In my previous roles in administration we have always tried to build consensus among team members. We used to try to complete these matrices that were predicated on buuilding consensus with all staff memebers. What generally happened is that people would agree to the decisions just to have a consensus...and mercifully end the meetings! These matrices were completed as part of a school-wide self assessment to assess how the school was doing towards meeting their goals. Most of the discussions lacked true consensus as most were just trying to go home. Every once in a while, someone would disagree, with cause, and the tension in the room would rise. Most people were thinking, "Just be quiet so we can go home!" I sat in on these meetings as teacher/participant and as an administrator/facilitator. Every meeting, from four different schools, went the same way and had the same feeling.
At my new school, we have yet to hold a meeting that required us to come to a consensus.
As part of my principal induction program, I am reading a book titled, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, written by Patrick Lencioni. In his book, the point is raised that consensus is horrible, unless is comes about quickly and naturally. Otherwise, it is an attempt please everyone, which eventually leads to pleasing no one! He states that most reasonable people just want to be heard, but don't always have to have their way. He states that some teams [schools] become paralyzed by trying to please everyone and they do not engage in true to debate to help solve problems. He states that people can disagree and commit to an idea, as long as they had a chance to voice there opinions. The phrase used was: "Disagree and buy-in".
This is a new perspective for me in the context of management. I have always thought that disgreement in a team setting was harmful, but now I look at it as if there is no disagreement, then there must be a problem. I have never had a problem disagreeing or hearing others disagree, but I thought it was a sign that we were not on the same page. Now I look at it as healthy for all to disgree, as long as there is commitment in the end...
I hope that this new perspective changes my management style and produces a healthy workplace that is accepting of disagreements and expects commitment!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
If you feed them...they will come!
At all the previous schools that I have worked at, we always offered food at the different events that we have held. We always did this as a fundraiser and to help remove a barrier for families to come to an event. We always hear that there is not enough time when work is over, for parents to make dinner and get kids back to school for the nighttime event. So, we tried to help families out by offering dinner. This was usually well accepted and parents were appreciative of our efforts to help.
What I have now found at my new school is that they only way some parents will come out to events is if we offer food...for free! We have held three major events during this month and all have had food as an enticement. We held an award's dinner for 2nd - 5th grade students who made the honor roll. We had a couple of hundred people attend to eat and see their kids get their awards. We then held our 2nd Family Night (I previously wrote in September about the 1st one) and we had just under 200 people attend. This was less than the first event, but still a significant amount family involvement. It gave parents an opportunity to interact with their kids in an academic setting. Finally, last week, we held our Thanksgiving luncheon. We had a couple of hundred parents, grandparents and extended family members attend this school day event.
How I wish that the parents would show as much interest in the everyday aspects of school as they do with these events that we hold. I know that these events are a starting point to get families involved! I hope that they will be the seed that is planted to get families to stay involved in their children's education...
What I have now found at my new school is that they only way some parents will come out to events is if we offer food...for free! We have held three major events during this month and all have had food as an enticement. We held an award's dinner for 2nd - 5th grade students who made the honor roll. We had a couple of hundred people attend to eat and see their kids get their awards. We then held our 2nd Family Night (I previously wrote in September about the 1st one) and we had just under 200 people attend. This was less than the first event, but still a significant amount family involvement. It gave parents an opportunity to interact with their kids in an academic setting. Finally, last week, we held our Thanksgiving luncheon. We had a couple of hundred parents, grandparents and extended family members attend this school day event.
How I wish that the parents would show as much interest in the everyday aspects of school as they do with these events that we hold. I know that these events are a starting point to get families involved! I hope that they will be the seed that is planted to get families to stay involved in their children's education...
Saturday, November 8, 2008
End of the First Quarter
Well...the first quarter has come to a close and we have not had a need for the Sheriff's office for the past few weeks!
It's been a while since my last post and much has gone on at the school.
I can thankfully say that we have filled our last vacancy. We had a self-contained special education opening that has been filled with a substitute since the 5th day of school. We have a teacher that returned to our area that had plenty of experience and is doing well in the class. The substitute that was in there already has another job lined up as we have a teacher on maternity leave...
The first quarter ended and we had parent conference day. The teachers worked extremely hard to make sure that all parents came up to the school for a conference to discuss student progress. Teachers were willing to meet teachers whenever time allotted, so there were some early morning and late evening congerences. Almost all parents participated in a conference...for some it was there first time at the school, but hopefully not the last.
We had a new program occur during the last week of October called Extended Learning Time (ELT). It was designed for students who had not met the state standard on our state test. These students were the only ones in attendance as all others had some time off. We had 48 students scheduled to attend and about 40 of them were there each day...the others will have to pay the price for non-attendance. The first day of ELT was similar to the first day of school. We had a great group of teachers who chose to work these extra school days and they did a fantastic job with the kids in small groups. That was the bright spot. We had some trouble with food-service (frozen french toast...yuk!) and transportation (only one student picked up on one of the bus routes). But the week was a success overall, thanks to the great work of the teachers and the hard work of the students!
Before the quarter ended, we had a very productive week at the school. Each grade level was allotted a 3 hour planning session with the entire grade level. The teacher assistants throughout the school covered the classes so that teachers could spend this time together. My coaches (math, literacy and technology) each spent time in the planning sessions. Teachers used a grade level planning lotus to show me what there plans were. This form was provided to me by my former principal. I need to give the teachers more direction on how to use it, but it was a great start. Teachers were appreciative of the time they were able to spend. My goal for the sessions was for teachers to plan common lessons and assessments. As we work through this, I hope that the planning sessions become an integral part of getting ready to teach students. I truly believe that if the teachers on each grade level will work together to plan common lessons and assessments, and then take time to review the results of the lessons and modify lessons based on results that all students will benefit from stronger lessons and more effective teachers. We will have another planning day at the beginning of December and then have one every five or six weeks throughout the year. We will establish professional learning communities with this effort.
2nd quarter began this week and have had 12 new students enroll...we are officially over 500 students now! We had a dinner to honor out students who made the honor roll during the first quarter and had about 200 attendees. Our second Family Night will take place in a week and a half and we hope to draw 350 (our first one had over 300)...
We had a great Veteran's Day celebration and program presented by our 3rd grade students and music teacher...we were able to honor many veterans who were in attendance, some of them our very own staff members!
I am off to my second round of principal induction training with the state department...it is hard to lead while away, but a valuable lesson to learn!
I hope
It's been a while since my last post and much has gone on at the school.
I can thankfully say that we have filled our last vacancy. We had a self-contained special education opening that has been filled with a substitute since the 5th day of school. We have a teacher that returned to our area that had plenty of experience and is doing well in the class. The substitute that was in there already has another job lined up as we have a teacher on maternity leave...
The first quarter ended and we had parent conference day. The teachers worked extremely hard to make sure that all parents came up to the school for a conference to discuss student progress. Teachers were willing to meet teachers whenever time allotted, so there were some early morning and late evening congerences. Almost all parents participated in a conference...for some it was there first time at the school, but hopefully not the last.
We had a new program occur during the last week of October called Extended Learning Time (ELT). It was designed for students who had not met the state standard on our state test. These students were the only ones in attendance as all others had some time off. We had 48 students scheduled to attend and about 40 of them were there each day...the others will have to pay the price for non-attendance. The first day of ELT was similar to the first day of school. We had a great group of teachers who chose to work these extra school days and they did a fantastic job with the kids in small groups. That was the bright spot. We had some trouble with food-service (frozen french toast...yuk!) and transportation (only one student picked up on one of the bus routes). But the week was a success overall, thanks to the great work of the teachers and the hard work of the students!
Before the quarter ended, we had a very productive week at the school. Each grade level was allotted a 3 hour planning session with the entire grade level. The teacher assistants throughout the school covered the classes so that teachers could spend this time together. My coaches (math, literacy and technology) each spent time in the planning sessions. Teachers used a grade level planning lotus to show me what there plans were. This form was provided to me by my former principal. I need to give the teachers more direction on how to use it, but it was a great start. Teachers were appreciative of the time they were able to spend. My goal for the sessions was for teachers to plan common lessons and assessments. As we work through this, I hope that the planning sessions become an integral part of getting ready to teach students. I truly believe that if the teachers on each grade level will work together to plan common lessons and assessments, and then take time to review the results of the lessons and modify lessons based on results that all students will benefit from stronger lessons and more effective teachers. We will have another planning day at the beginning of December and then have one every five or six weeks throughout the year. We will establish professional learning communities with this effort.
2nd quarter began this week and have had 12 new students enroll...we are officially over 500 students now! We had a dinner to honor out students who made the honor roll during the first quarter and had about 200 attendees. Our second Family Night will take place in a week and a half and we hope to draw 350 (our first one had over 300)...
We had a great Veteran's Day celebration and program presented by our 3rd grade students and music teacher...we were able to honor many veterans who were in attendance, some of them our very own staff members!
I am off to my second round of principal induction training with the state department...it is hard to lead while away, but a valuable lesson to learn!
I hope
Monday, October 13, 2008
Three for Three
I guess there must be someplace that keeps records for such things. I just don't know where to find it. I also know that other schools face much more than I do, but from my experience this really is a record...
In my previous 8 years in the field of education, I have only had to deal with police officers coming to school (in their official capacity) on a few rare occasions; Maybe one time a year, and those were usually for pretty severe cases.
Well, in the past three weeks, I have had sheriff's deputies up to the school three times. One of those I talked about in my previous post (Raccoon Hunting Season). The other two have been for incidents that I cannot describe in great detail, only to say that the deputies came to school out of need, helped the school and went on their way. I am starting to get a complex...as well as becoming familiar with all of the deputies in our county. I do feel like these men have the best interest of the school at heart and I am thankful for their quick responses and help.
I hope that all of incidents are over (they say bad luck comes in threes) and that I will not need the services of the police department any more this year, but I know better and I am thankful for their help in resolving all situations quickly!
In my previous 8 years in the field of education, I have only had to deal with police officers coming to school (in their official capacity) on a few rare occasions; Maybe one time a year, and those were usually for pretty severe cases.
Well, in the past three weeks, I have had sheriff's deputies up to the school three times. One of those I talked about in my previous post (Raccoon Hunting Season). The other two have been for incidents that I cannot describe in great detail, only to say that the deputies came to school out of need, helped the school and went on their way. I am starting to get a complex...as well as becoming familiar with all of the deputies in our county. I do feel like these men have the best interest of the school at heart and I am thankful for their quick responses and help.
I hope that all of incidents are over (they say bad luck comes in threes) and that I will not need the services of the police department any more this year, but I know better and I am thankful for their help in resolving all situations quickly!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Raccoon Hunting Season
Apparently, it is legal to hunt raccoons on your property in the county that my school is in?!?!? It is even legal if your property connects to school property. How do I know this you ask? We had a school neighbor hunting raccoons from his porch. He used a handgun (which he had a legal permit for) to shoot 2 raccoons that had been getting into his home. At the time of the hunting episode, we did not know what was happening. We heard gunshots and immediately had all students that were outside on the playground get into the building. We called the county sheriff's office to make the report. The deputy came out and investigated the issue. He found that the neighbor had been shooting at raccoons on his property. He said they had been getting into his house and he was stopping them. The deputy told him that it would be wise to notify the school before doing anymore raccoon hunting or target practice during the school day.
In a year of many firsts...this is definitely one of the strangest!
In a year of many firsts...this is definitely one of the strangest!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Common Grade Level Planning
Most schools have common planning time for teachers during Specials (Related Arts in some places of the state). Teachers have about 45 minutes to plan while students attend art, music, PE, etc. We all know that those 45 minutes quickly get eaten by using the restroom, taking and picking up students, making phone calls, grade level business meeting, receipting money and so on. So teachers end up with very little time to actually plan with one another during the school day. There is always time after school, but teachers have lives to live and can't be expected to give up many afternoons to plan together. Besides, with all the different groups that meet following school, there really is very little time to plan.
I am going to give teachers a three hour common planning time in October to try to make sure that everyone is doing things like common assessments, sharing great lessons, and planning units together. Ideally we would do this once a month, but we'll start with October and see how it goes. We did this common planning time at my previous school, but it was very expensive as we had to pay for substitutes while the teachers were out of their rooms. Luckily at my current school, I am able to use the many teacher assistants that we have to help cover the classrooms so that this common planning can occur.
The teachers were extremely grateful when they found out we would do this. I hope that they will take full advantage of specialists here at the school and allow them to help during these planning time to make sure that all teachers prepare great units for students.
I would love to hear how other schools set aside common planning time for teachers during the work day!
I am going to give teachers a three hour common planning time in October to try to make sure that everyone is doing things like common assessments, sharing great lessons, and planning units together. Ideally we would do this once a month, but we'll start with October and see how it goes. We did this common planning time at my previous school, but it was very expensive as we had to pay for substitutes while the teachers were out of their rooms. Luckily at my current school, I am able to use the many teacher assistants that we have to help cover the classrooms so that this common planning can occur.
The teachers were extremely grateful when they found out we would do this. I hope that they will take full advantage of specialists here at the school and allow them to help during these planning time to make sure that all teachers prepare great units for students.
I would love to hear how other schools set aside common planning time for teachers during the work day!
Family Night
Wow...it has been a while since I have had a chance to post. School is a very busy place right now. Luckily, everyone seems to be falling in to their routines. We have begun district testing called MAP that allows teachers to learn what skills their students have and how they can serve them most effectively. I am still trying to hire a couple of positions. One teacher and one assistant - this has been the never-ending carousel!
On to the subject of today's post.
In the past, the school has hosted numerous activities for students and parents at night. There was a club for PreK and Kindergarten students. There was a club for 1st-5th grade students. The PTO also held meetings. These groups met frequently throughout the year on different nights. While talking to all staff members this summer, I heard many of them say how disappointed they were in the parent turnout at all of these meetings. They thought the content of the meetings was great, but the amount of people that came to each one was nothing to cheer about. I understood the plight of parents in regards to this. If they had a student in the PreK group and another in the 1st-5th grade group and they wanted to be active in the PTO, then they were expected to be at school 3 nights each month - in addition to other night activities such as award's dinners, etc. This was a great deal of time for parents to commit to the school.
This year we decided to combine the three groups into one big quarterly activity called "Family Night". The PreK and Kindergarten group, 1st-5th grade group and PTO were able to hold one single meeting with alot of activities for families, serve everyone a free dinner and do it all in one night! There was some skepticism to doing it this way. The way I saw it was that many more parents could commit to one night a quarter and we could make this a great event!
We focused on literacy and offered parents some tips on reading with students; we had PreK and Kindergarten students explore literacy through music; we had family activities in math, science, art and technology. And every child received a book!
We had about 500 respond that they were coming, but actually had about 300 show up. We were ecstatic at all of the participation. Everyone enjoyed themselves, learned some new things and enjoyed dinner. The number of participants was far greater than any of the events in the past. We look forward to our family night in November that will focus on wellness.
A special "thank-you" goes to our Reading Recovery teacher and to our PreK teacher for all of their hard work organizing the event. Thanks to all the teachers who took part in making this a great evening of learning and fun!
On to the subject of today's post.
In the past, the school has hosted numerous activities for students and parents at night. There was a club for PreK and Kindergarten students. There was a club for 1st-5th grade students. The PTO also held meetings. These groups met frequently throughout the year on different nights. While talking to all staff members this summer, I heard many of them say how disappointed they were in the parent turnout at all of these meetings. They thought the content of the meetings was great, but the amount of people that came to each one was nothing to cheer about. I understood the plight of parents in regards to this. If they had a student in the PreK group and another in the 1st-5th grade group and they wanted to be active in the PTO, then they were expected to be at school 3 nights each month - in addition to other night activities such as award's dinners, etc. This was a great deal of time for parents to commit to the school.
This year we decided to combine the three groups into one big quarterly activity called "Family Night". The PreK and Kindergarten group, 1st-5th grade group and PTO were able to hold one single meeting with alot of activities for families, serve everyone a free dinner and do it all in one night! There was some skepticism to doing it this way. The way I saw it was that many more parents could commit to one night a quarter and we could make this a great event!
We focused on literacy and offered parents some tips on reading with students; we had PreK and Kindergarten students explore literacy through music; we had family activities in math, science, art and technology. And every child received a book!
We had about 500 respond that they were coming, but actually had about 300 show up. We were ecstatic at all of the participation. Everyone enjoyed themselves, learned some new things and enjoyed dinner. The number of participants was far greater than any of the events in the past. We look forward to our family night in November that will focus on wellness.
A special "thank-you" goes to our Reading Recovery teacher and to our PreK teacher for all of their hard work organizing the event. Thanks to all the teachers who took part in making this a great evening of learning and fun!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Tropical Storm Hanna
School was canceled today due to expected problems associated with Tropical Storm Hanna. We have been awaiting this storm for the latter half of the week. It started as a hurricane and was on a direct course to our county. The storm stalled out some and then changed course to head towards North Carolina. We have waited for school closing decisions from the district office from Wednesday on. On Wednesday we thought we would be closed Thursday and Friday so that all could evacuate the area. As the course of the storm shifted, then plans did as well. School went on as usual on Thursday and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. At about 1:30 on Thursday school was canceled for Friday.
The reason for canceling school was that high winds were expected and school buses could not travel with winds above 35 MPH. Gusts are expected to rise above 45 MPH!!! So, only those of us who work year round are expected to be at school. It has been a quiet day. Some teachers have popped in to do some things in their classrooms. The staff did a great job preparing their rooms in case the weather turns severe.
We have been notified to close school by 3:00 in order to be able to make it home before the full impact of the storm is upon us.
We'll see how this plays out...
The reason for canceling school was that high winds were expected and school buses could not travel with winds above 35 MPH. Gusts are expected to rise above 45 MPH!!! So, only those of us who work year round are expected to be at school. It has been a quiet day. Some teachers have popped in to do some things in their classrooms. The staff did a great job preparing their rooms in case the weather turns severe.
We have been notified to close school by 3:00 in order to be able to make it home before the full impact of the storm is upon us.
We'll see how this plays out...
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Wrong School?!?!?!
Today was a first for this situation.
We had a student, who had not attended this school for three years, dropped off for our morning program. Luckily the guidance counselor that runs the morning program knew the student and that the student no longer attended our school. We were unsuccessful in locating the parent so our social worker took her back to the correct school. We're still waiting to hear from the parent...
We had a student, who had not attended this school for three years, dropped off for our morning program. Luckily the guidance counselor that runs the morning program knew the student and that the student no longer attended our school. We were unsuccessful in locating the parent so our social worker took her back to the correct school. We're still waiting to hear from the parent...
Week Number 2!
Week number two was definitely less stressful and more routine than the first week. I don't think that I could have handled a second week that presented the same challenges of week number one. Teachers, students and staff began falling into the regular routines. We did make one major change to the way our buses were dismissed. In the past, when the weather was nice, all bus riders were dismissed to the buses and teachers walked their homeroom classes to the loading area and attempted to load the students in an orderly fashion. This was a difficult proposition as teachers tried to load students onto multiple buses without getting kids (especially younger students) onto the wrong bus. Through the first week of school, we had buses return each day with kids who were on the wrong bus. We tried to simplify the procedure by having grade levels work together and have a single teacher responsible for all of the students on a grade level who ride the same bus. This way we can dismiss one bus at a time and the teachers take the whole group that they are responsible for to one bus. This process has sped up dismissal and dramatically reduced the number of kids returned to school because they were on the wrong bus (zero since the new procedure was implemented!). We also solved another problem by doing this. Rainy day bus dismissal was a completely different procedure that required even more work by the teachers. Luckily, the newly implemented procedures are able to be used for rainy days as well. So we have only one set of bus dismissal procedures that can be followed each day. This routine helps the children feel more comfortable.
We are now working on changing some of the car dismissal routines in order to make the system more efficient and provide an added measure of safety.
My favorite part of the day is my "morning walk-around" when I get a chance to visit each classroom and say good morning to staff and kids. The first week of school, I was able to do this daily. Last week, I only had the chance to visit on two days. Today, I vowed to do it every day that I am here. I was able to make it to each room!
I continued to be amazed that my staff works so well together. The teachers support one another and work hard. They are more than willing to step in help another teacher when needed. I am fortunate that the support staff is so willing to multi-task to help meet all of our needs!
We are now working on changing some of the car dismissal routines in order to make the system more efficient and provide an added measure of safety.
My favorite part of the day is my "morning walk-around" when I get a chance to visit each classroom and say good morning to staff and kids. The first week of school, I was able to do this daily. Last week, I only had the chance to visit on two days. Today, I vowed to do it every day that I am here. I was able to make it to each room!
I continued to be amazed that my staff works so well together. The teachers support one another and work hard. They are more than willing to step in help another teacher when needed. I am fortunate that the support staff is so willing to multi-task to help meet all of our needs!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
The First Week: A Roller Coaster
This first week has been an absolute roller coaster of emotions. The high of the first day of school and all of the promise that it brings was tempered by some very sobering realities throughout the rest of the first week.
I have been in education long enough to realize that the first week of school is always one of the most difficult. Everything cannot and will not go the way you would like. We plan all summer for the beginning of the year and things never turn out the way we would like them to. The first day is usually great, and mine was, but then the realities begin to settle in.
Dealing with buses has never been a great issue for me. Thankfully, I do not have to do too much with them because my assistant principal does a great job. However an aspect that is new is the amount of buses. In my previous school, we had three buses. One for special needs students and two for the general population. At my new school, we have one special needs bus and seven for all other students. The amount of kids riding the bus is triple what I am used to. To compound the problem, we have a lot of kids who ride one bus to school, but a different one home or they ride different buses depending on the day of the week. We have "tagged" our younger riders to ensure they get on the right bus. There still seem to be problems each day. The problems generally occur when a student fails to get off at the correct stop or they do not have a parent waiting for them at the stop. The bus company then returns them to school and we have to call for a parent. I was at school until almost 6 o'clock one day waiting for a parent to come and get their child. To top that, many parents have not updated their phone numbers and we have trouble getting in contact. We continue to work around these issues to do what is best for our kids.
This week has truly been a roller coaster for me in more ways that I cannot go into detail about. I hope that week number two is less centered on highs and lows and more about enjoying the ride. I do know that I have learned more about what it takes to run a school successfully in the past week than I had in much of my previous experience combined.
Week number two starts in 10 hours!
I have been in education long enough to realize that the first week of school is always one of the most difficult. Everything cannot and will not go the way you would like. We plan all summer for the beginning of the year and things never turn out the way we would like them to. The first day is usually great, and mine was, but then the realities begin to settle in.
Dealing with buses has never been a great issue for me. Thankfully, I do not have to do too much with them because my assistant principal does a great job. However an aspect that is new is the amount of buses. In my previous school, we had three buses. One for special needs students and two for the general population. At my new school, we have one special needs bus and seven for all other students. The amount of kids riding the bus is triple what I am used to. To compound the problem, we have a lot of kids who ride one bus to school, but a different one home or they ride different buses depending on the day of the week. We have "tagged" our younger riders to ensure they get on the right bus. There still seem to be problems each day. The problems generally occur when a student fails to get off at the correct stop or they do not have a parent waiting for them at the stop. The bus company then returns them to school and we have to call for a parent. I was at school until almost 6 o'clock one day waiting for a parent to come and get their child. To top that, many parents have not updated their phone numbers and we have trouble getting in contact. We continue to work around these issues to do what is best for our kids.
This week has truly been a roller coaster for me in more ways that I cannot go into detail about. I hope that week number two is less centered on highs and lows and more about enjoying the ride. I do know that I have learned more about what it takes to run a school successfully in the past week than I had in much of my previous experience combined.
Week number two starts in 10 hours!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
My First Official Day...with kids!
Monday the 18th was the first official day with students. When I first started in July, we had some students at the school for summer school and I was able to meet some kids. But on Monday, they all came. We had a first day enrollment of 465 kids, which was below projections. This number has risen by 5% in the first three days.
The night before school, I went around to check out each classroom and I gave each teacher a little note entitled, "Our Workplace". My 3 year old son helped me go around to each classroom and office to give these out to all staff members. A few folks commented that they appreciated the gesture. I hope that they will take the words to heart and partner with one another this school year.
We had a number of folks register their kids first thing in the morning on Monday. Alot of parents came in to find out who their child's teacher was because they were not able to come to the Back To School Event. The office was a busy place. I have met many new folks, but it will take a while to get to know the kids and parents. School started on time and we had very few issues. I took the time to walk around to each classroom and greet the teachers (this has become my new daily routine - the idea was introduced to me by a former Assistant Superintendant - "Thanks for the suggestion, Dr. Howard"). The teachers were all enthusiastic with their welcoming of all students. The rest of the school day went on without any incidences. There was a visit from the director of student services and also from my Academic Improvement officer. Both ladies commented that everything appeared to be going well.
We made it to dismissal...
I was worried because about 3 quarters of our students ride the bus home, many for the first time. My assistant principal and the rest of the staff did a great job getting kids to the buses and on the correct buses. We had a few students returned to schools because they missed their stop or had gotten on the wrong bus. By 5:00 everyone had been returned home or picked up. Not bad for the first day (since school gets out at 3:30 and buses didn't leave until almost 4:00).
I am thoroughly enjoying my time as principal. Things are definitely more stressful when you realize that there is no one else to look towards, but working with a great staff has helped keep the stress to a minimum! 1 day down, 179 to go!!!
The night before school, I went around to check out each classroom and I gave each teacher a little note entitled, "Our Workplace". My 3 year old son helped me go around to each classroom and office to give these out to all staff members. A few folks commented that they appreciated the gesture. I hope that they will take the words to heart and partner with one another this school year.
We had a number of folks register their kids first thing in the morning on Monday. Alot of parents came in to find out who their child's teacher was because they were not able to come to the Back To School Event. The office was a busy place. I have met many new folks, but it will take a while to get to know the kids and parents. School started on time and we had very few issues. I took the time to walk around to each classroom and greet the teachers (this has become my new daily routine - the idea was introduced to me by a former Assistant Superintendant - "Thanks for the suggestion, Dr. Howard"). The teachers were all enthusiastic with their welcoming of all students. The rest of the school day went on without any incidences. There was a visit from the director of student services and also from my Academic Improvement officer. Both ladies commented that everything appeared to be going well.
We made it to dismissal...
I was worried because about 3 quarters of our students ride the bus home, many for the first time. My assistant principal and the rest of the staff did a great job getting kids to the buses and on the correct buses. We had a few students returned to schools because they missed their stop or had gotten on the wrong bus. By 5:00 everyone had been returned home or picked up. Not bad for the first day (since school gets out at 3:30 and buses didn't leave until almost 4:00).
I am thoroughly enjoying my time as principal. Things are definitely more stressful when you realize that there is no one else to look towards, but working with a great staff has helped keep the stress to a minimum! 1 day down, 179 to go!!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Back To School Night
Last night was Back to School Night for our families and staff. We had a pretty successful evening. Staff members that had been at the school in previous years commented that there were more in attendance than in year's past. I hope that sending postcards to the kids and welcoming them back to school played a part in the increased participation!
The day started with all of the staff traveling to a high school in the district to have a district-wide pep rally. There was a keynote speaker who did a great job in providing inspiration to the group (I'll write more on this later), the district provided lunch for all of us and then had a number of in-service opportunities for all staff members to attend. Even though the day was long and the bus trip was hot, I believe that it was a great event that helped to get the staff ready for the new school year.
The staff all ate pizza together and then the families all started to arrive...
We gathered in the multi-purpose room and had some community members representing different areas (fire department, a local chiropractor, optometrist, etc.) there providing information for families. Staff members helped to give each child a book, some made ice cream sundaes and teachers met parents in there classrooms. The staff all performed a song for the parents and students. It was an original composition written by my music teacher. It was a great way to start the year.
After a time of introducing all the staff, we allowed parents to go to classrooms to drop off supplies and meet the teachers.
It was a good night and gave me chance to meet many of our parents and students. I am thankful for a great staff that organized this event and helped make it so successful!
Students come back in less than 48 hours...
The day started with all of the staff traveling to a high school in the district to have a district-wide pep rally. There was a keynote speaker who did a great job in providing inspiration to the group (I'll write more on this later), the district provided lunch for all of us and then had a number of in-service opportunities for all staff members to attend. Even though the day was long and the bus trip was hot, I believe that it was a great event that helped to get the staff ready for the new school year.
The staff all ate pizza together and then the families all started to arrive...
We gathered in the multi-purpose room and had some community members representing different areas (fire department, a local chiropractor, optometrist, etc.) there providing information for families. Staff members helped to give each child a book, some made ice cream sundaes and teachers met parents in there classrooms. The staff all performed a song for the parents and students. It was an original composition written by my music teacher. It was a great way to start the year.
After a time of introducing all the staff, we allowed parents to go to classrooms to drop off supplies and meet the teachers.
It was a good night and gave me chance to meet many of our parents and students. I am thankful for a great staff that organized this event and helped make it so successful!
Students come back in less than 48 hours...
Thursday, August 14, 2008
A mile wide and an inch deep...or an inch wide and a mile deep?
I recently read an article (Math Meltdown by Patrick Welsh) sent to me by my superintendent about math instruction in the US. The basic premise of the article is whether or not math instruction tries to cover too much material at the risk of not allowing students time to learn all the basic facts really well. The author asserts that across all subject areas, instruction now focuses on conceptual thinking rather than some basic memorization. So students are being "trained" to think about big pictures and problem solving at the risk of not having basic skills. Welsh believes that it is necessary to put more emphasis on teaching kids basic skills - addition, subtraction, fractions, whole numbers, etc. - in the early grades and leave the conceptual thinking until kids are teenagers and have a better ability to think abstractly.
This has been a great dilemna recently. I felt the pull as a classroom teacher myself. I had so many standards to cover to prepare my kids for the state test (PACT) that I felt like I had to cover every standard to make sure that kids would be able to attempt every question on the test. What I didn't realize is that by covering the surface of everything, that I probably didn't do a great job of teaching most things. I was going an inch deep with most math skills, enough for students to give it back to me successfully on an assessment, and covering a million areas.
I look at it now and see that it is probably more important to cover less topics (an inch wide) and go deeper to make sure that kids truly understand the skill that is to be learned.
This approach to teaching takes great skill, because with a heterogeneous classroom, some students will be ready to move on well before others. This requires a teacher to differentiate the curriculum to make sure that all students' needs are being met.
However, in SC, we still test students at the end of the year on a "million" topics covering all of the standards. Maybe we will get to the point where we decide to have fewer standards in order to cover them more deeply. Our district has adopted a math program (Everyday Counts Math) that promises to strike a balance between conceptual thinking and basic skills (memorization). I don't know if we will ever get to the point where we can cover math skills a mile deep until math standards are rewritten to include fewer skills and are more age appropriate.
This has been a great dilemna recently. I felt the pull as a classroom teacher myself. I had so many standards to cover to prepare my kids for the state test (PACT) that I felt like I had to cover every standard to make sure that kids would be able to attempt every question on the test. What I didn't realize is that by covering the surface of everything, that I probably didn't do a great job of teaching most things. I was going an inch deep with most math skills, enough for students to give it back to me successfully on an assessment, and covering a million areas.
I look at it now and see that it is probably more important to cover less topics (an inch wide) and go deeper to make sure that kids truly understand the skill that is to be learned.
This approach to teaching takes great skill, because with a heterogeneous classroom, some students will be ready to move on well before others. This requires a teacher to differentiate the curriculum to make sure that all students' needs are being met.
However, in SC, we still test students at the end of the year on a "million" topics covering all of the standards. Maybe we will get to the point where we decide to have fewer standards in order to cover them more deeply. Our district has adopted a math program (Everyday Counts Math) that promises to strike a balance between conceptual thinking and basic skills (memorization). I don't know if we will ever get to the point where we can cover math skills a mile deep until math standards are rewritten to include fewer skills and are more age appropriate.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
First Staff Meeting...The Review
Well, my first staff meeting is over...
From all accounts, things seemed to go well and our southern breakfast of shrimp and grits, eggs, fruit, juice and coffee was fabulous. (Sorry you missed the shrimp and grits, Lynn) I started out by reading "First Day Jitters" by Julie Danneberg. I believe that it is important that every teacher read aloud to their students each day. Not just for content, but for the enjoyment of reading. The best way to get this accomplished is to model the behavior. This book set the mood for the meeting!
We took a good deal of time to get to know one another. Folks drew a specific shape when they entered the room and then had to find the other person with the same shape and they introduced each other to the group. We have about 15 new staff members (25% of total staff) and I believe that this time was crucial for us all to find at least one person that we connected with during the day. My AP, Ms. Porter, took some time to introduce herself and then I took some time to talk about myself on a personal and professional level.
Then the real meeting began. There are always so many things to cover that I feel like nothing got covered really well. I hope the handbook - which took weeks to edit and narrow down - is sufficient to answer many questions. I did realize that I forgot to number the pages; that will be corrected next year. There was a schedule glitch that needed to be fixed. Overall, everything seemed to go well. I heard many positive comments from staff members throughout the day.
The nervousness that I was experiencing was not overwhelming, but just enough to help me focus on what needed to be completed.
Last night, we had a number of staff members gather at Outback Steakhouse for a time of fellowship and getting to know one another a little better. We had about 35 staff members, some with spouses, come to the meeting. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves for the 2 hours that we were together. Again, it is always well worth the time spent to get to know your staff outside of school.
I am so excited about the upcoming school year and the enthusiasm that the staff has brought back with them is contagious. We look forward to a great year in the lowcountry!
From all accounts, things seemed to go well and our southern breakfast of shrimp and grits, eggs, fruit, juice and coffee was fabulous. (Sorry you missed the shrimp and grits, Lynn) I started out by reading "First Day Jitters" by Julie Danneberg. I believe that it is important that every teacher read aloud to their students each day. Not just for content, but for the enjoyment of reading. The best way to get this accomplished is to model the behavior. This book set the mood for the meeting!
We took a good deal of time to get to know one another. Folks drew a specific shape when they entered the room and then had to find the other person with the same shape and they introduced each other to the group. We have about 15 new staff members (25% of total staff) and I believe that this time was crucial for us all to find at least one person that we connected with during the day. My AP, Ms. Porter, took some time to introduce herself and then I took some time to talk about myself on a personal and professional level.
Then the real meeting began. There are always so many things to cover that I feel like nothing got covered really well. I hope the handbook - which took weeks to edit and narrow down - is sufficient to answer many questions. I did realize that I forgot to number the pages; that will be corrected next year. There was a schedule glitch that needed to be fixed. Overall, everything seemed to go well. I heard many positive comments from staff members throughout the day.
The nervousness that I was experiencing was not overwhelming, but just enough to help me focus on what needed to be completed.
Last night, we had a number of staff members gather at Outback Steakhouse for a time of fellowship and getting to know one another a little better. We had about 35 staff members, some with spouses, come to the meeting. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves for the 2 hours that we were together. Again, it is always well worth the time spent to get to know your staff outside of school.
I am so excited about the upcoming school year and the enthusiasm that the staff has brought back with them is contagious. We look forward to a great year in the lowcountry!
Friday, August 8, 2008
One Minute Management
One of the most practical pieces of advice that I received from the Principal Induction Program is One Minute Management. This is used to deal with an employee who has done something wrong, but it is not a habitual or grievous offense.
It follows three simple steps:
1 - Praise the employee for all the good they normally do.
2 - Reprimand them for the error
3 - Set a new goal for how they should handle the situation in the future.
Seems pretty easy. I am one who does not seek confrontation, but this gives me an easy plan to deal with some of those daily problems that are a bit insignificant, but still need to be addressed.
It follows three simple steps:
1 - Praise the employee for all the good they normally do.
2 - Reprimand them for the error
3 - Set a new goal for how they should handle the situation in the future.
Seems pretty easy. I am one who does not seek confrontation, but this gives me an easy plan to deal with some of those daily problems that are a bit insignificant, but still need to be addressed.
First Staff Meeting...The Preview
Teachers and assistants all return to school on Monday! Our first meeting will include everyone from the school. To tell the truth, I am pretty nervous about the whole event. I have everything planned and believe that it will be a great meeting, but the nervousness keeps creeping in. My family and I headed back to our previous home to spend time with family and friends, in part, so I could get away from the school and leave some of the anxiousness behind. Not to mention, there was a huge storm that knocked power out at our house!
I have heard so many principals and former principals talk about setting the tone when you arrive at a new school. Many have said that you need to walk in and establish that you are in charge and there is a list of rules to be followed. My personality will not allow me to do that. I believe that I must give everyone a chance to get to know me and understand what I believe about the way school should "work". We are in an elementary school, so coming in and "laying the smack-down" on everyone seems counter-intuitive to how I want the school to operate. I want my teachers to take time to let their students get to know them, so I should model that same behavior. I also want my teachers to develop relationships with kids, so, again, I need to model that behavior with them. I will do this, not with ulterior motives, but because I believe that if you develop relationships with those you work with, then the improved work atmosphere will benefit the kids.
It was asked of Mike Rutherford (http://www.rutherfordlg.com/) if he would rather have his staff love him or respect him? He stated that if they respected you, then staff would do what you ask out of obligation. But, if they love you, they will do what you ask because they want to; and they'll often go above and beyond for you. I know that there is a balance that must be struck between the love and respect. There are going to be staff members who may not even like you, let alone love you, but they should all, at minimum, respect you.
This is what has me the most nervous about meeting the staff and getting together as a group for the first time. I want them to get to know me and see that I do have the best intentions for kids. I want them to believe that the choices that we make have the best interest of the kids in mind. Sometimes, this is not best for the adults in the building, but all decisions should benefit the kids.
I want my staff to respect me at the beginning, but grow to love me as a leader that is looking out for all kids. I know that in meeting them, I have respect for them because of what they have chosen to do with their lives. I hope that I grow to love them as educators.
3 days and counting...
I have heard so many principals and former principals talk about setting the tone when you arrive at a new school. Many have said that you need to walk in and establish that you are in charge and there is a list of rules to be followed. My personality will not allow me to do that. I believe that I must give everyone a chance to get to know me and understand what I believe about the way school should "work". We are in an elementary school, so coming in and "laying the smack-down" on everyone seems counter-intuitive to how I want the school to operate. I want my teachers to take time to let their students get to know them, so I should model that same behavior. I also want my teachers to develop relationships with kids, so, again, I need to model that behavior with them. I will do this, not with ulterior motives, but because I believe that if you develop relationships with those you work with, then the improved work atmosphere will benefit the kids.
It was asked of Mike Rutherford (http://www.rutherfordlg.com/) if he would rather have his staff love him or respect him? He stated that if they respected you, then staff would do what you ask out of obligation. But, if they love you, they will do what you ask because they want to; and they'll often go above and beyond for you. I know that there is a balance that must be struck between the love and respect. There are going to be staff members who may not even like you, let alone love you, but they should all, at minimum, respect you.
This is what has me the most nervous about meeting the staff and getting together as a group for the first time. I want them to get to know me and see that I do have the best intentions for kids. I want them to believe that the choices that we make have the best interest of the kids in mind. Sometimes, this is not best for the adults in the building, but all decisions should benefit the kids.
I want my staff to respect me at the beginning, but grow to love me as a leader that is looking out for all kids. I know that in meeting them, I have respect for them because of what they have chosen to do with their lives. I hope that I grow to love them as educators.
3 days and counting...
New Employee Orientation
Yesterday was the New Employee Orientation for all employees in our district. I was able to attend with 10 of my new teachers and teacher assistants. I was asked by multiple people at the district level why I had come for the whole day and I responded that I needed a chance to get to know some of my staff. I was able to attend breakout sessions, eat lunch, go on a district bus tour and attend general sessions with all of my new teachers. I also had the opportunity to drive six of the staff members to and from the orientation. It took place about 25 miles from our school so we decided to ride together.
I knew that it would give them a chance to get to know each other better and bond a little. I heard many conversations taking place throughout the ride and know that they like and trust each other more. Everyone is from such different backgrounds, that the time they used to get to know each other was so beneficial. I am glad that I got to talk to them informally get to know them better. It makes everyone feel much more comfortable!
We had a chance to ride around, on a bus, through our school's attendance area. It gave everyone a chance to see where our kids come from. It also allows us all to have a better understanding of the area and how the kids live. Now, if a child doesn't have homework, we may be little more quick to forgive understanding what they go home to each afternoon.
I would urge new principals to take every opportunity to develop relationships with staff members. I have met individually with all of my returning staff, and now I have built relationships with my new staff members.
There are 3 days until all staff members return...
I knew that it would give them a chance to get to know each other better and bond a little. I heard many conversations taking place throughout the ride and know that they like and trust each other more. Everyone is from such different backgrounds, that the time they used to get to know each other was so beneficial. I am glad that I got to talk to them informally get to know them better. It makes everyone feel much more comfortable!
We had a chance to ride around, on a bus, through our school's attendance area. It gave everyone a chance to see where our kids come from. It also allows us all to have a better understanding of the area and how the kids live. Now, if a child doesn't have homework, we may be little more quick to forgive understanding what they go home to each afternoon.
I would urge new principals to take every opportunity to develop relationships with staff members. I have met individually with all of my returning staff, and now I have built relationships with my new staff members.
There are 3 days until all staff members return...
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Are you a Saint Bernard, Fox or a Lion?
This week at the Principal's Induction Program (PIP), we did alot of activities to help make us more aware of our leadership styles and how we handle conflict. Most people in the group had a firm understanding of how we lead. Dr. Willis Ham led us in a discussion of how we perceive ourselves. We had to decide if we were Saint Bernards, Foxes or Lions. Those were three pretty interesting choices. We had to decide which animal's characteristics fit how we viewed ourselves. There were about 25 of us in the PIP group and most folks went to either the Saint Bernard or the fox group. A few ladies went to the lion group. As a group, we talked about the positive qualities of each animal and why we put ourselves in the groups. We (the Saint Bernards) had an easy time coming up with all of the positive qualities of the dog and why we thought they would be helpful in leadership (ideas like - loyal, worked hard to complete tasks, brought the drinks :O), etc.). We wondered why others chose the other animals as we only looked at the negative qualities of the fox and lion. The groups then shared their opinions about the other animals and why we thought ours was the best! This got a little heated as everyone wanted to defend their choice...luckily everyone ended up friends in the end.
We were all able to see the positives in the end of each group - lions (you knew they were in charge), foxes (unpredictable when needed), and Saint Bernards (loyal and helpful).
The previous night, we had been asked to complete a skills inventory and rate ourselves in a number of areas. We didn't realize it at the time, but the ratings that we gave ourselves correlated to one of the aforementioned animals. As we sat back down, I commented to the person next to me that someone will feel bad if they chose the wrong animal earlier and their test shows that they are another. Well...guess what? That person was me! What I didn't realize was that I scored the same in all three areas. As Dr. Ham explained, I can easily move from the personality of one animal to another as the situation warrants. He stated that moving between the animal characteristics is a skill that is helpful when working in a school. Different situations necessitate a different demeanor. Moving between the personalities will be a skill feels natural to me, but I look forward to developing this more throughout this year!
So, which animal do you think you most closely resemble? What about in times of conflict?
We were all able to see the positives in the end of each group - lions (you knew they were in charge), foxes (unpredictable when needed), and Saint Bernards (loyal and helpful).
The previous night, we had been asked to complete a skills inventory and rate ourselves in a number of areas. We didn't realize it at the time, but the ratings that we gave ourselves correlated to one of the aforementioned animals. As we sat back down, I commented to the person next to me that someone will feel bad if they chose the wrong animal earlier and their test shows that they are another. Well...guess what? That person was me! What I didn't realize was that I scored the same in all three areas. As Dr. Ham explained, I can easily move from the personality of one animal to another as the situation warrants. He stated that moving between the animal characteristics is a skill that is helpful when working in a school. Different situations necessitate a different demeanor. Moving between the personalities will be a skill feels natural to me, but I look forward to developing this more throughout this year!
So, which animal do you think you most closely resemble? What about in times of conflict?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Principal Induction Program
This week, I have been in our state's capitol, taking part in the week long Principal's Induction Program. This is a program established by the state department of education to help new principals and introduce new principals from around the state to each other. My cohort group has about 25 members from counties all around the state. Most of us began leading our schools on July 1st and this has been a difficult week to be away from school. With the opening of school just a couple of weeks away, many of us would prefer to be at school getting ready for the new school year.
We are in the process of learning a valuable lesson - leading while away from the school. We are learning to trust those that are at the school to get things done...
So far, it is very difficult to do. Emails and calls continue that make everything seem urgent, but many will have to wait until the end of the week to be answered. I was able to leave some specific tasks to those that would be at school, I have not inquired as to the completion of those tasks, but I will trust that they are being completed. I know that this is a valuable skill to learn...but the process feels a little painful!
On the bright side, today the cohort group worked on a number of team building activities. We had a great time with each other and got a chance to get to know each other better! I had never completed any of these activities as an adult, but I truly see the value of building teamwork and relationships with one another. The events we completed together were: The Spider Web (the most physically taxing), Team Tag (more mental, than physical), Pass the Hula Hoop in a circle, Chocolate River (a test of staying focused) and another game that taught communication, teamwork and cooperation. All the activities have their benefits. I definitely plan to use some staff development time to do some team building. I will probably do this in September after school has begun and some of the pressure has been lessened.
Two more days of the academy remain. Tomorrow should hold as a highlight because of the panel of 2nd year principals that will come back to hold a Q and A session.
Leading while away...is that possible so soon?
We are in the process of learning a valuable lesson - leading while away from the school. We are learning to trust those that are at the school to get things done...
So far, it is very difficult to do. Emails and calls continue that make everything seem urgent, but many will have to wait until the end of the week to be answered. I was able to leave some specific tasks to those that would be at school, I have not inquired as to the completion of those tasks, but I will trust that they are being completed. I know that this is a valuable skill to learn...but the process feels a little painful!
On the bright side, today the cohort group worked on a number of team building activities. We had a great time with each other and got a chance to get to know each other better! I had never completed any of these activities as an adult, but I truly see the value of building teamwork and relationships with one another. The events we completed together were: The Spider Web (the most physically taxing), Team Tag (more mental, than physical), Pass the Hula Hoop in a circle, Chocolate River (a test of staying focused) and another game that taught communication, teamwork and cooperation. All the activities have their benefits. I definitely plan to use some staff development time to do some team building. I will probably do this in September after school has begun and some of the pressure has been lessened.
Two more days of the academy remain. Tomorrow should hold as a highlight because of the panel of 2nd year principals that will come back to hold a Q and A session.
Leading while away...is that possible so soon?
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Fully Staffed...finally!
It is the end of my 4th official week as a principal and I have finally hired all teachers. If school started today, we would be ready to go. I thought that I had come to this point two weeks ago, but additional transfers and resignations continued to appear. With the start of school 3 weeks away, I am relieved to have this part of the process complete. There are still a couple of teacher assistants to hire, but that process is much easier to go through.
What have I learned through this journey? The greatest lesson is to not delay at all when an opening occurs! The longer one waits to hire teachers, the shallower the pool of candidates. I am extremely happy with the group of teachers that I have hired, 7 in all, and I believe that they will all be great for our staff. There are 3 brand new teachers in the group and the others have experience and came with great recommendations from their former principals. This reminds me of another lesson that I learned while an assistant principal. Always check references before making an offer of employment! At a previous school, we were burned by a candidate that was not thoroughly screened, and had to endure more trouble than was necessary.
I believe that God placed the right people in the right place at the exact time that I needed!
Next week, I will attend the state's new principal leadership seminar for the entire week. It will be a lesson on how to lead while I am not at the school because I know how much work there is still to be completed. I have been able to delegate some responsibilities to the folks who will be at school and I trust that everything will be done. I am looking forward to networking with other new principals as we travel through our first year together...
What have I learned through this journey? The greatest lesson is to not delay at all when an opening occurs! The longer one waits to hire teachers, the shallower the pool of candidates. I am extremely happy with the group of teachers that I have hired, 7 in all, and I believe that they will all be great for our staff. There are 3 brand new teachers in the group and the others have experience and came with great recommendations from their former principals. This reminds me of another lesson that I learned while an assistant principal. Always check references before making an offer of employment! At a previous school, we were burned by a candidate that was not thoroughly screened, and had to endure more trouble than was necessary.
I believe that God placed the right people in the right place at the exact time that I needed!
Next week, I will attend the state's new principal leadership seminar for the entire week. It will be a lesson on how to lead while I am not at the school because I know how much work there is still to be completed. I have been able to delegate some responsibilities to the folks who will be at school and I trust that everything will be done. I am looking forward to networking with other new principals as we travel through our first year together...
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Hiring, again...
The one area that has consumed most of my time to this point is in personnel. I feel like all I have done for the past month is interview and worry about who to interview and find out that I need to interview more folks. When I began working, I knew that I would need to hire 2 new second grade teachers and one new 4th grade teacher. Through a variety of circumstances, from resignations to asking for transfers to be rescinded, I have hired 3 second grade teachers, 1 fourth grade teacher, and I still am in the process of hiring another fourth grade teacher and one more third grade teacher. To add to that mix, I need to hire 2 new teacher assistants and one new office staff member (because of a promotion to the district office)!
At this point, I still have five vacancies to fill and there are only 4 weeks until the beginning of school...so the race is on.
I guess that I have come to the point of exhaustion with interviewing because in my previous position, I helped to interview around 100 candidates to fill positions at my previous school.
I found a great set of interview questions from Mike Rutherford (http://www.rutherfordlg.com/) from a series of seminars that I attended at the Emerging Leadership Academy. There are only 12 questions, but I am able to thoroughly screen candidates that I want to bring back for a second round interview. I have been fortunate that my staff has been willing to sit it on the second round of interviews to give their impression of the candidates. Their opinions have helped to validate the beliefs that I have regarding the candidates. I also believe that it helps to make the team more cohesive when decisions regarding personnel are shared. I hope to have all positions filled by the end of the week. It is ambitious, but necessary so that I can attend the Principal's Induction Program next week and not go completely insane :O)
At this point, I still have five vacancies to fill and there are only 4 weeks until the beginning of school...so the race is on.
I guess that I have come to the point of exhaustion with interviewing because in my previous position, I helped to interview around 100 candidates to fill positions at my previous school.
I found a great set of interview questions from Mike Rutherford (http://www.rutherfordlg.com/) from a series of seminars that I attended at the Emerging Leadership Academy. There are only 12 questions, but I am able to thoroughly screen candidates that I want to bring back for a second round interview. I have been fortunate that my staff has been willing to sit it on the second round of interviews to give their impression of the candidates. Their opinions have helped to validate the beliefs that I have regarding the candidates. I also believe that it helps to make the team more cohesive when decisions regarding personnel are shared. I hope to have all positions filled by the end of the week. It is ambitious, but necessary so that I can attend the Principal's Induction Program next week and not go completely insane :O)
Friday, July 18, 2008
The First Month
It has been a little under a month since I have taken over as the principal at my school. We have moved a few hours from our hometown and left behind family and many friends to take on this new opportunity. Most of the first month has been spent attending district meetings, meeting individually with all staff members and hiring new staff to fill our needs. The greatest surpise in hiring has been the low number of candidates that are available to select from. Those that I have hired have been high quality, though. In my previous position, there would be 20-30 candidates looking at each opening, and here the numbers are far reduced. I am pleased at the folks that will be joining our staff. In total, when the new school year begins in a couple of weeks, we will have 12 new staff members - or about 15% of our staff will be new - including myself and my assistant principal. The challenges that lie ahead are great. Test scores have much room for growth. Upgrading technology and teacher's ability to integrate that into the daily curriculum remains a focus and goal of mine.
The returning staff members are enthusiastic and have welcomed me to their school "family". I am looking forward to school opening. There remains a great deal of work still to do to get ready for the school year. Writing and updating the handbooks, creating calendars and filling a few more vacancies are on my "To do list".
I was told by my previous principal that you would know you are fully immersed in the job when you start to wake up in the middle of the night and think about all that needs to be done...I must be fully immersed!
The returning staff members are enthusiastic and have welcomed me to their school "family". I am looking forward to school opening. There remains a great deal of work still to do to get ready for the school year. Writing and updating the handbooks, creating calendars and filling a few more vacancies are on my "To do list".
I was told by my previous principal that you would know you are fully immersed in the job when you start to wake up in the middle of the night and think about all that needs to be done...I must be fully immersed!
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