Article Summary : School Leadership

Who school leaders are – what they do, attend to, or seem to appreciate is constantly watched by students, teachers, parents, and members of the community. Their interests and actions send powerful messages. They signal the values they hold. Above all else, leaders are cultural “teachers” in the best sense of the word. (Deal & Peterson, 1990, p. 201)

The researchers reviewed related educational peer-reviewed literature, as it pertained to their study. They reviewed literature topics related to transformational leadership, best practices of educational leadership, strategies for improved school culture, and leadership styles and its impact on teacher morale. The researchers identify in their review of the literature characteristics of “true” transformational leadership to include a leader’s ability to “lead by example and have the ability to articulate goals of the organization which

Leaders are accountable to uphold a safe learning environment and uphold personal and professional values. They demonstrate and live these values, beliefs and attitudes to inspire others to higher levels of performance. Leaders expect others in the school community to demonstrate integrity and exercise ethical behavior. With high stakes accountability, leaders need to interpret and implement policies for the benefit of students, staff, community and themselves and do so with integrity.

Servant leadership is key- Educational leaders must have the interests of the children as their main concern. Hall’s use of fear to achieve results created a bigger problem within the school district rather than solving it. Listening to teachers’ difficulties and working directly with those inside individual schools will help leaders identify and solve problems, as Errol and Castarphen have done and will continue doing.

Leadership is a very difficult yet gratifying role to play in Garden City high school. Throughout the school day I feel I put in a surplus of effort in everything I do from homework to being kind, but a lot of the time I feel I am not noticed and that is what I think is the biggest challenge of being a leader; not being noticed but still going on in what you do, also whenever things go wrong the leader is the first to be blamed. So if your wanting to be a leader you're gonna have to be tough and confident.

Palmer Lake Elementary School refers to a public elementary school located in Brooklyn Park. The school has 678 students with majority being Whites and non-Hispanics. The teachers; population is between 40 and 50 teachers: 6 speech teacher, two reading teacher, 3 gym physical, two music teachers, 28 for regular classes, one media. Accordingly, the ratio of students to teachers is approximately 15:1. Each class has varying number of students ranging from 19 to 28 students. Approximately 54 percent of the students are male and 46 percent are female. The percentage of students eligible for subsidized lunch is 65. This essay examines the leadership skills and styles of Dr. Tim Brown after an interview in his office. Dr. Tim is the principal of Palmer Lake Elementary School and plays the following roles. First, he shapes the vision of academic success and instructional competence for all students and teachers respectively. Second, he plays the role of creating a climate and environment that is hospitable for learning. Third, he cultivates leadership in other teachers. Fourth, he is answerable to external stakeholders such as parents and state education authorities concerning the school’s performances and use of resources. Effective educational leadership is a continuous process that involves self-examination, learning from others, collaboration and sustainable use of resources to accomplish the goals and

Above all else, I view leadership within the school system as essential for its success. My cumulative experiences provide a strong background that will allow me to excel as a school leader. I possess an understanding of the challenges and intricacies of a wide variety of school systems, ranging from small rural programs to inner-city and sub-urban high schools to research universities. My experience teaching at the college level gives me a unique perspective that will allow me to guide a program aimed at cultivating high school students capable of excelling in their educational endeavors. In addition, I believe that to be a truly successful leader, one must have a clear understanding of the challenges faced by educators. My years as a high school teacher have provided me a keen perspective in this regard. University of Northern Colorado’s Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Program will be an invaluable avenue for me to learn from experienced educators as I hone my leadership abilities with the goal of using my life to lead improvements in the public education system. I look forward to the opportunity to develop as an educator,

Leadership is a privilege that carries with it many responsibilities to inspire others, and to direct individuals to attain the vision and goals of an organization. As an effective leader it is my job to be flexible, be an excellent communicator, be a person who leads by example, and is an individual who is committed, resourceful, and reflective. Achieving the characteristics above, I have developed a definite purpose in mind; one that is shared and modeled in and outside of my school environment. With such growth mindset, I teach, present workshops and empowers others to make decisions that will develop future leaders. To lead by example, I became a mentor for first-year teachers. Furthermore, I orchestrate educational committees, encouraging

Hillard (2011) asserts that with the passing of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) bill, educational leaders face more challenging leadership responsibilities than ever in the history of education. The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) has set stringent standards that school principals must meet before they are deemed qualified to lead instruction. This includes completing formal Educational leadership programs, the passage of an examination demonstrating their skills and knowledge, and a certification process. However, school administrators are still concerned with not having enough time to provide instructional supports to teacher. In addition, it is nearly impossible for principals to be content experts in every subject, especially in high school settings.

The role of principal has evolved over time just as our education system has. No longer is the leader of a school a mere manager of teachers and students. The current body of research shows that principals have great impact as instructional leaders when working within frameworks that inspire and support teacher growth. Student achievement is the ultimate focus and goal within any education community. We are promising families, post-secondary schools and the workforce that we will increase each child’s strengths and skills so they can be contributing members of their larger community. The goal is simple even though the road there in filled with many barriers and complexities. This is why powerful instructional leadership is essential for promoting growth and development in both teachers and students. I want to build meaningful processes that support this type of teacher growth and ensure that students do not fall through the cracks and reach their potential.

The first book assigned to me for my capstone leadership book is Trust matters: Leadership for successful schools. This book details three principals and how each of them has different leadership styles when it comes to developing trust. This book puts trust from leadership positions in perspective from the three case studies point of views. In my years of teaching I have experienced all three types of leaders in this book. As a future administrator I want to strive to be like Brenda. I want to be a balanced leader, but at this time I find myself being more like Fred. I will have to develop my skills to not shy away from conflict all the time when I’m in my leadership role. I have to figure out how to balance the peace keeper mentality of Fred and the overzealousness of Gloria to become the balanced Brenda from the case studies. I want my staff to trust me and I want to instill trust into them so they have a sense of comfort in doing their jobs and being leaders themselves on campus.

The case for the application and usefulness of critical race theory in school leadership has been examined at both the K-12 practice of school leadership (Aleman, 2009; Brown, 2005; Gooden, 2002; Parker & Villapando, 2007; Stovall, 2004) and the higher education preparation administration programs (Agosto, Karanxha, & Bellara 2014; Gooden & Dantley, 2012; Lopez, 2003) that funnel future school leaders emerged during the 2000’s (Khalifa, Dunbar, and Douglas, 2013). According to Stovall (2004) the application of a CRT perspective to school leadership incorporates a “race-praxis” that enables school leaders to unpack and address issues of race and racism. Parker and Villapando (2007) add that CRT can provide school leaders with the “valuable lens with which

M. Scott Norton (2008) defines human resources as being evolved from the word personnel, because people were considered to be the primary asset of a system (p.3). Since people are considered to be such a vital part of an organization, challenges of staffing in school districts can have a great impact on the overall success of the district, and student achievement. In chapter 8 of Daniel L. Duke’s The Challenges of School District Leadership, the challenges of staffing schools is discussed as well as considerations for school leaders to consider when going through the process of staffing. These challenges revolve around recruitment, retention, developing school leaders. This paper will discuss the complexities involved in staffing

Effectual school leadership without impactful communication is impossible. Yet communication is focal to school leadership efficacy as it is something all leaders must do and always do to be accomplished. It performed as a powerful weapon of authority especially when workers need inspiration to buy into the leader’s developmental plans. For example, you may birth a vision alone but would need your team’s endorsement to structure, initiate and accomplish it. You would need to share the vision, such that the employees seizes it, establish a zeal for it and decides to be devoted to its actualization.

Marzano, McNulty and Waters propose five steps for a plan of effective school leadership. The first step is developing a leadership team with purpose. The definition used for a purposeful community is one with the collective efficacy and capability to develop and use assets to accomplish goals that mater to all community members through agreed-upon process (Marzano, et. al, 2005). The second step is distributing some responsibilities throughout the leadership team. The third step is to select the right work. The fourth step is to identify the order of magnitude implied by the selected work. The last step is to match the management style to the order of magnitude of the change initiative. The last step incorporates whether this is first or second order change.