Sunday

I'm not sure if we were supposed to blog about Sunday, but I figure better safe than sorry. The day went quickly, I felt confident in how I did on the final and although I resisted the case studies at first I got something out of it.
I also liked the discussion about stress and burnout. I can see how this can happen to many teachers, and administators and it's important to have a grip on things when you're in this field.

Thanks for another good semester! Happy Holidays everyone!

Last Sunday

I found the information on Stress very interesting. Though we all experience stress, we all handle it differently. We need to be aware of not only the stressful triggers in our own life, but also what we can do to help reduce stress in the lives of our staff members. We need to have critical conversations with staff members on what things in the job might be pushing them too much, but we also need to learn how to push enough. Life really is all about balance. Sometimes we will get off balance and we have to know the people in our lives that can help to bring us back. I have appreciated the friendships that have been built in this program and know that we will continue to have those relationships as we move onto the next phase of our profession. Thank you all!

Saturday

On Saturday I was really interested in the information that Lori and Kelly shared. Realizing that we can have a plan for the unexpected things we will experience as administrators. Dealing with the death of a student is a devastating event and one that I hope none of us will have to go through. My hope is that we will see the myriad of resources both inside and outside or our buildings and that we will work to establish quality relationships with those resources so that it will benefit not only our school but our entire community as well.

Sunday

First off, congrats again to all those who have finished up the EDL program! This class taught me so much about school personnel. The hiring process has been made clear to me and the effectiveness of hiring the right person for the right building culture makes sense. Administrators face a wide variety of situations throughout their daily schedules; and I think learning about Situational Leadership informed me of how situations will be handled differently based on the circumstances. Great class -very beneficial.

Sunday December 12-12-10

During our presentations on Sunday I gained lots of new information regarding cooperative teaching and professional learning communities. I also learned some new information about "sexting" and what schools today are doing about the problem of sexting within their schools. My group was asked to decide what educators should do regarding the situation. Should their be a school policy banning "sexting"? We did not come up for an answer for this problem. We all agreed that something must be done to protect school administrators stuck in these situations as a situation was shared where an administrator was charged with child pornography because he took a student's cell phone and was exposed to "sexting" therefore leading to charges. I personally do not feel that a policy will prevent the problem in schools!

Last of the last

Just wanted to give a shout out to all of you who are posting your last of the last assignments for all of your master's!! My final posting is a thought or two on the final presentations---lots of good stuff! I really wish we could've all heard the information on collective bargaining and negotiations, as I feel completely ignorant on that topic. I guess because I've never been involved on the teacher side of negotiations even, I feel underprepared for any role I may have in the negotiations process as an administrator.

EDL 522 - ILES

I feel that this was an effective class.  I enjoyed the mock interview.  That took a lot of scheduling and preparation to get the interviewees there, but the time and effort was well worth it.  I feel that all of the in class assignments and group projects were relevant to the course goals.  That is not the case in many previous classes.  The class was pretty close knit and many people already knew each other which made the class more enjoyable and relaxed.  This course has better prepared me for the rigors of personnel management.

Grant Iles

December 12, 2010

I have really learned a lot from this course on personnel.  I feel much more prepared to deal with personnel issues that may arise from the things we talked about and the scenarios we worked through.  I now see how important hiring the right person is and investing in that person. Investments of your own time and energy, to support, train and evaluate personnel will help them to work towards the building mission. 

my last class, too

i never felt as good as when i pulled out of the parking lot after class on sunday. going through my mind was "goodbye western, if i ever come back, it won't be for a long, long time!" that feeling of joy lasted all of 2 hours when i realized that i had left my computer charging cord in the classroom. so back to wiu i went, only to find that the building was locked. so back to wiu today. these two trips taught me my lesson. when i received my bachelor's degree (from wiu) i never thought i would go back for another degree, much less to wiu. and now, many years later, here i am. i hope i enjoy the eds and phd programs! i guess it is inevitable.

as far as our class, i feel that this class was a good class to end with. many things that were covered in other classes helped me understand the topics in this class. i think the work i did with job descriptions will help me better when i start applying for jobs. i think i will be more aware everything in the job description, where as before, i might not have been as thorough.

the futures wheel was an activity that i actually used in a meeting with my principal today. we were discussing declining enrollment, so i went to the white board. it was really beneficial to have such a valuable tool.

as part of my internship, i am going to give a school culture survey. i wasn't sure what to include until we did our survey in class. in fact, many of the projects we did in class will be used by me in some fashion during my internship.

i really learned a lot from the people i was grouped with in the small group work. you all are great representatives of this program and will make great administrators. thank you for allowing me to learn from you.

while i didn't like the idea of taking a final exam, as i completed the exam i was able to reflect on what all i had learned in this class. we covered a lot of information. information that will make me a better administrator, some day.

Last Class too!!

I am also very happy to say that I have completed all classes but unfortunately unlike Jon it took me closer to 4 1/2 years to finish! As I wrap up this last class, I think there were very valid messages sent to me from my classes. Things that I think will never leave me are that nothing is black and white in administration. Regardless of policies, there will always be something that makes you step back and look at the situation and you may have to deal with it differently than another. I also think that when there is no one in harms way, waiting to make a decision and thinking about it is a very important thing to remember. Lastly even as administrators I think we need to reflect upon on our jobs and the decisions that have been made or how you handled a situation. It will help us to grow as professionals. To the classmates that I have had over the years, I truly can say as a teacher I would be honored to work under you. To all of my professors your knowledge and experience you have shared is truly priceless.

Class on 12-12-10

It was unfortunate that the weather was very questionable and the room very cold. The activity of determining what was appropriate in a job description/job advertisement was very eye opening. This is where the principal's knowledge of the law is important. Overall the principal's position carries with it many opportunities for going against legally acceptable procedures. Without the knowledge of law and acceptable procedures many principals could be found not in compliance with the law.  I just think there are many policies and procedures that a principal needs to know to be successful. To me this is a very daunting task.

Sunday, Dec 12th

I was unable to make it to Sunday's class due to a blizzard in southern Wisconsin. I deemed it a smarter decision to stay home and not risk death than to drive the 3-6 hours to Moline. Three years ago, I probably would have made the trip but this administrative program ahs helped me make better and more professional decisions. That being said, after changing my sons' fourth poop-filled diaper on Sunday I started to question my decision. I guess it's true, nothing is black or white. At least the heat was on at my house.

Saturday, Dec 11th

I thought Saturday's class was helpful. The group I was with did a really nice job with their presentations. Any discussions regarding RTI are helpful considering I have really no interaction with our Special Education Department. The hiring process flow chart helped me to remember the steps in the process. The future wheel was by far one of the best things we did in the class as far as something that stuck with me.

Last Class !!!

I can't believe that I am done. Three years ago it seemed like this day would never come. I enjoyed this masters program, I met alot of good people and wish everyone the best. Hopefully I will be able to find something to do with all of my free weekends. :)

Weekend 3 Day 1

I enjoyed the presentations, the people in my groups did a very good job. Emily and I ended up having the same topic, student-led conferences. I found Corry's topic on coaching to be very interesting. It sounds like he took the right approach by just observing teachers for the first few weeks. Tony presentation was on merit pay. This topic raised a few questions for me. Since I am a PE teacher how would the merit pay system benefit me?

last class

I still think one of the most beneficial assignments are when we look at different scenarios and how we would solve the problem. We did this when we looked at the school in need of a counselor. It is valuable to bounce ideas off of each other and to get different points of views. Some people may have already been in a situation like that therefore they may have some experience to help solve the issue.
While it will be nice to have my weekends back, it will be disappointing to not be able to see some people I have been taking classes with for the last 2 years. The program has always pushed for us to build relationships with other administrators when in the job; therefore, I hope we are all able to keep those connections alive.

weekend 3 day 2

The mentoring program was very interesting. My first job was straight into the fire. I did not even get a tour of the building. Had to find my room, office, and gym (it was the easiest to find) on my own. I had no direction, no objectives, and no mentor. I was not sure where I was going and had no clue how to get there. I remember being very frustrated but took the initiative to proceed on my own.
I also believe the conversations on climate and culture were interesting. After all, we control some of that our self and can help improve it each day.
LAST CLASS, LAST DAY

weekend 3 day 1

The presentations were very good. Everyone had a different topic and delivered a great deal of information. It was nice to see how schools are looking to improve in different ways. Being able to collect so many diverse ideas keeps the mind open to new areas. One of the points made with the presentations was how some of these ideas would be used once the concept was introduced to the staff. Usually we sit through some type of PD or have new concepts introduced only to have no follow through or evaluation of the program.
It was also quite interesting seeing how many monitors had up to date weather programs on them.

week 3 day 2

I really liked the discussion on stress.  I have been feeling lots of stress over the past few years and have had experiences will all three forms of stress and even with the factors of burnout that we talked about today. Being able to recognize those stressors is a huge advantage in combating and working through what is going on, so that the stress can be dealt with and eliminated.

Week 3 day 1

I really enjoyed the presentations that were given.  Many of the topics really made me think.  We had a presentation on student-led conferences, and even though we have student-led conferences at my school I don't always think that they are used effectively and could be done different.  After seeing the presentation that was given, I was able to come away with some ideas of how to change our conferences and ways to make them better, even if it is just in my own conferences. 

Week 3 Day 2

I just finished the final. My head is hurting as I reflect on all we discussed in EDL 522. I enjoyed the closure today as we talked about anticipatory stress. My learning was affected today by this type of stress: the drive home. Overall the stress of this blizzard is now over as I sit in my warm living room. Use this as an example in your classroom: when students are stressed or uncomfortable, learning is affected. Thanks to all for sharing their experiences, opinions, and knowledge of the topics we covered in class. Happy Holidays and good luck to those who have finished the program.

December 12 post

After reviewing some of the presentations that were highlighted, I noticed that my school district doesn't do alot of the newer ideas presently. Some factors or excuses that may contribute to the lack of introducing newer ideas or concepts is because the size of our school, the lack of revenue, and primarily the old addage of if it ain't broke, it doesn't need to be fixed. The majority of the teachers that presently teach at my school district have taught there for over 15 years and are resistant to change so in order to keep peace, I feel the administration in the past has stayed with the status quo. I think the mentoring program could be added because I remember feeling lost my first year or two of what was going on and why it was going on. The substitute program that was talked about would also save time and be more effeciate from the secretary saving time to the teachers caring what is being taught in their absents. I realize that the material presented in class is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of being a principal but its a start.

3rd weekend Day 2

Through the presentation today on mentoring as well as yesterdays group presentations it was clear that in our district we have a well-established program setup for first year teachers. As I went through it my first two years I was frustrated because I had already been teaching for two at another school but since I did not have my standard license yet I still had to go through the process. Mentoring was the number one priority in our district and it cause me to miss multiple practices as well. Looking back at the whole process its clear why a district has to be so strict in order to show the importance of the program. The important thing is if you are going to place that importance on it, then it needs to be well planned out and have meaning.

3rd weekend Day 1

During the presentation there were two presentations (standards based grading and student led conferences) that had me thinking if they were possible to implement at PVJH. Of the two, I think student-led conferences would be the more realistic change to be able to take place. There would be resistance to this because of the initial time and training on how to help students present their work to their parents. In the long run students would gain so much more from these conferences to help them continue to succeed the rest of the school year.

Weekend 3 Day 2

Although I was not at class today I just finished my final exam and it really made me think about several things. I enjoyed the questions about the pros and cons associated with each of the three types of communication. I am a person who is terrible about misinterpreting written communication. I am always worried that someone is mad when in reality they are using sarcasm, or that if their message is brief they must be upset with me, etc. I think this is so easy to do. I will always remember that both body language and written message may be relaying something that is totally the opposite of what you want to the recipient.
I also enjoyed all of the questions having to do with new teacher issues, reasons why teachers leave and stresses on teachers. I am very familiar with the ways that I think and feel, but it is interesting to see the research on the larger scale and see what the majority of teachers feel like. I have really benefitted from this class. I enjoy that after each course I always go back to school and look at things in an entirely different light.

Weekend 3 day 1

I thoroughly enjoyed the presentations given today. I learned a lot about several different topics, but I have to say I really enjoyed both Tony's presentation and merit pay and Dorry's about instructional coaching. Both of these are topics that I have lots of opinions about and interest in. I definitely agree with Tony that the further into merit pay you look, the more confusing it is! I think it is a great concept with a lot of "ironing out" that needs to be done. (By someone other than me!)
I also enjoyed mapping the hiring process. I am more of a visual person, and to have a tool like this on hand to use whenever hiring would be much easier than either trying to memorize the process or typing it up. I think using a pictorial also makes you think more about the steps what exactly each one entails.
Today was another great day.

week 3 day 1

I enjoy when our EDL classes create and give presentations to small groups. I learn so much from all you guys. CULTURE: you have to look at all the little things that are going on in the school and see if the culture matches the vision. STUDENT LEAD CONFERENCES: I liked the idea of using the fall as a student lead conference and the spring for traditional conferences. One of the issues in the high school is getting more parental participation (especially at parent teacher conferences) INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING: someone you could have help you in the classroom and coach (not consult) you. Walkthroughs (rounds) that help collect data and help create a snap-shot of what's going on in the classroom...Awesome idea. BULLYING: zero-tolerance in our schools. The discipline issue that has been bothering me this school year. We had two separate incidents in my school where students have moved from our school because of bullying. In one case, the three boys only received a detention for harassing a student who had been abused by her father. Thanks to all for sharing .

Stress

It was kind of interesting about the stress discussion that we had this morning, and the question about stress in the final. I think teaching is a very stressful job if the teacher is not good with stress management. I know that every time something does not go well at school, it would bother me even when I get home and in my sleep. I sometimes take things too personally. There are certain things I can control and something that is out of my control. I often remind myself that I only can change things if I have control over them, the rest of uncontrolled factors, I just have to accept them and move on. I think that teachers who are good and effective need to know how to destress. De-stress can include activities like talking to someone about the problems, be proactive instead of reactive, stay in shape, have some hobbies, or just be true to yourself. A stressed out teacher, or principal will not be effective in their work.

Weekend 3, Day 2

I truly believe that a mentoring induction program is a worthwhile endeavor, and that we can provide a great resource to beginning teachers by using the right model. As with all things, though, much depends on the thought and effort we put into such programs. Giving first and second year teachers more meaningless work to do will only bring about feelings of contempt for the whole notion. Like Jake said in an earlier post, this program provided valuable activities for us to complete that brought about reflection for future practice. Identifying the appropriate, relevant aspects of effective mentoring, as we discussed in class today, will be crucial to teacher buy-in and program success. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience in this program, and I wish you all continued success in your future endeavors! Happy holidays! Corry

Last Class

This is my final reflection about my time spent in the educational leadership program and one thing seems very clear. Hire good people! Today's class reinforced again the importance of hiring the best people to work in your school as teachers, janitors, aides and any other position. I think the management aspect of being a principal is made easier when you have hired good people who you have built a trusting relationship with. I was actually kind of suprised how applicable most of the things I have learned in the program where. It is defintely not just theory, but a lot of practicle ideas that make schools better and benefit students. Thanks to everyone for making class enjoyable and good luck in the job search. Our schools need great principals!

Dec. 11, 2010

I found the presentations to be interesting and informative in many areas I am unfamiliar with.  I thought everyone in my group did a great job gathering important information and hitting on the main points.  The Danielsen framework evaluation system was interesting and I like the fact that is take most of the subjectivity out of the evaluation and the feedback is more meaningful.  I also found the presentation on Mentoring to be helpful and can see how important setting up new teachers can be. 
     I also found the project on creating the flowchart for the hiring process to be helpful.  It is a handout I can keep for future use!

Weekend 3 Day 1

The most interesting thing to me today was the Gallup poll activity.

The thing that interested me were the questions about
Has anyone asked about your development?
Does someone at you school care about you personally?
Do you know what is expected of you at work?

These are the questions I don't really think about in my job. I know people care about me and I know what to do in my job, but no one has ever told me exactly what is expected in my job and no one has asked how things are going in my life. I don't think I expect it, but would it change how I approached my job? I'm not sure.
Lastly, the question about development. It is quite clear to me that people only care about the product I produce. My job emphasizes performance. If I continue to produce quality performances no one cares. If I was not able to do that, then there would be a questions about my development. It's kinda cart before the horse. I'm smart enough to only take a job I can perform well, but that is not always the case.

Just a thought.

presentations

In our group we had three people present on some variation of co-teaching. Even though we talked about the same subject, we were able to see different points of views on the subject. We were able to have some in-depth conversations during the presentations; therefore, we were able express our views on critical issues.
In our three person group we were able to come up with a flow chart for the hiring process. This information would have been very beneficial when I was organizing the hiring of a paraprofessional for my internship. It will now be a resource to be used at a later time.
One thing I really enjoy about this program is the ability to come and have productive conversations. It's is important to see how other schools or teachers are succeeding, but also finding out what is not working.

12-11-10 Class

The discussion of the school culture was very interesting. My personal school culture has changed dramatically since the blending of the two high schools. I think my answers would have been slightly different last year. I liked the tool we used and would like to use it to assess our new school culture. The discussion of the common core standards and the future was very informative. I think administrators need to be kept up to date on these changes so they can keep their staff informed. Implementing anything new in school needs to be done gradually and with the purpose of getting a majority to buy in and implement the changes with integrity. That is one of the major things missing in public education. We do things NOW, instead of introducing the concept gradually.

final weekend - Iles

I enjoyed the presentations.  The format was good.  I felt like people were able to present more freely, and thorough with smaller groups, as compared to an entire class.  I like the ability to review a bit for the final.  It gave me an idea if I am truly prepared for it. 

Grant Iles

December 11 post

By taking this class, I have learned a variety of information that I never new or didn't have the grasp that I have now. I have a better appreciation for the hiring process and all that entails to find the best person for the job. The presentations that I heard were very informational and I will be able to use the content tomorrow and in the future to help see why things are done they way they are done. This was a very good assignment to have and I would want to have, if possible, a copy of all the presentations done.

Final Weekend

School Culture and Climate

This weekend I got a double dose of school climate and culture. It began with the climate survey which I thought was a great tool for beginning conversations about different aspects of school climate. Then I was able to hear a presentation about school culture where similar surveys were used to identify 3 areas of strengths and 3 areas for improvement. One aspect of the climate survey I found especially interesting was who was given the climate survey. The presenter recommended giving the survey to not only teachers, but also janitors, secretaries, and other non certified personnel. Another great suggestion I picked up was to invite people not familiar with the school or district to report on aspects of school climate.

Jacob Crase

Dec. 11

The presentations today provided a great deal of information in a variety of different topics. I enjoyed listening and learning about extra curricular evaluations, PLCs being implemented in a math department, improving culture in a school, evaluations using Danielson's criteria, and project based learning. I was very interested in listening to Lauri and Kelli talk about their dealing with the crisis at their HS. My first 5 years at my school I dealt with 4 student deaths..almost 1 each year. I found it helpful to know that in some aspects we dealt with our student's in the same way. It was a very emotional experience for my current principal since it was the first time he had to deal with a student dead. Unfortunately we do not have a good crisis plan set in place...who to call how to deal with situations, etc. I do believe administrators need to be the overall monitor but let the counselors do their job. Coming from a small school where a big part of our student body are related to at least one other person in our school, it can make for a very difficult situation. I also like Lauri's box of papers to deal with student death. It really helps to hear from the counselor b/c at times many of us teachers were dealing with each death differently and how we were grieving. As an administrator don't forget that your teachers can also be dealing with the loss of the student, especially when you are from a small school and know all students.

Presentations

I really enjoyed listening to the presentations today. It was nice to hear about topics that other people are passionate about. It reminded me how well-rounded administrators need to be and all of the things they need to keep up to date on. As a result of the presentations, one of the things I know I need to do in order to be more prepared for an administrative role is to get on our negotiating committee.

Weekend 3, Day 1

Today provided great opportunities for discussions. I was really impressed by the quality of the presentations that I got to see, and there was great value in talking about the topics that everyone selected. Dr. Closen, you mentioned the option of continuing on with further classes.... As I reflect on the time we spent together today, I know that I am going to miss these opportunities for conversation, collaboration, and reflection with interested and motivated people who share common goals and ambitions. Only one day of class left in this program.... Now, will the weather cooperate?

December 11

I really enjoyed the different presentations.  It is always beneficial to be aware of new educational topics and concepts that are being implemented into schools and/or districts.  My topic on student-led conferences was inspired from another teacher who spoke of it in another EDL class.  I think that professional collaboration helps educators to keep current with educational topics and pushes the envelope for districts to try new things.

Saturday December 11

The discussion about crisis was very interesting to me. My school has recently dealt with a critical situation which a teen was involved in a fire which destroyed an apt. building and the loss of his mother. As far as a crisis plan goes, I am not aware of a plan in my district. I do believe my administrator has done a great job at providing resources for the families involved but it has been difficult for many staff members because the situation was not really discussed and follow-up/debriefing had not taken place.
The group presentations were interesting and provided a lot of beneficial information regarding the field of education. I enjoyed the mentoring presentation and how it is so important for new teachers to have resources and support as beginners.

Saturday December 11

I enjoyed class today. I liked the presentations. Everyone in my group did a great job. Team teaching/collbrative teaching seemed to be a popular topic.
I also liked the discussion about dealing with a crisis. Kelly and Laurie seemed to have done a great job dealing with such a tradegy. We (Williams) experienced a tragedy similar to that last spring. Two of our students passed away in a car accident. It was great how the building joined together. I also liked how they followed the crisis format, it helped the process go as smoothly as possible to help the students and staff to grieve and be comfortable and safe at the same time.

Co teaching

I learned a lot about co teaching today because two people in my group did the presentation on it. It was interesting. I taught Special Ed for one year, and it was a self contained class. My students only had me as their teacher. I had an aid who came in one or two periods to help out. I did not like that environment. I think kids should be exposed to different teachers regardless they are regular students or students with IEPs. Some kids get along and learn better with certain teachers. Also each teacher is different too. Kids need to be exposed to different personality. I kind of like the coteaching method, however, I am worried that it might turn out to be the teacher/aid relationship instead of two different teachers working together to better help the students learning. When one teacher explains, the other can reinforce, it would be great.

T. Sanders Saturday Afternoon Post

My small group's presentations today really got me thinking about all of the initiatives out there to help districts work toward RTI nirvana. We actually had three different presentations that focused on the concepts of co-teaching and the benefits of collaborative work among teachers. Our discussion moved toward LD identification and whether or not the constraints of RTI slow the inevitable identification of students or whether using small group instruction in the regular education setting (Tier 2 and 3 stuff) was really any different than labeling a kid as LD would be. Obviously, I don't know the answer, but it was a thought provoking discussion that stemmed from some pretty darn well done presentations---way to go room 109 crew.

Final Paper and presentation

I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment as I felt it was very beneficial.  I actually have to present to the school board on Collaborative Teaching and the positive effects it can have on our district.  As a result my research paper focused on the positve effects of the concept and how the remaining school personnel plays a role in the outcome.  I look forward to the presentation!

Interviews

The interview process we went through for class was very beneficial. It was a revelant project that gave each one of us real experience in interviewing potential job applicants. We were able to brainstorm fifteen inteview questions that could potentially be used later as a principal. We were also able to get a feel for how a interviewing process should go.

During my internship I was able to interview multiple teaching positions, this class would have better prepared me for those interviews. I had to create my own questions for the interview process. I feel now that I have a better question bank to use in future interviews.

11/14/10

The mock interviews were interesting. Our group was not 100% in agreement on how the questions should be asked. We were not sure if we should or could ask additional questions that may have come up based on personal response. This means that each candidate could have possibly given more information than another candidate. It makes me think how divided an interview panel may be when I sit for my next one. Again, the group input and networking is crucial.

I also thought the the ladies that came in to do presentations was extremely helpful. To get the information straight from them was very valuable. I have never worked in a building with a counselor and was under the impression that they still did exactly what they used to do when I was in school. I now understand some of the frustrations voiced from our resident classmate counselors.

11/13/10

Sitting through the different scenarios reinforced how important it is to take the time to cover all the bases. It is too easy to jump into the middle of a situation and actually make it worse. Policy is generally policy for a reason. Situations like those presented in class may not ever happen but chances are if they do it will be in my building. Brainstorming with the small groups also continues to drive home the importance of networking. All of us in the group seemed to come up with something that the others did not account for or consider that may have caused a problem in how the situation was resolved.

I also thought that building and reviewing some of the job descriptions for today was quite an eye-opener. It made realize how little I know at times what others around me actually do and get accomplished in their concentration. A very well written job description can help to hold teachers to a high standard of education while a poorly written one may allow for that "slacking" after tenure.

Sunday Nov 14

I found this day to a very informative and productive day. First, the interview process was beneficial for the student teacher as well as for us. As a high school teacher I feel that I was in unfamiliar territory as we interviewed an elementary teacher. It was nice to have a few elementary teachers with us to see their view points on the interview. I still feel that you take a big gamble with an interview. I have had the opportunities to interview our 2 new science teachers. Each time I always seem to have an instinctive feeling about a person and usually that feeling turns out to be correct. How do we get away from using our own feelings about a person and see just good of a teacher they will be?

I really enjoyed having the counselors come in. Our building is still dealing with the old school model of a counselor. I was quite surprised at what their roles in our schools can really be. They can provide an important part to a school but seem to be overlooked far too frequently. How do we make that transition with a counselor who is still using the old model and a principal that does not truly understand how to utilize a counselor?

Remediation

I took many notes from Sandra Malahy. First off: "support and help all your teachers before it gets to the remediation process." As instructional leader, I will make time to get into the classrooms whether it be a walkthrough or informal classroom visit to help build the trust and relationships needed to help teachers improve in their instruction. The message kept coming up over and over again- "build relationships... be highly visible... develop trust for those professional conversations." Document, Document, and Document. The remediation plan has to follow the time lines we learned about in EDL 538. It was interesting to hear about the up-coming changes in the evaluation and how performance will be a part of the process. I'm getting ready to do my evaluations for the internship and have been looking through the Danielson book on teacher evaluations. I was glad to hear the message from Ms. Malahy that also hold true: make all decisions on what is best for all students.

Sunday, Nov. 14th

I am extremely interestd in remediation and the principal coming in to discuss it made some excellent points and gave very valuable information. The planning and organization needed to remediate a teacher seems almost overwhelming when mixed in with the total schedule that the principal needs to keep. Communication seems to be the key to both remediation and termination. It would really take a proactive team to deal with a marginal/ bad teacher. I think if either the principal or the superintendent is weak that the process would never be completed. As I begin to work with a marginal teacher in our school, I will use this information to assist the administrative team in formulating a plan of action.

Saturday Nov. 13

One of the things that was really clear was that absolutely nothing is black and white! After looking through and discussing the policies, there is still so much room for decisions. What may work in one situation, may not in another, but then we could be told that we are unfair or playing favorites! The case studies were again a reminder that nothing is set in stone. I think we need to be careful not to judge how an administrator handles a situation since we rarely have all of the information that they had to make a decision with. We need to strive to always to the best we can with all of the information we have and not just take the easiest, shortest way out. It was also really interesting to hear how other schools policies are worded.

School Counselor Visit

After the school counselor visit yesterday I realize the importance of having a school counselor in ALL school buildings. I also have a better understanding of how that person could be utilized in the school building and what their job role consists of. I believe that a school counselor could be a great asset to data team reviews and much more. As an administrator it is vital to be knowledgeable about what the duties of your school counselor is or should be. I was not aware of the amount of training and knowledge gained by these individuals, and feel that if you have a school counselor in your building then you should be utilizing them in the best way possible. School counselors should be a key factor in the school's climate. This staff member will increase student achievement if allowed to do the functions of a school counselor.

11/14

I feel like today's class was one of the more practical and informative classes that we have had.  Actually, really enjoyed the interviewing experience.  I was able to separate myself from being a teacher and grad student, and into the role of a principal trying to get a feel for an interviewee.  I understand how much preparation is done by the interviewer before he/she holds interviews.

Also, it was beneficial to be able to not only listen to current school counselors, but also to be able to have small group interaction with one from my building level.  I can say that I am one that has failed to understand the relevance for school counselors, but after hearing their job descriptions and listening to their daily activities, I now understand more the need for effective counselors, and the positive interactions between them and building administrators.

Grant Iles

I have experienced first hand the difference between a counselor that has recentlty graduated from college and one that graduated 20 years ago. Two years ago the counselor that had been at my high school for over 16 year was removed from the counselor position and replaced with someone that had just graduated from college. There was some turmoil in the district about this move, but it was definitely the right move. Our new counselor has brought a lot more to the table. She has focused more on counselor aspect of the job. She also has done a great job scheduling classes for students. The old practice was 2 or 3 weeks into the new school year students would finally have there classes set for the year. Now students have their classes set for the next year before they leave for the summer. I teach in a small district so scheduling classes for students falls on her shoulders. I wonder if counselor have a course on scheduling?

The interview process was fun. I can see where having a group of people in the actual interview can lead to great discussions. I belive that our group did a great job discussing the interview. We were able to give Emily ways to improve for her next interview. Besides focusing on Emily we talked about what we might do different the next time we interviewed someone. It was great practice.

Weekend 2 Day 2

This Sunday's class was one of the most relevant sessions I have had in the program. The interview process was a great learning opportunity, from the development of questions, to the pace of the interview itself, the caucus afterwards, and the discussion with the interviewee, I learned something new from each experience. The process also helped me realize the kind of interview I would conduct as an administrator would involve the use of follow up questions because after just asking our 15 questions, I had more questions than answers.

I was also impressed with the presentation about the role of counselors in schools. I especially enjoyed the time to breakout and discuss with the counselors and other middle school teachers. The school I work at hired a full time counselor last year and as I was listening to the presentation many of the initiatives he has started or is trying to start suddenly made more sense when I realized the counselors job is not the same as it was when I was in school.

-Jake Crase

Nov 14

The presentation in the morning about remediation was very similar to the EDL 538. It was interesting to listen to a case that was taken from start to finish. The problem continues to be the amount of time that can be devoted to this part of the job. When I asked my administrator how many people he has put on intervention plans in his 10 years was only 3. Out of those 3, all were let go or resigned. It seems these plans are mainly used to get rid of teachers rather than improve their teaching.

It was interesting to see how the counselor programs in the state of Illinois are changing their role in education. I am interested to find if Iowa is also improving their programs as well. From what was discussed it is almost as if the counselor role is being redesigned to fit as a new educator with curriculum, participation in the class, continued assessment of data etc.

KP

Interview Dilemma

The interview experience was a good one.  Coming up with a process with which to choose our questions was key!  Once we had a way of gathering questions, we could easily focus on the importance of the questions and whether they served our purpose. 
The discussion after the interview was the most enlightening to me.  I discovered how one sided my view is.  It was eye opening as to how narrow minded I was being.  My initial reaction to the candidate was that she didn't "wow" me.  I wouldn't hire her.  As our team went through the questions one by one, I saw that she really did have some good answers and would probably be a good hire. 
I think having been burned before as a member of an interview committee has made me feel a great amount of pressure in hiring just the right person.  Three times, a committee I was part of hired what turned out to be very negative, self-serving imposters.  As a result of these experiences, I am extremely cautious of a candidate who looks great on paper.  All three of these "bad hires" in my past had almost impeccable records on paper.  They had perfect graphs, schedules, and data.  They made promises that never came true.  They proclaimed their advocacy to students, commitment to being a team player, and ability to communicate effectively with parents.  Those traits never came to be in any of those people. 
The interview experience yesterday and today may have helped me be more lenient on my judgments.  A work in progress for sure!

11 14 10

In regards to the remediation process, my concern would be similar to Laurie's in that which teacher do you choose to take on that daunting responsibility?  I would think that it would be extremely difficult for a consulting teacher to be a friend, and then have to be the person to make sure that they are following the remediation plan and meeting deadlines.  I would think that it would be easier to find a teacher from a different building that is not closely involved with the teacher.

In terms of the process involved in interviewing, I could see that in our group there were so many individual perspectives that it took much discussion, and one major one:)), until we finally reached a consensus.  I can see why it might be easier to have a smaller panel for an interview session.

I find it interesting that the school code has changed for the role of counselor; however, there are many districts that are still following the older job description.  I think that having one more faculty member to contribute to the vision and academic goals for the school is very beneficial.  It is a detriment to the students that schools are not following the new job description and making it work for the best interest of the students.

Remediation-Consulting Teacher

   I keep wondering what kind of person it takes to be a consulting teacher to a teacher in need of remediation.  That seems like such a daunting task.  Having seen a variation of this remediation in my building, I can say it was difficult for consulting teacher to "reach" the struggling teacher. 
   Another teacher and I took it upon ourselves to help a struggling teacher last year.  Without giving more detail, I can say it was very difficult for us.  We were not sure if we were using the right strategies or having the right conversations.  The struggling teacher was very appreciative of the other teacher and the conversations they had and methods shared.  However, those conversations were tough and I think it might have been more than the "consulting teacher" could handle.  I was simply the facilitator of these conversations and it was tough at times.  With no administrative support, we were floundering.
   As I reflect on that situation, I am glad that we gave the extra time, effort, and thought because things could not remain as they had been.  How does a principal choose that consulting teacher and how much support is given?  
    

Interviews

The mock interviews were a great learning tool for our class. It gave us a chance to learn some things about us as people as well and what each of us look for in a “good” candidate. I found that we should have prepared a little more regarding who was going to lead the interview process, ask specific questions, and what it was we were truly looking for. During the interview, we found some areas that we didn’t have any questions for, but the members of my group adapted and improvised. These are two extremely important qualities for administration. I also reflected on some of our questions needed to have follow-up questions after the response of the candidate. Overall, I think it was a very rewarding experience for our group and for the student teacher.

this weekend

i hope dr. closen will forgive me for not posting about yesterday's class. i will make up for it by combining yesterday's with today's.

from yesterday's class, i learned a lot from the discussion about climate and culture. those two words are used frequently, and not always used correctly. being a future leader, i think it is important to know what they are and how to use each one.

i thought of a couple of things while we were talking about the 11 top 10. my principal is one of those that, as soon as the speaker has started, leaves. and each time i see her do it, i make a note that i need to stay because i hear how the staff react to her leaving early. i guess i appreciated the reinforcement from the book that i am thinking the right way. my other thought was about the personal wellness plan. i have a friend who took a principalship of a large middle school in the illinois-quad cities. i actually job-shadowed him in september. his day starts when he gets to school at 7am. on most nights, he doesn't get home until between 10pm and midnight. as his friend, i told him that i was concerned for his health because he is a few years older than me and i know from experience that a person can keep up a routine that for only so long before the body starts breaking down.

the last thing i will comment on is the witch scenario. i think we are all prepared for scenarios like this no matter who the people are. i found it interesting that there are some people that write many letters of reprimand, and other people that don't see the need to write very many.

i enjoyed today because there were many different activities for us. sandy malahy reinforced what dr. mccaw told me in another class: the teacher remediation process will end up taking about a year. and, like almost everything else today, you have to document, document, document. the one comment i will use that sandy said was "we already know what you know; we want to see what your potential is."

as dr. closen has told us (other than nothing is black and white), hiring staff will be one of our most important jobs. due to an unexpected leave of absence this summer, i led two interview teams to hire a guidance, oops, i mean school counselor, and a language arts teacher. preparation for those interviews, because i was the leader, was important. i was not as prepared for today's interview and, while reflecting, realized that i missed a couple of opportunities with follow-up questions that would have been helpful in getting information for my interview team.

as i mentioned in my last paragraph, this past summer i led the interview team that hired a school counselor. our candidate was a graduate of wiu's program and has done a great job. after seeing the future graduates today, it is obvious that they are successful because of dr. nikel. i am going to put her name into my rolodex, and when i'm an administrator and need a counselor (school, not personal) she will be the first person i call.

Interviews, Remediation, and Counseling

Today was a busy day but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt like I learned a lot today and was able to see how pieces of this administrative puzzle fit together.

I enjoyed going through the process of generating interview questions, asking them, debriefing, and reflecting on the whole process. It was a great experience and I have a better idea of things to look for when I'm hiring someone for a position within my building.

Today was a perfect day to have Sandy come in and talk about remediation. It tied in nicely with the mock interviews. I really like how she stressed the importance of conducting informal observations on a regular basis. I think that's going to be essential in avoiding potential personnel problems. I really like some of the things that she's doing as an administrator. It's not often that an administrator gets involved with the day to day educational process. It clearly shows her dedication to the educational profession and has made me think about the kind of impact I can have within a building as an educational leader.

I also enjoyed having the counselors come in and share with us how a school can benefit from their expertise and the kinds of things they are licensed to do. Having worked in a building where I felt more like a counselor than a teacher I understand the importance of having a counselor on staff. As an administrator this is something I know I will fight for. Having them here makes me want to learn more about counseling in schools. I think it would be great if there was actually a course in our educational program that focused on counseling from an administrative perspective.

Interviewing-Getting the right people on the bus!

I found the interviewing process to be helpful in many respects.  The importance of getting the right fit for your building to continue your mission/vision was brought to the forefront.  I can see how important the scanning of resumes are, how candidates present themselves with their attire, body language and linguistic skills, and what educational experiences candidates possess.  After going through this process, I understand how important getting the right person is in order to help fulfill your building's mission.  I also think about how candidates can sometimes come across as a good fit, and then when they are in your building, they don't become a successful part of your mission, it is imperative to be in the classroom and evaluate them!
     The other part of the today's presentation I found to be helpful was the information on remediation.  The process is a little different in Iowa than Illinois and the process of evaluation is different as well.  I thought this information helped me to understand the process and what happens when a teacher is in need of improvement or unsatisfactory.

Nov. 14th Class

The class time today was well spent. Practicing the interviewing process was time well spent. Using our own questions was eye opening in the fact that after we finished the interview we discussed questions we should have asked. Developing the questions is one of the most important parts of the hiring process.
Remediating teachers is an area inwhich administrators need to be well versed. It made me think when it was said that it is cheaper to spend time remediating a teacher than releasing a teacher and hiring a new one to only start all over again. Again we get into the IL code and the law in dealing with underperforming teachers. An administrator needs to know so much and keep up on current events to be able to be successful in the field.
Having the counselors spend the time with us was very interesting for me in the fact I did not know that counselors were now in the primary schools. This is the level they should be at. I agree that problems could be diminished if we had support for our students at the elementary level. I also like the new model for counselors. I don't think up to this point that we utilize our counselors to their fullest. I agree that if we did utilitize them as outlined that student adverse behaviors would decrease and student acheivement would increase. Many of our students need all the support they can get to succeed in school and beyond.

November 14, 2010

The interview process is such an important role in hiring someone. I am glad to have completed the mock interview. After the interview took place and my group was able to discuss how we felt it went we realized a few areas/questions that we should have addressed. I have never been a part of an interview team; therefore I was able to learn and get feedback from my team members.

Today’s time with counselors really made me think about understanding the roles of ALL staff. I think we are so worried right now about either getting a job or being a change agent, that we forget there are key people who can assist us in this process if we understand their purpose and utilize them! I also thought the interviews were an awesome experience, both for the candidates and for us. I thought the whole process of writing the questions based upon the IIRC data was time very well spent and the interview was great as well. Being on the “other side” of the interview was extremely interesting. I felt a bit like now that we’ve all been education for awhile our expectations are extremely high and we may have been a bit hard on our interviewee. I like that you pointed out that we aren’t expecting a new teacher to know a ton about specific content, we want her to prove that she can learn it. (I think our team forgot this a bit ) Overall the interview showed me a lot more about what to expect and how to handle interviewing. This was a very enjoyable day that I think taught me some vital things to remember when I am hired as a principal.

Counseling

I enjoyed listening to the counseling students and Dr. Nichols talking about counseling. At my school, there is not a real counselor. There is one person who helps the kids with college prep. The kids just find who ever they feel comfortable with when they need help. One time, I got a kid came and talked to me, I didn't really know what to do, so I had to talk to another person for help. It would be useful to have counselor, so kids can all go and talk to. They have experience and education to help these kids more effective.

I agreed with Sandy, it is important to help beginning teachers to succeed. It costs too much money and time to go through the hiring process. A lot of time, as human beings, we tend to focus on people's weaknesses instead of strengths. By focusing on their strengths, we can help them expand them. With weaknesses, we can help them to improve, but using no judgments in the process.

Sunday, Nov 14th

I thought the guest speakers were beneficial. As I've stated before, real-life experiences that are shared with the class are so much more interesting than ones that are read in the textbook. I did not realize how much the counseling program had changed across the country. I also really liked the interviews we did. That's the first time I've been on the other side of that process. Creating questions and evaluating answers was one of the more helpful things I've done in this program.

Nov. 13th Class

Creating the interview questions brought to mind the importance of having good questions for the interviewee. Good questions will weed out the teacher candidates that will not fit with the school or district. The scenarios reaffirmed the statement "nothing is black and white". The scenarios also brought to mind the fact that you need to step back and evaluate situations instead of jumping into action as far as reacting to non threatening situations.
Evaluating the district policies brings to light the fact that not every situation is dealt with in the policies. Also, the policies are not written in black and white, but provide gray areas for flexibility in decision making. I was also impressed with the fact that the unions do play a huge role in policy making and in deciding how situations between administration and teachers are viewed and handled.

November 14 post

I really learned alot about the interview process. I thought that making the questions for the interview was very beneficial so I can use questions, like the ones we developed, in interviews in the future. Also the counsel portion was very well done. I didn't realize how the job description for school counselors has changed since I have been in school. I have noticed the school counselor at my school is trying to be more involved and be more as assistence in showing the students their potential future opportunities.

11/14/10

The interview process was interesting, particularly the persons resume did not really show their area of applying for the job. We did nicely explain ways for her to format their resume differently to represent her academic strengths.
The teacher remediation guest speaker was very helpful when we have that employee that we will need a remediation plan. Sandy's real life discussion with employees, so it does not become a remediation issue was helpful.
The School Counselor speakers were "OH GREAT!". Very well spent time!

11/14

If you are going to take risks you better do your research. Your risks better be calculated and have little potential for failure. Too many risks will get you fired! Hence, opening a resturant and closing it down after a year! Did we do the proper research before we decided to get out of education. It is one thing to fail with your own money it is another to fail with the school districts. Risk/Reward....you better do your research!!



The interview process was beneficial because I think I need to work at developing follow up questions to my original questions. The follow up questions can and should draw more out of the candidates which will allow you to make a better decision.



The counseling position has evolved along with the principal position. I believe their roles have change because our society has changed since we were in school. The different hats that each position now wear are related to the make up of your school and community. As future principals we should work with the counseling department closely as you would work with your asst. principal and other staff members. The value they can bring to your organization can make your job easier if used properly.

Interviews

Interesting opportunity in these interviews. I have interviewed teachers before (administration too). I have never had the opportunity to debrief the interviewee after the fact. It was fun for me and I hope good for our person. We were able to tell her that she interviewed well, but her resume was not good. So we were able to give her some ideas as she gets into the interviewing game. However, I'm not sure that she understood how stiff the competition is. Derek shared that his school had 100 applications for 3 positions. The benefit for us is when we become administrators, we will have a larger pool that, perhaps, in the past, but for our person it means she's actually have to be better than the rest.
In looking forward to applying for principal jobs, we need to be better than the rest. Better get started.

Weekend 2, Day 2

Today was a good day. The time spent interviewing teachers was invaluable. It not only gave the student teacher a chance to go through the interview process, but it also provided our team of future administrators an opportunity to talk about valid questions, and discuss what qualities we might look for in the staff we hire. Our group had some powerful conversation about expectations during the interview process, and I took away some key points.

I was glad the counseling department came in today. There is so much more to counseling than just guidance in schools today. It was nice to receive an explanation of the current model, and the responsibilities that a school counselor has. I know how essential our school counselors are in the day-to-day operation in my building. Every day students come in with issues that carry over from their home environment and impact their achievement in the classroom.

I would say that this has been one of the best weekends I've had in the program in over 2 years. I've taken some good things away from the past two days, and look forward to our next discussion in a few weeks.

Saturday

I believe that the most beneficial part of this program is the ability to brainstorm in small groups or as a whole class different scenarios that can arise on the job. I want to hear different points of view on how they would handle tough situations. In the case studies we completed yesterday, we were able to come up with different strategies to attack and solve the problems. Even though each situation is different, the discussions could give us possible solutions to use in the future. The key to solving problems as a principal will be thinking before making decisions. This is exactly how we solve the case studies in class. We brainstorm different ideas and communicate with other reliable sources then make the decision. It is a decision you will have to live with so make sure you have multiple and reliable sources to help you solve your different issues.

school culture

11/13

After completing the school culture survey I was not suprised by my responses. I have felt/sensed and observed a culture that is adequate but not necessarily inviting and overally positive when you enter our building. From a physical stand point we need to get a face lift! We need to make the front of our building/yard look like a groomed golf course. We have a generic sign board out front that constantly is losing letters when the wind blows! Our school is located on the main road coming into town. It would be a great recruiting tool for families and business that are thinking about moving there to see a well kept building with a modern electronic board to advertise the good things that are happening in our district and building. The climate on the inside is adequate at best. Our buiding leadership is under restructuring due to the lack of leadership last year. The only way to create a better culture is to find another building leader that has proven experience and leadership ability. There was a sense of excitement last year but if fizzled quickly because the leadership was fake and self centered. A great leader will deflect all praise to their teachers and students and not talk about their accomplishments as though they did them on their own.

11 13 10 Personnel Policy Discussion

I always find it very interesting to hear discussion with what districts are doing.  I am always confused as to why districts have policy, either district or student handbooks, where administrators choose to not follow or interpret by their philosophies - and it always seems to end badly.  I also think that it is interesting that my district policy manual was adopted in 2006, and made reference to the collective bargaining unit's contract, which has been revised since 2006.

interviewing

The interviewing process was interesting, particularly in the debriefing afterwards. I feel like maybe I was a little too blunt about the resume weaknesses, but hopefully she'll be better prepared for her interviewing season. I did find that after we asked our prepared questions, some of us had other questions that popped up, and I particularly found that some of the wording of questions didn't work so well and that practicing and revising questions prior to an interview might be a good idea. Also, I think it's important to target some of the school's SIP goals specifically, so that the interviewee has an idea about the expectations of the building goals.

She's a witch!

The whole case study thing with the witches threw me for a loop. How many things are there that we, as principals, will come up against and have no answer for? Unfortunately, you can't just shove your hands in your pocket and say, "well, look at that." I think that we need to be ready for this unknown instance. We may not be ready for it, but we need to start thinking about how we are going to handle our own personality when we are met with this situation. It is okay to admit you don't have the answer, but when your teachers see you being honest and actively working on the problem, they will trust you as a leader.

The policy discussion was very interesting to me. I knew our district had policies but I had never taken the time to look at them. I had no idea how many policies there actually were. I'm glad that they were all on a cd. Being on a cd made it easier to navigate through the policies. It was interesting to me to see how different policies from different districts could be view differently. Also I found that my current district was lacking a few policies.

Saturday Nov 13

While meeting with our group to prepare for the interviews, the major question on centered around whether it was possible to ask follow-up questions or whether you should stick to a script. Being an inquisitive person and always wanting to know more I had never considered just sticking to a script. It makes sense of why you would want to ask the same questions and limit the interview to just those questions in the sense of fairness. With anything though fairness doesn't always mean the same. By sticking to a script I don't know if you will be able to get to the "meat" of that person's educational background and philosophy. The questions should be used as a catalyst and the answers the interviewee gives should be the driving force of the interview.

KP

Weekend 2 Day 1

Interview Questions - Jacob Crase

This morning I learned a lot about the interview process and was amazed at how differently people viewed the interview process. Personally I wanted to have a conversation with the candidate and let them do most of the talking while asking lots of follow-up questions to learn about there teaching style, personality, interests, etc… Other people in my group view the process much differently and believed each person needed to be asked the exact same questions. I was surprised to learn that is how WIU operates due to the threat of legal issues. I can understand some of the logic behind a strict set of questions, but personally I would not be able to operate in that context because I want to know people as individuals, and don’t believe the same set of questions would apply to every single candidate.

Policies

I had a very difficult time trying to find policies in our board policy book. It seems our policy book is not very user friendly. It seems that our contracts have more of the policy as does the state statutes. I also realized that we do not update the book very frequently or at least the copy in our library. Most of the policies that I used had not been reviewed/revised since 80's.

What I found to be the most interesting yet most frustrating is how much gray area there is in the administrative part of education. You really do need to set your standards for issues and try to keep everything in mind when they are making a decision. I found the issues that we discussed and how we would handle them very beneficial. Having real life situations helps to see all the different ways to look at things.

November 13

I found it interesting when we reviewed policies for the different schools and the varying amounts each school has for policies. My didn't have many defined policies, most of the policies had a referral to an agreement in the collective bargaining agreement. I thought was interesting coming up with interview questions. I agree with some in the class that the majority of the times, in the interviews that I have had, the questions weren't thought thru and too generic. Also the 11 top 10 strategies make sense to me because they promote social awareness and interpersonal skills to know what the community, students, and parents feel about what is important and what needs work.

11-13

I really enjoyed the policy discussion.  I had never had an opportunity to really look over the policies and see what they actually say.  It was also very interesting to hear what the policies in other districts say.  I find it fascinating to hear not only the similarities but the differences in the policies from district to district.  I also found it interesting to see how people from the same district could find different policies for the same scenario and interpret them differently. 

Combes Public Schools Scenario

I enjoy the case studies in the textbook. It's good for me to listen to others and process all the different ideas. The Combes Public School case study looked at many different areas of my EDL training. I felt the ISLLC standards of having vision , working with the community, and student learning would be need for a principal at this school. Our group thought the best strategy from the 11 Top Ten Most Wanted Strategies for Shaping School Culture needed in this scenario was utilize the leader's data collection and analysis skills. We had many of the same ideas of: researching the current ELL programs, working with the University, restarting the PTA, setting up the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, evaluation of the strengths exhibited by the current faculty. After listening to other groups, I thought of some other options such as: climate/culture surveys of all the stakeholders, setting SMART goals for student achievement/behavior, getting community and parent buy-in, bringing in health/social services, and doing a building/grounds audit. A good activity with many good ideas presented.

November 13

Discussing the leadership traits today was very interesting. It really makes you think how you would/should act in given circumstances. Looking at the case studies and discussing them in small groups and then as a whole was very beneficial. It allows you to see how so many "gray" areas there are and how policies appear to be vague when getting down to to bits and pieces. I enjoy discussion and hearing everyone's insight and interpretation of given situations and seeing how they fluctuate across the board.

11/13/10

I found it interesting looking at my districts policy site and the union handbook, where I found most of the answers to our situations. The case studies were quite interesting too. Listening to Dr. Closen's views and options of how to deal with the situations were in lighting.

November 13th

I found that doing the scenarios were not only interesting, but helpful.  By looking at different situations, even though they may not happen, it helps you to think through the processes of what you would do, what kinds of things you need to think about, all the factors that go into figuring out a situation and how different people can view the same scenario.  Even when you have your own building, it would be a good idea to bounce thoughts and ideas off of other principals and especially your superintendent.  I know that when I am in charge of my own building, there will be many situations that come up that, due to my inexperience, I won't know how to handle.  I think the best thing is to remain calm, listen to all parties involved, evaluate, and enlist help when needed!!!!  Although it makes me nervous to think about all the situations I may run into, I fell that I am more confident in dealing with the process.

11/13/10

I thought the different teaching situations we discussed were very helpful. No matter how wild the situation is that we discussed, it seems someone can relate to a similar story from somewhere. These scenarios help us future administrators prepare for situations that we would never dream possible. I also find it helpful when Dr. Closen tells us how he would handle the situation and why.

weekend #2 saturday

The portion of the day's class that I found to be the most interesting was the discussion of the 12 Leadership Traits.  I was able to reflect a lot upon my personal strengths and weaknesses as relates to the list of traits that quality and effective administrators possess.

Also, the case studies that we reviewed were interesting to dissect and analyze the issues.  The study of the 'witches' was hilarious.

Class November 13th

I really enjoyed the policy review discussion today. It is very interesting to hear about and consider all of the differing policies that are out there and the opinions we have in regards to some of them. There are many different policies that don’t necessarily affect us much as teachers, but as administrators I think we will have to be much more aware of the policies and careful to follow them. It would be interesting to hear about the penalties that violating some of these policies entail. There are many of them that I’m not sure about. I also thoroughly enjoyed talking about how different people rate their schools on the school culture survey. I would really like to have the experience of working in a district that has a culture that is the opposite of the toxic one I’m in now before I become an administrator. I think it would be a good experience for me to see what its like to be employed in a building where things “work.”

Weekend 2, Day 1

Witches, Spells and Incantations, oh my! You just never know what you're going to talk about in class, do you? :)

I enjoyed the case studies today. They are a great opportunity for us to discuss potential situations and the responsibility of an administrator in each. I also appreciated the opportunity to discuss interview questions together in a team. It was nice to talk about what aspects of interviewing candidates are important. I'm looking forward to the interviews tomorrow!

Saturday, Nov. 13

I found the policy review activity to be surprisingly helpful. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I am remarkably ignorant of many of the policies under which I am employed. I guess having to evaluate them for class finally forced me to pay attention to some things in my district's policies that I should have known for the past 14 years! I'm surprised, too, that this is the first time in the entire program that I have needed to use the policy handbook for an assignment. It was interesting to me, too, to hear how similar/different some other schools' policies are from my own.

policy review - Dao

I thought it was very interesting to hear what other people who teach in the public schools talked about their policies. At our school, the policy handbook goes together with the staff handbook. It is only about 100 pages. It is online this year, but we had to sign a paper at the beginning stating that we read them. I wonder how many actually read the handbook.

I think that it is important to follow what the policies say. However, it seems like everyone can have different interpretations on the same policy. Policies need to be very concrete and precise, if they are to be followed.

It is important to follow the rules, but then human are the ones who make rules, so there are always something that will not be black or white.

Interview questions and sitting in on an interview

I enjoyed working with a group to create interview questions for aspiring teachers.  We were able to personalize the questions to the specific opening.  I am curious if all interview committees use a generic set of questions or if they pertain to the actual job opening.   Furthermore, this will be my first time sitting in on an interview tomorrow.  I look forward to being able to choose a quality candidate during the mock interview. 

November 13

I enjoyed coming up with questions for the interviews tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to this experience. I have yet to be an interviewer, so I'm really looking forward to it.
Our candidates resume left a little bit to the imagination, so I'm looking forward to giving her tips on how to make her resume 'pop' more.

I'm going home to get rest....I'll see everyone tomorrow.

Principals

One of the things Dr. Closen prompted us to think about is why principals don't do the things that they've been trained to do. I've begun to wonder how personal fears play into this. Are administrators afraid of failure, conflict with students, parents, teachers, central office, of taking risks, or of being disliked or judged? Do successful administrators simply deal with their fear or are they fearless? As I've thought about these things I've wondered how I'm going to combat my personal fears when the stress is high.

For those of you who are near the end of the program, do you have any advice for the rest of us? Those of you who are already in more administrative like positions, how do you combat those fears? Do you have any advice for future administrators?

IIRC

I thought using the Illinois Interactive Report Card on Sunday was very helpful. Each time I use that website in class I learn about a new feature it has. It was interesting to look up all the different information in regards to districts. Obviously the ability to be able to do this will come in handy in the future.

Hiring Personnel

Creating the questions for hiring a person for a specific position was eye opening. I have been interviewed many times for positions and never thought the questions were designed for a specific position. It does make sense to create these type of questions. I don't think any of my interviews have been tailored to the position. As far as creating the questions that was more difficult than I imagined. Trying to create questions that deal specifically with the position and also covering the "generic" areas was difficult. Having a bank of questions that specifically target positions in your building would be a very productive and useful project. I, also, have not thought of the 2nd or 3rd level of references. That is a tremendous idea because possibly the first or second contact may not divulge all the info. while the 3rd may not feel any obligation to the individual and provide info. that is necessary that will "make or break" that candidate's chance of getting the position and assist the principal or H.R. in making a decision that benefits the district, school and students. Hiring the right people that "fit" into the building culture and that the principal has confidence in to meet the goals of the school and district is essential to providing a positive and productive atmosphere within the school.

Hiring Process

I think most principals have a standard set of interview questions that they ask. They ask the same questions no matter what position the teacher is interviewing for. This weekend helped me find ways for developing interview questions that relate to the subject being taught. Also another thing that sticks out from the weekend is the statement "follow your gut feeling".

Black and White

I am a believer! Since I have taken on the role as Dean of Students at Canton High School, I have seen the grey in education. Grey is everywhere. I have also seen others try to be black and white with discipline and their educational philosophy. Those individuals can turn students away in a heartbeat and get little results. I have learned so much in past 4 months. I have also realized the number of people involved in an issue directly relates to how grey the issue becomes. For example, the facebook “hate” page issue dealt with a middle school student, 3 high school students, county deputy, school resource officer, high school administration, and the off-campus college faculty and administration. This incident took around 11-12 hours of discussion, phone calls, and paperwork before it was finally over. It was very difficult to get anything else accomplished over a 3-day span. During this time, I realized that one of my areas to work on is how to prioritize my job duties.

I enjoyed discussing interview questions on Sunday. There were several things I had seen aministrators do in interviews that I had questions about. I also enjoyed working with my group on open ended questions. I recently sat in on an interview and I was wondering about the types of questions asked, now I have a much better idea of what types of questions are appropriate and most effective. I also thought the conversation about interviews not being used to compare candidates was interesting. Overall I think the experience of creating interview questions and have the student teacher interviews will be very beneficial.

Saturday October 23, 2010 Class Discussion

I enjoyed learning about other districts across the Quad Cities and how much interaction/involvement comes from central office. I entered the class with a formed opinion on how much involvement central office should have within the school building. I have gained some practice in the role of teacher-in-charge in our building. In this role I have had experiences dealing with several different discipline problems within our small elementary student body. From these experiences I have learned that our central office does a lot of decision making; as well as follow-through when it comes to student discipline. I have a strong feeling that a principal should have the right to discipline students as they see fit for the culture and climate of the particular school building. After all isn't our main role to keep our students and staff safe? I did however change my opinion about curriculum and instruction and the role of central office. I can now understand why in a district as large as Davenport there is a need for a "pacing guide". I understand the idea of a uniformed curriculum to maintain the high rate of mobility in our district. Unfortunately I do not think a solution can be made for an effective "uniformed" implementation of the curriculum.
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Hiring Process

I did not realize how hard it is to develop questions that will try to elicit enough of a response that you can make a good judgement on whether to hire the candidate or not.  I agree with many of the others in that it is such an important task to hire the right person; unfortunately, depending on the size, location, pay, etc., it is not always easy to select from a large number of applicants.

I would like to think positively that administrators and school boards select a candidate based on their credentials, experience, etc., but I think knowing the right people plays a lot into the selection process as well.

Hiring Process

I believe that the hiring process can improve/hamper your school district in hurry. The wrong decision or not following your gut could lead to big problems. It's important to have the questions ready and do your homework and check ALL references. In my recent experiences it seems that we hire new teachers and don't mentor them properly. We have sent teachers to mentor training but I don't see any improvements to helping our new teachers. I am looking forward to our mock interviews next class and would like to talk about what happens after the hiring process. What happens next and what about mentoring? How often does the principal perform walkthroughs and informal observations and evaluations. I could relate to the "spillover" effect. You see this on many professional teams where they bring in the "wrong" guy and the team goes the wrong way.

Hiring on Paper

The hiring process is the most crucial aspect of success. It really does not matter if it is administrators, teachers, coaches, support staff, etc. If you do not have the right person for the job you will not reach the level of success desired. The job model really makes you think about what you want accomplished as well as who you want to help reach those accomplishments. If proper time is not spent doing this you will end up settling for less. Putting it on paper helps you figure out what it will take to be successful. The other problem though is that some people can really look good on paper and fail in person. That is where the "gut Feeling" comes in. The combination should get you the best options.

need for networking

I think some of the collaborative things we did this weekend strengthened the idea of networking. If an administrator had to do things like job models and forecast the future effects of a community change by him/herself they could be in trouble just to accomplish the task. I found it quite difficult at times to come up with any idea at all when others around me were throwing them out one after the other. I work for a principal that wants to do everything by himself and in turn gets little completed.

Hiring Process

I enjoyed collaborating with team members and identifying appropriate interview questions for the case study. The hiring process is so critical for buildings and discussing scenarios in class and reading chapter six really opened my eyes on how to get to know someone so you can find the right person for a building.

IIRC

I really like the IIRC website. It was so informative. I was amazed with how much info I could find on that website. I wonder how many teachers actually look at this website before applying for a job. It would be useful for the candidates because they can impress the interviewers.

I also like chapter 6 info too. It covered very detailed info for the job selection. As you said, staffing is the most expensive cost in the budget. We the school doesn't do it right, it can cause the school a lot of time and money in the long run. It is better to do it right the first time.

10-24

I really liked the interview preparation, and think that this is something that in the future I will defiantly be using.  I have been involved in interviews before and was uncomfortable with the process.  We walked in with the district checklist, but there were not standard questions to be asked, each person individually came up with some questions before the interview.  There was also no discussion before the interview process of exactly what type of person that we were looking for and what skills they needed.  I consider us to have been lucky that one time we ended up getting a top notch person and another time we got burned, thankfully we were able to get rid of that person quickly. 

Hiring with a Gut Feeling.

I think its amazing how instinctly the human body works with knowing if something is wrong or right based on the vibe one gets from the situation. I hope that in the future I will listen better to my gut feeling when it comes to making decision especially when my decisions will affect the future of so many individuals. Its true what they say about hindsight being 20/20. I can see how being in the trenches may cause a leader to not be able to see the big picture or make hassened decisions. At the same time, I think it will be a really interesting challenge for me to be able to have those opportunities to change lives in a positive manner, I can only hope for right now. I will definitely use these techniques in the book as a resource for my future hiring and inquiring endeavors.

Sunday, October 24th

The hiring process is a facinating one to me. As much as we can prepare by knowing what we are looking for and asking all of the right questions, if the candidate is not honest, the system will not work- unless that is we check references everytime.
I am amazed by administrators who do not check references. The amount of time if takes to check them is so minimal compared to the amount of time, money, and energy necessary to fire someone. We know the information- if kids are our priority- and we know that personnel can make or break their educational experience-then we need to take our future responsibility seriously! There will be many factors that will try to steal our focus away from our top priorities so we need to encourage one another to act on what we know to be our primary commitment- the education of the students.

10-24 Interview process

Forming the right committee for interviews should not be overlooked or taken lightly as a principal. The committee should understand the type of candidate that is needed for the open position but also identify candidates that will fit into the vision and mission of the school. Finding a great candidate for a position is often hard but putting together committees that can identify what is best for your organization sometimes may be difficult. As the leader of the organization the hiring process will ultimately determined your success over time.

interview process

Administrators can make quick changes that can impact a school building success by the hiring of new staff. As part of my internship, I was part of the interviewing process for 3 teaching positions and 1 support staff position. This was a great experience during my internship. I actually didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. After sifting through tons and tons of resumes, I found around 6 candidates that I really liked. I actually felt guilty for disguarding some of the resumes and not giving some people an opportunity to get an interview. I had a hard time picking people to interview based solely on words on a paper. Those words are not a true indicator of who will be a great teacher or not. I just had to trust my judgement and go with that gut feeling on who to interview.

Character 10-23-10

When I think about the "rock star" teachers in my building, they each possess good character.  They don't create or contribute to drama.  They are serious about learning and are well-grounded individuals.  They work toward improving ways of doing business in our building.  They also seek help and admit to not "having all the answers".  They collaborate with ALL other staff members and are not ones to complain about things they don't understand like decisions from Central Office.  How do you identify these qualities in an interview?  I have been on many interview committees and been part of bad and good hires.  The last committee I was part of hired what turned out to be a difficult person.  She does not do the things she said she did in her interview.  She refuses to work with certain populations of students.  She tries to give orders to people who are in higher positions than she.  I thought during her interview that she was too good to be true.  It turned out to be true.  I feel sorry for that principal and all the energy he has had to put into her existence. 

Hiring (10-24-10)

If hiring the right person is THE  most important thing a principal can do, I wish there was an interview system that guaranteed a good hire.  It sounds like following your gut is the best gauge we have to hiring the right person.  As I saw in the ppt today, there are models to help with the selection process, but it still boils down to how you feel about the candidate.  That's a lot of pressure.  I wonder if superintendents ever follow the hires of principals to see if there is a pattern of good or bad hires.  Also, I want to learn more about the contents of the HUMANeX "assessment" for hiring great people.  

Oct. 24th-Session 2

I found today's topic of the hiring of personnel process to be of value.  I thought the activity for researching your school needs, developing a job model and developing interview questions was helpful for me as a future principal.  The process that we used was helpful to target specific needs, and to develop questions based on your needs/wants.  I think we get so busy sometime that we throw things together BUT with personnel being your biggest asset, this is an area that you would want to spend the time to get it right!

interviewing procedures

I thought it was interesting to put ourselves in the chair of the building principal as an interviewer.  It was difficult but helpful to have to create a mock opening. The job description listing was the hardest, but I thought it was fun to be able to choose my top 15 questions to ask in an interview.

Pressure to get better

Posting test scores by teacher.


I think that with the idea of posting test scores by teacher is an interesting idea. It's sort of "put up or shut up." However, I teach music and I don't have to prepare kids for testing.

My other thought is what are these teachers afraid of? If you think you can teach then your kids should be learning. The days are over where you can walk into the school, close your door, and teach your kids. You are expected to ensure your kids are learning. I don't know that I would  be opposed to posting scores, but again, I teach music.

The hiring process...

Whoa, baby. There is a ton of prep to do for an interview. I think that if you spend the time to prepare correctly you are going to get a good person. It could be true that if you prepare you will get a good person and if you just walk in with out thinking about who you are looking for you will find yourself getting a person who's lousy.

I wish there was a good resource for interview questions. You have your standard questions, but eh, they can get stale.


Dane Barner

October 23, 2010

I thought the iirc question/job model assignment today was taxing on the brain. However, I did find it helpful to look at the data from a specific school to come up with legitimate elements to focus on for the hiring of new staff. I'm interested to find out if my building administrators actually use a model like this as thier approach to determining staffing needs. My guess is, that even though they have a pretty good idea of the needs, it's more of a nebulous "feeling" about the needs and qualifications, versus a planned description of need based on data. This project was taxing and time-consuming, but I do believe it is a strategy I will use as an administrator because it uses data to support or defy a "hunch" and the building ends up with a much more specific hiring target and questions than I've seen in the hiring committees in which I've been involved.

Personnel Day 2

I really enjoyed putting together the job model and questions. I didn't realize just how difficult it would be to create a job model until we started it. I felt like this was a good experience working on this because I'm sure we'll have to do it in the future.
I'm really looking forward to the actual interview process. I've never been the interviewer before, and I can't wait!

10/24

The group activity was very in lighting but also exhausting. I went into more depth into the IRRC website than I had in the past. This was a good practice for us to create interview questions and the answering process.