The Principals Role as Leader of Service

--

Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
-In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the
Master of Arts in Education or Advanced Studies Certificate
-by
Scott E. Firzlaf
Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School
Dubuque, IA
July 7, 2014
-Dr. Dewitt Jones

Daily Reflections and Take Aways

1. Introduction This course experience offers a face-to-face
immersion experience in practical and complex aspects of
school leadership, including cultural competency, motivation,
controversial issues, effective communication and theory/
practice connection. It addresses these topics within the
context of the principal as a leader of service, which is a
UNI Educational Leadership core value.
2. Resume Formatting A cover letter or letter or application
should be no longer than one page and include an attention,
a promotion, and an action. This should always be sent
along with your resume. The resume should be consistent and
east to read and never include the words I or we. References
should be part of this document. The goal of a cover letter and a
resume is to obtain an interview.

3. Principal Entry Plan An entry plan is what could separate yourself

from the rest of the competing applicants. All of the finalists will
probably have the same skill sets necessary to do the job. Acquiring
a job is all about the fit and going the extra mile. These entry plans
will show you care about their district and community. Make sure

your entry plan has the need data such as community information,
academic information, district goals, district vision, DE visitation
report, enrollment trends, athletic information and community issues.

4. Deescalating and Resolving Conflict Taking on the role of building

principal will require you to manage many different situations. There
will be times that an angry parent, staff member, student, or other
district employee may need to be handled in a professional manner.
We need to make sure that we keep an open body language so we
dont come off as cold or uncaring. We need to make careful use of
our voice in both tone and volume. We need to make sure we listen
but not make any promises that we cannot fulfill. Being a building
principal often requires a great deal a tact and dignity.

5. Taking Stage When we take our first job as principal we need to

remember that we are taking on a role. There will be part of this job
that does not always come naturally to us. When this happens we
need to be prepared and get through the situation even if a little of
our persona is being acted. Working on our delivery and even
greeting people and shaking hands can be worked on and practiced.

6. Who Cares About Kelsey? This documentary showed the lives

of students with emotional and behavioral challenges, and
showed innovative educational approaches that can help
students to succeed while improving the overall school culture
and climate. We as building leaders need to find ways to make
all students successful ever when they dont fit the typical mold.

7. Poverty Simulation Taking the role of an individual in a family

that faces the daunting tasks of keeping the bills paid while now
raising an new family of grandchildren was an eye opening
experience. This simulation showed me how difficult it can be for
many of the families who come through our doors. We need to
really make sure we empathize with our families and not judge
them. The simulation was powerful but I have no real way of
knowing the pressure and stress you would feel living like this
from month to month and year to year.

8. A Day in the Office The role playing of many different situations

that a principal may encounter was a great exercise that gave us
some insight in the issues and problems that come across the
principals desk. From angry and concerned parents, to district
coordinators, and even the upset staff member, we watched a
situation play out and discussed what to do and sometimes what
not to do in this intense situations.
9. They, Those, and Them Learning about the Critical Race
Theory and keeping in our beliefs that all students can
learn was my take away from this presentation. Theme
1 talked of belonging, black teachers, school connectedness,
racial identity and GTW. The second theme brought up the
issue of being singled out. The third discussed what it
mean to be talking black and the last these talked about
how family matters. The hope of this presentation is to
start conversations of how to best educate the students
who have the greatest needs.

10. Youve Got to Talk Him Out of It There were five key ideas
that came out of our discussion on Lessons Learned from
Gay and Lesbian students.
*Contextualize Leadership-one size doesnt fit all
*Culture, People, & Programs-important source outside school
*See People, Not Problems-dont jump to conclusions
*Leaders Must Lead-whats popular isnt always right
*Live The Mission-find the courage to live what we say
11. Stress Management-Dr. Tom Davis provided us with way and reasons to
take the time to relax and stay fit. The overall health of a principal will
play an important role in how they perform their leadership role. A principal
job will never become an 8 hour day and the demands and time can be exhausting
if we do not take care of ourselves. The stakeholders around us will expect us
to be one our A game whenever we are at school or even in public. Finding the
time to relax or reduce the amount of stress is vital if we want to sustain our
job for the long term.

The Leader of Service class this summer has really opened my eyes to many of the unwritten
rules, expectations, and potential pitfalls a principal may encounter in their first few years on the
job. As a potential leader, I think it is assumed that we do want to serve our students, staff, and
community in which we serve. I was drawn to this educational leadership because I want to
serve in the education setting. I wanted to make a larger impact on more people. Throughout the
nine days at UNI, we were given opportunities to develop cultural competency through activities
like the poverty simulation and the lecture about They, Those, and Them. I was given the chance
to see how the life and responsibilities can affect your personal and professional life. This was
done through stress management and a panel of husband and wives who have first-hand
knowledge the new life we will be entering and how it can affect you. We were able to enhance
our communications skills by participating in A Day in the Office and learning deescalating
skills that can help us with angry or upset parents, students, or community members. Really
focusing on body language and how we listen and talk to others will say a lot about who we are
as a building leader. As a building leader we will be forced to handle and deal with difficult
situations. We will encounter students like Kelsey that we learned about at the Inclusion and
Communication for All summer institute or have situations similar the Dr. Paces article, You
Have to Talk Him Out of It. Becoming a servant leader will take many forms and a wide skill
set. These are important to acquire if we want to have the competencies needed for our personal
and professional growth as an educational leader.