Superintendent Interview - Progress

 My superintendent is Scott Campbell at East Chambers ISD.  He has been the superintendent there for fifteen years, a principal there for four years, and graduated from East Chambers High School.   I have had the pleasure of working for him for six years, two of which as a principal. We had to reschedule our interview because he has been out of town at a leadership conference in Austin and visiting his freshman daughter at UT.  While our relationship is very relaxed at times, I found myself very nervous to set up this formal interview.  Of course I was greeted with a warm laugh and a jab or two about how green I was.  We met in his office, where we hold our weekly administrators meetings.  I recorded the conversation so that I would not be frantically writing everything down.  I have so much admiration for Mr. Campbell and he has taught me everything that I know about how to be an administrator.  Anytime I have a question, concern, or need help with anything he is available and I respect and value his opinion on everything.  The meeting lasted almost forty-five minutes and I could have stayed longer, as I felt this was such a prime fireside opportunity to ask questions in the absence of the other administrators.  As one can guess, I am the youngest of the group and there are times when I do not want to let on that I do not know something or ask a “dumb” question. Even though my question may be dumb he never lets on that he feels that way.

I chose five responses that stood out to me as being something that I want to put in my hat and live by.  I have paraphrased all of his responses.

1.  What is your definition of leadership?

            Leadership is not something that you can teach, but instead something that is an innate ability to get others to follow you in a common goal.  The “it” factor if you will.  It is kind of like when we were searching for a new athletic director and you were in on the interviews.  When you meet someone and they walk into the room there is a certain way that they carry themselves, almost like an assurance. 

3.  What are the negative or difficult aspects of being in a leadership position?

            I would say that the most difficult aspect of being in a leadership position, especially in a small community, is combating all the bad public relations that miscommunication and misunderstandings cause.  Everyone interprets differently projects that we do or personnel that we hire or decisions that make and sometimes the reality and the perception are not one and the same. 

8.  How does the Superintendent build a good working relationship with the Board?

            In my opinion you do not deal with the Board any different then any good professional relationship.  By utilizing honesty, open communication, and mutual respect we are all able to move towards the common goal of ensuring success of all of our students.  We have one of best Boards in Texas and I have been so fortunate to work so successfully for them. 

12.  How should Superintendents approach management of everything from budgets to technology applications?

            Keeping yourself up to date with current trends and connected with what other districts are doing is essential.  Having good personnel on your team is also necessary.  Your team must share the same drive and goals to work as a unit.

14.  Please discuss the importance of organizational leadership, as well as decision-making and problem-solving skills addressing these compliance areas and maintaining positive change.

            Just the word change strikes a cord with almost everyone.  Change should be looked upon like progress.  If we continue teaching and operating like we always have, then when the standards are increased our students will not be able to compete.  My role requires that when I look for progress.  Progress is the idea that our district can be increasingly better in terms of everything that we do.  

VITA Kind of messed up when posted

Sarah Otto 1335 East Palm, Winnie, TX 77665 Phone: (512) 217-7160, Fax: (409) 296-2724 Email: snwelch7@hotmail.com Education/ Certificates M.Ed. Masters of Education in Administration August 2009 Lamar University, Beaumont, TX B.A. Bachelor of Science 2000 - 2004 Applied Learning and Development University of Texas, Austin, TX Superintendent Certificate, In Progress August 2012 Principal Certificate, Texas November 2009 Professional Development Appraisal System Appraiser Certificate May 2009 Teacher Certificate • EC – 4 Generalist, Texas May, 2004 • 4 – 8 Science, Texas June, 2006 ESL Certificate, Texas May, 2006 Administrative Experience Principal East Chambers Elementary, Winnie, TX • Administered all campus activities for over 50 faculty and staff and 580 students. • Implemented a campus-wide positive behavior system to integrate evidence-based behavioral interventions to enhance academic and social behavior outcomes for all students. • Restructured Title I and RTI programs to be more efficient services for our students. 2010-present Administrative Experience (continued) Counselor East Chambers Junior High/Intermediate, Winnie, TX • Provided counseling to meet the needs of all students • Responsible for coordinating TAKS testing • Implemented ADMScan scantron benchmarking software • Organized special programs such as student of the month, Duke Talent Search, 6 weeks incentives, and fundraisers • Developed and implemented electronic communications • Assisted in student scheduling and master schedule 2009-2010 Leadership Experience East Chambers Secondary Teacher of the Year East Chambers Junior High, Winnie, TX • Awarded Teacher of the Year for demonstrating outstanding teaching ability and leadership skills • Completed Texas Teacher of the Year application process 2008-2009 Master Supervising Teacher (MaST), East Chambers Junior High, Winnie, TX • Assigned a student teacher through Lamar University • Evaluated student teachers to assess their progress and provide constructive feedback, including their class grade Fall 2008 Spring 2009 Principal Internship, East Chambers Junior High, Winnie, TX • Under the direction of the principal was trained in all the duties of an administrator including; discipline, teacher/parent relations, analysis of TAKS data, and administrative duties • In the absence of the principal was designated the administrator on duty Spring 2009 Junior High Girls Athletic Coach, East Chambers Junior High, Winnie, TX • Responsible for Junior High Girls Athletics including; scheduling, transportation, equipment, workout plans, and maintaining positive relationships with parents and other coaches • Coached Junior High Girls volleyball, basketball, and track 2006-2009 Leadership Experience – cont. Science Department Head, East Chambers Junior High, Winnie, TX • Planned Science department vertical team meetings • Implemented the purchase and use of new Science curriculum 2007-2009 Super Science Saturdays, East Chambers Junior High, Winnie, TX • Created and implemented a Saturday Science TAKS compensatory program • Evaluated progress of students and tailored program studies to best suit the student’s learning abilities 2009-present Science Family Night Coordinator, Ridgetop Elementary, Austin, TX • Coordinated a Science Family Night for the entire campus to promote positive family involvement in Science • Utilized community volunteers through the University of Texas at Austin 2004-2006 Science Fair Director, Ridgetop Elementary, Austin, TX • Coordinated the annual campus-wide Science Fair using community volunteers and parents 2004-2006 Character Education Program Coordinator, Ridgetop Elementary, Austin, TX • Created and implemented a campus wide character education program • Administered weekly selection of “character star” students 2005-2006 Leadership Experience – cont. Finish Up to TAKS Science afterschool program, East Chambers Junior High, Winnie, TX • Evaluated benchmark data and designed the afterschool program to provide compensatory lessons for students at-risk of failing the Science TAKS test • Continuously monitored student progress throughout the year and adjusted the program as necessary 2008-2009 High School Varsity Cheerleading Coach, East Chambers Junior High, Winnie, TX, • Responsible for High School Varsity Cheerleading squad including; transportation, scheduling, discipline, fundraisers, practices, and selection process • Maintained public relations for the cheerleaders via newspaper articles, public meetings, and school web site 2007-2009 Campus Advisory Team Member, East Chambers Junior High, Winnie, TX • Advised and designed school-wide plan to assure all student’s success • Evaluated the specific instructional needs of the students by surveying and analyzing student test data, grades, and benchmark results 2008-present Teaching Experience 8th grade Science East Chambers Junior High, East Chambers ISD, Winnie, TX 2007-2009 6th grade Science East Chambers Junior High, East Chambers ISD, Winnie, TX 2006-2007 2nd grade, ESL Ridgetop Elementary, Austin ISD, Austin, TX 2004-2006 Coaching Experience High School Varsity Cheerleading Coach • Responsible for High School Varsity Cheerleading squad including; transportation, scheduling, discipline, fundraisers, practices, and selection process • Maintained public relations for the cheerleaders via newspaper articles, public meetings, and school web site 2007-2009 Junior High Girls Athletic Coordinator/Coach • Responsible for Junior High Girls Athletics including; scheduling, transportation, equipment, workout plans, and maintaining positive relationships with parents and other coaches • Coached Junior High Girls volleyball, basketball, and track 2006-2009 UIL Science II Coach • Responsible for preparing contestants for UIL Science II contest • Held bi-weekly practices and attended UIL meets 2007-2008 Specialized Skills/Experiences Basic Conversational Proficiency in Spanish • Translated for ARD meetings and parent conferences • Assisted in greeting and communicating with Spanish speaking parents and guardians • Administered Linguistically Accommodated TAKS test Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) Certified Grader Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) Certified Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) • Drove the bus for all Junior High Girls athletic events, cheerleading events, and field trips • Substitute bus route driver when needed Technical/Computer Skills • Knowledge of basic HTML • High proficiency in excel, power point, publisher, and word applications Professional Development 3-8 Narrative Writing Training • The Writing Academy, Kemah, Texas January 2012 Bullying Conference • Beaumont, Texas December 2009 CSCOPE State Conference • Houston, Texas November 2009 AIMS Web Training – RTI progress monitoring software • Winnie, Texas August 2009 Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST) • Ft. Worth, Texas November 2008 Bridging II TAKS Science • Region 5 Service Center, Silsbee, Texas January 2008 Science TAKS Update • Region 5 Service Center, Silsbee, Texas September 2007 2nd Grade Reading Academy • Region 13 Service Center, Austin, Texas July 2004 2nd Grade Math Academy • Region 13 Service Center, Austin, Texas September 2004 Gifted and Talented Academy • Region 13 Service Center, Austin, Texas January 2005 Bilingual Conference • Bowie High School, Austin, Texas November 2004 Character Education • Region 13 Service Center, Austin, Texas August 2005 Professional Affiliations Texas State Teachers Association 2010-present Curriculum Council Member 2010-present

Theory of Transfer of Learning

Transfer theory is where an individual takes past experiences, both the positive and negative, and applies them to a current or future situation.   The essence of transfer theory is through the process of self-reflection.  Without mindfully applying these past learned experiences they are just memories or events.  Everyone takes not only understandings from a career standpoint but also personal experiences.  Thus, the transfer theory of learning is the epicenter for administrator preparatory courses such as this one.  If I had no prior experiences in education or as an administrator I would have no knowledge to pull from to create a deeper understanding.    The entire internship plan is based on self-reflection of the pre-test and the competencies.  Each person’s plan in the cohort will be different based on his or her own self-reflections and areas of expertise and this is why transfer theory requires previous leadership experience.

I have never had a name to put with the vertical learning curve that I have had in the past year and half as the principal of an elementary school.   It is called the Theory of Transfer of learning.  I laugh when I think about the start of my first year as a principal. I was not really nervous; I was more excited and ready to see what it was going to be like.  The start of this year, as my second year, was very different.  I was nervous, I was scared, and my mind would not stop going over the lists of things that I had to do to be prepared.  I was so green my first year that I didn’t even know what prepared or nervous looked like.  There are two major duties that I do everyday, communication and problem solving or decision-making.  I am daily becoming more efficient with these tasks and require constant feedback to ensure that I am effective. 

A perfect example of how I must remind myself of the balance of veteran experience versus experiences happened to me just the other day.  I was meeting with the intervention team and the counselor. All three are veteran teachers of 15 years or more.  One teacher was discussing about how tired they are about the trends in our district where we have placed more emphasis on academic areas that we scored low on and then the next year we score high in that area, but low in the others that were neglected.  I took immediate offense to this and shared with the group that as a campus this is not our thinking or plan of action.  Not even taking into account that I have only been on this campus for two years and the group was not discussing current trends but past trends that were the cause of the current gaps that we are seeing in the upper grade levels.  How could I be so close-minded and see the forest and the trees?  Or so arrogant to think they were trying to attack me?  After sharing we all laughed as I self reflected to them about my misunderstanding.  They are speaking from veteran experiences and I was thinking in terms of the here and now.  Rookie mistake, but a classic example of the difficulties of self-reflection and the power of growth it can create. 

In 1990, Peter Senge wrote a book titled The Fifth Discipline.  He describes systems thinking and how personal mastery or self-reflection is one of the disciplines to a superior learning organization.   Transfer theory is centered around reflection and now in the 21^st century we can blog our way through this.  Senge questions why is personal mastery or self-reflection so difficult and talks about the “softness” that many face when dealing with how situations make them feel or respond.  In the optional reading for this course Standards-Based Leadership: A Case Study Book for the Superintendency by Sandra Lowery and Sandra Harris, it cites many other journal articles that respond to the value of self- reflection for the creation of core values that allow leaders to lead.  In summation, if we cannot lead ourselves how can we expect others to follow.  As leaders we must step back and see the picture that Senge paints of the forest and the trees and find our strength from our weaknesses so that we can move our district or campus into the direction of a shared vision. 

To Blog or Not to Blog...who wants to read

This certification program has pushed me to live out my blog inspiration and I hope to create my blog in the likes of the other principal blogs that I follow. While my blog currently is not very fancy I have plans to enhance it.  At first, the concept of blogging seemed pompous.  Who would want to follow me and read all about things that I have to say?  I realized the power of experiences in education and how this was a fast way to share what fantastic things we have going on so that others do not have the reinvent the wheel. I have encouraged many of my teachers to follow blogs of other teachers to get great ideas and tools.  During my internship I hope to journal about my experiences and get feedback from others through the process.  This is a great place to write reflections and to keep notes about what knowledge I have gained.  I would like to share this with my site supervisor so that he can monitor my progress throughout this experience. 

Blogs that I follow:

http://www.principalspage.com/theblog/

http://lynhilt.com/

http://esheninger.blogspot.com/

http://principalj.blogspot.com/