What do I do Now?

The light is at the end of the tunnel. Most of us are completed with or nearly finished with our internship hours. We've paid thousands of dollars in tuition. We're graduating in 3 months. Everyone has high hopes for a job in administration.
What if it doesn't happen? I can't be the only person worrying about this. What if we don't find a job in administration? Are there other jobs you're qualified for with a M. Ed. K-12 Administration degree? Can we afford to pay back student loans at our current rate of pay?
I worry that I've made a huge mistake. I want very much to be a successful administrator for our students and I believe strongly in public education. I worry that I'm not going to be able to compete for jobs against all of the other dedicated people in the program.
Am I the only person worrying about this?!

Are you crying?

 Being an administrator is overwhelming and stressful - you are constantly pulled in all directions by students, parents, teachers, the district, etc. You're making quick decisions and sometimes you throw to home instead of throwing the tying run out at second base.

 Then a parent calls to complain to you for 20 minutes. Or a student calls you a name. Or a teacher berates you for not responding quickly enough. Or you realize you have so many evening activities to supervise that you might not see your own biological children that week.

 I have a mantra for times like those:

 

  It's tongue in cheek, of course. There are times when you are so frustrated, angry, or saddened by the job that you have to let it out. The key, for me at least, is to recognize that you are doing the best you can do and making the best decisions you can make. And remember that every bad day will have a good day hidden somewhere behind it. Next time, you'll know to throw the runner out at second.

 Besides, crying just means you care.

- Sara

New Leadership

We have a new leader in at our school. It was very sudden. Tuesday we had a principal and by the next Monday he was gone. The school board transferred him away. The staff are upset because he hired many of them. He surrounded himself with people who truly care about the education of students. In the 3 months I've worked for him, I've thrived.

I'm a little more sad than I expected to be. I'm not a very sentimental type of person. I liked working with him though. He was the type of person you could easily take advantage of. He would often cry when talking about the students. Nobody every took advantage of him because you would be a terrible person if you did. Instead of making you do something; he would make you WANT to do something to please him.

I didn't always have that type of leadership. I worked for five years for a woman who was mean and unpleasant. She ruled by fear. I was lucky enough that she liked me but I resented her for the way she treated me and my peers.

I've learned that you can be an effective administrator and be kind. I had my doubts about "servant leadership". Through him I can see that it is the most effective way to lead people. When I'm a principal of my own school. I intend to look back and remember my experiences with this principal. I want to include his practices in my own leadership.

That being said, he's being replaced by a peer of ours. She graduated last year from this administration program. I can't wait to work with her because we share a lot of leadership viewpoints. We have a lot of positive things happening in our school for her to build on. The future is bright!

Internship complete!

While it is a great feeling to turn in your final internship log, this does not really mean we are done with this learning experience.  I found myself relieved to never have to turn in another log but still wanting to continue to participate in the internship experience.  I will continue to spend time at a variety of schools whenever I am given the opportunity to improve upon my skills.  While the internship experience may have caused some uneasiness in the beginning, now I feel a sense of excitement when stepping into a new building.  This is perhaps the reasoning behind the internship process.  It allows us the chance to be involved in a variety of situations and therefore build skills which provides confidence. I appreciate all of the inspiring administrators who allowed me the opportunity to learn from them.
-Nichole

The Trouble with Instituting PLCs

The Trouble with Instituting PLCs

I sat through the keynote speeches, excited by the prospect of finally bringing true Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to my school. Having witnessed well-functioning teams around the state, I knew that this could be a powerful process for supporting student success. I had studied the PLC process in one of my classes at the University, and felt like I was going in with enthusiasm, but at the same time, with both eyes open. In another of my university courses we had read articles on the watering-down of PLCs, and pseudo-PLCs (most often in the secondary setting), which in the end rendered the term PLC practically meaningless. I was determined that with my help this would not be the case for this school.

At the end of the second day, my enthusiasm had begun to wane. Sadly, some of the sessions were disappointing – great content with dull presenters versus charismatic presenters with not much content. Following that, we were asked to meet with our teams to work on our implementation strategies. Everyone talking at once, bits and pieces of information flying around the table: a complete lack of organization. The third day was a half day, so the principal asked everyone to stay and work for a couple of hours again at that time.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, that was the night I fell ill. The thought of two more aimless hours of disorganized brainstorming was more than I could bear. This is a frustration I feel in this “Twilight Zone” of being not quite a teacher, but not actually being an administrator. As a part of the administrative team, I would have had the clout to say “Hey, let’s not put the cart before the horse, and let’s start at the beginning before it all gets jumbled up and becomes one more great idea we tried and couldn’t hold on to.”

I’ve been afraid to ask how that meeting went, and no one has volunteered to share. Educators are an enthusiastic bunch in general, but often rush in without a plan, and not taking the time to realize that true change does not occur overnight, and normally not without some pain and sacrifice along the way. I think it’s time for me to gird my loins and find out where the process stands. I hope to yet be a voice of reason, and to share my ideas initially with the principal and maybe one or two others, with the dream of keeping the process on track so that the school will truly be a Professional Learning Community in every sense of the word. 

A Normal Day and Your Battle Face

One of the most interesting aspects of my experiences as an intern assistant principal is that I never know what will happen at school. Yesterday I walked through the doors with one meeting and a fire drill scheduled, followed by ten teachers that I needed to speak with before the end of the day. These were my three goals, did I actually accomplish them all? No. I went 1.5 for 3, the .5 is because I sat in on half the meeting before being called out of the room. It isn't that I didn't try to get everything done, it’s just that something else came up each time. On this particular day it was a visit from the University Neighborhood Partners, an ambulance visit for a student with a concussion, and a substitute teacher who seemed to think students were out of control when they left their seats to sharpen a pencil. Every day is like this. There is always something to do and somewhere to be.

                At first I hated this. It honestly made me feel completely unsuccessful. I felt like I was never able to fully finish something. As a teacher I could sit down and work through any problem, and usually in one sitting. As an administrator you don’t have the luxury. This has been a huge challenge because even though you are distracted from a task you have to finish whatever you start. The key is the ability to pick up where you left off like nothing happened, a good battle face is required for this. No matter what happens to have to seem unphased. It doesn't matter if a student swore at you or a teacher just had a break down in their classroom, when you leave the situation, nothing out of the ordinary just happened.

                I think that this is a skill that you have to develop, and it will take time. I now feel a sense of accomplishment when I can hold my battle face through a tough meeting or interaction. A good administrator should be in control no matter what the situation is. As I go through this journey I realize how important this is more and more. When you can’t predict your day you have to be able to predict your reactions or you will always be fearing what will happen next.

               

               

                

Power of Positivity

As future administrators it is important to remember that the staff as well as the students need the 4:1 positive to negative ratio.  We focus on this concept in the classroom through the knowledge of PBIS, and it can have incredible power over the classroom culture.  The same can be said for the staff and the school-wide culture.

Just as students, we as adults like to be recognized and appreciated for doing things in our lives.  If we are given the slightest amount of praise for doing something that may not have been pleasant for us, we will be more willing to continue the activity.  We should remember this when working with our school staff.  While we may give positive feedback following an evaluation, this is not enough.  It is important to let your staff know that you see and appreciate great things they are doing.  The praise does not need to be costly or take a lot of time.  A post-it note on their computer, a card in their box, or a quick conversation during breaks can go a long way.


Nichole