Final Thoughts and Reflection

WOW! The last 18 months have been an amazing experience that has challenged me as an educator and emerging leader.  I am grateful to both my colleagues and the Cohort professors that have invested so much time in a successful completion of one of the most challenging endeavors of my educational tenure. 

This evening’s mock interview was an exciting and insightful exercise into my future ambitions and to be honest with you, a bit sobering.  We as educators have an enormous responsibility to ensure a safe, engaging, rigorous and relevant educational environment that prepares EVERY STUDENT for the challenges of the 21st Century, regardless of background or circumstance.  I genuinely feel that the last 18 months has giving me an amazing foundation on which to build upon as I move forward with my future goals of securing an entry level leadership position with CUSD.  

Capstone Reflection

As I have been writing, revising, editing, deleting and rewriting my capstone paper I am left with many thoughts and feeling. First I am honored to be a part of such a noble profession.  Education is more than a career it is a calling and I consider myself fortunate to work in a great district with amazing teacher and leadership.  Secondly I am humble knowing that the parents of my students trust me with the education of their children and depend upon me to create in them a passion to be lifelong learners. And lastly I am heavyhearted with the commitment I made to every student, pass, present and future, that I will teach them regardless of background and circumstance.  And yet I look forward to what the future will bring in the way of students, staff, struggles and successes. 

Budget Reflection

I learned a great deal during my sit down with both the CEO and Dean of Curriculum at CART about general school finance and the specifics of CART's considering its Joint Power Agreement designation.  I was a bit surprised to discover the amount of money that is needed to run a school of 1,400 students.  CART receives a  large portion of its operational funding through ROP, public and private donations and grants.  One of the most important things to keep in mind are the conditions associated with the money.  Always use restricted and non-carry over funds first, that way the lesser restricted funds are easier and more flexible to use.  Technology and operational costs eat up a great deal of money and require monitoring so as not to run out early in the year.  The one major take away for me were the terms, definitions and classifications of how to use and process the funding and the diligence need to insure that the money is where it should be, used for what it should be and properly accounted for.

Face 2 Face

This last weekend’s class session left my head spinning; from the information shared by the HR personal from Clovis, Visalia and Sanger USD, the group from CADA and Dr. Bradley’s marathon presentation on budgets.

The one point that still sticks with me is that, we are who we hire.   As leaders, we will have a lasting effect on the staff and more importantly, the culture of the school that may last long after we have left the campus or districts.  It is clearer than ever before that my ability to identify and grow good teacher and staff will be THE most important task I do as a principle.  To find the right staff I will need to know the strengths and needs of our school, and the only way to do that will be to communicate with the staff and listen, listen and listen.  

An area on campus that could be neglected is activities.  Extra- and Co- curricular are a vital component to the culture of a campus.  As a leader I will need to pay close attention to the “entire” school in mind, body and spirit.  School activities and the right staff to run those activities will be an essential component to a successful school climate.

Very few people will ever understand the cost and investment required to run an effective and efficient school.  Dr. Bradley shared a great deal of information on the finance and budgeting of a school and school district.  I was blown away by the history and complexity of how the state of California finances public education.  Dr. Bradley’s shared knowledge and experience on school finance was insightful, educational and terrifying.  I am both excited and nervous about the future public education and how we pay for it.

Putting it all Together

I regret waiting so long to finish the last section of Leadership Connectors, Putting it all Together.  What an effective way to end a book on leadership by allowing the reader to reflect on the successful journey of an effective and loved high school principal. 

As I transition into an administrative role in the near future, I am constantly focused on the need for professional and personal introspection, as well as developing and maintaining authentic relationships.  It will be impossible to please everyone all the time, however it is possible to identify and communicate a set of principles that will guide and shape my effectiveness and reputation as leader.   This book and the Cohort has given me a great deal to work and think about as I prepare to transition from the classroom and into administration. 

October 21/22 Weekend Class

This weekend's class was like drinking from a water hose after eating a spicy pepper.  Don’t get me wrong, the information was invaluable and I imagine I will recall the information from this weekend for many years.  However, I am now more aware now that I have a great deal to learn as I enter this idea of Educational leadership.  As a classroom teacher for over 10 years I have never considered the painful legality by which our administrative teams must work under, and now I find myself wanting to be a part of it.  I am thankful to our professors and the professionals that gave up their time this weekend to better prepare us for our new roles as educational leaders

Trust is Everything

After finishing the final chapter of Leadership Connectors on trust I was struck by the simple yet complex structure of good leadership.   Everything we do eventually comes down to trust.  I was encouraged by the authors reflection on how every characteristic of leadership discussed in this book is based upon the foundation of trust.  It is good to be reminded that everything we do, are asked to do, volunteer to do and what we are perceived to have done will point back to the trust factor.  Oh, heavy is the crown