Three Year Professional Development Plan

Goal To become more informed in curriculum	TExES Competency and Domain Domain 2 Competency 5	Objective (What do you want to improve?) I want to improve my knowledge of elementary curriculum	Course Work/Book/ Workshops Meet with elementary principal Attend workshops at ESC 7 In-depth study via websites dedicated to elementary curriculum CSCOPE	Mentor Professional Support Superintendent ESC 7 Personnel Elementary Principal Elementary Teachers	Date of Completion February 2013	Evaluations I will be able to provide knowledgeable insight into curriculum discussions at the elementary level and facilitate scope, sequence, and alignment information for district wide curriculum
Goal To become more knowledgeable in the area of school finance	TExES Competency and Domain Domain 3 Competency 8	Objective (What do you want to improve?) I want to be functionally literate in school finance in terms of general knowledge and practical application	Course Work/Book/ Workshops (How do you want to improve? Attend school finance seminars Read updates on legislative changes Talk to experienced superintendents Professional literature	Mentor Professional Support (Who will help you improve?) ESC 7 personnel Superintendent Joe Smith (Texas ISD) Legislative updates and TEA postings	Date of Completion February 2013	Evaluations (How will you know you have improved?) I will be able to discuss school finance competently and provide insight to my district as needed

Year Two

Goal To become more competent in educational technology	TExES Competency and Domain Domain 3 Competency 8	Objective (What do you want to improve?) I want to learn about technology systems being used effectively to aide students in learning	Course Work/Book/ Workshops (How do you want to improve?) Meetings with OISD technology director ESC 7 workshops TASSP Technology committee Professional literature	Mentor Professional Support (Who will help you improve?) William Mansfield-OISD Tech Director Leann McDaniel-OISD head librarian ESC 7 Personnel Members of TASB technology committee	Date of Completion February 2014	Evaluations (How will you know you have improved?) I will be able to make decisions and recommendations to teachers and the district about technology needed to improve student learning.
Goal To become more adept at using external funding for school benefit	TExES Competency and Domain Domain 1 Competency 2	Objective (What do you want to improve?) I want to improve my ability to find external funding from foundations and business to improve the facilities at OISD	Course Work/Book/ Workshops (How do you want to improve?) Grant Writing Seminar Meet with successful educational grant writers Meet with local non-profit foundation Meet with community leaders Use the internet to search creative methods of funding facility improvement	Mentor Professional Support (Who will help you improve?) Holly Curry-multiple successful grants written for classroom McMillan Foundation board of directors Local bank presidents and civic leaders	Date of Completion February 2014	Evaluations (How will you know you have improved?) I will successfully bring funding to the district to make much needed repairs and renovations to facilities.

Year Three

Goal To be able to analyze and respond effectively to political factors affecting  education	TExES Competency and Domain Domain 1 Competency 4	Objective (What do you want to improve?) I want to improve my knowledge of political factors and to be able to anticipate their impact on my district	Course Work/Book/ Workshops (How do you want to improve?) Legislative updates Meetings with local political leaders TASSP updates TASB updates	Mentor Professional Support (Who will help you improve?) Superintendent TASSP regional directors Local and regional leaders	Date of Completion February 2015	Evaluations (How will you know you have improved?) I will be better able to anticipate political trends affecting my district and will be able to use the knowledge to benefit the district and its educational programs
Goal To become more adept at dealing with issues concerning food services	TExES Competency and Domain Domain 3 Competency 9	Objective (What do you want to improve?) I want to become more knowledgeable of policies and laws dealing with food services	Course Work/Book/ Workshops (How do you want to improve?) Read Laws and Policies concerning food service Meet with district food service coordinator ESC 7 workshops Meet with Superintendent	Mentor Professional Support (Who will help you improve?) ESC 7 personnel Superintendent Mrs. Gillespie (OISD food service coordinator)	Date of Completion February 2015	Evaluations (How will you know you have improved?) I will be able to provide input to the district’s food service program and be better able to facilitate improvements.

Reflective Practices

Reflective practices have always been an important part of my growth in the profession as I’ve looked at events and decisions in an objective manner in order to be able to learn from both the good and bad that have happened.  Reflection, when done objectively, provides me with an opportunity to place events/decisions in a proper perspective and allows me to analyze what was done well and what could’ve been done better.  Without reflection, I find myself just reacting to each new circumstance without the benefit of past experience.  Reflection allows me to learn from the past and to recognize the similar circumstances and draw from prior learning.

The assignments in this course of study have caused a number of reflective moments. During the school finance section I was able to look objectively at my districts financial data and reflect on the real world consequences of being in a poor district.  I can see that there are some things that we will not be able to provide to our students through a traditional budget, but knowing this allows me to seek out alternative funding measures.  I also had the opportunity to use reflective practices during the study of facilities because we were just finishing building and renovating in the district with funds from a bond election.  I saw that there were many things that went on behind the scenes in deciding what and where to build.  I believe the reflection process allowed me to determine that if I ever was involved in another such project I would make sure that the district did a better job of public relations and proactive informing of public.

Simply learning about blogs and wikis caused me to think about the potential uses of these tools.  I distinctly remember the first time I set up the blog thinking of all the ways that I could use it to benefit my students and the district.  I know that reading the cohort members’ blogs has caused me to consider how their insights could be used to help my school and district.

Keeping up with the logs allowed me to see the many facets of the superintendent’s job.  I recognize now that no one knows everything about the position but must continue to grow as the job evolves.  I’ve thought deeply about the nature of the job and if I even really want to take on such a large burden.  The logs also allow me to look back to where I was when I started this program and realize that time management and organizational skills will allow me to complete projects on time.  This was a big undertaking during a time when my job was very demanding and there were several incidents of severe health issues in my family, yet I was able to get everything done and have come to understand that I can get through anything if I am persistent.

Each of the assessments gave me reason to reflect on both new learning and parts of the course in which I still needed more information.   The self evaluation at the beginning of the course certainly gave me reason to reflect.  I took a long time going over each of the domains and thinking about the real life implications of each one.  The practice superintendent’s certification exams were real eye-openers as well. I was able to gain confidence in being successful on the actual test by remembering that these courses prepared me well and that I could go into the test with a measure of hope.  I looked back at the exams and saw that I had grown significantly in my knowledge of the superintendency.

I believe the interviews with my superintendent have helped me reflect on the learning from this class.  I leave my meetings with him with a more objective view of the job that he does.  Knowing that there are so many policies, laws, and guidelines that he must consider helps me understand some of his decisions.  I also have discovered that the job can be lonely, especially in a small district in which he has no assistant superintendents to aide in specific areas.  My online meetings with Dr. Creel have opened my eyes as well.  I really enjoyed his insights and often thought of his practical advice.  For example, in the last one we discussed salary negotiations and I’ve had time to think about some of the ways that a contract can be written to help with such things as retirement and taxes.

As I mentioned earlier, I have used reflective practices for as long as I can remember.  I am an analytical person and when decisions are made or something happens, I’ve always taken the time to determine the causes and if there were better ways to go about it.  I have learned from a myriad of mistakes and believe that thinking through the process that led to both mistakes and successes has benefited me greatly. One of the moments of reflection that has occurred recently was when our school was labeled academically unacceptable by TEA.  I had to reflect on our previous practices and discern how to proceed in a more effective manner.  I realized that we could not continue to do things the way we had done in the past and this allowed me to be more proactive in instigating some needed changes.

 In the future, I know that I will have a lot to learn if I become a superintendent.  I hope to continue to take time to reflect on the decisions and consequences so that I may grow daily and become an effective leader for my district and a strong advocate for the students.

Reflections on action initiatives

Prior to this school year I have not held  improvement plans in very high esteem because my experience had been that a committee met and made some decisions without the input of most of the faculty and then the document went on a shelf until the next year.  This year I found that an improvement plan that addresses specific issues in a specific manner can be a very useful tool in our goal of providing the best possible education for our students.

This year my campus was given an academically unacceptable rating by TEA because our African American students did not do well on the math TAKS tests.  We have long struggled with math scores and had not been able to make significant progress.  Because we were forced to take a careful look at our entire math program by TEA and with the assistance of a representative of TEA we were able to write an effective, useful, and practical plan to address our shortcomings.

One of the significant outcomes of these meetings and a recommendation of the committee was that the district purchase CSCOPE for our curriculum.  We discovered that our teachers had not been using any formal curriculum and the one that was on record as our curriculum had been put together by three teachers many years ago.  Basically, our teachers were using the textbook and the supplemental material that went with them as the curriculum.  We found that the textbooks did not follow a scope and sequence that was addressing many of the issues we were facing with our struggling math students.

Purchasing CSCOPE was a huge investment for our district.  $20,000 per year, in a year in which we had a reduction in force and significant budget cuts, could’ve been an insurmountable issue.  We were fortunate to have a non-profit foundation in our town that agreed to pay for the program for the first year so we did not have to take on the entire amount without time to include it in the budget.  The other costs included training teachers, purchasing needed supplies, and paying for substitute teachers when additional, more specific training was needed.

The next big issue was to make sure that our teachers followed the curriculum with fidelity.  Because we did not purchase the program until late in the summer and the teachers did not get formal training until October, we did not require them to implement CSCOPE fully.  I have asked for the teachers to begin including CSCOPE more each six weeks and we have planned further training this summer so that it can be fully and effectively used next year.  Our math teachers have been using the program more than the other teachers due to the influence of our TEA representative and their recognition that what was being done in the past was not working.  Other teachers are beginning to see the benefits and are encouraged by the success that the math teachers are experiencing.  Just yesterday, a biology teacher with 30+ year’s experience related to me that he had begun using CSCOPE and thought it was a great asset.

As we move forward with the program we are monitoring our grades, benchmark results, and of course, the all important state tests.  The early indications are that CSCOPE is making a difference in the classes in which it is used with fidelity.  An administrative concern is that all teachers be fully competent in the program by the start of next school year.  I believe starting slowly and letting teachers get accustomed to the change in curriculum is important.  It is an expensive “practice” year, but the long term success of our students is the goal and I believe we have taken the appropriate steps towards that goal because of this specific improvement initiative.