The following information was gathered during an interview with Dr. Clayton Mork from the Crescent School District. Dr. Mork shared information about his leadership style and characteristics as an administrator. This discussion assisted me in the development of a personal theory-based model of school leadership.
Leadership Style of Administrator Seyfarth reports the conditions which produce engaging, effective work environments generally have the following essential qualities. First condition is an administrator that provides supportive leadership. Second condition is an administrator that allows collaboration within the work environment. Another condition is an administrator that displays respect for each person as individuals. An additional
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Mork admitted that feeling comfortable with the various types of leadership theories have greatly impacted his leadership style. Dr. Mork, being more of a “laid back” person, is able to be a relaxed administrator due to his feeling comfortable with the strategies of the leadership styles. Dr. Mork shared at the beginning of his administration career it was very difficult to not be as directive, given his military background. As he had more and more experience as an administrator, Dr. Mork learned to feel more and more comfortable with his leadership style. Being one of the staff members under his current leadership position, I have observed Dr. Mork’s leadership at the Crescent School District. Due to the education program that I am completing, I understand the different leadership styles that Dr. Mork uses in certain circumstances. However, there are several of my co-workers that do not understand why and have spoken about how certain people at Crescent School are treated differently than others.
Personal Leadership
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Mork taking the time to share his views of administration leadership styles and strategies allowed me to gain knowledge of the reasons why certain decisions were made at Crescent School and why information was presented in the manner it was. This discussion also helped me to develop some of my own thoughts about how I would like to have things run when I am an administrator. Dr. Mork has worked as an administrator at Crescent School for the past four years. During that time there have been many instances that I have wondered why things happened the way they did. For instance, when Dr. Mork shared the requirements of the Washington State’s Teacher and Principal Evaluation Program (TPEP), a new evaluation program for teachers and principals, Dr. Mork presented general information about the program to the teaching staff. I was able to question his decision to present the information this way. I learned that Dr. Mork wanted to allow the teachers to have some freedom to complete the TPEP as they wanted to. The program was a new set-up and was open ended. Dr. Mork mentioned he did not want to stress his staff out by setting strict parameters on TPEP completion. In order to help teachers to feel comfortable with the program, Dr. Mork allowed teachers to learn the program at their pace and gently guide them to the finish
Ms. Hall has had many years of public education experience and higher education training in which to hone her leadership style and framework. She started her career as a teacher in the Kirkwood School District. She then served as an assistant elementary principal at both Ritenour and Pattonville School Districts before being selected to serve as the assistant superintendent of the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District in 2008. Throughout her career she continued to pursue her education as a means o...
As a leader candidate, I can understand the challenges and multiplicity of complications that administrators must face each day. However, I will not accept any remote possibility that the students must be affected by some flaws of the school organization. We all as leaders, must be strategic with people, time, and money to guide our students towards an academic success.
Leading organizations of school administrators offer educators various opportunities to encourage educators to become leaders. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has mandated that leaders be better prepared for the task of providing quality education to all. NCLB “… is forcing all educational stakeholders to face the weakness of contemporary school leadership and is making it impossible to ignore the need for higher quality principals” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). It is believed that all educators can be and are leaders in their own right. A leader is a visionary and has the ability to inspire others to aspire to greatness. Of the numerous opportunities that are offered, those that are most beneficial include but are not limited to leadership training programs, professional development, and creating shared leadership opportunities for teachers to become leaders. The systems “…that produce our nation’s principals are complex and interrelated – and governed by the states. Each state establishes licensing, certification and re-certification” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). States use the ISLLC standards “…as the framework for preparation programs and in service professional development of school superintendents, principals, and other leaders” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.3).
According to standard two of the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (2015), educational leaders should act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner to promote the success of every student. In the scenario, a new assistant superintendent in a school district is head of curriculum and instruction. The school district services 15 schools, 12 elementary schools and 3 junior high schools. The assistant superintendent has prior experience in a previous school district with curriculum and instruction, but seemed much happier in the new district’s atmosphere. The district seems to be more goal-oriented and focused on the upholding the vision and mission of the district. There is also a strong value on self-evaluation
The last issue to address is leadership. This role is challenging, but with commitment and determination it can be done. Strategies that I can take to encourage great leadership is to first build trust and confidence by fulfilling the school’s mission, vision, policy, and working environment (Drexler, 2007) on a daily basis. To be involved in school activities, in the classroom, at PTO meetings, and community affiliations will establish strong leadership skills. Providing valuable feedback, strategically planning to improve the school, and encouraging community support are other strategies that can be used to enhance leadership.
Working with Principal Jason Bloom for the 2015-2016 school year I have the opportunity to attest to his effective educational leadership and analyze the factors that contribute to his success as a leader. Due to his vast experience and knowledge of educational leadership I decided to ask him for insight on his expertise. When asked varies educational leadership questions his response were identical to "best practice" and theories of educational leadership.
Over the course of my twenty-two years as an educator, I have had many people to thank for shaping me into the leader I am today. Over the course of a career, you have many people giving you advice on how to be effective. The best set of lessons I learned about leadership came from my mentor from New York, Dr. Norman Wechsler. His philosophy was simple: No one rises to low expectations. His job was to empower his school community to make decisions based on data and research. He did not micromanage; he supported his staff, even when he sometimes disagreed. You never entered his office with a problem without a viable solution. He trusted his staff and they, in turn, trusted him to lead. His staff got better because he taught us how to think and solve major issues by ensuring we had the proper data to support an idea. Because of his leadership, DeWitt Clinton High School went from a school ready to close to one of the nation’s most improved high schools.
“The way of teaching demands a long journey that does not have any easily identifiable destination ... It is a journey that I believe must include a backward step into the self and it is a journey that is its own destination” (p. 456). The process of reflecting on learning ideals from this program has helped me analyze my own educational beliefs and practices through the lens of research, collaboration, and discussion. Each time class meets, I often wonder what new processes will apply to me this week. The learning expectations have been set very high and I always walk away with new understanding of leadership concepts that I had not considered. After each session, I ask myself what I can do differently at my school this week! I also question myself as to how I can make learning more practical at my school and how I can strengthen and support my staff based on the learning and sharing from the
Leaders can have a powerful impact on the futures of many, and the way in which one approaches leadership is paramount to the type of impact one will have. Continual growth in the areas of knowledge I have and seek to acquire, as well as recognizing my leadership style and utilizing my personal strengths to the fullest, is vital to the successful implementation of my personal philosophy of leadership.
Clark, D. R. (2004).The Art and Science of Leadership. Retrieved Sept 25, 2011 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadled.html
For the assignment, I interviewed Mr. David Sable. Mr. Sable is the Executive Director of Student Services for Radford City School. Mr. Sable oversees Special Education programs, 504 programs, food services programs, homelessness, and he is the division testing coordinator. My leadership journey began after I attended an initial special education eligibility meeting in 2011. Before the eligibility meeting, I never even thought about educational leadership. I envisioned myself as always being a teacher, and nothing more. My decision to attend this particular eligibility meeting was the best professional decision I have ever made. This eligibility meeting was the first time I witnessed Exemplary Leadership.
In every institution the type of leadership style is important for a successful environment. In order to establish a successful school environment to compete globally, the leader should comprehend the basic leadership theories and styles (Glickman et al., 2010). The cultures at schools are important to the success of the students and overall of the school, but also can be very difficult to establish and maintain without the proper leadership knowledge (Waite, 1995). In United States many schools could be place in the categories of conventional, congenial, or collegial, because the strategies used for their leadership (Glickman et al., 2010).The chosen school could be classified according to different criteria and could be determine in which area their leadership pertains more. In order to analyzed and classify the leadership, it was imperative to observed the way the leader make decisions, the approached with the stakeholders, how the instruction is delivered, and how they realized their job (Marshall, 2005). In this analysis will be identify the category that this school will be, the school climate, the type of supervision and leadership.
Leadership is increasingly important in today's society. Many experts and scholars point out that the current leadership crisis concerns moral and character problems in many leaders (Ahn, Ettner, & Loupin, 2012; Callahan, 2004; Wright & Quick, 2011). The following interview report is intended primarily for exploration and comparison of the traits and characteristics of leadership. A leader of a clinical medicine centre was interviewed for this report. The purpose of this report is to explore the leadership characters and traits, and how they can be developed in this turbulent environment. First, I make a brief introduction regarding the background of the respondent and her working environment. The report also describes this leader's personal and subjective perceptions in relation to a literature review which investigates the traits and characteristics of leadership. The report concludes with a comparison and discussion of the results of the clinical condition on the basis of the interview and literature review. At the same time, the report aims to put forward feasible and effective advice and specific programs for present and future leaders and managers in the health care system.
I was initially skeptical about interviewing a school administrator concerning leadership qualities because she is consistently ridiculed about the decisions she has made for the school. However, after conducting my interview, I was happy to hear that her views of leadership were consistent with a lot of our readings. I also learned that despite what I have seen in the past, my principal recognizes important leadership characteristics and works to be an ideal leader. Despite my concerns, my principal was excited to talk with me about leadership qualities and how she viewed herself as a leader.
There are a few different types of well known leadership styles, authoritarian, delegative, and democratic. To assess my leadership style I used two online tests to help me determine my style. I felt the results were accurate and I fall into a democratic style/participative style. If I am leading I prefer to include the group and get their feedback on solving issues. However, I still make the final decision after listening to the thoughts of the group on a particular topic. This is considered to be a positive style of leadership that is inspiring to the group involved. The leaders decision making tends to be more accurate due to the input of other experts. (Cite)