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.