According the SBEC Superintendent Competencies Post Self- Assessment I have many more areas that are strengths, areas where I consider myself competent and less areas where I need to build my knowledge and skills to become a successful superintendent than when I completed this assessment at the beginning of this program. While analyzing the data by competency area, I noticed there are now only a few areas I need to improve my knowledge as compared to when I started the program. Through the classwork and internship activities I have gained much more areas of strength and areas I consider myself to be competent in. As examining the results in the chart below, I feel Competency 1 and 10 are my greatest areas of strength and Competency 2, 3, 6 and 7 are all areas I feel competent in my skills and knowledge. It is evident I need to focus my professional development plan on Competency Areas 4, 5, 8 and 9.
While analyzing the data I noticed that I am strong in Competency Area 1: The superintendent knows how to act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner in order to promote the success of all students. I believe this to be a strength because this competency is something I have always done from being a classroom teacher, an assistant principal and now in a district level position. I pride myself as serving as an advocate for all students. I was a special education teacher in a low income school and then an assistant principal in the same school. These students needed someone to have a voice for them. Their parents were often working two or three jobs and did not always understand the special education process. I always advocated for the best interest of my students. Also, now that I am in a district level position, I always interact with all district staff, students, parents and the community in a professional manner with the highest standards of conduct, ethical principles, and integrity in my decision making, actions and behavior.
Competency Area 2 is an area where I did focus internship plan and grew the most in that area. I felt this competency was extremely important area that I needed to expand and improve my knowledge and skills. To be a successful superintendent I have to know how to shape the district culture by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the educational community. I feel like I have gained skills in this area where I could use formal and informal techniques to monitor and assess district/school climate for effective, responsive decision making, as well as, institute procedures for monitoring the accomplishment of district goals and objectives to achieve the district’s goals.
Competency 3 is an area where I feel I have a strong knowledge base. I see myself as a strong communicator and participative leader. With any stakeholder involved I always establish a partnership with others to strength our programs and support the group’s goals. With my experience of working in both an economically disadvantaged and an affluent district I know how to communicate and work effectively with diverse groups in the district and community so, that all students receive appropriate resources and instructional support to ensure educational success. I believe as I progress through the certification program this area will become a strength for me.
Competency areas 4 and 5 are all areas that are need of improved knowledge and skills for me to become an effective superintendent. I would like to focus several of my three professional development plan on these two areas. I put this competency as an area of needing knowledge and skills because at this time I have had little exposure to working with a board of trustees. I have attended several school board meetings this school year and I will continue to attend these meetings. By attending these meetings I have gained much more knowledge of the working relationship of the superintendent and the board.
Competency Area 5 was another area where I did not see myself as having a strength in which I believe I could lead an activity and be a true instructional leader. Competency Area 5 focuses on the planning and implementation of strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning. Also, ensuring alignment among curriculum, curriculum resources and assessment across the district. In my eyes, Competency Area 5 is the most important area. As educators, we are here to teach students to think critically, creatively and how to problem solve. The vision of schools should be to give students the tools to participate and be successful in the global market and in the 21st Century. I would especially like to gain more knowledge in the areas of facilitating effective curricular decision making based on an understanding of pedagogy, curriculum design, cognitive development, learning processes and child and adolescent growth and development. Another area I would like to focus my studies on is the integration of technology into the school district curriculum to enhance learning for all students. I am excited about integrating technology into my own studies. Technology is not an area I consider myself proficient in and I am ready to learn how to integrate both technology into schools and classrooms, but also for myself as a professional educator and continuous learner. I want to gain the knowledge to be a model for my district on how to implement technology for the continuous learning and a communication tool for all stakeholders involved in our public schools.
Competency Areas 6 and 7 I felt competent in these areas. I see myself as an advocate for professional growth of all students and staff. When I was completing my master’s degree I took a class that focused on the importance of professional learning communities. This course changed my entire way of thinking. I learned how important it was for professionals to be included in how they learn, what they learn and to become lifelong learns. It also showed me how to sustain meaningful changes. When I took the class and reflected on how change was occurring in my own classroom and school it was not meaningful and would not sustain over time. I learned the importance of using motivational theories and strategies to encourage staff, students, families and the community to have a voice in the schools and how to focus everything we do on the vision and mission of the school. When I became an assistant principal, I started to implement a professional learning community which all stakeholders were included and the students, staff, parents and community started to take ownership in the teaching and learning of all students in our school.
Competency Area 7 is one of my strongest strengths. This area focuses on how to implement a staff evaluation and development system and select appropriate models for supervision and staff development to improve the performance of all staff members. I currently, design and implement majority of the professional development for the Office of Special Education Services inside of the district. All of our professional development is used to improve teaching and learning based on current professional literature and research. I am part of a team that works collaboratively with other district personnel to plan, implement, and evaluate professional growth of our special education staff. One of my greatest strengths is delivering effective presentations that facilitate learning for both small and large groups. On a regular basis, I facilitate professional development to a variety of groups from parents, community members and to ARD facilitators on the area of special education, including any current issues. I also learned though our classwork how to complete a professional development plan for a district based on data.
Competencies 8 and 9 are areas I consider fields of need. In both of these areas, I had the highest number of need to gain knowledge and skills to be a strong superintendent. Competency 8 is an area where I do not have a lot of experience. As an assistant principal and in my current position, I have only had a small exposure to leadership and management in relation to district budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management and technology application. As an assistant principal, I did aide my principal in hiring and doing the campus budget. However, I do not believe I have enough knowledge to apply procedures for effective budget planning and management or how to facilitate and evaluate effective account auditing and monitoring that complies with legal requirements and local district policy. I would like to gain more knowledge on the whole process on developing a budget.
Another area I need to gain more knowledge and skills is applying procedures for planning, funding, renovating and/or constructing school facilities to support the district’s mission and goals. Also, I would like to learn how to apply procedures for ensuring the effective operation and maintenance of district facilities. It is extremely important for students and staff to be safe to ensure effective learning environment for all. Lastly, in Competency Area 9 I would like to learn how to implement an evaluation process for appropriate procedures to ensure efficient, effective district transportation, food and health services. This competency is extremely important. Students cannot learn if the facilities are not safe, transportation is not running efficiently or not receiving proper nutrition. The superintendent needs to provide a safe and effective learning environment for all.
Finally, in the last competency I felt this has become an area of strength for me. As being in a leadership role for the last four years I have learned how to apply organizational, decision-making, and problem solving skills to facilitate positive change in various contexts. For the last few years, I have learned how to implement appropriate leadership techniques. I have learned how to define roles, assign functions, delegate efficiently and use appropriate problem-solving techniques and decision making skills. Also, through the use of professional learning communities I have learned how to facilitate collaborative decision making, assist team building and develop consensus among all stakeholders.
By completing the SBEC Superintendent Competencies Self-Assessment I was able to identify where I need to focus my professional development plan. It allowed me to recognize my strengths, the areas I am competent in and the areas on which I would like to focus and improve my knowledge and skills. From analyzing the data I need to focus my professional plan on competencies 4, 5, 8 and 9. I feel especially area 9 is where I want to focus the most. These areas are the competencies which I had the most area of knowledge I need to gain to become the most effective and knowledgeable superintendent and district employee I can become.
1 comment:
I agree with you as Competency 9 was an area of strength for me as well.
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