Handbook for the
PK-12 Principal/PK-12 Supervisor of Special Education Endorsement Program
University of Northern Iowa Educational Leadership
College of Education
508 Schindler Education Center
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0604
319.273.2605 – office
319.273.5175 – fax
www.uni.edu/coe/elcpe
Fall 2010
Educational Leadership
Principalship Program
Dear School Leadership Student,
Thank you for selecting the University of Northern Iowa in order to increase your ability to inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more. UNI enjoys a rich history of developing educators who serve in the classroom, administrative offices, and throughout the district’s community. From its founding in 1876 as the Iowa State Normal School, leadership in education continues to be synonymous with UNI.
Your transformation from teacher educator to leader of educators will occur throughout the program as you: 1) work with mentors 2) seek role models 3) enhance communication skills 4) identify strengths 5) interact with cohort members and faculty, 6) develop a leadership philosophy 7) examine beliefs, values and behaviors 8) address issues of ethics and fairness 9) strengthen your own pedagogy and 10) extend your viewpoint of education in multiple contexts. Along the way, you will establish lifelong friendships, grow professionally, extend your efficacy and broaden your sphere of educational influence. You will learn from cohort members, mentors, faculty, school colleagues, research experts, and even from yourself. The Iowa Standards for School Leaders (ISSL) will frame your experiences, curriculum and assessments. Not only will you learn these six standards that govern Iowa’s school leaders – you will live them.
As your Educational Leadership faculty, we will strive to build relationships, continually seek ways to improve ourselves and provide high quality learning experiences. We are pleased to share with you our passion for education, our combined 120 years of experience as school leaders, and our desire to impact the future of education. We will help you touch the future through your leadership, passion for education and desire to serve. Welcome to an incredible journey of Learning, Service and Change.
The UNI Educational Leadership Team
Gary Currie
Robert Decker
David Else
Lew Finch
Tim Gilson
Betty Hogan
Dotty Hundley
Dewitt Jones
Nicholas J. Pace
Victoria Robinson
Marlene Shea
508 Schindler Education Center • Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0604 • Phone: 319-273-2605 • Fax: 319-273-5175
Table of Contents
Educational Leadership
Overview .1
Core Values .2
Iowa Standards for School Leadership .3
The Path to School Leadership .4
Internship
Overview .5
Roles .6
Mentoring 10
Stages 11
Course-Embedded Internship 12
Field-Based Internship 14
Program-Required Internship Experiences……….………………………….…………………….……….….…25
Internship Resources
Field-Based Internship Planning Worksheet………………………………………………………………..20
Program-Required Internship 25
Student Contact Information Form 26
Mentor Contact Information Form 27
Prospective Mentor Approval Form 28
Mentor Contract…………………………………………………………………………………………..………….…29
Mentor Feedback Form 30
Field-Based Internship Plan Approval Form 31
Field-Based Internship Reflection Examples [to be included at later date]
Internship Skill Formative/Summative Assessment 32
Progress Monitoring Form 35
Critical Element Papers
Overview 36
Writing Rubric 39
Tips for Effective Writing 40
Sample Cover Page 43
Portfolio
Overview 44
School Leadership Portfolio/Presentation Rubric 46
UNI Educational Leadership Overview
Program Mission Statement:
The Educational Leadership faculty at the University of Northern Iowa nurture and develop reflective Leaders of Learning, Service, and Change who positively impact student achievement and school improvement.
Our faculty works hard to ensure that our mission statement is more than a slogan or poster. We strive to live it every day. In addition to acting in accordance with the Iowa Standards for School Leaders (ISSL), we hold that the most effective school leaders will also function as Leaders of Learning, Service, and Change. As the student moves through the program, he or she will be immersed in these concepts and see their connection to ISSL and school leadership.
Leader of Learning – The leader is committed to
o Continuous Improvement driven by relevant data
o Effective use of technology
o Cultural Competency and Appreciation of Diversity
o Fostering culture of high expectations
o Personal and professional growth of self, educators, and students
Leader of Service – The leader is committed to
o Collaboration with stakeholders
o Placing the needs of others before oneself
o Modeling and reinforcing service that benefits others
Leader of Change – The leader is committed to
o Continuous Improvement of the educational experience and process
o Cultural Competency and an Appreciation of Diversity
o Social Justice
o Effective use of data
As part of our commitment to continuous professional development, we’ve expanded on our mission to develop and nurture reflective Leaders of Learning, Service and Change. Building on this framework, we’ve defined three Core Values that guide the way we work with aspiring school leaders, mentors, and each other. The Core Values—Building Relationships, Continuous Improvement, and High Quality Learning Experiences—can be seen hanging in faculty members’ offices, in Schindler Education Center, on our website, and the following page. They can also be seen in practice.
UNI Educational Leadership Core Values
The Path to School Leadership
As a member of a cohort of aspiring school leaders, the student moves through the program as a member of a vibrant professional learning community. The student and colleagues will become a familiar, trusted network of professionals and valuable source of affirmation and support. The same is true of the UNI instructors. The student will see why we’ve said for years that students don’t graduate from UNI Educational Leadership Programs; he or she graduates into our family of school leaders.
The path to school leadership will include these features:
37 credit hours of coursework, aligned with ISSL, McREL’s Principalship Responsibilities, and the UNI Conceptual Framework emphasizing the growth and development of Leaders of Learning, Leaders of Service, and Leaders of ChangeA hands-on, ISSL-aligned internship that allows the student to gain leadership experience in his or her own school district as well as other settings
Development of Professional Growth and Personal Wellness Plans
Authentic learning experiences, simulations, and interactions, such as the Day in the Office
Development and presentation of a professional portfolio that highlights the student’s internship experiences as an aspiring school leader
A comprehensive Capstone experience at the end of the program that demonstrates the student’s competence at connecting theory, experience, and standards to real-world school leadership dilemmas of practice
Overview of the Internship
This quote captures the importance of the internship. It represents the vital link between theory and practice for school leaders. The student will complete an extensive, 425 hour, collaboratively planned internship that is aligned with ISSL, builds on coursework, and reflects the unique goals and needs of the student and school districts. The student will be registered for a total of two credit hours of internship at various times during the program. Practically speaking, the internship experience is happening at all times during the program. These experiences comprise at least 200 of the required 425 hours and are indicated in course syllabi.
The student will work with a school administrator who serves as his or her mentor. The student and mentors receive assistance from on-campus faculty members as well as UNI Faculty Field Supervisors throughout the process. The internship is divided into three components:
Course-Embedded Internship Experiences
These experiences are directly related to content in particular courses, aligned with ISSL, and are assigned while the students are enrolled in those courses. Instructors provide background information, guidance and feedback for these assignments.
Field-Based Internship Experiences
These experiences are collaboratively developed between the student, his or her mentors, on-campus faculty, and Faculty Field Supervisors. The student and mentors collaborate to develop a personalized internship plan, aligned with ISSL that addresses particular needs of a school while building leadership capacity. These experiences comprise at least 225 of the required 425 hours
Program-Required Internship Experiences
These experiences are not associated with a particular course, but are required components of the internship experience and relate to the program’s focus on Leaders of Learning, Service, and Change. Students are required to identify the key experiences that showcase their work as Leaders of Learning, Leaders of Service, and Leaders of Change.
Breakdown of Required Hours
Students will complete a minimum of 225 hours in their Field-Based Internship. A minimum of 100 of these hours will be in students’ endorsement areas (elementary, middle school, high school), with the remaining hours coming from other endorsement areas. For example, a high school teacher would complete 100 hours of internship experiences in high school, 75 in an elementary school setting, and 50 hours in special education. All students, regardless of endorsement area, will complete a minimum of 15 hours in early childhood education, which may be included in the elementary hours.
Recording of Hours and Experiences
Students record their internship experiences using the online Student Management System (SMS). SMS allows students to identify the ISSL and criterion related to the experience, specify the role they played and the significance, and reflect on what he or she learned from the experience. SMS automatically tracks the hours completed as students record their experiences. Students also receive feedback via SMS on the quality of their reflections. Instructions for using SMS will be provided separately.
Formative/Summative Evaluation of the Internship
Once each semester, the Faculty Field Supervisor will arrange an appointment with student and mentor to discuss the quality of the student’s internship experience and performance. Using the evaluation instrument (found in the Resources section of this handbook), student, mentor, and Faculty Field Supervisor engage in a three-way conversation focused on growth. In addition, students complete the Mentor Feedback Form (also found in the Resources section the handbook) aimed at assisting mentors in providing the kind of guidance and coaching that will be most useful to the student.
Individual Roles in the Internship
Students, mentors, Faculty Field Supervisors, and on-campus faculty members each have specific responsibilities for ensuring a meaningful internship experience. Those responsibilities are found on the pages that follow.
The Student:
1. Follows and abides by all of the rules, guidelines and policies of the school district and ISSL, and maintains absolute confidentiality and ethical standards.
2. Completes and sends Student Contact Form and Prospective Mentor Form to Marlene Shea (), due October 1.
3. Accepts the primary responsibility for cooperatively developing the Field-Based internship plan that is acceptable to both the mentor and UNI Faculty Field Supervisor. Plan is due in Educational Leadership office on November 15 of the 1st semester in the program.
4. Submits signed Internship Plan Approval Form to UNI Faculty Field Supervisor by December 1st of first semester of study. Upon approval, student uploads the plan to SMS.
5. Maintains an open, cooperative relationship with the mentor and others involved with the internship and completes the mentor evaluation form each semester for discussion at the formative/summative assessment meeting. Student uploads completed assessment form to SMS and sends an electronic copy to .
6. Performs all elements of the internship in an exemplary manner.
7. Completes Field-Based Internship reflections and the Internship Log in a timely and responsible manner each semester. Logs are automatically updated when reflection forms are submitted via the SMS.
8. Completes 225 hours of Field-Based internship experiences and 200 hours of Course-Embedded Internship hours as required by UNI to be eligible for the PK-12 Principal/PK-12 Special Education Supervisor Endorsement. Internship experiences are to be completed during each semester of the Principalship Preparation Program.
9. Initiates conversations with mentor about how to help with educational leadership responsibilities at school site. Takes the initiative to be actively involved in all school activities and functions.
10. Utilizes professional and all available opportunities to fully engage in school leadership growth opportunities.
11. Completes Program-Required Internship Reflections and logs hours by May 1 of the second year in the program.
12. Completes Course-Embedded Internship hours by the third week in July, in the last term of the program.
13. Completes Field-Based Internship experiences by May 1 of the second year in the program.
The Faculty Field Supervisor:
1. Works with student and mentor to develop and review internship plan in first semester of the program.
2. Approves internship plan developed by student and mentor. On or before the end of the first semester of study, the UNI Faculty Field Supervisor sends one copy of plan and Internship Plan Approval Form to Marlene Shea and retains one copy.
3. Coordinates and schedules meetings directly with mentors and students.
4. Meets with mentor and student a minimum of one time at the end of each fall and spring semester, to review and assess student’s progress, discuss possible changes to internship plan, review student’s reflection forms, and collect student’s evaluation/assessment forms. Forwards one copy of all forms to Marlene Shea and retains one copy. Fall evaluation/assessment forms are to be sent to Marlene Shea by February 1; spring forms by June 1.
5. Confirms with Marlene Shea that all necessary paperwork from mentor has been received.
6. Meets with student and mentor each semester to discuss Formative/Summative Assessment and Mentor Feedback Form.
7. Provides prompt and accurate communication to students via the web, e-mail, and/or phone.
8. Answers questions regarding the Professional Portfolio and maintains communication with on-campus faculty members.
On-Campus Faculty Members:
1. Oversee the assignment and completion of Course-Embedded Internship Experiences.
2. Communicate with students as questions and concerns arise regarding program completion, the portfolio, reflections, logging of hours, etc.