Improving Our Instruction

Instructional Coaches sound like such a beneficial support program for teachers. To have “personalized PD for teachers” sounds like it would keep teachers more engaged than sitting through a mandatory PD that might not address individual classroom needs. My current site does not have a designated Instructional Coach. I think with our budget constraints, our site has chosen to use their discretionary funds in other areas such as a full time a college/career counselor and a few after school instructional programs for English and math. If we did have a full time instructional coach, I think our department heads would be best at promoting the program. Highlighting effective ways to improve instruction and having a “personalized” coach with new curriculum could create buy in for teachers when hearing it from respected colleagues. I like the idea that it is not mandatory, making things mandatory seems like an automatic turn off for some teachers.

Motivation and Giving Accolades to the School Growth Team

Here is a letter to my School Growth Team in preparation for our Force Field Analysis. The purpose of this letter was to provide motivation and background information about the upcoming meeting. Dear School Growth Team Member, First and foremost, I would like to thank each and every member of our School Growth Team for your dedication and perseverance in being a positive contributing member of our team. We have received valuable feedback, both positive and negative, from our School Administration, staff, students, families, and our community as we continue the task of creating the most relevant and effective School Growth Plan. Our ultimate goal is to improve our school performance! To ensure our school achieves success, the School Growth Team has been tasked with conducting a Force Field Analysis. By analyzing both factors FOR CHANGE and BARRIERS TO CHANGE, we can better understand the most effective ways to promote school growth within our targeted areas of need. To begin this exciting process, I have attached a variety of web links that address the background and theory of Force Field Analysis. Our School Administrators approved release time for our School Growth Team to conduct a Force Field Analysis. This next School Growth Team meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 9 from 12:30-2:30 PM in the Principal Conference Room. In Section 2, there is a Force Field Analysis Template that will guide us in the steps to identify both factors FOR and AGAINST CHANGE specifically at our school site. In addition, please review the attached meeting agenda that outlines the key points we will be covering for the upcoming meetings. Also, as we continue our collaborative work in this organizational change process, please continue to utilize our School Growth Team Shared Notes Google Doc Template below to list any questions, feedback, or comments to address at the upcoming meeting. Looking forward to the upcoming meeting and continuing our meaningful discussions to elicit school growth! Sincerely, Margaret Ortega ,

Interactive Newletter

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FsZYOpJ2O7fChWCkI1FWAyDZKiykcn9BwNtxBCLmM04/edit# Very proud of creating an interactive newsletter for my school growth team. Check out the google doc link and find out what is happening with our School Growth Team!

Effective Collaboration

I think it is so interesting to see the dynamics of teams working collaboratively. I have seen my share of teams that were dysfunctional and disengaged from the process! I think from this experience that it is essential to step in and acknowledge the issues and offer support and leadership to ensure the team is working effectively. If I hear that the team is not in agreement, I think the best thing to do is to be honest and provide the team with an opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas constructively. This could be through an anonymous survey or through a suggestion box. I think the most important thing is to get the team engaged in the process. Once we can get buy in from each member of the team, then the team can function effectively.

School Conflict

School Conflict A few years ago I worked as a Support Teacher for our Special Education Program Office. My primary role was to work directly with Site SPED Departments to support the team in providing effective services as the district moved towards more inclusive practices. One of the sites I was assigned to had a very dysfunctional team dynamic amongst the department members as well as with the School Administrators. Looking back, I think the conflict was a combination of incompatible preferences and activities amongst themselves and with the School Administration. More specifically, because the district was moving towards inclusive practices (providing more push in services vs. pull out). Many veteran special education teachers were resistant to the change in philosophy. They were very upset with the School Administration reorganizing the master schedule for more co-taught classes/push in services. It also seemed like the resistant staff took things personally because it affected their daily schedule and routine and forced to collaborate with general education teachers. How did School Administrators respond and how was it resolved? When I met with the School Administrators to discuss the new changes, it was apparent they were well aware of the teachers that were resistant to the change. It was interesting to see the different leadership styles amongst the Administrators’. The Principal and a newer V.P. wanted to figure out a way to address the teachers concerns to get their buy in and support for the changes. The other V.P. had prior conflict with the same resistant staff for many years, felt that this was an inevitable change and trying to work with the staff was pointless. How I was personally affected? I felt like I was caught in between the School Administrators and the SPED department. It was a very uncomfortable situation. One of the V.P.’s would roll their eyes when I would mention the certain staff that were upset. I could tell there was a history of frustration that was much bigger than just the change for more inclusive practices. The Principal assigned the newer V.P. to oversee the SPED department and she came in with some great strategies to resolve some of the frustrations. Her first step was having the department meet with her and discuss their concerns. She then invited myself and some district SPED Administrators to come in and share the thought process about the new changes. How did staff members react? The resistant staff members still seemed frustrated but at the end of the meeting the team agreed to be respectful to each other and agreed upon a common goal for the students to be successful. It was a rough year for that team because conflict consistently surfaced amongst the staff members and Administrators.

Best Practice and Limited Time for Administrators

As a special education teacher, facilitating IEP meetings throughout the school year is one of the many responsibilities. I enjoy these meetings because we get to sit down as a team with the student, family/parent, Administrator, School Counselor, and teachers to discuss how best to provide supports and services for the student to improve. I am also a parent of a student with an IEP and was horrified to hear the Administrator, say at the start of my child’s meeting, that the IEP team has limited time (1 hour) because they scheduled back to back IEP meetings. My first thought was that she could have approached this in a more positive tone “I really want to focus on addressing your child’s needs and IEP program. We have scheduled 1 hour for today’s meeting so when it gets close to the end, let’s reassess and determine if we need to reconvene in order to ensure we addressed all areas of the IEP?” She really did not need to let me know that they scheduled back to back meetings. The meeting felt very rushed and I was not impressed with how they handled the limited time. I did not sign the IEP and asked to review all the changes discussed. The team was not willing to sit an additional 10-15 minutes to do this and that really made me more frustrated. They were literally trying to wrap things up ready so they could get ready for the following meeting. Walking away from this meeting, I felt the Administrator put her needs (time constraints for back to back meetings) above my child’s needs. As a future administrator, I know I will NEVER convey to my staff, parents, families, or community members that “I was too busy to call you back or to find time to address your concerns or needs”. To hear this from my child’s IEP team made me feel that my child’s needs were insignificant and not the priority. I will always ensure families feel their student is the priority, whether it is in an IEP meeting or just running into the parent at a school function. I will always make the effort make that parent feel that they are heard and if time is limited, I will offer to schedule a better time to meet free of distractions.

Incorporating New Technology as a Future Administrator

Always open to learning new software programs and utilizing it in the classroom, I have viewed myself as somewhat technology proficient. The technology component (earning tech badges) that the Brandman University Administrative program requires has really challenged my skill set as a future administrator. I have found myself intrigued by the options of technology use to incorporate as a future administrator for data(e-posters), presentations(Prezi), and promoting our school vision. At the same time, I have also found it overwhelming trying to learn the new software programs and creating quality assignments. I really enjoyed using the Prezi program to create my Clinical Practice 3 assignment. I will be honest though, it took longer than expected to create my presentation. As an avid PowerPoint user, I am able to create and format my presentations quickly. So, in trying to create a Prezi presentation, I spent the majority of the time trying to figure out how to format and make the presentation clear and concise. I know I still have a long way to go in learning about Prezi and all its functions. However, Prezi is definitely a program that I think I would want to use as a future administrator. Also, it made me realize the importance of promoting and providing the support of technology use for my future staff. I think it will be an important piece to emphasize in our efforts for school improvement. My current Principal is very good at “showcasing” some great technology in our staff meetings. He also offers additional support by providing online help/instructions/examples of how to incorporate into our teaching practice.