S. Booker Educational Leadership Platform Statement
Educational Leadership Platform Statement
Samara Booker
Virginia Commonwealth University
ADMS 618 – June 19, 2013
Educational Leadership Platform Statement
As I reflect on my education and experiences as a teacher-leader participating in the Project ALL program, a recurring theme of accountability for student learning presents itself. I believe that all stakeholders involved in the education process should be accountable to the student populations we serve. It is also my belief that the educational leader is responsible for ensuring that all interactions between stakeholders are focused on preparing students to be career and college ready. As an aspiring school administrator, I have based my educational beliefs on this principal of accountability.
Philosophy of Education
The purpose of education is to provide learners with the foundational knowledge on which they can build, in order to sustain their lives, fulfill their potential and enhance the lives of others. The school serves as the site for which this acquisition of knowledge takes place. It should be safe and secure, free from bias and welcoming to students, their families and to the community. It is important that students learn in an environment that will enhance their ability to embrace diversity, adapt to change, and build academic and social skills that will empower them as they continue on their educational journey.
To ensure that students are in an environment that is conducive to learning, several factors need to be in place. Teaching staff needs to be highly qualified and skilled in effective instructional strategies that aid students in meeting the demands of a rigorous curriculum, a professional development plan needs to be in place, parental and community involvement must be encouraged and nurtured and administration must be in tuned to the holistic needs of the school community and supportive in meeting those needs. All of these factors are crucial in holding all stakeholders accountable for supporting students’ academic and social needs. With specific accountability measures in place for each stakeholder, the groundwork is laid for students to achieve. As an educational leader, developing an accountability plan and monitoring its progress is essential to ensuring student achievement.
Philosophy of Leadership
According to Robinson (2004) leaders who are reflective practitioners can then act with a degree of confidence in new situations as they make informed decisions about their actions. Only by reflecting on decisions made on a daily basis can educational leaders continue to learn and grow in their effectiveness. This practice of reflecting sets an example for staff, students, and other stakeholders with the expectation that they too will reflect on their own decision-making. By providing ample opportunity to reflect on our individual practices and our practices as a body, the school climate will be open to collaboration, honesty, purposeful and deliberate change and accountability.
I will use the power of networking and professional learning communities to model the importance of collaboration. Collaborating with staff, students and stakeholders will be crucial to maintaining open lines of communication, so that I am not seen as one individual making decisions for the total body. The goal is to create a system of checks and balances to build trust among all stakeholders while solidifying that all are accountable for student learning. By working to attain this goal, the leader creates more leaders. It is this task of figuring out how to develop collective responsibility that Thomas Sergiovanni (2005; Mullen, 2009) suggested be the goal for effective leadership.
Forward-thinking and vision-inspired actions characterize my philosophy of leadership. In an effort to be an effective leader, I will facilitator for my staff’s professional growth as they grow in their abilities to facilitate our students’ growth. In this quick-paced society of today, leaders must constantly be able to effectively lead and respond to change. As a transformational leader, it will be my responsibility to nurture change while maintaining a safe and stable school environment for students and staff.
Vision of Learners
Education serves to prepare students for their future by utilizing and enhancing the world as it presents itself to them today. Children learn best by participating in worthwhile, meaningful learning experiences that will develop their ability to communicate effectively, collaborate with others and think critically and creatively about a variety of topics. Students also need to engage in what Carol Dweck (2009) termed “growth mindset” instruction that holds students accountable for their own learning process which research showed would result in better learning outcomes. These learning experiences must be facilitated by a teaching staff that not only leads the learning, but is navigating it alongside students. As both groups are learning, expectations for both groups of learners will increase in its interdependency.
The ideals of expectation and accountability help to ensure that all students are learning. Richard Dufour (2004 &2009) supported this belief with his opinion that the focus should not be on the students who are learning, but the plan for those students who are not learning. Through observational data and numerical data, instructional plans can be developed to meet the needs of each individual learner or groups of learners. This is inclusive of English Language Learners, exceptional education students, gifted students and teacher learners. Implementing an inclusion model will serve the dual purposes of embracing diversity and teaching to students’ individualities.
Guskey (1982) examined the instructional effectiveness of 44 teachers in a metropolitan school system. He found that as teachers improve and adapt their own instructional practices with respect to the individual needs of students, their expectations of and praise for student achievement becomes less differential and more comparable. In other words, students’ academic and social diversity must celebrated and planned for by adapting instructional programs to meet each student’s unique needs. Developing a school culture that welcomingly acknowledges the diversity among staff and students and uses this diversity to promote a climate of success and accountability for all is the school leader’s role.
Vision for Teachers
In my work as a classroom teacher and a mathematics specialist, one of the most important factors in the success of a school is effective collaboration between teachers. While parental and community involvement, strong leadership, teacher content knowledge and an aligned curriculum are all important, none of these takes precedents over effective collaboration between teachers. In fact, the effectiveness of each of the other factors is dependent upon teacher collaboration.
As a school leader, I will provide adequate and uninterrupted time for teachers to plan and collaborate. I will make sure that detailed expectations are clearly communicated in reference to how data is to be used to drive the work of the professional learning communities that are in place. The PLCs will focus on a few major initiatives: nurturing teachers’ abilities to use data, understand curriculum demands, acquire knowledge of best practice instructional strategies, and collaborate to maximize their work with students. Douglas Reeves (2002) wrote about the compelling evidence that suggests that school leaders, school staff and students are better served when professional learning is centered on the deep and consistent implementation of a few things. I believe that the PLCs will develop teachers as reflective practitioners. As my teachers grow professionally, their strengths and talents will be highlighted allowing me to hone in on their capacity to be teacher-leaders. Their areas of concern will also be highlighted allowing me to make informed decisions about professional development needs. Ultimately, my vision for teachers is one that holds them accountable not only to their students but to themselves and their peers as well.
Vision for School
I envision leading a school that serves as a safe haven for all students and staff to collaborate and think critically, to be reflective in our teaching and learning practices, and to produce high-functioning 21st century citizens. This vision strongly connects with Jamie Vollmer (2010) who suggested that if we are serious about preparing children to succeed in the 21st century, then our schools must change. She went on to share her opinion that the time has come to replace the rigid selecting and sorting process with a flexible approach to teaching and learning that is designed to produce greater learning outcomes. As a school leader, my role would be to put programs in place and monitor them for continuous alignment with my vision for the school. Only research-based programs that target and address the needs of the school will be utilized. The programs will include measures to track accountability and monitor growth will be utilized.
I envision leading a staff and student population that embraces the individuality of its members by implementing a fully inclusive school setting. I know that embracing the things that make is individuals will strengthen us as a school community. I believe that if we educate our students in ways that will enhance their ability to embrace diversity, adapt to change and build academic and social skills that we will empower them as they continue on their education journey. I will put every effort into cultivating a positive school culture that is grounded in respect, collaboration, and accountability that will run through the fiber of all interactions between all stakeholders. As suggested by McEwan’s (2003) work, the most desirable trait in an educational leader is to foster a climate of positivity and success. I will strive to be the type of leader who creates this type of school climate.
Vision Attainment
As a school leader, I am the captain who is charged with navigating the seas of seeing that the school’s vision is realized. Ensuring that the vision is realized encompasses making research-based, data-informed decisions that are reflected upon and modified accordingly. I am accountable for holding all stakeholders to obtaining a measure of success that directly relates to student achievement. Utilizing collaborative efforts to bring differing and unique ideas together to meet the needs of students will be a primary focus. Examining parallels between teachers’ instructional practices, academic and social programs and student achievement will help to determine their effectiveness. Ineffective programs and practices will be reformed or eliminated. I will continue to find ways to sustain effective programs whether the need be with financial or human resources. Acknowledging good work, encouraging good effort, and helping stakeholders to equate changes being made to success being gained will help the vision for the school to be realized.
References
Dweck, C. (2009). Who will the 21st-century learners be? Knowledge Quest, 38(2), 8-9.
DuFour, R. (2004). Whatever it takes: How professional learning communities respond when kids don't learn. Bloomington, Ind: National Educational Service.
Dufour, R. (2007). Professional learning communities: A bandwagon, an idea worth considering, or our best hope for high levels of learning? Middle School Journal, 39(1), 4-8.
Guskey, T. R. (1982). The effects of change in instructional effectiveness of the relationship of teacher expectations and student achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 75(6).
McEwan, E. K. (2003). Ten traits of highly effective principals: From good to great performance. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mullen, C. (2009). Exceptional scholarship and democratic agendas: Interviews with john goodlad, john hoyle, joseph murphy, and thomas sergiovanni. Interchange, 40(2), 165-203. doi:10.1007/s10780-009-9089-0
Reeves, D. B. (2002). The leader's guide to standards: A blueprint for educational equity and excellence. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Robinson, J. M. (2004). Coaching leaders: the path to improvement. The Biennial Conference of the New Zealand Educational Administration and Leadership Society, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Vollmer, J. (2010). Schools can't do it alone: building public support for america's public schools (1st ed.). Fairfield, IA 52556: Enlightment Press.
Sergiovanni, T. J. (2005). The Principalship: A reflective practice perspective (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.