Post SBEC Self-Assessment and Reflection

When I completed the Self-Assessment, I was amazed at the amount of material we had covered over the year.  I felt much more knowledgeable and at least “competent” on many more indicators.  When I compared the assessment to my previous one from EDLD 5396, I was amazed at the difference.  There are still many things that I need to learn and experience, but I was glad to see that I had made so much progress already.

Competency 1 Area: The superintendent knows how to act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner in order to promote the success of all students.  I think that this is an area of strength for me and always has been.  I have always prided myself on being an ethical leader and I still believe that this is an important trait for any leader who hopes to succeed.  I believe that all interactions with students, staff, and community members should reflect these core traits.

Competency 2 Area: The superintendent knows how to shape district culture by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the educational community.  Although I have worked to create a shared vision at the campus level, I feel that doing this at the district level will be much more difficult.  With only limited experience at district level projects, I still have much to learn before I can consider myself strong in these areas.  I do think that my experience at the campus level will help me as I make this transition.

Competency 3 Area: The superintendent knows how to communicate and collaborate with families and community members, respond to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilize community resources to ensure educational success for all students.  I think that communication is one of my strengths and this is an area where I believe I have made much progress.  Learning to reach out and communicate beyond just the students and parents from my campus is my next goal.  As a superintendent, I will need to communicate with business and community leaders much more than I have done previously.  I really believe this is an important key to succeeding as a district leader.

Competency 4 Area: The superintendent knows how to respond to and influence the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context, including working with the board of trustees, to achieve the district’s educational vision.  This is an area where I have made some progress, but I still have a lot to learn.  I have worked with the school board this year and I have contributed to some of the district level policies we have implemented this year.  I still think that dealing with politics, in and out of school, is a weak area for me.  I am sometimes a little slow to see the motivating factors behind some of the actions of board members and community leaders.  Sometimes, I have a hard time understanding why others are hesitant to do what seems to be the obvious.  I think I still need to learn to see the district more globally.

Competency 5 Area: The superintendent knows how to facilitate the planning and implementation of strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment among curriculum, curriculum resources, and assessment; use the current accountability system; and promote the use of varied assessments to measure student performance.  In this area, I have some definite strengths, as well as some definite weaknesses.  I do think that I am strong in the area of accountability.  I understand the system and I am generally able to explain it well to others.  I think that I am a good judge of teachers and their effectiveness.  Overall, curriculum is somewhat of a weak area for me.  I have had less experience in that area that in others and I am sometimes not confident in that area.

Competency 6 Area: The superintendent knows how to advocate, promote, and sustain an instructional program and a district culture that are conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.  Although, I made some improvement in this area, mostly I went from “improvement needed” to “competent.”  I still don’t have a lot of strengths in this area.  I am working in several of these areas and have a great interest in best practices and researched based programs.  Mostly, I wish I had more time to devote to this area.

Competency 7 Area: The superintendent knows 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.  This is an area where I have limited experience at the district level.  At the campus level, I have worked with individual teachers and teacher teams to develop improvement plans.  I have also managed the budget and allocated resources to provide staff development appropriately.  I do believe that this experience will help me when working on staff evaluation and development at the district level.

Competency 8 Area: The superintendent knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to district budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management, and technology application.  Although I am far from comfortable with budgeting, I do believe that this is probably the area where I learned the most.  I came into the finance course with very little knowledge or experience and so almost everything in the course was new to me.  Now, I feel much more competent in the area of finance and hopefully with a little more hands on experience, I will learn even more.  I do think that I am able to work with the school board to prioritize our needs and I have some knowledge regarding the effective use of technology.

Competency 9 Area: The superintendent knows how to apply principles of leadership and management to the district’s physical plant and support systems to ensure a safe and effective learning environment.  I really enjoyed the course on facilities planning and I think I learned a lot.  I have had some training in safety and I believe strongly in providing a safe and secure school environment.  Emergency and crisis planning is still a weak area for me and certainly an area where I need more experience. 

Competency 10 Area: The superintendent knows how to apply organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills to comply with federal and state requirements and facilitate positive change in varied contexts.  I think that in this area, I may not always know the legal requirements, but I generally know where to find them.  It is not always easy to facilitate change, positive or otherwise, but I do believe that I have the skills, if not the experience to lead change initiatives in schools.  I have some weaknesses in this area, but overall, I believe I am competent in most of this area.

Strengths, Competencies, and Improvement Needed

I believe that my strengths lie in the areas of ethical leadership and communication.  I do think that I can work with different groups and collaborate to bring about positive change in my district.  I think that my strongest competencies are Area 1 and Area 3.  Many of my current “competent” self ratings are in the area of finance (Competency 8).  There are many indicators in this area that I had previously considered to be in need of improvement.  Being able to mark them as competencies was a great feeling.  Although I have much to learn, the material we have covered has made me feel much more competent in many areas.  I still have some areas rated “improvement needed.”  Managing my time and the time of others from Competency 8 is still a definite place for improvement.  Also, planning for emergencies and crises (Competency 9) is an area needing work.  Overall, I enjoyed the time of reflection and look forward to the remaining coursework.