Sylvan Learning Observation

It is personally satisfying to me to work with the students and teachers in District 57. I am driven to do my very best for them. Through collaboration with the teachers, I was able to determine their needs, from gathering and preparing materials to providing extra help in the classroom. I demonstrated cooperation and

This is a case study analysis of The New Principal: Managing Human Resources by Jane A. MacDonald (2006). This case study focuses on issues a first year principal may face when entering her school for the first time. Ms. Vera Zola was not only a first year principal; she was also new to the school district. In her previous role as assistant principal, she was in a neighboring school district. In her new district, the Suburban Public School District (SPS), there were approximately 11,000 students enrolled (MacDonald, 2006). Ms. Zola was assigned to Roma Elementary, one of six elementary schools in the district. There were two middle schools and two high schools. Approximately 80% of high school graduates continued on to higher education or a trade school. Community members had diverse cultural backgrounds and lifestyles, and the community was growing.

In this chapter, Fullan begins by maintaining that principals who are effective lead learners are necessarily also good managers, because they understand that having clear routines is essential for school improvement.” (57) He quotes from Viviane Robinson’s Student-Centered Leadership to both underscore the previous point and emphasize that successful principals take an active learning stance: “The principal who makes the biggest impact on learning is the one who attends to other matters as well, but, most important, ‘participates as a learner’ with teachers in helping move the school forward.” (58) Fullan also borrows from Helen Timperley’s work in responding to the question, Who is in a principal’s class? The principal’s class consists of “team leaders who in turn can leverage the learning of other teachers in their group”

It all started with an email seeking freshman male in his coaching and administration program. The 2012 graduate of UConn’s Sport Administration and coaching program, William Aloia, says this future success as the Associate Athletic Director for The College of St. Rose started out by almost” falling into his lap”. The New Jersey native began his undergraduate experience with two Division-I parents, and like an abundance of people he knew that working in sport was something he wanted to do. Previously a part of the Kinesiology department under the late Joe Marrone, Will jumped on the opportunity posted through an email and started his freshman year as a basketball manager for the very successful UConn’s basketball program. He explains how this experience “opened his door up”. Will states; “once I started at UConn working with the women’s basketball program and being around collegiate athletics at such a high level it’s really something in itself, and unbelievable experience. I knew it was for me, I didn’t know which part for sure, but I knew this was something I wanted to do.” What Will realized very quickly realized about working in sport is that often times it is a thankless job. However, that did not stop him from finishing his undergraduate career as a four-year manager for the basketball team. The motivation for Will early in his career has been a two-dimensional illustration of success.

Even though I volunteered in different schools, I never had the opportunity to ask about the real feelings of a teacher. During the interview, I learned that there is more than just teaching in becoming a teacher. This is because she told me how one of her hesitation on becoming a teacher is the time one dedicates for the job. She told me that when one is teacher, one must prepare lesson plans, come to school early to prepare for the day, and even stay longer to grade papers. She said that her typical day starts at 7:30 am to prepare materials and school instruction starts from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm. Then, even though the class ends already, she needs to create lesson plans for the entire week. She said that all these things are part of a teacher’s job, but they do not get paid to do these things. Therefore, I learned that being a teacher is not easy because there are a lot of extra responsibilities beyond the job description and that being a teacher extend beyond the classroom. Additionally, her answer made me reflect on whether I want a job, where I have to work more than the “work hours.” However, despite this workload, what amazes me was when she said that if she could go back, she would still choose to be a teacher because of her passion to make a difference in the lives of the

Williams and a number of other teachers who seemed quite happy to see me. The environment at the middle school was happy and welcoming, which truly only improved my outlook on teaching. Mr. Williams and I walked to an empty classroom in which the interview was held and I began to ask him the questions I had written up earlier that week. I started off with a number of questions mainly about how he knew he wanted to be a teacher. So, naturally, he explained that he went to Duquesne University intending to become a lawyer. In his junior year of college, however, after taking three years worth of pre-law classes, he decided he wanted to switch his major to education. When I asked him what made him decide to change his path, he said he worked at the zoo one summer in their education department, and he liked it so much more than any experience he had in law. I found it extremely interesting to see how one small experience, such as a summer job at the zoo, impacted his entire life and career path so dramatically. After this realization, we began talking about what education he actually needed to become a

For this assignment, I chose to interview Ms. Lisa Parker, who is a Math co-teacher and resource teacher for grades K-5 at Krahn Elementary which is a part of the Klein Independent School District and is one of the teachers I have been observing for my field experience. Ms. Parker has been a teacher at Krahn Elementary since 17 years. She started as a 1st grade teacher and was moved to 3rd grade after three years. The administration saw that she was really good with management and math, so she was given the below average, special education students and kids with adaptive behavior after seven years of teaching. With this, she adopted a style for teaching kids with special needs and decided to get a certification in Special Education. Ms. Parker has been teaching specifically in Special Education (SPED) since five years now and the special populations served by her in Krahn elementary include Gifted and Talented students (GT), students with Autism, students with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), students with Learning disabilities (LD), students with Other Health Impairments (OHI) and Emotionally Disturbed children (EBD)

Staffing a school is the most important responsibility and service a principal has to attend and to provide a school. Students have a right to be taught by highly qualified teachers and in this case a highly qualified basketball coach. The case study #16 presents a situation where the principal has to begin recruiting to fill a basketball coaching position that has been long filled by two brothers that are ready to retire due to health reasons. The principal feels the pressure to have to fill this position, but finds it a bit challenging for a number of reasons—salary considered too low, not enough interest in “girls’ teams by the community, racial and gender concerns, and scandals in nearby district concerning males coaching girls’ teams. An athletic director for the high school suggests that she look into asking the parents of the players. (Kirschmann, 1996)

This will allow for dialogue between faculty, staff, and myself as the administrator. I am currently working as an elementary school aide to prepare for what I need in order to be successful as a school administrator since most duties are non-professional. A successful operation of an educational institution requires a competent administrator, such as one who can lead in teaching and learning, take responsibility for school success, develop and retain excellent teachers, and build a strong school community. Leadership plays a critical part in the realization of effective schools, seeing the vision of the school, and articulates the goals. Leadership is a trait I use daily working with people getting things done by modeling behaviors and inspiring action.

They collaboratively create a vision and through patience and perseverance achieve their visions. When thinking about Mrs. Angela Ellison, I believe she encompasses three of the seven envisioner benchmarks: she has been called, can see the invisible, and can articulate her visions and then make them happen. Mrs. Ellison’s passion for education is evident in her steadfast approach to reaching as many students as possible by any means necessary. She goes out of her way to provide opportunities for students to become and feel successful. Often time the staff was not initially on board with her outlandish ideas but

Leadership involves more than exercising power and authority and is demonstrated on different levels. Coaching, encouraging, teaching, and motivating are individual levels of leadership. The former coach for the women 's basketball league was leaving and the athletic department hired a replacement named Shirley Sharpe. She was the coach of the soccer team and the women 's basketball league. Stepping into a college coaching position, she seemed to be excited, but also unsure of her new adventure. However, this woman did not seem to care what the team members thought she wanted things done her way. Shirley did not take the time to find out what these ladies used to she just give them instructions set on the top bleachers with the assistant coach and write.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog starts off simply enough: you are immediately thrown into the world of Karl Marx and a ramble on the societal expectations of being a fifty-four year old concierge at a prestigious apartment full of bourgeois families that simply cannot know that the woman, Renée Michel, is an autodidact—an enthusiast of

According to the authors of this article (Donaldson, Marnik, Mackenzie, & Ackerman, 2009), principals need to concentrate on the development of skills and behaviors in order to be successful in motivating, leading, and changing the direction of a school. The successful principal understands that there exists a fine balance of caring for others and the need to accomplish specific tasks (Donaldson, Marnik, Mackenzie, & Ackerman, 2009).

Effective school leadership today must combine the traditional school leadership duties such as teacher evaluation, budgeting, scheduling, and facilities maintenance with a deep involvement with specific aspects of teaching and learning. Effective instructional leaders are intensely involved in curricular and instructional issues that directly affect student achievement (Cotton, 2003). The writer of this paper acknowledges that school principals should play the role of instructional leaders, not just a school manager. The reality is that are many demands on a principals time and management skills making it difficult for most of them to spend time in classrooms, when performing teacher evaluation. Principals often make sure that teachers

When I first started teaching, I was told to think of a teacher who truly made me feel special. When asked to reflect on powerful leaders, I was able to remember the people who have truly modeled for me true leadership. In my academic career, I can only think of one leader who has made me excited for what was to come. My college principal, Julianne Malvueax was the most outspoken, ambitious and engaging leader I’ve known. In the week 4 discussion, I recalled describing the feeling of overall joy and excitement I felt when listening to her speak. Whenever she entered a venue, you could feel the electricity in the room. When students left her presence, we knew we wanted to change things. We knew that we were an integral part of the institution’s mission and she reminded us of this constantly. After thumbing through the resources, I realize that Malvueax was an effective leader. Not only did she get us excited, the goals she set for our institution were clear. We knew what she expected from us as