Self-Reflection

Know thyself.

-Socrates

This assignment correlated with Educational Leadership Core Curriculum (ELCC) Standards. The standard that most directly linked to this project was standard three, which states…

Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by managing the organization, operations, and resources in a way that promotes a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.

An effective leader is someone who identifies with the belief that in order to promote the success of students, you must simultaneously make management decisions that enhances and encourages teaching and learning within schools. The following three projects aligned with Standard 3:  Comprehensive Education Plan, District Budget Plan and Technology Plan.  These assignments allowed me to utilize my knowledge of learning, teaching, and student development in order to make informed organizational management decisions both on a school-wide and district-wide level. For the CEP assignment, evolving trends in student development and school culture were identified.  Accordingly, these problems were approached within the CEP and were attempted to be resolved in a timely manner. 

The District Budget Plan assignment correlated with Standard 3 because as a future administrator, I examined the principles and issues relating to the fiscal operations of school management.  In this case, I needed to manage human resources and took financial risks that would ultimately lead to the improvement of my school district.  In addition, though I was asked to make a ten percent budget cut, I made sure that the financial, human and material resources were aligned with the school district's instructional goals. 

The technology assignment aligned beautifully with this standard as well.  As a future leader, I believe in and am committed to high quality standards, expectations, and performances.  As a result, I created a technology plan that identified an academic problem and was in turn was utilized to improve the instruction.

One part of the CEP that I particularly enjoyed was applying best practices to student learning.  Part of this project focused on creating a professional development plan that would help drive the school towards positive and effective instruction.  As a result, research strategies were utilized to help find best practices to improve student achievement.  Many professional articles and journals were used to help support the best practices chosen.

One aspect of the CEP I found particularly useful was learning how to keep in mind and respond not only the school’s needs, but the community’s needs and interests as well.  We found value and importance in recognizing that if we want to move the school forward academically, we must find ways to address and accommodate the diverse school and community and its dynamics.

One aspect of the CEP that was complex, but of the utmost importance was using data-driven decision making to help manage the school effectively.  The process of data collection can be cumbersome at times; however, all informed judgments and goals must be formulated upon real data.  I was apply to apply the skills and knowledge learned during this course as it relates to the data collection process as a tool to help me succeed during this project assignment.