As an educational administrator, one must consider a variety of factors that will shape his/her vision and systematic approach to leading and working with students, staff, parents, and the community at large. Therefore, it is imperative that an administrator implements two entities in particular in the building he/she administers; the values and beliefs the educational leader brings to the school, guiding his/her administrative decisions, and the actual leadership style the administrator embraces while serving the school district. The author’s purpose in this document is to present his core values and beliefs in decision-making at the administrative level in order to do what is best for students, and to provide the reader with his approach to leadership in assuming the duties and responsibilities of an educational administrator, based upon building positive relationships and using collaboration to establish a positive, socially-just, school culture. First, the writer will present his values and beliefs that guides his administrative practices, driven by his vision for learning and beliefs about effective teaching.
As an administrative leader at Oskaloosa Middle School, it is of the utmost importance to lay out a vision before the people I will have an effect on, shaped by input collected by the administrator from the people the vision will have an impact on (Easterly, 2006, Brown, 2008). In the case of education, I believe I need to be clear to the students, parents, staff, and community about my overall vision of learning, since a principal or superintendent is hired to promote and increase the overall learning and wellness of the student population he/she represents. My vision for student learning and equity is to strive to increase student achievement and teacher effectiveness by developing a culture that champions student safety, embraces learner differences, implements data-driven decision-making, and values community (Riehl, 2000). First and foremost, I envision the best opportunities (Milner, 2011) for student learning taking place in an environment that is welcoming, safe, and secure (Theoharis, 2009). As reported by Richardson (2010), “If they’re sitting in that classroom and they’re terrified about what will happen when they try to walk home that afternoon, they’re not going to learn” (p. 48). Since my goals in a school setting are to increase student achievement and wellness, ensuring school safety is the first step to achieving this. I believe that all students can learn, no matter what situation they come from. In order to understand this point of view better, examine an educational leader that does not endorse this philosophy. A principal or other educational administrator that does not embrace this vision will face an uphill battle from the start, because to state that certain members of a school population are not capable of learning is telling members of the staff and community that the administrator is not prepared or willing to work hard to develop a plan for all students to be successful in the classroom, ultimately resulting in the marginalizing of certain groups of students (Sadowski, 2010). I understand that it will take diligence and collaboration to establish the precedent that all students in the district he works for can and will learn. Much of this will come through stubborn persistence on my behalf, modeling and advocating to his/her staff that: all students can learn, deficit-thinking on the part of staff will not be acceptable (Gordon, 1999, Riester, et al, 2002), and that incorporating differentiated instructional practices can reach all students (Tomlinson, 2000). Epitomizing this top-down approach, Riester, et al (2002) states, “…The principal’s leadership is paramount in creating the conditions for success in schools…” (p. 283). In addition, it is the responsibility of the administrator or school leader to advocate and promote the school’s commitment to academic success for all of its learners (Owings & Kaplan, 2003). In closing, I am reminded of words spoken at my son’s middle school orientation at the start of the 2009-10 school year by Mike Dursky, assistant principal at Oskaloosa Middle School. At this particular orientation, Mr. Dursky had two basic guiding principles he wanted all students to follow; be safe and learn something. As simple as those two principles are, they create a solid foundation that I believe are instrumental to an educational administrator’s success for student learning and teaching capacity. In other words, I am going to use these components as driving forces behind his administrative practices. Next, I will address my beliefs about maximizing teacher capacity.
The effective instructor has the ability to increase the level of learning that takes place by the student. I believe that all teachers have the potential to become great instructors that can make a difference in the lives of students. Marzano (2000) believes that teachers can account for as much as two-thirds of the effect of student learning in the schooling process. I also believe that I have some control over how successful my teachers can be in the classroom. This administrator believes he can increase student achievement by allowing his teaching staff to work in professional learning communities, creating opportunities for small groups of teachers to work collaboratively with one another on school issues in order to positively change the school culture, maximize teacher effectiveness (Vescio, et al, 2008), and increase student performance and learning (DuFour, 2007). Promoting the importance of life-long learning to all staff is another responsibility that I believe I should instill among my certified and non-certified teaching staff, because the very idea of this serves as a great model for students to follow and allows the professional teacher to grow in his/her field of study as well. This also will establish a sense of confidence and comfort for new teachers, who very well could leave the profession if additional opportunities for learning do not become available to them (Sterling & Frazier, 2010). Lastly, enhancing teachers’ understanding and sensitivity to all students’ backgrounds, including social class, race, English proficiency, sexual orientation, religion, and gender, through effective professional development, will enhance teachers’ ability to connect with students better, resulting in better learning conditions for students (Sadowski, 2010). In summary, by improving the overall effectiveness of the teacher through a variety of professional and academic measures, the overall effectiveness of the learner will increase as well.
As an administrator with four children (all boys), the value of a student’s education is paramount to nothing else, and therefore deserves a great deal of attention. I believe and will continue to believe with conviction that inside every child is a mind and heart that yearns for knowledge and desires to be accepted among his/her peers. It is the number one duty of the administrator and child’s teachers to ensure that each student be given every opportunity to receive these two entities. For some students, it will be harder for the administrator and teachers to realize or believe this concept, but it then becomes an administrator’s and teacher’s duty to figure out how to reach every student in a way that promotes their desire to want to learn (Riester, et al, 2002) and have positive social relationships with classmates and staff at school (Sadowski, 2010). I am not saying that this process is going to be easy. All I'm saying is that it is going to happen. I am optimistic and confident in my future students’ abilities to be successful in these areas, because this is the expectation that every school administrator should possess in regards to the student body he/she serves. Administrators and teachers have a wonderful opportunity to positively impact the youthful lives of the people that will one day run and lead this country and world, so why not make every attempt to harness positive academic and social experiences in students so they can go about life optimistically with their heads up?
The second half of this document will offer my perspective on the leadership style that I embrace as an administrator at the middle school level. I will discuss: why I am interested in and passionate about school leadership, how I will make a difference, how I will involve others in the organization, why leadership is important, and how I will develop a whole-systems approach to school improvement. First, I will give a personal reflection on why I hold an interest and passion in school leadership.
Serving three school systems in the past eight years, witnessing different leadership styles from administrators at each school system, and admiring the resilience and dedication of each administrator, I gained the inspiration to become an educational administrator. Having an open mind and listening to the way operations were handled in each of the school settings I served gave me the confidence and desire to want to pursue educational leadership; specifically at the middle school level. Among the many features I took into consideration when looking back at each of the three schools that I worked for, the feature that stood out the most was the overall school culture that I was able to (or not) generate among staff and students. Much falls under the umbrella of developing a positive school culture, but specifically to me, the overall positive environment was formulated through the establishment of positive relationships and attitudes between the administrator and his/her staff and students. I always enjoyed working for the schools in which the administrators were friendly, had an open door if questions existed among staff, and genuinely showed that they cared about the people in their building, while maintaining high expectations for student learning. Looking at myself, I developed a vision of creating a positive school culture and emulating good relationships with staff and students, because that is what I had done at every school I taught at for the past eight years, fulfilling my desire to make a difference. I also use a distributive leadership style to inspire staff and make them part of the decision-making process.
I hold the opinion that everybody on a team is important and can make a difference. When I became a middle school administrator, I strived to instill a leadership style that valued the thoughts and opinions of those I managed. As an administrator, it is important to seek feedback from staff on matters to let them know that they are being listened to, even if the ultimate decision does not favor what they envisioned (Jentz, 2009). I also believe that by creating and facilitating professional learning communities, problems can be fixed, learning gaps can be closed, and change in school culture can be achieved. It takes solid leadership and an understanding of design thinking (Brown, 2008) to achieve this.
Without leadership in any industry, the industry will eventually falter. The same holds true in that of education. Owings and Kaplan (2003) note, “Principal leadership is essential if schools are to bring quality education to each student. This is the time to make a difference” (p. 264). There is too much at risk to let the education system in the United States slip. Ultimately, it is not the system of education that will suffer if effective leadership is not instituted, but it is the people themselves that come from the ineffective system that will suffer by not being able to compete in the global market of the 21st Century (Riehl, 2000). Leadership is important, because it keeps order and systems in place. The system may need change, but it is the leader’s responsibility to hold the existing system in place while modifying it simultaneously. Lastly, I will discuss how he will develop a whole-systems approach to school improvement.
In order to achieve across the board school improvement, I believe two actions must take place. The first action step includes building positive relationships with students, teachers, and the community at large in order to establish trust between the school district’s stakeholders and the administrators that operate within a school district. Owings and Kaplan (2003) refer to this as increasing an administrator’s social capital so that the administrator can go about achieving his/her agenda. The second way that an administrator can accomplish school-wide improvement is by employing data-driven decision-making through collaborative efforts among staff in connection with building and district goals linked to academics and equity, resulting in positive school change among both staff and students (Hamilton, et al, 2009).
In closing, effective school administrators must have well thought-out values and beliefs that will help guide their vision for student success and equity, possess a consistent leadership style that staff and students can always count on, and hold the skills necessary to analyze and interpret data in order to make decisions for the betterment of student achievement and teaching capacity. My values and beliefs stem from the idea that teachers and administrators should be doing what is best for all students. In my administrative practice, I instill a distributive leadership style that focuses on harnessing positive relationships with students, staff, and the community at large, while implementing a culture of collaboration to initiative and drive school-wide change in order to create a positive school environment/culture, enhance academic achievement, and increase teachers’ instructional effectiveness (Leithwood, et al, 2004, Vescio, et al, 2008). I cherish incorporating my values, beliefs, and leadership abilities as a principal at this middle school setting. I understand the difficulties that go with being a leader, and will leave you with the following quote from Buster (2004):
Leadership has never been easy, and poets have always been there to remind us of the human condition. They use an economy of language to tell us that as leaders we will be followed because of our visions of a better world for all children, our sharing of ideas and speaking of inspirational words, and our understanding that it’s all about building relationships. (p. 19)
Reference List
Brown, T. (2008, June). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, Available online at:
http://hbr.org/2008/06/design-thinking/ar/1
Buster, Walt (2004, March/April). Why school leaders need poets. Leadership, 33 (4), 16-19.
DuFour, Richard (2007, September). Professional learning communities: A bandwagon, an
idea worth considering, or our best hope for high levels of learning? Middle School
Journal, 39 (1), 4-8.
Easterly, W. (2006). The white man’s burden: Why the west’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill
and so little good. New York, New York: Penguin Press.
Gordon, E. (1999). Education and justice: A view from the back of the bus. New York, New York:
Teachers College Press.
Hamilton. L., et al (2009, September). Using student achievement data to support instructional
decision making. United States of America: Institute of Educational Sciences (Rand).
Jentz, Barry (2009, September). First time in a position of authority. Phi Delta Kappan, 91 (1),
56-60.
Leithwood, K., et al (2004). How leadership influences student learning. Minneapolis,
Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.
Marzano, R.J. (2000). A new era of school reform: going where the research takes us.
Aurora, Colorado: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning.
Milner, H.R. (2011). Let’s focus on gaps in opportunity, not achievement. Education Week, 30(30), 1-4.
Owings, William A. & Kaplan, Leslie S. (2003). Best practices, best thinking, and emerging
issues in school leadership. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press Inc.
Richardson, Joan (2010, February). Safe at school: An interview with Kevin Jennings. Phi Delta
Kappan, 91 (5), 43-48.
Riehl, C.J. (2000). The principal’s role in creating inclusive schools for diverse students: A review of
normative, empirical, and critical literature on the practice of educational administration. Review
of Educational Research, 70(1), 55-81.
Riester, A.F., Pursch, V., & Skrla, L. (2002). Principles for social justice: Leaders of school success for
children from low-income homes. Journal of School Leadership, 12(1), 281-304.
Sadowski, M. (2010). Adolescents at school: Perspectives on youth, identity, and education. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.
Sterling, Donna R. & Frazier, Wendy M. (2010, April). Maximizing uncertified teachers’
potential. Principal Leadership, 10 (8), 48-52.
Theoharis, G. (2009). The school leaders our children deserve: Seven keys to equity, social justice, and
school reform. New York, New York: Teachers College Press.
Tomlinson, C.A. (2000, January). Differentiated instruction: Can it work? Education Digest, 65(5),
25-31.
Vescio, V., et al (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on
teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80-91.
As an administrative leader at Oskaloosa Middle School, it is of the utmost importance to lay out a vision before the people I will have an effect on, shaped by input collected by the administrator from the people the vision will have an impact on (Easterly, 2006, Brown, 2008). In the case of education, I believe I need to be clear to the students, parents, staff, and community about my overall vision of learning, since a principal or superintendent is hired to promote and increase the overall learning and wellness of the student population he/she represents. My vision for student learning and equity is to strive to increase student achievement and teacher effectiveness by developing a culture that champions student safety, embraces learner differences, implements data-driven decision-making, and values community (Riehl, 2000). First and foremost, I envision the best opportunities (Milner, 2011) for student learning taking place in an environment that is welcoming, safe, and secure (Theoharis, 2009). As reported by Richardson (2010), “If they’re sitting in that classroom and they’re terrified about what will happen when they try to walk home that afternoon, they’re not going to learn” (p. 48). Since my goals in a school setting are to increase student achievement and wellness, ensuring school safety is the first step to achieving this. I believe that all students can learn, no matter what situation they come from. In order to understand this point of view better, examine an educational leader that does not endorse this philosophy. A principal or other educational administrator that does not embrace this vision will face an uphill battle from the start, because to state that certain members of a school population are not capable of learning is telling members of the staff and community that the administrator is not prepared or willing to work hard to develop a plan for all students to be successful in the classroom, ultimately resulting in the marginalizing of certain groups of students (Sadowski, 2010). I understand that it will take diligence and collaboration to establish the precedent that all students in the district he works for can and will learn. Much of this will come through stubborn persistence on my behalf, modeling and advocating to his/her staff that: all students can learn, deficit-thinking on the part of staff will not be acceptable (Gordon, 1999, Riester, et al, 2002), and that incorporating differentiated instructional practices can reach all students (Tomlinson, 2000). Epitomizing this top-down approach, Riester, et al (2002) states, “…The principal’s leadership is paramount in creating the conditions for success in schools…” (p. 283). In addition, it is the responsibility of the administrator or school leader to advocate and promote the school’s commitment to academic success for all of its learners (Owings & Kaplan, 2003). In closing, I am reminded of words spoken at my son’s middle school orientation at the start of the 2009-10 school year by Mike Dursky, assistant principal at Oskaloosa Middle School. At this particular orientation, Mr. Dursky had two basic guiding principles he wanted all students to follow; be safe and learn something. As simple as those two principles are, they create a solid foundation that I believe are instrumental to an educational administrator’s success for student learning and teaching capacity. In other words, I am going to use these components as driving forces behind his administrative practices. Next, I will address my beliefs about maximizing teacher capacity.
The effective instructor has the ability to increase the level of learning that takes place by the student. I believe that all teachers have the potential to become great instructors that can make a difference in the lives of students. Marzano (2000) believes that teachers can account for as much as two-thirds of the effect of student learning in the schooling process. I also believe that I have some control over how successful my teachers can be in the classroom. This administrator believes he can increase student achievement by allowing his teaching staff to work in professional learning communities, creating opportunities for small groups of teachers to work collaboratively with one another on school issues in order to positively change the school culture, maximize teacher effectiveness (Vescio, et al, 2008), and increase student performance and learning (DuFour, 2007). Promoting the importance of life-long learning to all staff is another responsibility that I believe I should instill among my certified and non-certified teaching staff, because the very idea of this serves as a great model for students to follow and allows the professional teacher to grow in his/her field of study as well. This also will establish a sense of confidence and comfort for new teachers, who very well could leave the profession if additional opportunities for learning do not become available to them (Sterling & Frazier, 2010). Lastly, enhancing teachers’ understanding and sensitivity to all students’ backgrounds, including social class, race, English proficiency, sexual orientation, religion, and gender, through effective professional development, will enhance teachers’ ability to connect with students better, resulting in better learning conditions for students (Sadowski, 2010). In summary, by improving the overall effectiveness of the teacher through a variety of professional and academic measures, the overall effectiveness of the learner will increase as well.
As an administrator with four children (all boys), the value of a student’s education is paramount to nothing else, and therefore deserves a great deal of attention. I believe and will continue to believe with conviction that inside every child is a mind and heart that yearns for knowledge and desires to be accepted among his/her peers. It is the number one duty of the administrator and child’s teachers to ensure that each student be given every opportunity to receive these two entities. For some students, it will be harder for the administrator and teachers to realize or believe this concept, but it then becomes an administrator’s and teacher’s duty to figure out how to reach every student in a way that promotes their desire to want to learn (Riester, et al, 2002) and have positive social relationships with classmates and staff at school (Sadowski, 2010). I am not saying that this process is going to be easy. All I'm saying is that it is going to happen. I am optimistic and confident in my future students’ abilities to be successful in these areas, because this is the expectation that every school administrator should possess in regards to the student body he/she serves. Administrators and teachers have a wonderful opportunity to positively impact the youthful lives of the people that will one day run and lead this country and world, so why not make every attempt to harness positive academic and social experiences in students so they can go about life optimistically with their heads up?
The second half of this document will offer my perspective on the leadership style that I embrace as an administrator at the middle school level. I will discuss: why I am interested in and passionate about school leadership, how I will make a difference, how I will involve others in the organization, why leadership is important, and how I will develop a whole-systems approach to school improvement. First, I will give a personal reflection on why I hold an interest and passion in school leadership.
Serving three school systems in the past eight years, witnessing different leadership styles from administrators at each school system, and admiring the resilience and dedication of each administrator, I gained the inspiration to become an educational administrator. Having an open mind and listening to the way operations were handled in each of the school settings I served gave me the confidence and desire to want to pursue educational leadership; specifically at the middle school level. Among the many features I took into consideration when looking back at each of the three schools that I worked for, the feature that stood out the most was the overall school culture that I was able to (or not) generate among staff and students. Much falls under the umbrella of developing a positive school culture, but specifically to me, the overall positive environment was formulated through the establishment of positive relationships and attitudes between the administrator and his/her staff and students. I always enjoyed working for the schools in which the administrators were friendly, had an open door if questions existed among staff, and genuinely showed that they cared about the people in their building, while maintaining high expectations for student learning. Looking at myself, I developed a vision of creating a positive school culture and emulating good relationships with staff and students, because that is what I had done at every school I taught at for the past eight years, fulfilling my desire to make a difference. I also use a distributive leadership style to inspire staff and make them part of the decision-making process.
I hold the opinion that everybody on a team is important and can make a difference. When I became a middle school administrator, I strived to instill a leadership style that valued the thoughts and opinions of those I managed. As an administrator, it is important to seek feedback from staff on matters to let them know that they are being listened to, even if the ultimate decision does not favor what they envisioned (Jentz, 2009). I also believe that by creating and facilitating professional learning communities, problems can be fixed, learning gaps can be closed, and change in school culture can be achieved. It takes solid leadership and an understanding of design thinking (Brown, 2008) to achieve this.
Without leadership in any industry, the industry will eventually falter. The same holds true in that of education. Owings and Kaplan (2003) note, “Principal leadership is essential if schools are to bring quality education to each student. This is the time to make a difference” (p. 264). There is too much at risk to let the education system in the United States slip. Ultimately, it is not the system of education that will suffer if effective leadership is not instituted, but it is the people themselves that come from the ineffective system that will suffer by not being able to compete in the global market of the 21st Century (Riehl, 2000). Leadership is important, because it keeps order and systems in place. The system may need change, but it is the leader’s responsibility to hold the existing system in place while modifying it simultaneously. Lastly, I will discuss how he will develop a whole-systems approach to school improvement.
In order to achieve across the board school improvement, I believe two actions must take place. The first action step includes building positive relationships with students, teachers, and the community at large in order to establish trust between the school district’s stakeholders and the administrators that operate within a school district. Owings and Kaplan (2003) refer to this as increasing an administrator’s social capital so that the administrator can go about achieving his/her agenda. The second way that an administrator can accomplish school-wide improvement is by employing data-driven decision-making through collaborative efforts among staff in connection with building and district goals linked to academics and equity, resulting in positive school change among both staff and students (Hamilton, et al, 2009).
In closing, effective school administrators must have well thought-out values and beliefs that will help guide their vision for student success and equity, possess a consistent leadership style that staff and students can always count on, and hold the skills necessary to analyze and interpret data in order to make decisions for the betterment of student achievement and teaching capacity. My values and beliefs stem from the idea that teachers and administrators should be doing what is best for all students. In my administrative practice, I instill a distributive leadership style that focuses on harnessing positive relationships with students, staff, and the community at large, while implementing a culture of collaboration to initiative and drive school-wide change in order to create a positive school environment/culture, enhance academic achievement, and increase teachers’ instructional effectiveness (Leithwood, et al, 2004, Vescio, et al, 2008). I cherish incorporating my values, beliefs, and leadership abilities as a principal at this middle school setting. I understand the difficulties that go with being a leader, and will leave you with the following quote from Buster (2004):
Leadership has never been easy, and poets have always been there to remind us of the human condition. They use an economy of language to tell us that as leaders we will be followed because of our visions of a better world for all children, our sharing of ideas and speaking of inspirational words, and our understanding that it’s all about building relationships. (p. 19)
Reference List
Brown, T. (2008, June). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, Available online at:
http://hbr.org/2008/06/design-thinking/ar/1
Buster, Walt (2004, March/April). Why school leaders need poets. Leadership, 33 (4), 16-19.
DuFour, Richard (2007, September). Professional learning communities: A bandwagon, an
idea worth considering, or our best hope for high levels of learning? Middle School
Journal, 39 (1), 4-8.
Easterly, W. (2006). The white man’s burden: Why the west’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill
and so little good. New York, New York: Penguin Press.
Gordon, E. (1999). Education and justice: A view from the back of the bus. New York, New York:
Teachers College Press.
Hamilton. L., et al (2009, September). Using student achievement data to support instructional
decision making. United States of America: Institute of Educational Sciences (Rand).
Jentz, Barry (2009, September). First time in a position of authority. Phi Delta Kappan, 91 (1),
56-60.
Leithwood, K., et al (2004). How leadership influences student learning. Minneapolis,
Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.
Marzano, R.J. (2000). A new era of school reform: going where the research takes us.
Aurora, Colorado: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning.
Milner, H.R. (2011). Let’s focus on gaps in opportunity, not achievement. Education Week, 30(30), 1-4.
Owings, William A. & Kaplan, Leslie S. (2003). Best practices, best thinking, and emerging
issues in school leadership. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press Inc.
Richardson, Joan (2010, February). Safe at school: An interview with Kevin Jennings. Phi Delta
Kappan, 91 (5), 43-48.
Riehl, C.J. (2000). The principal’s role in creating inclusive schools for diverse students: A review of
normative, empirical, and critical literature on the practice of educational administration. Review
of Educational Research, 70(1), 55-81.
Riester, A.F., Pursch, V., & Skrla, L. (2002). Principles for social justice: Leaders of school success for
children from low-income homes. Journal of School Leadership, 12(1), 281-304.
Sadowski, M. (2010). Adolescents at school: Perspectives on youth, identity, and education. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.
Sterling, Donna R. & Frazier, Wendy M. (2010, April). Maximizing uncertified teachers’
potential. Principal Leadership, 10 (8), 48-52.
Theoharis, G. (2009). The school leaders our children deserve: Seven keys to equity, social justice, and
school reform. New York, New York: Teachers College Press.
Tomlinson, C.A. (2000, January). Differentiated instruction: Can it work? Education Digest, 65(5),
25-31.
Vescio, V., et al (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on
teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80-91.