EDLD 5342- Part 1- Code of Ethics

Standard 1.2:  The educator shall not knowingly misappropriate, divert, or use monies, personnel, property, or equipment committed to his or her charge for personal gain or advantage. There was an assistant principal in my former district that stole fundraising money out of the school vault. She used the money to pay her personal bills.

Short term consequence: The assistant principal was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Long term consequence:  The assistant principal had to reimburse the money she stole from the district and was dismissed from her position after the investigation was concluded.  There were also legal charges made against her.

Preventive Strategy: The Superintendent was able to apply laws, policies, and procedures in a fair and reasonable manner because the district had procedures in place. However, the Superintendent and district administration reexamined how finances and fundraising money was handled in the district. The money in the safe was to be deposited within 24 hours. If any money was to be placed into the safe then two people in the front office had to sign-off on the amount of money being place in the safe and it had to be verified by the principal. A new safe was purchased for every school in the district with a key and combination entry. Then the combination was to be changed every time an administrator left the district.

Standard 1.3:  The educator shall not submit fraudulent requests for reimbursement, expenses or pay.  I currently work in a district office. We travel throughout the district and are reimbursed for our mileage. It is on the honor system. However, we had one employee turn in a mileage form one month that had more mileage listed on the log than what the employee actually drove.  

Short term consequence:  The employee received a written reprimand and had to reimburse the district the money she had requested for reimbursement.

Long term consequence:  The employee must now seek approval before traveling to a campus and must turn in her calendar monthly to her supervisor.

Standard 1.6:  The educator shall not falsify records, or direct or coerce others to do so.  In a district that I worked in a teacher falsified a student’s progress on a student’s IEP goals and objectives. It appeared to the parent the student was making progress on items she was not progressing at all. This was discovered when the student transferred to another school in the district. The new school could not understand how the last teacher had arrived at her numbers of mastery criteria and called in district administration. When the teacher was asked for her data and how she arrived at her numbers the teacher could not produce any data and said she had made it up.

Short- term consequence:  The short-term consequence to this action was the teacher was put on administrative leave. Also, the district had to provide extended school year services and compensatory services to the student.

Long term consequences:  The teacher was allowed to keep her job. However, a written reprimand is in her permanent human resource file. The teacher will have a difficult time being transferred between schools or being employed by another district.

Preventive Strategy: The teacher is required to turn her data and IEP Progress reports into the principal every nine weeks. Also, the ARD facilitators and are required to look at IEP Progress report notes before the documents go home to parents. Also, district administration has provided more training on data collection. This issue is example of how the Superintendent and other district leaders can monitor and address ethical issues impacting education.

Standard 2.2. The educator shall not harm others by knowingly making false statements about a colleague or the school system. Sadly, this happens much more often than it should in public education. I could tell countless stories of teachers making up stories about other colleagues. I have been on the end of having someone make false statements about me and ended up costing me a principal position. I had a fellow colleague make up a story about something I supposedly posted on Facebook and reported it to the Superintendent. However, the Superintendent did not know how to interact with district staff, students, school board, and community in a professional and ethical manner when handling this situation and it was not handled in an appropriate way. The rumor spread and it cost me the principal job I was up for at the time.

Standard 2.5: The educator shall not discriminate against or coerce a colleague on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, or family status. While conducting interviews for a position that was going to be split between two campuses we had a panel on the interviewing committee. We had an excellent candidate and everyone except one person wanted to hire this person. When asked why she did not want to hire this person “She said I don’t like her dialect and I don’t think she will fit in with our clientele of the school”. She was referring to the person being African-American

Reflection on EDLD 5342

While reflecting back on this course I think about all of the new knowledge I gained that will improve my skills as a campus and district leader, especially in the area of school finance. Before this course, I had little knowledge on school finance, especially the Superintendent’s role in the budget process. I gained knowledge through the Competency 8 Self-assessment, the lectures, interview, readings, weekly assignments and activities.

            At this beginning of this course, I marked mostly I’s on the Competency 8 Self-Assessment. In almost every area of this competency I wanted to improve my knowledge and skills. After completing this course, I am able to with more confidence mark I am competent in most areas of knowledge and skill. I still believe I need more practical application to feel I have strengths in the budget process. I do believe I am competent in many more areas then I was before this course started. I do believe I could apply my knowledge in the area of acquire, allocate, and manage resources according to district vision and priorities, including obtaining and using funding from various sources, apply legal concepts, regulations, and codes as required and use revenue forecasting and enrollment forecasting to address personnel and budgetary needs accurately.

            The lectures, interviews, readings and weekly assignment allowed me to expand my learning on school finance. By starting first with the history of the financial system it allowed me to have an understanding of why the system is the way it is currently. I did not realize how many events have occurred that have shaped what the school finance system has become today in Texas. Through examining these historical events, I now have a better understanding of why our State educational system is in the financial trouble we are in currently. Also, by studying the terms adequacy, equity and efficiency I also understand now why there have been some lawsuits against the State and why there is going to be lawsuit over the current financial situation. Public school financing is a complex and controversial system. 

Also, before this class, I had never really understood the state formula or even looked at the state formula. I still have a lot of learning to do in this area, but at least I have better understanding of the state formula. I knew student attendance was important but I didn’t realize how important. I also knew we received extra funding for special education students, but did not realize it also included gifted and talented, bilingual, vocational and compensatory education. The WADA makes perfect sense to me because students in those programs need additional services, which cost the district more. I am looking forward to learning more in this area and seeing what my peers feel impacts the state formula.

            Finally, studying the TEA Budgeting Guidelines taught me a great deal about school finance.  The TEA Budgeting Guidelines is a wealth of information for a Superintendent while going through the budget process. After reviewing these guidelines, I learned about different budgetary approaches, legal requirements, roles and responsibilities, revenue estimates, financial forecasting and planning, budgeting for grant programs and multi-year construction projects. From these guidelines, I will be able to use this information in helping me develop a district budget or contribute to developing a district budget because this document walks a person through developing a budget from the beginning to the end. It also provides the guidelines set forward by the Texas Education Agency. Ultimately, it is the Superintendent’s role and responsibility to develop the district budget and this document will be a tool to guide the Superintendent through the budget process.

            I look forward to expanding my knowledge even more in this area. However, I believe this class gave me new knowledge and the ability to improve my skills as a campus and district leader, especially in the area of school finance.  

Week Four Assignment, Part 4 – Understanding Personnel Salaries in District Budgets

The education of students is labor intensive and the Board of Trustees places a high priority on funding direct classroom instruction. This is reflected in the large portion of Clear Creek ISD District's budget for payroll costs. The composition of the District's workforce is determined by the staffing policies and guidelines of the Board of Trustees on the basis of projected student enrollment and curriculum requirements. Clear Creek ISD spends 68.7% of its General Fund budget on Instruction and Related Services. These dollars go directly into the classroom and pay for teacher salaries and classroom/campus supplies. Almost eighty five percent (84.9%) of spending in the General Fund is for personnel, as a result a large part of this budget goes toward personnel and benefits associated with our classroom teachers. The District maintains a very low administrative cost ratio in comparison to the Texas Education Agency’s standard benchmark. For a large school district, 25,000 students or more, the Agency benchmark is an administrative cost ratio of 11%. Clear Creek’s administrative cost ratio is 4.7%.

In these time economic times like this it is hard to think about a five percent salary increase for all personnel. This last school year my district reduced 171 full time positions through attribution to deal with the State’s shortfall in funding. Most likely another 125 positions will be eliminated in the 2012-2013 school year. This last school year, was the first item since I entered education I did not receive a raise or at least my step. Our salaries were frozen and most likely this year our salaries will be too. However, no one in my district was too upset with not getting a raise because first we are fortunate to have a position, but also we are one of the highest paying districts in our area. We were also one of the few districts in our area that was not forced to do a reduction in force. Clear Creek ISD does not experience higher turnover rate and higher salaries is one of the reasons. Our district is able to recruit and main highly qualified teachers and staff.

Everyone would enjoy a five percent raise, but at this time I actually think the only positive that would come out of a raise would be morale would go up, but we would have to cut other items or programs from the district. By not offering a raise, we our able to maintain our fund balance at an acceptable level and maintain established educational programs. As long as my district can maintain salaries that are at a level comparable to area/regional districts then I think we will be able to maintain the excellent, highly qualified teachers we have currently in this district.

Interview with Deputy Superintendent- Audit Process

1.      How is the external auditor selected?

Every four years school districts develop a request for qualifications for an external auditor.  The request highlights the district’s requirements (previous work with school districts, size of audit team, etc) and preferences.  Audit firms submit documentation highlighting their experience, audit team, audit plan, etc.  The district develops a review committee to review documentation and interview the finalists.  This committee makes a recommendation of the most qualified firm.  At that point, the district negotiates price with the finalist to get to an agreed upon cost of the services.  If agreement is reached then the recommendation is taken to the Board of Trustees for review and approval.

2.      How does the auditor conduct the audit?

The audit is conducted in several phases.  In the summer, auditors come on site and review transactions through June and perform some testing on the district’s control procedures.  This generally is a one week process with several auditors.  They review selected purchases to ensure the purchasing and receiving process worked as planned.  They will then return for final audit work in December.  This is usually a two week process with several auditors.  They review transactions through year end and do more testing of our systems and processes.  The final audit is prepared and presented to the Board of Trustees at the January board meeting.

3. What does the audit conclude about district financial procedures and actions?

The audit statement is very concise letter that summarizes their findings.  It says among other things that:

“In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the governmental activities, the business-type activities,  each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the District as of August 31, 2010, and the respective changes in financial position and, where applicable, cash flows, thereof for the year then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.”

4. How are the results communicated?

Results are communicated through a management letter as well as a Certified Annual Financial Report.  The most recent CAFR is in the link provided: http://www2.ccisd.net/Libraries/Finance/2010_CCISD_CAFR.sflb.ashx

The new one will not be completed until January

M&O Budget

There are two sources of funding for the Maintenance and Operations Fund (M&O Fund). The first source of funding is local property taxes. Clear Creek ISD’s general fund is comprised of 56.7% of revenue coming from local property taxes. The other source of funding for the M&O Fund is revenue from state sources and that makes up 40.9% of the general fund.

      This fund is established to account for resources financing the fundamental operations of the district. The education of students is labor intensive. This is reflected in the large portion of the District's budget for payroll costs. The composition of the District's workforce is determined by the staffing policies and guidelines of the Board of Trustees on the basis of projected student enrollment and curriculum requirements.

In Clear Creek ISD 68.7% of the general fund budget is on instructional and related services. Almost eighty five percent (84.9%) of spending in the

General Fund is for personnel, as a result a large part of this budget goes toward personnel and benefits associated with our classroom teachers. The second largest expenditure class in Governmental Funds is debt service. Since it has been a fast growth district, Clear Creek has issued almost $450 million in bonds over the last seven years and thirteen percent (13.3%) of its governmental fund monies in the Debt Service Funds. Clear Creek ISD does not qualify for any State funding to cover debt services.

      Revenue in this general fund is estimated at $284,966,000 while expenditures are budgeted at $288,347,391. The General Fund budget is balanced with a proposed operating transfer from the capital replacement fund of $3,400,000. This provides a very small increase in fund balance ($18,609).

TEA Budgeting Guidelines

The TEA Budgeting Guidelines, January 2010, is a wealth of information on the budgeting process. After reviewing these guidelines, I learned about different budgetary approaches, legal requirements, roles and responsibilities, revenue estimates, financial forecasting and planning, budgeting for grant programs and multi-year construction projects. From these guidelines, I will be able to use this information in helping me develop a district budget or contribute to developing a district budget because this document walks a person through developing a budget from the beginning to the end. It also provides the guidelines set forward by the Texas Education Agency including a district’s responsibility to the community.

         First I learned simply about different budget approaches. The TEA Budgeting Guidelines explains the five basic approaches to budgeting. It explains each approach has relative advantages and limitations. Also, one single approach may not be effective. A hybridized approach may be more appropriate depending on the needs of the district.

            Next I learned about the legal requirement for budgets and the roles and responsibilities of developing a district budget.  It explains the state guidance allows for considerable district autonomy during the budget process. I learned the Texas Education Code sections 44.002 and 44.006 establish the legal basis for budget development. This section of the resource guide explains the Superintendent is the budget officer for the district and prepares the budget. It also points out that TEA recommends an interactive approach between the board of trustees and the Superintendent while developing a district budget.

Next I learned about annual district revenue estimates. District revenue estimates are based on a variety of demographic and tax information. However, there are two main sources of district revenue. The two sources are the Foundation School Program revenue and the local property taxes. These two sources are essential to developing a budget.

Lastly, this resource guide provides information that a district may not be including every year in a budget such as grants and multi-year construction projects. Grant information is not required for a school district’s officially adopted annual budget, but this information may be included as a supplement or if the local district requires this information to be included in the budget. Next, the resource guide provided information on the preparation of construction project budgets.

        The TEA Budgeting Guidelines will be a useful document in the future because it contains necessary information on developing a district budget. It provides the guidelines set forward by the Texas Education Agency. As a Superintendent this document is necessary to have to refer to on regular bases as a resource guide as a district goes through the budget process. Ultimately, it is the Superintendent’s role and responsibility to develop the district budget and this document will be a tool to guide the Superintendent through the budget process.

Reflection

     The TEA Budgeting Guidelines provides a wealth of information for a Superintendent while going through the budget process. After reviewing these guidelines, I learned about different budgetary approaches, legal requirements, roles and responsibilities, revenue estimates, financial forecasting and planning, budgeting for grant programs and multi-year construction projects. From these guidelines, I will be able to use this information in helping me develop a district budget or contribute to developing a district budget because this document walks a person through developing a budget from the beginning to the end. It also provides the guidelines set forward by the Texas Education Agency. Ultimately, it is the Superintendent’s role and responsibility to develop the district budget and this document will be a tool to guide the Superintendent through the budget process.

Goal Driven Budget

Goal Driven Budget

A goal driven budget is exactly as it sounds. It is a budget that is driven by goals. The budget starts with the goals set forward by the Board of Trustees. Then the goals set forward by the District and Campus improvement plans should reflect the goals set by the board. As Dr. Arterbury points out in this week’s lecture: “The purpose of a goal driven budget is to assist in the attainment of a shared vision for the school district and each campus”. In turn the budget should reflect a commitment of funds to achieve a shared vision and obtain the goals for the district.

Clear Creek ISD has a collaborative process to the budget development.  In CCISD we have a statement of believe that: “Communication with all stakeholders develops unity”. This is evident with how the budget process begins.  First it begins with the Board of Trustees goals. Then the Deputy Superintendent explained throughout the budget development process he meets with campuses and department heads on each campus to determine the needs of the district. He stated that this information is essential to building a budget.  

Next, it is evident while reviewing CCISD’s District Improvement Plan that my district has a goal driven budget. The district is spending money on the set goals for the district. There is a set parameter in the District Improvement Plan that states: “We will not initiate or retain any program or service unless it contributes to achieving our mission and objectives, and benefits outweigh costs.”

An example of how the district is applying funding towards achieving goals and a shared vision is the district has the mission of equipping all students to graduate with the knowledge, skills, and resources to be successful in post-secondary education or employment in the 21^st century workplace. Every goal and resource is allocated towards every student in the district meeting that goal. This school year the district is focusing on the use of resources to accelerate learning for all students and eliminate the achievement gap so, that every student is equipped for the 21^st century workplace. One way the district plans on achieving this goal is to ensure that all resource allocations (financial and personnel) support district alignment and campus goals. Also, base all resource allocations upon a thorough analysis of student performance data annually.

It was evident by reviewing Clear Creek ISD District Improvement Plan that CCISD has a goal driven budget. All resources are allocated toward a shared vision. It is essential for a success of a district to have a goal driven budget.

Additional Stakeholder Input in the Budgeting Process

          While interviewing the Deputy Superintendent of Business Operations and Maintenance about the development of a district budget he mentioned the importance of receiving input from several stakeholders as the budget is being developed. His views are directly aligned with this week’s lecture. Dr. Arterbury explained the importance of communication and input from others during the budget process because receiving input from key stakeholders is essential for a valid budget to be developed and for it not to fail in the end. Receiving input from central office administrators, principals, district and site based decision making committees, teacher organizations, key stakeholders and the Board of Trustees is essential because these different stakeholders will provide the most updated information about needs that currently exist in the district. Knowing current information is vital to allowing the Superintendent to develop a valid budget.

            The Deputy Superintendent explained throughout the budget development process he meets with campuses and department heads on each campus to determine the needs of the district. He usually holds these meeting in late April and early May. He stated that not every district does this but he finds these meetings very helpful because it allows him to know each campus’ needs. It stated that this information is essential to building a budget. You must know the needs first before every beginning the budget.

            As I examined the importance of input from various stakeholders it became evident that everyone is involved in the budget process for a district. Each stakeholder has an important role and is vital to the success of a budget.

The following could be input I receive for budget development from the following individuals or groups:

·         Central Office Administrators and Staff:  Central Office Administrators are the Superintendent’s right hand people. They understand the needs of each of their departments and have the knowledge of how to improve their departments. They would help the Superintendent adjust the budget to meet the district goals.  

·         Principals: Principals have the knowledge of what their campuses needs are for the next year school. They know what supplies, materials, programs and equipment they need for their campuses. Principals input are essential in establishing campuses budgets. In my eyes, principals are responsible for developing a budget that aligns with the districts goals.

·         The Site Based Decision Making and District Improvement Committees: The role of the Site Based Decision Making and District Improvement Committee is to set the vision and goals for the district and each individual campus. Both of these committees involve numerous stakeholders from community members to students. So, the goals that these committees develop provide vital information for the development and the success of a budget. These committees will provide the most up-to-date information the stakeholders see as goals for the district.

·         Teacher Organizations: Teacher Organizations are important because they can provide the Superintendent with the most up-to-date information on the needs and wants of the teachers. This group of stakeholders should be communicated to often. As Dr. Arterbury pointed out “Employees want to know whether they will receive a salary increase and, if so, how much will it be. If the budget news is not good for the upcoming year, the message should be communicated to all stakeholders as quickly as feasible”.

·         Key Stakeholders: Key Stakeholders like community members are important to the development of the budget because community members can provide information like if the district is proposing a board election is the community going to accept or vote for a decision. Also, key stakeholders can provide essential information that the community sees as important for the district.

·         Board of Trustees: The Board of Trustees is crucial to the development of the budget. By law the Superintendent has the role of preparing the budget, but the board establishes the annual goals for the school district. Also, the Board has more access to public opinion and they are an important judge of the acceptance of the budget proposals by the community.

As I discussed and studied the importance of different stakeholders in the development of a budget none of the information surprised me when developing a budget. Just like when you develop any plan a leader must look at all sides and receive information from all stakeholders involved. If a leader does receive input from others in any decision being made you will not have all of the information and do not receive as much buy-in to those decisions. When tough decisions, like where to make cuts in a school district, have to be made it is important to have the input of all parties. 

Reflection:

Each stakeholder during the development of the budget brings a different perspective to the table. It is important for the Superintendent to involve and receive input from all stakeholders during the budget development process. If the Superintendent does not have the most updated information about the needs that currently exist in the district may cause a budget to fail and not meet the needs of the district. It is vital to have current information to be able to develop a valid budget. 

Superintendent's Role in the Budget

According to lecture this week the Superintendent has the role of preparing the budget and communicates proposed actions of the professional and support staff to address the annual goals proposed by the Board of Trustees. Based on that information, it was not surprising while interviewing the Deputy Superintendent for Business Operations and Management he described the Superintendent as being crucial in the whole budget process.

            The Deputy Superintendent went on to say the Superintendent sets the tone of the budget and is crucial to a smooth budget process. A Superintendent directs staff on appropriate responses to budget problems. He or she serves as a referee between departments. Then ultimately the Superintendent makes the final decisions on what to cut or what to add to the budget before taking the budget to the Board of Trustees for approval.

I found it extremely interesting the Deputy Superintendent described the Superintendent as a referee between departments when dealing with varying goals. I can see how the Superintendent has to serve as a referee especially in these hard economic times for districts. There is only so much revenue coming into the district and only so much money to go around to each department. Currently, in our district our Superintendent made it clear his goal is still to improve instruction while saving as many jobs as possible. Every budget decision in our district was driven around that goal.

Based on this week’s lecture and interview with the Deputy Superintendent of Business Operations and Management it is evident what the Superintendent’s role is in the budget process. The Superintendent is the crucial to the entire budget process. He or she sets the tone of the budget and ultimately has the responsibility of what to cut or add to the budget before taking it to the Board for approval.

Follow-up to Site Supervisor Conference

       I meet with my site supervisor twice to collaboratively make additions, deletions and improvements to my plan. The first time we met I changed several items on the plan, including the resource person. The second time we met we only made slight tweaks to the plan.

       When we actually sat down face-to-face to discuss my internship plan it was a very helpful meeting. My site supervisor and I went item by item and discussed what that activity would actually look like and how I would accomplish that activity. We also discussed items she felt would benefit me the most while doing my internship. She felt that it was a good idea to focus several of my items at the elementary level since that is an area where I need to grow professionally. She also put me in contact with an elementary principal to accomplish some of items on my internship plan. After the first meeting my with site supervisor, I met with the elementary principal to discuss my internship plan as well.

       During the meeting we also changed some of the items on the plan. She wanted me to be more specific on some of the topics. Also, my site supervisor changed the resource person on several of the items. She felt that some personnel in the district would have more knowledge in certain areas.

         The second time my site supervisor and I met was to revise any additional items to the plan. We did not change much, but I wanted her to look the plan over one more time before I submitted the comprehensive internship plan. Both meetings were extremely helpful and meaningful to the experiences of the internship.  

Interview with Director of GBCHI

                Staying positive and being student focused was the theme of my interview with the Director of the Galveston-Brazoria Cooperative for the Hearing Impaired (GBCHI). I decided to interview the Director of GBCHI because she is in the unique situation of working with ten different school districts which function as a co-op. GBCHI is even comprised of its own board of directors, which is made up of the ten superintendents of the participating districts. During the interview the director enlightened me with her experiences as a district leader.

The first answer I found interesting was how she described leadership. She described leadership as being a guiding voice that empowers others to lead. It is inspiring others to make the right decisions by always being a positive model role. Leadership is not asking others to do something you would not do yourself. She later explained leadership is how you act under pressure while guiding people in the right direction and always maintaining child focus.

            The Director of GBCHI got this district level position just a little over a year ago. Prior to being promoted to a district level position she was an assistant principal in the district. She explained she enjoyed being in a district leadership role because you get the chance to interact with students at all levels and people in all different roles. She explained when you are at a campus you do not truly understand the function of everyone’s roles in the district, but now being in a district level position she is able to see how we all function together as a district.  Another positive aspect she saw of being in a district level position is you are able to impact the community even more. You have the ability to build and maintain community relationships, which she saw has an extremely important role as a district leader.

            The next answer that stood out to me was when we started discussing how she developed a working relationship with the GBCHI board. She explained you have to be upfront and honest at all times with the board. Everything must be relayed and explained to the fullest. She described the relationship as being an “open book”. To have a good working relationship you must be transparent, let the board know all of the issues going on with the co-op. Her advice  to build the best possible relationship was be honest, upfront and stay positive at all times.

            Next, the director and I had a conversation about decision making and how to sustain positive change. This is an area I feel passionate about myself. So, it was extremely interesting to hear her discuss sustaining positive change because we had very similar beliefs on the issue. Her first word of advice on this matter was lead by example and be transparent with your staff. Always focus on students’ needs and not always about what we do not have. You have to celebrate the small accomplishments. Then she explained to maintain positive change all stakeholders have to feel vested in the idea. If the stakeholders feel they had a say in the decision then the decision will be seen more positively and it is more likely to sustain because the individuals are vested in the change.  

            Her final words also stuck with me. She started to explain how most of her days start the moment she gets out of bed with a problem and do not end until her head hits the pillow. She explained she never knows what is going to happen from day to day. But, you must always stay positive and never let things get to you. Parents, teachers and the community are just trying to be advocates for their children of the district. We as district leaders can never take things personal. You always have to give a 100%. There is not a down day for administrator and there is never such a thing as a bad day. No one cares if you are having a bad day. They still want their problems fixed and you as a leader are there for the staff, parents, community and foremost the students.

            Those words really stuck with me because sometimes I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. It is often evident when I am having a bad day, but she is right in saying that no one cares. Parents still want their issues addressed. Students still need to learn and the staff still needs to feel that they are being heard. So, with those words in mind, I am going to start making a more conscious effort to stay positive and keep the students in mind at all times.

            Finally, I learned from the interview that no matter what leadership position you are in that there will be positives and negatives, ups and down, but in the end, as long you stay focused on your mission, the children, it is all worth it. I also learned that through the experiences I had as a campus administrator I will have the opportunity to expand those leadership skills when I too have a district leadership position.

Vita

 Rachel Spector-McAdam

212 Sharnoll Circle, League City, TX, 77573

(W) (281) 284-0752; (C) (979) 777-6980; rsmcadam@yahoo.com

Education/Certification

Master of Education               Educational Leadership, Texas State University,  San Marcos, TX, 2008

Bachelor of Science                Political Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77840

Superintendent Certificate     Texas (In progress)

Principal Certificate               EC-12, Texas

Teacher Certificate                EC-12 Special Education, 4-8 Generalist, Texas

Administrative and Leadership Experience

Lead Special Education Team Leader,

Clear Creek Independent School District,

League City, TX, 2009-present

·         Facilitated and coordinated activities related to the admission, renewal, and dismissal (ARD) process ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.

·         Coordinated services for the electronic and eligibility folder management of the ARD process.

·         Provided leadership for campus special education team leaders.

·         Provided professional development on ARD development.

·         Assisted with answering campus questions relating to the ARD process.

Assistant Principal, Smithville Junior High School,

Smithville Independent School District,

Smithville, TX, 2007-2009

·         Assisted the principal in the overall daily administration of the instructional program and campus operation of a junior high school grade 6^th -8^th, 420 students.

·         Evaluated and provided guidance for a variety of teachers throughout the school using the Professional Development Appraisal System.

·         Administered campus activities including discipline, statewide assessment coordination, textbooks, attendance, Campus Site-Based Committee, substitutes, special education department, assisted with the budget and hired staff.

Special Education Department Chair,

Smithville Junior High School, Smithville, TX 2006-2007

·         Planned and presented various special education department in-services designed to improve instruction for students with disability, inclusion and resource services.

·         Developed inclusion times and schedule for special education staff.

·         Distributed Individual Education Plans to all staff members throughout the school year.

·         Designed a monitoring system for special education services.

Teaching Experience

Special Education and Social Studies Teacher

Smithville Junior High School, Smithville, TX 2005-2007

·    Taught a variety of subjects including Inclusion Reading and Language Arts, Inclusion Mathematics, United States History, World Geography, Content Mastery and Reading Intervention.

·    Maintained positive relationships and communication with co-teachers by collaboratively developing lessons, sharing classroom management and accountability for student achievement.

·    Integrated a variety of instructional strategies to increase student improvement for students with disabilities.

·    Evaluated and tracked student progress on Individual Education Plans by using a combination of evaluation data and reporting tools.

Other Experience

Dyslexia Coordinator and Assessor

Smithville Junior High School, Smithville, TX 2006-2008

·         Coordinated services and instruction for students with dyslexia on campus.

·         Developed a district dyslexia handbook with policies and procedures for identifying and assessing students for dyslexia.

·         Participated on the Student Success Team to design and implement reading interventions for students with reading concerns.

·         Assessed all students referred by the Student Success Team for concerns with dyslexia.

District Site Based Decision Making Committee Member

Smithville ISD, Smithville, TX 2005-2007

·         Participated on an advisory committee with the Superintendent to address issues of of planning, budget, curriculum, staff patterns, staff development and school organization.

·         Assisted with developing the District Improvement Plan.

Student Council Sponsor

Smithville Junior High School, 2005-2009

·         Implemented a successful student council program that won Texas Association of Student Councils Sweepstakes Awards for four years in a row.

·         Created a student council that provided school activities, drug awareness programs, energy conversation and multi-cultural awareness training.

Additional Training/Professional Development

·         Superintendent Certification Program, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, Currently in-progress

·         30 Hours of Gifted and Talented Awareness, Clear Creek ISD, League City, TX, July, 20011.

·         36 Hours of Instructional Leadership Development, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, Spring 2007.

·         Professional Development and Appraisal System, Region 12, Waco, TX, October, 2007.

Presentations

McAdam, R. (2011, August). Transitioning from TAKS to STAAR. Presentation at Clear Creek  ISD   Special Education Team Leader Meeting, League City, TX.

McAdam, R. (2011, August). Special Education 101. Presentation at District Substitute Training,                              League City, TX.

McAdam, R. (2009-2011, at least once a month). Writing Standards Based Goals to Improve Student             Achievement. Presentation at Clear Creek ISD District Training, League City, TX.

McAdam, R. (2011, March). Vertical Transition from Intermediate to High School for Success of Special                 Education in High School. Presentation at Clear Creek ISD Special Education Team Leader              Meeting, League City, TX.

McAdam, R. (2011, January). Techniques, Accommodations and Strategies for Improving Student   Achievement in the Classroom and on Statewide Assessment. Presentation at Clear Creek ISD                  Elementary Principal Meeting, League City, TX.

McAdam, R. (2010, September). ARD Line by Line to Ensure Compliance with State and Federal    Policies. Presentation at Clear Creek ISD District Team Leader and Assessment Meeting, League        City, TX.

McAdam, R. (2010, April). Techniques for Improving ARD Facilitation. Presentation at Clear Creek ISD                  District Team Leader and Assessment Meeting, League City, TX.

McAdam, R. (2010, February). Graduation Requirements for Students Receiving Special Education             Services. Presentation at Clear Creek ISD District Team Leader and Counselor Training, League          City, TX.

McAdam, R. (2010, January). Statewide Assessment for Students with Disabilities. Presentation at    Clear Creek ISD Elementary State Test Coordinator Training, League City, TX.

Professional Affiliations

·         Gulf Coast Administrators of Special Education, 2011-present

·         Texas Middle School Association Member, 2005-2009

·         Texas Association of Secondary Principals, 2007-2009

Honors/Awards

·         Graduate Student of the Year Nominee, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership, Texas State University, Spring 2008

·         Texas Association of Student Councils, District 18, Advisor of the Year, Spring 2009

·         District Employee of Month, Smithville ISD, February 2006

References

References will be available upon request.

Action Research

Action research is a method of problem solving led by individuals working with one another in a team. The goal of action research is to improve strategies, practices and knowledge in the area of education. Action research is a data-driven collaborative analysis of what the underlying causes of a problem and what solutions can be offered. It can give educators opportunity to explore and test new ideas, methods and materials. It gives the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the new approaches and to share feedback with fellow team members. Action research has the potential to generate genuine and sustained improvements in schools.

As a professional educator and instructional leader I could use action research to work collaboratively with my colleagues to make improvements in my district that will sustain over time because it is a type of research that specifically refers to a disciplined inquiry done by individuals with the intent the research will inform his or her practices in the future. It is dealing with questions with educational matters that are occurring right now in a classroom, school or district. I can use this method when working on my internship plan because I will be posing questions, gathering data, reflecting on the data and deciding on a course of action for each item in my plan.

The Use of Blogs as an Educational Leader

Educational leaders can use a blog as a form of communication with stakeholders. It also can be used as a vehicle for sharing ideas and inquiry on a particular topic. A school leader can also use a blog as an opportunity for educators to reflect on instruction, to share ideas, offer solutions to problems, advice and mostly importantly learn from each other. Lastly, blogs are a great tool for professional development with little cost.