I loved listening to everyone’s presentation during the morning.  I was blown away by some of the great creativity some people displayed, I think it motivates me to increase my creativity.   My theory that I presented was the Contingency Theory and I did feel that it was a difficult concept to understand at first, but I did my best to present it.  I showed an additional slide that displayed the questionnaire a leader would fill out in order to find their LCP.  I was glad I added that slide in because it brought about a great discussion within our group.  

     I was so impressed with the case study and would love to do more of them.  I felt more engaged with it when we discussed it and role-played our positions in the case.  Now we will be aware of how to handle cases like this if we ever come across them.  

     We finished early in our group, so we went around and shared similar issues that we have seen in our schools.  We were able to apply our recently learned information to situations we were familiar with.  We were able to see these situations from a different lens now that we have more knowledge situations like these.  

     Please let me know if you feel that my journal is missing anything.  I’ve heard you mention several times in the morning about reflecting in our journals and I just want to ensure that I am meeting the expectations.  Thanks so much for everything!

     It is Friday!  What at awesome week!  It really flew by fast!  

     I really enjoyed the how Allison, Angela, and Austin presented the Political Framework.  I thought their slides were well organized and contained a wealth of information.  I know it was a lot of information for them to cover, but they were able to do it by touching on the basic components.  I thought they did a good job getting their ideas across to the rest of us. 

     During lunch hour I read the article, How Principals can Banish Adult Toxic Behavior.  I was very thankful that you provided us with this article because these are some of the most important skills we need to have as a principal.  While reading the article, I was consistently reminded of a teacher who is causing our school many issues.  

     One tactic of toxic teachers is that they put more energy into justifying and rationalizing their unproductive behavior than it would take to change their habits.  This suits the person I am thinking about perfectly.  Whenever she is asked to help, she goes into a frenzy describing how busy she is.  I know as a fact she is not that busy.  She has been allowed to get away with minimal classes and the rest of her day filled with made-up slots, so the school board thinks her schedule is full.  I try very hard to understand why our HS Principal/Superintendent allows this.  The longer I am there, I see that she almost runs our school.  I’m not sure what they answer is, but I know that she is harming our school morale.

     While watching John Maxwell: The 5 Levels of Leaders.  I agree with his comment, that not all people will follow you because they want to, some follow because they feel they have too.  I was able to relate to his example of how people get ready 30 minutes early before their day ends so they can quickly get out of work.  I see this consistently at our school.  You can tell which teachers go above and beyond and which ones are they for the paycheck.  It just shocks me on some Fridays when the buses leave, and I go to walk down hall of High School and 75% of the rooms are dark and they have already left the parking lot.  I am usually the last to leave, but I also like to stay and finish my work because I know that if I bring it home, I will not get it done.  I also know that no matter what kind of great leader you are, you will always have those teachers who will be a problem.  I’m not sure if there ever will be one right answer on how to deal with them.  Being in a small town, and their standing in the community adds an addition layer of conflicts when dealing with certain staff.  

 

     What a great prayer to start our day.  It really resonating with me and I know that I struggle to say “no” to people, especially our superintendent.  He continues to add things for me to do and it gets overwhelming.  

 

     During our first breakout session, we had some great discussion on how to deal with toxic people at our schools.  It is interesting to see how many of us have similar stories.  Overall, we agreed that we all avoid people who constantly talk negatively, but we also shouldn’t always avoid them.  We need to model right in front of them how we should be more positive and how to address negativity.  

 

     I like when you spoke about being the superintendent who went into the break room.  I agree that we need to make relationships with our staff.  Almost daily, I sat down with peers and held a discussion with them.  

 

     When you shared your story about having to come up with teachers to let go, I couldn’t even imagine being tasked with making a decision like that.  It sounds like it was unfortunate event, but I am glad you were able to repair the relationships that were hurt through this.

 

     Chapter 2, Human Resources Planning Presentation.  I did feel that it took me a couple minutes to understand what they were talking about; however, after a couple slides, I was able to see where they were going with their presentation.  I was unaware of the term “cohort-survival” technique and found it interesting that such a topic existed.  I’m glad you jumped in and further explained this topic.  I know that this is a topic our school is concerned with because of how small we are.  If we don’t continue to get new students, we will struggle to stay open.  Overall, I think they did a great job, they had a lot of information to get over.  I believe that we really need to be aware of our rights and discrimination. 

 

     Chapter 3, Recruitment.  Right off, I like that they took the time to redo their slides and make them visually pleasing.  I like that he really has a way to put the information into his own words instead of just reading it off the slide.  I agree that sometimes you are conflicted on who to hire just because of other reasons.  You need to look at the whole picture and your mission when hiring someone.  Once again, we need to market our school and know that the community looks at what happens in our school.  Many aspects play into hiring someone while maintaining our school image.  I was shocked to see that 75% of applicants will study the website before applying for a job.  They both did a great job touching on the main points of the chapter.

 

     Chapter 4, Selection Process.  I thought they did a thorough job of going over all the aspects of hiring a new candidate.  I do think that a job analysis is a great idea to do at schools and we could find out a lot of useful information.  I loved that you interjected and spoke about writing, “open until filled” on a job opening.  We just posted a job for a janitor and that is what was written on the ad.  I’m going to check and see if we can change it and put a close date on it.  We have only had one person apply so far.  

 

     I cannot believe how fast today flew by, I really enjoyed getting to listen to the other groups present.  I am looking forward to doing tonight’s readings on Appreciative Inquiry.  

 

     I believe we need to look more into the Appreciative Inquiry Model.  I remember on the first day of leadership school, you asked us why we wanted to be leaders.  One of the things that I mentioned I wanted to change was to bring more FUN back into our school.  This is something I have always believed.  I have always kept my classroom fun and inviting, and the kids seem to thrive in this environment.  This is one of the best things about the position I am in, I can still teach while also being a leader and making the changes I believe in.  

     I love the article that used the example of having to move into another house.  This is exactly right, if the staff has stock in the changes you want to implement in a school, the more apt they are to take a positive approach to change.

     AI focuses on the strengths found in schools and everyone works together to celebrate these successes and build on them.  I love the idea that everyone participates in making the school more effective while being innovative.  I think this model would help professionals to grow as teachers and in return the students would benefit from these rewards.

     AI differs from other schools that focus on the traditional models that we are familiar with.  These models look for the weaknesses and can sometimes the changes they implement can come across as threatening to staff.

     I would love to apply this model in my school; however, it we would get some resistance from several high school staff members.  They are always the complainers at our PD.  I find it so frustrating to hear them complain in front of our new staff members.  Fortunately, it didn’t take our new staff members long to see how they behaved and find it unsettling.  

     I think this model might break down the barriers that exist between high school and elementary.  I feel that elementary staff is always trying to fit in with high school staff.  It’s only a couple in the high school left who act like this.  Our new teachers are very friendly.  I also think that a couple of the older teachers might not like the change, but I think they would get on the bus eventually.

     I want to research this model more and find a way to present it to my staff and superintendent.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

     I feel that you can learn a lot from observing what great principals do compared to less effective ones.  I observed my mentor principal in action and learned a lot from her on how to become an effective leader. I also knew exactly what kind of principal I didn't want to be.  I watched my previous principal for three years. She had to resign, then they asked me to take her place. Imagine being her and stepping down and now I am her principal.  It went extremely well! I treated her with respect, and we became a team and get along great. We had a lot of fun this past year.  I feel that she has learned from her mistakes and it has made her a better teacher. She has become that teacher who gives me honest feedback and I always remind her to tell me the truth. 

     Now, back to the topic in question in the book, “What do most effective principals do differently?” (Whitaker, 2013).  I strongly believe that if we have great teachers then the community and students will perceive the quality of our school in as positive way.  If we cannot help our teachers become successful, then we need to let them go. Great teachers create an inspiring school environment that fosters student learning. Principals need to invest in their staff not just programs. In keeping with improving our staff most of our professional development this year was individualized. The staff loved it so much, that we did it again. They liked the freedom to choose and work on the skills they needed the most. 

     I want to be the kind of principal who is constantly involved with the staff on a daily basis. I talked to them and check in on them. I want to nurture great relationships. I believe that I am very self-aware of how my staff views me. 

     One of our first-year teachers needed a lot of support and direction in order to get her class together. I was continually having to talk to her about the students running around the room and her room being so noisy. Other teachers were also complaining about the noise and said they struggled to teach. It was a slow process, but she did improve. I observed her confidence go up by the end of the year and this confidence will help her be a more effective teacher this year. 

     I will continue to build on the skills I've learned during Rural Leadership School. I will be self-aware and accept feedback on my performance. I will also strive to make sure my teachers are self-aware of their behavior and teaching skills and understand how their behavior impacts their classroom. Teachers need to accept responsibility for their classroom and except if their classroom is not effective. Do not put the blame elsewhere. 

     I also want to be the principal who is aware of everything in the building, without stepping on someone’s toes. I need to be aware of all aspects that pertain to our school and solve any problem I encounter along the way. I will ensure that I accept responsibility for anything that is my fault.

     I need to set high expectations for myself so that my staff will also.  In addition, I will work with the teachers to come up with expectations they can set for themselves and their classrooms.  I am learning a lot from this book and look forward to the continued reading of it.  I can already tell that I will be referring back to it often.  Thanks for finding such an outstanding book. 

 

Whitaker, T. (2013). What Great Principals Do Differently (2^nd ed.). Routledge.

 

 

 

     

 

     

Contract Management

 

     Stacy really knew her chapter in and out; you can tell she already has some background knowledge with her chapter.  Contract management will be a large part of our principalship; therefore, it is essential that we know the ins and outs of all aspects and laws that pertain to them.  

 

     Cassie also did a wonderful job.  Knowing all the laws that pertain to a school and leader are of the utmost importance.  I need to go back into the chapter and remember to review the ethical consideration in school management.  They are an essential part of writing school policy.  Policy is a function of the school board and procedure is a function of administrators.  School boards should allow administrators to do their job and stay out of procedure.  I need to remember to look at all laws: Constitutional Law, Statutory Law, and Case Law all need to be reviewed.

 

     Rural Principal Panel

 

     It was very exciting and meaningful to get to talk with other principals and hear their stories.  She was a vast amount of knowledge that she has attained over her 20-year career.  The school she has helped to reform sounds amazing.  You can tell from her story and her enthusiasm that she really loves what she does.  

 

Everyone needs to belong to something!  All kids need to have something else to be part of to foster their social an emotional development.  Kids need to have an identifier in school.  She tries to do walkthroughs on a daily basis, let teachers know that you might also be watching the kids.  The more you step into the classroom, the more it will become the norm. Take notes after walkthroughs about disruptive students so later on you can let the parents know that you also witnessed the behavior too.  

 

     Terry Baesler puts his whole heart in his career.  I was able to connect with his story when he stated that he couldn’t give up his teaching.  This is how I feel also!!  I love to teach and really enjoy that I can do the best of both worlds.  With Covid now, I am having to rethink how I can still do both jobs and ensure that the students get everything they need.  I am worried that I won’t be able to teach to the level I normally do.   I need to find a way to let some of my responsibilities go.  Don’t be afraid to steal ideas.  He must have really had a tough time when the 7 teachers left, and the newspaper wrote about him.  I can see this happening but cannot imagine how tough it must have been.  

 

     Remember to try not to give new teachers to many suggestions right away, they need to learn to develop their own skill set.  

 

     If you try to do everyone else’s job, you can’t do your job well.  This is something I am guilty of doing.  I want to help everyone and help them be their best possible teacher they can be.  As a principal, you don’t have to work morning till night.  I stay at school until 9 o’clock some nights and still don’t get everything done.  I need to learn how to balance school life with family life.  I need to learn how to pace myself.  The school will run even if we aren’t there.  We need to build our schools so that they can run when we aren’t there.  It will be a proud moment when your school can run without you.

 

     You don’t need to have a consequence for every student every time.  Listen to both sides and then wait over night until you have a solution.  

 

    Terry uses teachers to coach other teachers, this allows the teachers to continually improve on their instruction.  This allows them to meet in PLCs later on and discuss what they need to improve and reflect on it.  This would be a great idea for our school to pair teachers up.  If you can combine the right people, they will feed off of each other. You can also send these teachers off to observe another teacher.  As teachers learn more, they will also become more confidence in their teaching skills.

 

     When talking about Covid, there is no right or wrong, it is a trial.  The parent surveys showed that the parents want the kids back.  We need to get the communication better with our parents.  We need to get it online too.  Communicate, communicate, communicate!

 

 

 

When talking about dealing with negative or ineffective teachers, you need to remember that they will bring down even the most positive teachers.  Not taking responsibility for doing anything about mediocre teachers is unfair to our students and all the teachers who do their jobs well.  Give mediocre teachers jobs to do that put them in the public eye so they are held accountable.  

School culture is the driving force behind everything.  Change the school culture and you will help get everyone on the bus.  

Another great day of a lot of great ideas on how to work with my new teachers and our schools ineffective teacher.