My Shadowing Experience

The author further discusses some schools similar to Anne Fox Elementary School, that have transformed and really became the academic haven for children, paving newer paths of success for their students. It gives an overview of the other chapters and lists some great changes that had taken place when these schools really adopted the principle, and the results they had received from making a change in their system. It goes to show that when our systems aren't working in terms of helping children meet their goal it is very important for us to become open to change and really believing that change and success in any child are possible as long as we believe in them. Becoming a supportive adult can make the biggest difference in a child. From this chapter I learned that being open-minded, researching new ways to improve, accepting our mistakes can really change our effectiveness in the lives of the children around

This interview was conducted with Wes Jensen the current principal of Mountain View Middle School. He has been the principal at his current school for two years, and was vice principal of the Blackfoot High School for two years. Before he became an administrator he was a classroom teacher for seven years, giving him 11 years of experience in education. The school has a very diverse population comprised of many different ethnicities including Native American, Hispanic, and Caucasian. The economic situations range from wealthy to highly impoverished. As the principal of this school he is a very professional man who holds high expectations for his staff.

For the purpose of this assignment, the leader I have chosen Ms. J, the principal of a charter school in New Orleans charter school named Harriet Tubman Charter School. Ms. J was also a founder of a school network that oversees 3 elementary to 8th grade schools. Founded in 2011 the schools now serve over 1700 students in the New Orleans area. Tubman Charter school has a staff of eighty. Ms. Lauses role is to oversee eight staff members that ensure that the school produces leading results for the state as well as promising scholars that will path their way to college. As the principal of this school specifically, Ms. J has large obstacles that go beyond the walls of the school. Harriet Tubman Charter school is within a neighborhood that struggles both economically and educationally. Almost 100% of the scholars qualify for a free lunch and are black or Latino and the kindergartens scholars that arrive on the first day know only one or two letters of the alphabet. Historically before Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans on 38% of public school students graduated high school (quote). While most people see this as a place where most people see extreme challenges, Ms. J see’s it as an opportunity for change and promise.

In September of 2013, the new East Bridgewater Junior Senior High School opened it’s doors for the very first time welcoming students from grades 7 - 12. After reorganization of the three schools in the district, it was decided that the seventh and eighth grade would move from the middle school into the new building. Although the building was beautiful and filled with the latest technology, a wave of negative thoughts and expectations about how the school and the school district functions engulfed the staff. A divide slowly but surely formed between the middle school teachers and the the high school teachers, new policies, programs, and technical changes were implemented with few explanations or input, and administration became as distant

The personal stories shared in the chapter provide a more extensive explanation as to why the state should reconsider consolidating the school. On page 52, the school’s coach describes the relationship between the school and community: “The school’s kind of a focal point; anything that happens in the community is going to happen in the cafeteria, or it’s going to occur here in the gym” (Tieken 2014). Another account describes the school’s value as “That cemetery dinner is not a school event; it’s a community event, but the school is the place to have it” (Tieken 2014, 53). The narrative provides evidence on the subject of building rapport between school systems and groups of individuals of Delight.

The first time I was first exposed to the overwhelming benefits of Optometric medicine was when I was 17 years old. It was the summer of 2011 and I was going to be a senior in high school. I decided to shadow my Optometrist, Dr. Lobe, for a senior project. Before shadowing, I knew that the Optometrist was a person I went once a year to get my eyes checked. I loved seeing my eye doctor and getting my eyes dilated, I would go back to school bragging to all my friends and educating them about why my pupils were dilated and the benefits of seeing an Optometrist. During the 40 hours I spent shadowing, my younger sister, Madison, who was 12 at the time, was seeing Dr. Lobe for accommodation problems. She had just started middle school and was doing poorly on the standardized tests in her classes. While on a routine eye exam, Dr. Lobe discovered that she was having difficulties focusing on small print. That summer I spend shadowing, I worked both in the office and at home with Madison. I helped her train and strengthen her eye muscles with the exercises Dr. Lobe prescribed to her.

I had my job shadow at West Liberty Middle School and I chose this school because I have been there previously. I spent the whole day at this school and learned a lot throughout the day. I am a family friend with the teacher who teaches seventh and eight grade English. Although I do not plan to teach middle school I still enjoy and learn a lot going to this school, because there’s a very diverse group of students from my different backgrounds. I feel like shadowing this school is much more realistic to the difficulties I may encounter as a teacher, therefore I benefit from shadowing this teacher and school.

Every school district has board meetings throughout the school year. Unfortunately, many parents, community members, & school personnel do not attend such important meetings because they don’t realize or understand the importance of such board meetings or how informative they can be. According to Kankakee School District (2017), the Kankakee School District Board of Education is composed of seven elected members, who were elected by the citizens of Kankakee to serve a four-year term that do not receive no salary for they services, are committed to ensuring a quality of educational excellence that will enhance the opportunities and challenges facing today’s student and additional responsibilities that board members include are selection of the District superintendent, developing general polices according to wishes of the community and requirements of law, hiring school personnel based upon recommendation of the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent of Personnel, adopts salary schedules, approves funds to finance school operations, must adopt and review the annual operating budget for the District, and setting the property tax levy to produce adequate funds to meet the District’s financial needs ranks among the responsibilities of the Board of Education (Retrieved from https://www.ksd111.org/domain/68). For this paper, the Kankakee School District board meeting will be used, information learned from board meeting, use of

On the 27th of January, I had the pleasure of Job Shadowing Billie-Jo Deal at the ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) Region Five Office in La Grande. ODOT is responsible for the construction, improvement, maintenance, and safe operation of Oregon’s transportation system. Billie’s official job title is a Region Five Traffic Safety Coordinator and is the only one working as a Coordinator in all of Eastern Oregon. On a normal day, she is typically working on writing grants, coordinating safety and enforcement programs, or giving presentations to schools and workplaces all across Eastern Oregon. I specifically chose Billie for my Job Shadow not only because I already knew her, but I have always been curious about what her job is like. I

I interviewed Julie Holt, Principal of Monticello Elementary School (MES). MES has 16 teachers, and 247 kids grades K-6. The school classified employees include: 4 kitchen staff, 2 custodians, 5 reading and math interventionist support, 1 library media teacher, 2 computer teachers, and 2 office assistants. Six of the sixteen teachers has less than ten years’ experience.

In light of accountability requirements, fear of not meeting AYP (Annual Yearly Progress), and required school improvement plans, often the idea of “school improvement” is considered a negative attribute. Obviously schools do not want to be singled out or identified as in need of improvement. Teachers often take the same view towards the idea of improvement. We as teachers take very personal that concept of improvement; we often parallel the need for improvement to failure. However my belief is that effective schools are always in a school improvement process and effective teachers too also are constantly adapting their practice in a culture of continuous improvement and growth. Therefore it is important as an effective leader to build a community of trust and collaboration. I quote “We are all in this together. Once we know that we are, we’re all stars and we see that we’re all in this together.” (Disney High School Musical, 2006) These lyrics from a popular Disney movie put to light exactly the school culture where the goal is not personal but as a community to use data driven and research based approaches in reflection and growth that assist all stakeholders.

The next school to present was Floyd C. Fretz Middle School by their principles Mrs. Slaven and Mrs Signor. Overall, Fretz scored an 84.5%. Looking over the information they received from the state, they concluded that the math program was doing well. Mrs. Slaved credited the students for their hard work. In addition to crediting the students, the principle said that the teachers have implemented a new program called HERE. HERE is a program where a teacher “adopts” a student and mentors them whether it is to improve academically or socially. The staff at Fretz feels the program works well with students who are at risk but does not do much for the advanced students. In class we discussed that middle school is a challenging time period for adolescence. I think the program they have implemented will help to greatly ease the challenges students face. In class we

During my second preclinical experience at Westview Hills Middle School, I learned the importance of cooperation and collaboration among teachers at a school. I was able to observe team and department meetings during this experience. It became clear that it is important for teachers to work together in order to provide a positive atmosphere at a school and in a specific department. Although it became obvious that personalities and teaching styles were different throughout the school, the teachers still acted professionally and used each other as resources in

School improvement is transformation. It is one of the most important actions of a school. It is a process that schools must use with fidelity to ensure that at all students are given the opportunity to perform and achieve at exemplary levels. School improvement is vital to schools and it is a process that cannot be done in isolation. It requires team work, collaboration, and constant analysis of data and setting of goals. School improvement goals focus on how to meet the needs of students. Addressing the educational needs, funding, and achievement gaps between subgroups is collaborative effort involves everyone that has a vested interest in the schools. These basic measures set the foundation for improvement. And so, if it is the

In any collaborative environment, an open-line of communication is a critical factor. Communication is a two way interaction of listening and speaking in turn. One speaks while the other listens for true comprehension is a key factor. One must get an understanding before the vision can be implemented within any leadership role. The presence of collaboration in schools are the result of principals, educators, parents, and administrative leadership in working as a team. The purpose of this essay is to explain the importance of teacher leadership, the principal 's role in developing teacher leaders, and their connection to the development of a collaborative culture in schools.