me realize the importance of strong communication skills, strong ethics, and time management.  I believe that these internal reflections will help me become a better leader and stronger advocate for school improvement. 

EDLD 5399 Reflection of Self-Assessment

Becky Prentice

Reflection for Week One, EDLD 5399

Self Assessment Reflection on 10 Competencies

“The more I know, the more I realize I don’t know.”  I’m not sure where I read or heard this statement before, but I truly feel it captures the essence of my learning about the role of a superintendent.  In my previous Self Assessment, I scored myself fairly high on many of the competencies.  I read through my reflection as I began these courses, and I believe that reflection accurately described my strengths and areas for improvement.  As I took this assessment last night, I was not quite as generous with my S (strength) scoring. 

Overall, I provided scores that accurately reflect that I am a competent candidate for a superintendent position, but that I am still in need of opportunities to grow.  In Domain One, Competency Area One, I moved from scoring myself S in all categories to realizing that I am competent in monitoring, applying laws and interacting with the community, but I still have room to grow in these areas.  Monitoring becomes such a huge task that I would want to continue to seek the assistance of others.  I realize more and more the importance of having a member of my staff who is familiar with law, policies and procedures.  While I have many years of experience, most of that comes from an educational perspective.  I believe input on how the laws apply can be extremely helpful to a Superintendent. My scores in Competency Area Two are fairly consistent with my previous scores.  I believe this shows that I am aware of my areas of growth opportunity which predominantly include facilitation of vision, monitoring (again) and allocation of resources.  Competency Area 3 scores indicate this is an area I thought I knew well, but have now lost some confidence.  Perhaps the struggles our district experienced with the legislative session provided a chance for me to understand the importance of articulation of the importance of education, strong channels of communication with the media and parents, and having a pulse on the perceptions and political pieces of a superintendent job.  It seemed that every time I met with the Superintendent, I was reminded of the fragile nature of board relations.  These board relations translate quickly to community and family relations.  The same can be said for my responses to Competency Area 4.  In fact, I indicated much lower scores in almost every domain in this area.  The political, legal and economic contexts are areas where I believe I have the most to learn.  This class has certainly made me aware of the importance of working with the board, providing leadership in defining those roles, and communicating effectively with them.  This was the area in the initial assessment where I indicated I had the most to learn as well.  While I believe I have learned more, I need more assurances and practice in this area. 

I remain confident in my instructional leadership, which is indicated in Domain II.  Again, as I observed the role of the superintendent more and more, I realized that my global perspective could use more support.  I am very confident in the instructional leadership involved in a campus.  As our district implemented a new strategic plan, incorporating some very bold goals about moving from a teacher platform to a learning platform, I came to appreciate the importance of thinking about the curriculum and resources for all levels of learning.  As a result, I moved from almost all S scores to many more C scores.  I look forward to an opportunity to expand my experiences with PK- 16 learning.  In Competency Six of this area, I continue to see a strength in facilitating rigor, relevance and analysis of instructional programs while allocation of resources and development of change processes continue to challenge me.  Competency Seven illustrates that my strengths are still in the collaboration and delivery of presentations, but that my learning about comprehensive plans and evaluation models could use support. 

The last Domain dealing with budgets, physical plants and compliance with federal and state requirements represent the areas where I felt I grew the most during these classes.  I knew going into these classes that I had limited exposure to these topics.  Through these classes, along with serving on several committees in the district as a part of my internship, I gained knowledge about finances, facilities and environments.  I still do not feel overly competent in the recognizing and working with the political influences and understanding the various building codes, but I have a greater appreciation for hiring people or finding contacts who can help in my understanding of these topics. 

Overall, I believe my knowledge of these different competencies has grown.  I am also realistic in understanding that I have much more to learn.