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SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR SCHOOL LEADERS 2

Self Assessment Tool for School Leaders

PurposeThe purpose of the Self Assessment Tool for School Leaders is to enable practicing school leaders to assess their practices with reference to those identified in the research that are required to lead schools in the province of Ontario. Using the practices identified in the Ontario Leadership Framework (OLF), the approach is evidence-based, giving school leaders the opportunity to reflect upon and cite evidence of the experiences that have contributed to their leadership development. Using this self-assessment as a starting point, school leaders can identify areas for growth as leaders and can give further thought and planning to the development of their Annual Growth Plan. The purpose of this tool is to help to develop reflective practitioners who can lead schools towards achieving the three provincial education priorities of: high levels of student achievement; re-duced gaps in student achievement; and increased public confidence in publicly funded education.

ContextThe Board Leadership Development Strategy (BLDS) requires that boards develop a plan to assist leaders in continuing their professional growth. Supports such as mentoring for newly appointed school leaders, principal and vice principal performance appraisal, and opportunities for profes-sional learning need to be developed as part of this plan. School leaders need a clear understanding of their present level of leadership develop-ment as well as direction in ongoing leadership growth efforts. The revised Self Assessment Tool for School Leaders was developed to give school leaders the opportunity to reflect upon their leadership practices and personal leadership resources in relation to the impact these have on the learning conditions in their school.

DevelopmentThe Self Assessment Tool for School Leaders is based on The Ontario Leadership Framework. The self assessment of personal leadership resources is based on research by Ken Leithwood and is designed to assist leaders in recognizing the personal characteristics associated with cognitive, social and psychological resources. These resources have been found to help enact the leadership practices more successfully.


Implementation Tips

Growth and DevelopmentThe self assessment tool can be used:▪ To highlight a leadership practice and reflect on how you as a leader implement that practice.▪ For personal self-reflection to help identify areas of growth for inclusion in the Annual Growth Plan (AGP).▪ To work with a critical friend or mentor to help identify and/or analyse the:✓ Quality of the evidence.✓ Areas of growth in the Annual Growth Plan.✓ Impact the evidence had on achieving the school’s vision and improvement goals.✓ Next levels of learning for personal growth and development – i.e., the identification of leadership practices and personal leadership re-

sources to develop.

Professional DevelopmentUse the self assessment tool:▪ To assist families of schools determine strengths and needs.▪ To guide conversations between mentors and mentees and to collaboratively determine areas for further development.▪ To help analyse case studies and to determine steps required to address issues and concerns.▪ To assist those who have used the tool to network with others who have used it.

Leadership DevelopmentThe tool was purposely designed to reflect the current reality of the school leader’s varied leadership roles and responsibilities. The practices identified in the OLF are based on research by leading experts and consultation with educators across Ontario. The framework includes key practices of successful leaders. As such, the self assessment tool could be used to:▪ Develop leadership programs.▪ Prepare for the promotion process and related interviews or activities.▪ Assist supervisory officers with the development of authentic and relevant interview questions as part of recruitment and selection processes


Setting Direction

Leader-ship Prac-tices

Building a shared vision▪ I es-

tab-lish, in collab-oration with staff, stu-dents, and other stake-hold-ers, an overall sense of pur-pose or vi-sion for work in their school to which they are all strongly com-

mit-ted.

▪ I build under-stand-ing of the spe-cific impli-cations of the school’s vi-sion for its pro-grams and the na-ture of class-room instruc-tion.

▪ I en-courage the de-velop-ment of organi-zational norms that support open-ness to change in the direc-tion of the school’s vision.

▪ I help staff and di-verse stake-hold-ers under-stand the re-lation-ship be-tween the school’s vi-sion and board and pro-vincial policy initia-tives and priori-ties.

Identify-ing spe-cific, shared short-term goals▪ I

fa-cil-i-tate sta

keholder en-gage-ment in pro-cesses for iden-ti-fying spe-cific school goals.

▪ I build consen

sus among stu-dents, staff, and di-verse stake-holders about the school’s goals.

▪ I ensure the goals are clearly commu-nicated to all stake-holders.

▪ I reg-ularly en-cour-age staff to evalu-ate their progress to-

ward achieving the school’s goals.

▪ I encour-age staff to develop and peri-odi-cally re-view in-di-vidual goals for pro-fes-sional

growth, as well as the re-la-tion-ship be-tween their in-di-vidual goals and the school’s goals.

▪ I re-fer fre-quently to the school’s goa

ls when en-gaged in de-ci-sions about school programs and di-rections.

Creating high ex-pecta-tions▪ I have

high expec-tations for teach-ers, stu-dents and myself

▪ I de-vote addi-tional effort

to creat-ing high ex-pec-ta-tions among staff for the achieve-ment of stu-dents who have tradi-tion-ally strug-gled to be suc-cess-ful at school

▪ I encourage sta

ff to be innovative in helping students meet t

hose expectations▪ I en-

cour-age staff to as-sume re-spon-sibility for achieving the school’s vi-sion and goals for all stu-dents

▪ I make my ex-pecta-tions known through words

and actions

SELF-AS-SESSMENT TOOL FOR SCHOOL LEADERS

Reflec-tion on my lead-ership prac-tices:What strate-gies do I use to implement these prac-tices?What is the evi-dence of my influ-ence on my school’s learning condi-tions? What do I need to change/improve/adapt?What Per-sonal Lead-ership Re-sources might help with improv-ing my prac-tice?

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-Ask what does our school vision – mission look like, sound like-routines of school planning goals in every staff meeting to revisit-School teams – school plan – this is a new approach to our school plan. -Leadership team – each grade represented – to guide our school vision, analyze data. Monthly meetings.

-analyze data every January for next year’s school plan-input from all parties – staff, EA’s – regular EA meetings, PLC meeting data, par-ents – students – TTFM surveys, behaviour data- PGP meetings – individually – Look for’s to help with walk through and support – evidence of practice. Spring meetings for follow-up and celebration of goals. Spring meetings will be groups of teachers this year. - School PD revolves around school goals – we develop and can design these days – early closings, etc. October PD day is local school PD day – AM is technology to support our new iPad, PM is self-directed – time for teachers to work on their PGP goals.

-Data Wall – collection of literacy data – closely align our achievement scores – high expectations on where we are going – a year in a year.- RT and Admin to work with support at risk students BUT working on high achiev-ing students – Adapted Profiles for BOTH-Encourage and involve Teachers with decision making – school teams, and carry-ing out of the goals – e.g.; ESD goal of school pathway.-always focus on what is best for students…

Leadership Practices

Communicating the vision and goals▪ I use many different formal and informal opportunities to explain to

stakeholders the overall vision and goals established for the school.▪ I demonstrate to all stakeholders the use of the school’s vision and goals

in day-to-day actions and decision making.▪ I regularly invite different stakeholder groups to discuss how their

work furthers the school’s vision and goals.

Reflection on my leadership practices:What strategies do I use to implement these practices?What is the evidence of my influence on my school’s learning condi-tions? What do I need to change/improve/adapt?What Personal Leadership Resources might help with improving my prac-tice?

Building Relationships and Developing People


Providing support and demonstrating consideration for individ-ual staff members▪ I recognize the accomplishments of individual staff members.▪ I consider staff members’ opinions when initiating actions that affect

their work.▪ I build upon and respond to individual staff members’ unique needs

and expertise.▪ I treat individuals and groups among staff equitably.

Stimulating growth in the professional capacities of staff▪ I encourage staff to reflect on what they are trying to achieve with stu-

dents and how they are doing it.▪ I lead discussions about the relative merits of current and alterna-

tive practices.▪ I challenge staff to continually re-examine the extent to which their prac-

tices support the learning of all their students.▪ I facilitate opportunities for staff to learn from each other.

SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR SCHOOL LEADERS


-Meetings, visual posters, language of how we deal with daily problems – e.g.; sup-porting students that are struggling with social situations, conversations with par-ents – discipline or school events – Authors Night – parents and kids – fit into our school plan of improving our writing – celebrating the success.

-Encouraging staff to share - PD, “aha moments” – EA meetings, Teachers leading meetings to plan – FLAG grant planning-Build on staff strengths – who is strong is particular areas – Tech teachers leading staff in iPads.-Equitable – making large groups safe for all to share their opinions, exit slips, re-flection handouts, groups responsible for school goal planning and implementing of goals.

-PLC time built into our timetable – and time to share this with whole group.-Co-teaching and common prep time built into the timetable-I will attend their PLC’s to sit in on their learning-I will be leading staff PD and discussions. Presentation at Divisional Professional Growth, leading teachers with iPad training.

▪ I suggest new ideas for staff learning.▪ I encourage staff to develop and review their own goals for professional

growth and the relationship of those goals to school goals and priorities.▪ I encourage staff to try new practices that are consistent with both their

interests and school goals.

Modelling the school’s values and practices▪ I am highly visible in my school.▪ I am easily accessible to staff, parents and students.▪ I have frequent, meaningful interactions with teachers, students and parents

in order to further the school goals.▪ I demonstrate the importance of continuous learning through visible

engagement in my own professional learning.▪ I exemplify, through my actions, the school’s core values and its de-

sired practices.

Building trusting relationships with and among staff, students and parents▪ I model responsibility, integrity and thoroughness in carrying out tasks.▪ I act in ways that consistently reflect the school’s core values and priorities in

order to establish trust.▪ I demonstrate respect for staff, students and parents by listening to their

ideas, being open to those ideas, and genuinely considering their value.▪ I encourage staff, students and parents to listen to one another’s ideas

and genuinely consider their value.▪ I establish norms in the school that demonstrate appreciation for construc-

tive debate about best practices.▪ I demonstrate respect, care and personal regard for students, staff and

parents.▪ I encourage staff, students and parents to demonstrate respect, care and

personal regard for one another.

Establishing productive working relationships with teacher federation representatives▪ I include federation representatives in processes for establishing goals for

school improvement.▪ I encourage federation representatives to keep their members well in-

formed about their work with school leaders.▪ I encourage federation representatives to collaborate in determining how to

implement labour contract provisions in ways that support school improve-ment work.

Work on – new ideas for staff learning - - PD opportunities-PGP support

Walk through – “Look For’s” – schedule of touching base with ALL – this is ongoing – using a form, check list, Kim Marshall book/ PD to help. Time to schedule and dedicate to this!! Most challenging. -Develop my own PGP – and share this with staff

-Build relationships with all staff, parents, students – know them, personally, take time to listen, find out about them, show interest and care.-Build trust – staff to come and talk to problem solve – Solution focused problem solving model, -Crucial conversations training – tough conversations , while learning to read our own lenses, our own morals – in order to help others, and be able to see others points of view. Agree to disagree. But making decisions on what is best for the child. -Respect, professional – sense of humour and fun at the workplace, social time, re-cess snack days, attendance at teachers social functions, celebration/acknowledge of teacher milestones and achievements.

- What is labour contract provisions…..???


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Developing the Organization to Support Desired Practice


Building collaborative cultures and dis-tributing leadership▪ I model collaboration in my own work.▪ I foster mutual respect and trust among those

involved in collaboration.▪ I encourage the collaborative de-

velopment of group processes and outcomes.

▪ I help develop clarity about goals and roles related to collaborative work.

▪ I encourage a willingness to compromise among collaborators.

▪ I foster open and fluent communica-tion toward building and sustaining professional communities.

▪ I provide adequate and consis-tently available resources to sup-port collaborative work.

▪ I involve staff in the design and implementa-tion of important school decisions and poli-cies.

▪ I provide staff with leadership opportunities and support them as they take on these op-portunities.

Structuring the organization to facilitate collaboration▪ I create timetables for teaching that maximize

time on task for students.▪ I provide regular opportunities and struc-

tures that support teachers in working to-gether on instructional improvement, and establish a system for monitoring their col-laborative work.

▪ I establish a structure of teams and groups that work together on problem solving.

▪ I distribute leadership on selected tasks.

▪ I engage teachers in making decisions that affect their instructional work.

Reflection on my leadership prac-tices:What strategies do I use to implement these practices?

What is the evidence of my influence on my school’s learning conditions? What do I need to change/improve/adapt?What Personal Leadership Resources might help with improving my practice?


- Team teaching- Common prep times- Plc time- Leadership team


Building productive relationships with families and the community▪ I create a school environment in which parents are welcomed, respected

and valued as partners in their children’s learning.▪ I demonstrate the type of leadership that parents can trust – confi-

dent, systematic and attentive.▪ I help develop staff commitment to engaging parents in the school.▪ I work, with staff, directly with families of diverse backgrounds to help

them provide their children with support in the home that will contribute to their success at school.

▪ I encourage staff to reach out to students with diverse viewpoints and experiences and help all students feel included.

▪ I encourage staff to adopt a broad view of parental engagement and encourage more parents to be involved.

▪ I help connect families to the wider network of services as needed.

Connecting the school to the wider environment▪ I develop and maintain connections with other expert school and district

leaders, policy experts, outreach groups, organizations and members of the educational research community.

Maintaining a safe and healthy environment▪ I take measures to secure the school’s physical facilities against intruders.▪ I ensure that the physical facility is maintained in a safe, healthy

and attractive condition.▪ I communicate standards for non-violent behaviour and uphold

those standards in an equitable manner.▪ I empower staff in the school to play a leadership role in promoting a posi -

tive school climate and modeling appropriate behaviour.▪ I implement and monitor the use of appropriate disciplinary practices

in classrooms throughout the school.▪ I develop, with the input of staff and students, processes to identify

and resolve conflicts quickly and effectively.▪ I provide opportunities for staff and students to learn about effective con-

flict resolution strategies.



-Visible to parents – morning, end of day, office, school tours-Communication from Teachers to parents – very regular, open-Diversity policy – divisional-Inclusion model – working on all at the same place – students working IN class-rooms, RT working IN classrooms, EA is not a band aid…-Helping PAC with family night – Movie nights, school wide eventsDo more of this…-connect families with other families – SOC families, EAL families, etc.

-Twitter! Use of twitter as a professional learning tool.

-Walk through daily-Custodial walk arounds – Work Place health and safety tours-discipline – Bucket filling philosophy – everywhere, language use, model, all staff and all students, follow up with parents, guidance, document and review regularly, Restitution training


Allocating resources in support of the school’s vision and goals▪ I manage efficient budgetary processes.▪ I distribute resources in ways that are closely aligned with the

school’s improvement priorities.▪ I ensure that sustained funding is directed to the school’s improve-

ment priorities.▪ I secure resources as needed to support the instructional work of the school.▪ I revisit and adjust as needed the nature, amount and alignment of re-

sources as priorities for school improvement change.▪ I ensure effective oversight and accountability of resources to sup-

port priorities.


Improving the Instructional Program


Staffing the instructional program▪ I recruit and select teachers who have the interest and capacity to further

the school’s vision and goals.▪ I retain skilled teachers by providing support and time for collabora-

tion, sharing leadership, creating a shared vision and building trusting relationships.

Providing instructional support▪ I actively oversee the instructional program.▪ I coordinate what is taught across subjects and grades to avoid unneces-

sary overlap while providing needed reinforcement and extension of learn-ing goals.

▪ I observe classroom instruction and provide constructive feedback to teachers.



-Budget – need work here.-New goal this year – gave Teachers amount to spend on PD, field trips, MTTB, art, student supplies, FLAG planning

-Hire good teachers – questions that we ask – reflect on our school goals/vision-Support new teachers – to retain good staff. New Teacher support worker, New Teacher orientation, walk through, buddy system.

-Administrators handbook of curriculum objectives – MECY-Visual – Be seen in classrooms – ASK students what they are learning about… NOT the teachers. The students will know.

▪ I provide adequate preparation time for teachers.▪ I provide advice to teachers about how to solve classroom problems.▪ I provide teachers with the opportunity to observe effective instructional

practices among colleagues in their own school as well as in other schools.▪ I participate with staff in their instructional improvement work.

Monitoring progress in student learning and school improvement▪ I assist staff in understanding the importance of student assessment for,

of, and as learning.▪ I collaborate with staff during the process of data interpretation.▪ I use multiple sources of evidence when analyzing student progress.▪ I give priority to identifying those students most in need of additional support.▪ I incorporate the explicit use of data when making decisions that relate

to student learning and school improvement.▪ I examine trends in student achievement over time (one or more years),

rather than just at one point in time, when analyzing student learning.

Monitoring progress in student learning and school improvement (continued)▪ I collect and use data about the status of those classroom and school

conditions that are the focus of the school improvement efforts.▪ I provide conditions for teachers to use data effectively (time, support,

partnerships with experts, a culture in which the use of data is valued).

Buffering staff from distractions to their work▪ I create and enforce consistent, school-wide discipline policies.▪ I minimize daily disruptions to classroom instructional time.▪ I implement a systematic procedure for deciding how best to respond

to initiatives from outside the school.▪ I develop, with staff, guidelines to govern the amount of time teachers

spend on non-instructional and out-of-school activities.▪ I regularly assess the contribution of all out-of-classroom activities to the

learning priorities of students.

-Feedback from Walk Through visits will revolved around what classroom observa-tions were seen, seek clarification if needed, provide positive feedback, ask ques-tions to develop growth and improvement.-Co teaching built into our timetable- teachers opportunity to team teach-I attend PLC meetings

Literacy Data Wall and data analysis – began as a Teacher’s PGP and is now school wide initiative that we do to track students reading, teaching strategies with read-ing.-January Early Closing is scheduled to do data analysis – go over all school data – gr. 3 Assessment, behaviour, literacy, numeracy, Tell them from me survey (par-ent, student and teacher feedback), EDI, Resource – EAL, Report Card data

- PD for Admin and RT team on Data Analysis with Bruce Wellman -Admin team groups-Board presentation of school data

-Documentation system for behaviour – all staff have access to fill out FYI office re-ferral slips – EA and teachers. Conversations around what behaviour gets docu-mented, who is notified – teachers and parents, follow up with fix it plans, re-entry plans, RT, Guidance, Family Counselling, Psychologist, SLP involvement. Behaviour data is reviewed regularly at monthly staff meetings and analyzed at January and March meetings. School Improvement plan to address behaviour data is put into place – for example, recess games taught, outdoor play equipment purchased showed decrease in noon behaviours.


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Securing Accountability


Building staff members’ sense of inter-nal accountabil-ity▪ I regularly

engage staff in an-alyzing data on the learn-ing progress of all stu-dents.

▪ I insist on the use of data that is of high quality (reliable, valid, collected using systematic col-lection pro-cesses, avail-able in its origi-nal form, and has been sub-jected to collab-orative interpre-tation.

▪ I promote col-lective responsi-bility and ac-countability for student

achievement and well-being.

▪ I help staff make con-nections be-tween school goals and ministry goals in or-der to strengthen commitment to school improve-ment ef-forts.

▪ I assess my own contribu-tions to school achievements and take into account feed-back from oth-ers on my per-formance.

▪ I participate ac-tively in my own performance ap-praisal and make adjust-ments to better meet expecta-tions and goals.

Meeting the de-mands for ex-ternal account-ability▪ I clearly define

accountability for individual staff in terms that are

mutually. under-stood and agreed to and that can be rigorously re-viewed and eval-uated

▪ I measure and monitor teacher and leader effec-tiveness us-ing data about changes in student achieve-ment.

▪ I align school targets with board and pro-vincial targets.

▪ I provide an accurate and transparent account of the school’s per-formance to all school stake-holders (e.g., ministry, board, par-ents, commu-nity).

▪ I create an or-ganizational structure that reflects the school’s values and enables management systems, struc-tures and pro-cesses to work effectively

within legal re-quirements.

Reflection on my leadership practices:What strategies do I use to implement these practices?What is the evidence of my influence

on my school’s learning con-ditions? What do I need to change/im-prove/adapt?What Personal Leadership Re-sources might help with improv-ing my practice?


Personal Leadership Resources

The OLF describes the characteristics of effective leaders such as optimism, emotional intelligence and problem solving abilities, which the re-search indicates create the variation among leaders in how well they are able to enact the leadership practices. Personal self assessment of the characteristics associated with cognitive, social and psychological resources is a critical component of leadership growth and development. The purpose of this tool is to assist leaders in identifying those characteristics that are contributing to or detracting from effective leadership practices.

Cognitive Resources:Problem-solving expertise and knowledge about conditions which have direct effects on student learning and which can be influenced by schools.

Reflect upon your own experiences.When did you feel confident in these situations? When did you not feel confident?

Problem-solving

• I spend time analyzing the nature of a problem, before seeking a solution.

• I prioritize problem-solving efforts based on impact on student learning.

• My values and principles are central to how I respond to problems.

• I remain calm and confident during the problem-solving process.

Knowledge about School and Classroom Conditions

• I am knowledgeable about powerful learning conditions in the school and classroom.

• I am aware of my colleagues’ emotions from their behavior.

• I optimize the organizational conditions (teachers’ working conditions) in determining school structures.

• I understand the influence of family conditions on student learning and implement policies to improve parental involvement.

Systems Thinking• I am able to understand the dense, complex, and reciprocal connections

Strength – I take time analyzing problems and avoid making quick decisions. I have a calm personality, most of the time, and I do not usually make decisions based on emotions, but based on what is best for students.

Strength – I am able to identify areas of our school where the learning conditions are ideal and teachers and students are in engaged in learning activities consis-tently. Discussions with parents on a regular basis help provide feedback on school progress. I am usually attune to staff and the emotions that may occur due to outside events. I attempt to be visual and make myself available to staff in or-der to “feel” the energy and emotions of the school. This is a priority each day. I support staff in areas of personal crisis or emotional times by helping with duties, discussing situations, and identifying outside supports if necessary.

among different elements of the organization.• I have foresight to engage the organization in likely futures

and consequences for action.

Social Resources:The ability to understand the feelings, thoughts and behaviours of persons, in-cluding oneself, in inter-personal situations and to act appropriately on that understanding.

Perceiving Emotions

• I am able to recognize my own emotional re-sponses and how those emotional re-sponses influence my actions.

• I am able to recognize the emotions of others.

Managing Emotions

• I am able to understand my own emotional responses and reflect on the potential consequences of those re-sponses.

• I am able to help others to be more reflective about their own emotional re-sponses and to reflect on the potential conse-quences of those re-sponses.

• I am usually able to calm my school colleagues when they are feeling agitated.

Acting in Emo-tionally Appropri-ate Ways

• I am able to control my own emotions.

• I am able to control my tem-per and handle difficulties ratio-nally.

• I can usually per-suade my school col-leagues to act in emotion-ally ap-propri-ate ways in our school.

• My school col-leagues can usually rely on

Strength – I understand the complexities of our school community and of all the stakeholders that push/pull our efforts. I may not always have the vision on how to engage all of the organizations on future action.

me to help calm them down when they get upset.

Reflect upon your own expe-riences.When did you feel confident in these situations? When did you not feel con-fident?


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Strength – I am able to recognize my emotions during decision making times and I attempt to think how my emotions affect others. I may not always be able to see me emotions directly affecting others until after the fact.

Strength – I am aware of my own emotions after a response, but it may only be after the event has taken place. I am reflective in my decision making and may need to explain my emotions after some time to think through the process. I am strong with helping others manage their emotions and helping them making the decisions that are best for students and student learning and future goals. I would like to think that I am consistently with my demeanor at school, especially when others are emotional around me. I will be able to stay calm during crisis but I will feel the effects after the trauma is over.

Strength – I am able to control my emotions and make clear decisions most of the time. I try to model for colleagues how to respond in an emotional stable manner. Colleagues have come to talk to me privately about situations that have made them upset. I have used a solution focused model to help with these situations.

t

Re-flect upon your own ex-pe-ri-ences.When did you feel con-fi-dent in these sit-ua-tions? When did you not feel con-fi-dent?

Psy-

chological Resources:The characteristi

Reflect upon your own experiences.When did you feel confident in these situations?When did you not feel confident

cs that en-able lead-ers to be pro-duc-tive and effec-tive in the highly comple

x environment of school leadership.

Optimi

sm

• I am usually able to see many ways around a p

roblem.

• I see the positive elements of most sit

Strength – I am usually optimistic about most situations and I will seek solutions that are balanced.

uations.

• I approach school leadership with an opti

mistic point of view.

Self-efficacy

• I feel confi-dent an-a-

Goal – Most times I am confident with solving problems at school but I am working towards seeing the long term goal and staying persistent with achieving this goal.

lyzing long-term problems to find solution

s for my school.

• I have confidence in my ability to achiev

e the goals I set in my job.

• I will persist in a tas

k regardless of the obstacles.

Resilience

• I us

Strength - I am able to handle stressful situations at school. I have had experience with a variety of stressful events in my career and tend to rely on past experience on what was successful and what needed a different approach. I enjoy problem solving situations with staff and coming up with positive student focused solutions

ually take stressful things at work in stride.

• I t

hrive in challenging situations and am able to

rise to the occasion.

• When things are uncertain

for me at work, I usually expect the best.

P

Goal – I strive to be able to make long lasting change in our school community. I am working towards maintaining this vigilance in making a meaningful difference that will sustain long after I leave the school community.

roactiv-ity• I

am able to stimu-late and effec-tively man-age change on a large

scale under complex cir-cumstances.

• I demonstrate ini-tiative a

Goal – I strive to be able to make long lasting change in our school community. I am working towards maintaining this vigilance in making a meaningful difference that will sustain long after I leave the school community.

nd perseverance in bring-ing about mean-ing-ful change.


Assignment A Self-assessment 01.755 / Administrative Leadership in Educational Institutions

Instructor Name: Dr. Cathryn SmithCindy Wainikka

This self-assessment was a very informative and reflective practice to complete. It required me to think about my daily and long tern practices and how effec-

tive I have been with decision making and setting a vision for our school.

As I reflected on our school vision and mission, it was confirmed that the time we take in the beginning of the year to review these statements is vital and key

to moving ahead with our school yearly plan. It also reminded me that this vision and mission needs to be revisited consistently throughout the year and kept in mind

with all of the planning that is done. In order to meet our school goals, we are trying a new practice this year. We will be dividing our entire staff into working teams

to contribute, carry out and develop each area of our school goals. The teams will be made according to teacher strengths and passion for each area.

Our school has a Leadership team. In my first year at the school, I was unaware of the vision and role of this team. This year, it is clear that this Leadership

team provides a place for teachers to pursue leadership goals, provide a voice for all staff as each grade is represented and provide a venue for discussion on data,

school vision, school programming and school improvements. I realize now, that this team can make long lasting change and have a positive impact on our school

community. It is my goal this year to make sure that this committee is used effectively and with purpose.

I have always used a collegial approach to leadership. However, the question in the self-reflection on high expectations made me realize that I have put

higher expectations on teachers in the area of academic results with specifically literacy. We are in our second year of using a Data Wall for our entire school. The

Data Wall shows students’ reading levels throughout the year along with term goals, student information on supports, new students, and other areas of information.

This Data Wall started as a Professional Growth Plan and has now grown into a school wide project. The goals of the wall are to track all students’ progress, reflect on

our teaching practices and make sure all students are moving along the “wall”. The most powerful aspect has been listening to teachers discuss as they view our

school from a big picture perspective and ask questions, learn from each other, and set future goals. We have changed and adapted the Data Wall to suit our needs

and taken in teachers’ suggestions and views for improvement.

I have always strived to improve teacher leaders and encourage teachers to share their passions and expertise. I have implemented a new practice at our

school where all teachers are responsible for sharing a Professional Development topic of their choice at all staff meetings throughout the year. This practice has

helped improved colleagues confidence in sharing their own knowledge with others and also helped student learning as teachers have tried different approaches to

their teaching.

My ultimate goal is to help improve instructional programs within my school. I have started a walk through schedule where I make sure that I am in class-

rooms watching teachers teach and discussing student learning with students. Feedback given to teachers must be immediate and effective. I help support their Pro-

fessional Growth Plans by having teachers tell me at the beginning of the year what their professional learning goals are and what evidence I will see when I walk into

their room. I am in the process of developing an online form in order to document these visits and start conversations with teachers about their teaching practices.

The challenge is scheduling regular visits and consistent time to give teachers feedback and have meaningful dialogue. The duties of a busy administrator in a large

school often bring me away from time in classrooms. It is the challenge of staying with a consistent schedule that works around all of the other responsibilities. Along

with this goal, there is the personal leadership goal of maintaining a long term vision and long term change. It is my hope that these two goals can be achieved to-

gether. The next step is to continue to support teachers with regular walk throughs and feedback, and make connections to our long term vision and goals that can be

interwoven within these conversations

Web viewThe Institute for Education Leadership (IEL) brings together representatives from the...

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Transcript of Web viewThe Institute for Education Leadership (IEL) brings together representatives from the...