MyselfasaLeader1

MyselfasaLeader
ChristinaL.Shanks
Lewis&ClarkEDAD601

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InmycurrentrolesasateacheratSevenOakMiddleSchoolandIALstudentatLewis&
ClarkIhavelearnedmanydetailsaboutleadershipineducation.Asaleader,Ipossessavision
forimprovement:Iamaneffectivemanager,inclusive,ethical,understandpoliticalissues,and
haveabreadthofexperience.Aboveall,asavisionaryleader,Iamreadytoimprovelearning
st
andachievementfortodaysstudentstobereadytoperformintheeconomiesofthe21
century.

Ihaveaplethoraofleadershipskillsthatmakemeaneffectiveleader.Ibelieveina
transactionaltrust,whatyougiveiswhatyouget(Fullan,2003).Ihaveastrengthingaining
otherstrustandempoweringthemtobesuccessful.Thesetwoskillsgohandinhand,without
empowerment,peoplefeelestrangedfromthegroupandslowlybegintodistrustleadership.
AccordingtoFullan(2003)Youcannothavehighlyeffectiveprincipalsunlessthereis
distributiveleadershipthroughouttheschool(p.24).Asaleader,Ihelpbuildalearning
communitythatisseenasfair,kind,andhonest.Idisplaythesevaluesthroughbehaviorand
communicationwithothers.Furthermore,Iamacommunitymember,andaccessibleandvisible
toallmembersofourcommunity.

Iconstantlythinkaboutthebigpicturestudentachievement,andmakedecisions
accordingly.Icreategoalsandactionplansinthedirectiontosupportstudentachievement.To
leadbyresults,onemustdemonstratetheknowledgeandskillsofresearchedbasedbest
educationalpractices,andIdo.ResearchbySchmoker(2006)supportsexceptionalleadership,
teaming,clearstandards,andaccountabilitytogetherguaranteethatanyschoolwillmakequick,
substantialimprovements.Ileadwithresultsandknowhowtobuildcapacitytosupport

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professionaldevelopmentofstaff.Inaddition,Icreateenvironmentsofcollaborativeinquiryand
reflectivethinking.Theleaderinmeempowersstaffbysharingtheleadershipdutiesthroughout
theschool.

AsavisionaryleaderIalsoplanforinstructionalimprovements.Professional
developmentisanimportantpartofcreatingsuccessforallstudents,apositiveschool
atmosphere,andeffectiveinstruction.AsKillionandHarrison(2006)statesProfessional
developmentisthegatewaytoimprovedteachingandlearning(p.19).Furthermore,their
researchindicatesthateffectiveprofessionaldevelopmentisembeddedinthejobandis
collaborative,participantdrivenandfilledwithinquiryandreflection.Teambuilding
strengthensthecommunity,anditistheleadersjobtoseethatthistakesplace.Killionand
Harrison(2006)researchdemonstratestheimportanceofteacherscollaborativelearning
communitiestosupportpositivechangesinteachingpractices.Theleadermustempowerthe
teamandhelpthembuildtheirstrengths.AsaleaderIexpectthebestfromallmembers.Shared
decisionmakinghelpsbuildtrustandempowermentofallstaffmembers.Thosewhodirectly
workwithstudentseverydayareleaders.

Inconclusion,asavisionaryleaderineducationIamhardworking,wellorganized,and
workwellwiththecommunity.Ihaveatransparentvisionforimprovementforallstudents.As
aleaderIevaluatethecurrentschoolcommunityandenvisionaplanforimprovedlearning.Asa
leaderIwillhelpcreateastrongschoolcultureofachievementforallstudents.Myvision
focusesoninstructionalimprovementstoensuresuccessforallstudents.Asaleader,Ihelp

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createanenvironmentwithapositiveclimateandeffectiveinstructionalprograms.

References
Fullan,M.(2003).
TheMoralimperativeofschoolleadership
.ThousandOaks,CA:Corwin
Press

Killion,J.,&Harrison,C.(2006).
TakingtheLead
.Oxford:NSDC.

Schmoker,M.(2006).
ResultsNOW:Howwecanachieveunprecedentedimprovementsin
teachingandlearning.
Alexandria,VA:ASCD