Interviewing a school board member was a very positive experience for me as I was able to get a very clear idea of what it actually means to serve on a school board. Before interviewing Ryan, I did not fully understand many of the implications that members have on schools and all of the decisions that they are a part of. I also never fully understood why many school board members decide to be a part of a school board in the first place, but Ryan helped me see what they do and why they do what they do.
One of the major connections that I was able to make during my interview and our readings was the leadership implications that Patterson discussed. He outlines four steps to becoming a value driven organization: being clear about core values, understanding values hierarchy, constructing core value statements, and collecting feedback. (Patterson, 2003.) It was clear while speaking with Ryan that the Sauk Prairie School Board is very value driven
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and they care about the students first, but also care very much about the teachers. He spoke of Act 10 and how many school boards took immediate action against teachers’ salaries and benefits because they were able to do so. Sauk Prairie’s board made a few minor changes for budgetary reasons, but Ryan said that they did not want to make the employees unhappy. He discussed the link between being able to keep and attract good teachers and how that could keep Sauk Prairie Schools strong. Ryan also discussed how the board is very clear about what its values are and they are always referencing the schools mission and discussing that with the superintendent. All board members welcome discussions with community about issues with the schools and want to be a part of making a positive impact on the school system in Sauk Prairie. As I spoke with Ryan another connection that I was able to make with our readings was Patterson’s Questions for Consideration by Leaders. As Ryan discussed how the board went about decision making it was clear to me that the Sauk Prairie School Board was caring, provided clarity, gave choice to the community, and provided hope to the community and schools. As I mentioned previously, when Act 10 was introduced many schools acted quickly and stripped salaries or benefits to their teachers because they had the authority to do so. Sauk Prairie’s board did not want to act too quickly or harshly and their ability to care about their employees has paid dividends. Ryan mentioned numerous times how the board is always very clear about expectations and decisions that they make, they do not try to sugar coat things or hide things from the public when big decisions are made. Ryan, along with other board members are always welcoming to community associates who want to discuss policies or things that are happening in the schools, providing choice and decision making authority within Sauk Prairie. The Sauk Prairie School Board has helped provide hope in the community by helping pass a huge referendum and building a new elementary and district office this past summer. The motto has been “Sauk Prairie 2020” which focuses on making major improvements to a number of goals and facilities for a focus on the future. Another connection that I made between the readings and my conversation with Ryan was “Making a difference beyond the school.” Fullan spoke about the overall environment needing to improve in order for schools to change or get better.
(Fullan, 2003) I truly felt the passion and inspiration that Ryan and his school board members have in improving Sauk Prairie Schools and making a difference for the community that they serve. Ryan talked about how any issues that come up in the district, the superintendent is the person that they speak with. The superintendent acts fast to improve things or make any necessary changes, continually working towards the district goals. One of the things that makes it difficult to promote change that Ryan discussed, was how government policies and procedures that take place at the state level, can have a significant impact on how the school board operates. He said that some of the state policies really take away from the power that the school board can have, which can be
“frustrating.” I really enjoyed talking to Ryan about his experience being on the school board and learning about the great things that he has helped accomplish in Sauk Prairie. Ryan is a great person who wants to make a difference in his community and understands how impactful a position on a school board can be.
I had the pleasure of being able to shadow Superintendent Shirley Hall of the Maplewood School District. Ms. Hall took the reins of the district over in 2012 from a very popular superintendent who was credited with making great strides within the district. Although Ms. Hall had very large shoes to fill, she seems to be doing it with grace and enthusiasm. She credits the previous superintendent with making systemic changes and establishing the overall forward momentum of the district, but recognizes that she cannot rest on past success. Her goal is to take the district to the next level of educational excellence by focusing her and her administrative team's efforts on the P.E.L.P. coherence model from Harvard University. This model focuses the leadership's attention on the interdependence of the various aspects of their school district and how they reinforce one another to support the implementation of an improvement strategy. One of Ms. Hall's mantras was change, but not just for change sake, deep change for sustained improvement. Therefore, although Ms. Hall's predecessor was able to put the district on the right path, Ms. Hall has taken the baton and run with it; establishing her own style and path to excellence.
During an interview with Dr. Clayton Mork, Superintendent/Principal, from the Crescent School District, the topics discussed included the impact of, assessment of, and improvement of stakeholder loyalty. Also discussed was how the district determines, monitors, and improves stakeholder satisfaction.
The Chicago Public School District is the third largest school district in the United States educating around 400,000 students. Back in 1987 CPS was named “the worst in the nation”(). Moving its way up to the top, since then, CPS had completely rebuilt its structure, appointing leaders and reformed ideas. Now, with a deficit projected to be around $1 billion CPS is headed back in a downwards path, money being the biggest issue. The United States Federal Government already has financial issues of its own, which makes dealing with a CPS budget a problem within a problem. CPS, with a $6.6 billion FY2013 budget, is now taking a new strategy based upon a flawed “Student-Based Budgeting System”. The Board of Education is also struggling to solve the debt they have reached, and with their FY2014 plans this year’s budget book is argued to be “one of the most poorly written budgets”(). The way CPS is handling their budget is not benefiting the lives and education of students and is leaving CPS at a loss with giant financial issues.
You did an awesome work, I heard. We have monthly meetings, where we talk about the latest news in the nursing world, policy and procedure, quality improvement and many more issues. What I really enjoy about the meeting is that everyone can address his/her concerns without feeling afraid and intimidated. The meeting led by a registered nurse who is familiar with our day to day situation at work.
At Community Boards, the skills and disciplines that I learned was that I was able to handle clients through phone calls more effectively and in a manner in which I can be neutral. I also learned to be very patient with some clients over the phone, where some phone calls had spent over an hour of the client’s time talking to me about their issues at their residence. I was able to cultivate the skill of being able to use different communication styles in order to deal with certain people and their styles, for often I would have to deal with people that very emotional, because of their situation, whether they be angry, sad, or hopeless, I had to alter my style of communication to accommodate their needs and try to calm them down. Although I
The article gave a great account of two Ohio school districts; one, Olmstead Falls Intermediate School, classified as a “High Performing” school that wanted continued growth and the other, Start High School, classified as needing “Continued Improvement” both embarked on the Framework for Improving Leadership set forth by the state of Ohio. The Framework set for an emphasis for adult learning focused on effective leadership, shifting from traditional leadership, positive leadership as the means for improvement, and including standards, training and supportive conditions for leaders.
By having school board meetings, it helps to see what the school’s needs. This is very important for the reason that this may be the only time that a concern parent or person voice might be heard. From this meeting, it was learned that the school board members are willing to help people that have concerns. An example, of this, was when the concern Pre-K parent was worried that she heard that Pre-K has been just a daycare. However, someone from the board mentioned to her that she would personally go with the parent the next day and show her how Pre-K is running during the day. This made the parent so happy because her concerns were being met. I have learned that school board members look out for the students and that they are the number one source that community members should go to if they have a concern or a suggestion to better their children’s
This is a reflective essay based on my attendance at a multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting whilst on my two-week placement at a local mental health day hospital. The aim of this essay is to discuss the importance of the multidisciplinary team within the mental health environment and discuss factors that can influence the success or failure of multidisciplinary teams.
The AA meeting I attended took place at a church. The church that holds the meeting has a beginner AA meeting that meets Monday nights at 7 pm. However, I decided to go to the regularly meeting which takes place an hour later at 8 pm. I felt as though I would get more out of the regular meetings and get a sense of what regular AA members talk about. Before arriving at the meeting, I was a little anxious because I felt like as though I would be out of place, and I would be intruding on the members who come to the meetings for support. Also before attending, for some unknown reason, I imagined the meeting would to be similar to AA meeting featured in movies. Contrary to what I thought, the meeting was completely different. When I arrived at
Thomas Sergiovanni (2015) describes three essential dimensions of leadership as “the heart, head, and hand of leadership.” The heart describes those characteristics within the school leader that reflect personal “beliefs, values, and dreams.” The head of leadership refers to the practice of teaching and educating. The hand of leadership reflects actions taken by school leaders with respect to management behaviors. (p. 5) Within these elements, there is room for personal choice in how leadership is practiced and it is incumbent on new principals to find an individual leadership style that responds to the uniqueness of each school.
From the beginning, where we were unfamiliar with each other and became a team, my team and I had started to learn each other name and getting to know each other. Throughout each meeting, we slowly start to feel more comfortable and open minded with each other. Not only are we getting familiar with each other, each meeting that was held we progress of becoming an effective team member, we learn our strengths and weaknesses of everyone. During the meetings, we learn many concepts from the textbook, “Communicating in Small Groups: Principles and Practices” by Steven A. Beebe and John T. Masterson. We were able to learn different types of concept in the textbook and utilized it as a team to complete certain tasks. The three concepts that impacted my team and I are human
In order to ensure that students take their education outside the classroom into their everyday lives, educators must empower their students to take ownership of their learning. This is accomplished in two main ways. The first is to make authentic connections with families because they are the ones who know their student the best and who have the most direct influence in determining the student’s attitude toward education. The second way to enable students to take ownership of their learning is to make the learning both authentic and interesting for each student. In order for students to see their education as valuable, they have to be able to see why what they are learning is important in the “real world” and/or they have to take a genuine
A team meeting was held at Quality Care & Autism Center on 5/6/18. In attendance was, Andrew, this counselor, and Natasa and Tina, who run the center and are Andrew's managers. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss some concerns that have been brought up regarding his performance. To start the meeting, Tina explained to Andrew the reason for the meeting. She informed Andrew that some issues have been brought to her attention and she called this meeting to review them, as well as, to discuss if a plan can be put into place for mending the issues.
On Monday,October 14, 2013 at 7:00 P.M., I attended the Bradford Area School District school board meeting at Floyd C. Fretz Middle School in the large group instruction room. This meeting was important for the teachers, students, and the schools in the district. It provided information that correlated to the material in class and a perspective on what situations as a future teacher I may experience.
Value-based leadership, in essence, becomes the enduring guiding principles that capture the organization’s strength and character. For the reason that the core values represent the soul of the organization, they are likely to remain steadfast in the face of changing market trends and fads (Warwick Business School, 2015).