Competency Reflections

The nine competencies are an essential part of becoming an administrator. As an

administrator, these are objectives that are continuously coming up, and having a basic
understanding of what each one entails is fundamental. Fortunately I have had the opportunity in
my internship to be a part of some more than others. I have had the most experience in
Competency 004, and the least experience in competency 005. I have summarized my
experiences below in each competency.
1. Competency 001: The principal knows how to shape campus culture by facilitating the
development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is
shared and supported by the school community.
As an administrator it is highly important to be involved with the entire campus
community. This includes parents, staff, teachers, community members, and students. In
order to be a part of this culture I attended PTA meetings where my Principal sat next to
me and asked for my opinion on decisions that were being made. I took part in
determining how many teachers were at the school, and how much the PTA was going to
give to each teacher the following year as reimbursement for supplies in their classroom.
I also listened as the committee discussed potential fundraisers as well as how much
money we had earned from the current ones. I also attended the Campus Advisory Team
meetings which consist of all members of the community. We discuss issues involving the
school, and where it is headed in the future. My junior high is the largest one in my
district, and we had to discuss how the school would be split, and how many students we
would be losing. We also discussed potential zoning areas.

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Competency 002: The principal knows how to communicate and collaborate with all
members of the school community, respond to diverse interests and needs, and mobilize
resources to promote student success.
This competency is very similar to the first, except it is more involved with student
activities and success. I was able to shadow my assistant principal at one of the plays our
students did. I made sure to get there early in order to watch the behind the scenes, as
well as during and after. What was most important for me to realize was the relationship
that our assistant principal had with so many of the students. Immediately after the play
they came running to give him a hug, and parents knew who he was. It is very important
to make sure the entire school community knows who you are, and your role in the
school is. When parents and students know your standing, and see the support at the

school plays then the respect is easily gained.

3. Competency 003: The principal knows how to act with integrity, fairness, and in an
ethical and legal manner.
I believe that competency 003 is very important in maintaining constant support from
staff, teachers, and parents. I had the opportunity to observe an incident that happened
within our school. This incident involved multiple students spreading inappropriate
pictures around the school, and the police were called in in order to serve the students
with tickets. Throughout the incident, my principal remained calm and made sure every
person involved was doing their job. She discussed with all members involved on what
had been said between all parties, and made sure she also contacted the students parents
who were involved. Multiple students were removed from their extra-curricular activities,
and were no longer allowed to be on the teams. Another important part of what I
observed was the fact that she still ran her decision by her district supervisor to make sure
she was also doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing.

4. Competency 004: The principal knows how to facilitate the design and implementation
of curricula and strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment of
curriculum, instruction, resources, and assessment; and promote the use of varied
assessments to measure student performance.
Competency 004 is one that involves a lot of the programs that helps run the school. I
logged over 31 hours observing the special needs programs, ESL programs, gifted and
talented program, departmental meetings, team planning meetings, and ARD meetings.
Having a firm understanding of how the process works to qualify for some of these
programs is highly important. I realized that that there was a lot more that was initially
needed to qualify for a lot of these programs, and also realized how important it was to
have this background knowledge. After sitting in ARD meetings, and 504 meetings, some
of these programs are discussed when a child fits the mold. Without the knowledge, than
I would not feel confident in promoting these programs. I have also observed how
important it is to have an understanding, because every year the Assistant Principals at
my school take on other jobs to organize the entire year. For example, one of the assistant
principals at the school was in charge of safety management as well as recording ARD
meeting, and this year both of those jobs have been passed on to two other administrators.
5. Competency 005: The principal knows how to advocate, nurture, and sustain an
instructional program and a campus culture that are conducive to student learning and
staff professional growth.
I was able to help plan professional development for the entire staff at the school at the
end of the year last year. All instructional coaches and Assistant principals were in the
conference room, and wrote on the whiteboard a detailed plan for the first week of
school. I gave my opinion on the minor issues, and agreed that the layout seemed
beneficial. It took several hours to arrange the plan, decide where the speaker would be

placed, and decide on which days would have provided meals. It was interesting to be
behind the scenes and help plan what the rest of the school would be doing when summer
was over.
6. Competency 006: The principal knows how to implement a staff evaluation and
development system to improve the performance of all staff members, select and
implement appropriate models for supervision and staff development, and apply the legal
requirements for personnel management.
This year, my school had to hire two new administrators to take the place of two others
who took positions as higher level administrators. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit
in on the interviews and involve myself in the questions that were being asked. It was
enlightening and eye opening to see the kinds of questions being asked, hearing the
opinions of other administrators, and to find out what characteristics were most important
to the school. I was also able to walk around the school with my principal and observe
teachers while they teach for their formal yearly evaluation. I was given the opportunity
to fill out the evaluation form used for English language arts teachers, and compare it
with my administrators to see if I was able to catch the same main points. I enjoyed
learning the procedures that are taken to properly evaluate teachers, and learn what my
administrator felt was positive or negative.
7. Competency 007: The principal knows how to apply organizational, decision-making,
and problem-solving skills to ensure an effective learning environment.
I believe this is a rather generic competency, because as professionals in the educational
field, there are numerous decisions being made every minute. It was interesting to
shadow my administrator and see how many different tasks were asked of her and how
she had to bounce around to several different meetings. During these meetings, I was also

able to listen and learn from my assistant principals. It is very beneficial to hear the views
of multiple different people in order to create once clear vision.
8. Competency 008: The principal knows how to apply principles of effective leadership
and management in relation to campus budgeting, personnel, resource utilization,
financial management, and technology use.
Financial budgeting for an entire campus is a very large undertaking when an
administrator is supposed to make all the decisions on his or her own. Fortunately in my
district, every school is provided with a financial assistant, and they make the majority of
the decisions dealing with money. When shadowing my principal, she showed me where
all of the expenses are recorded, where the requested POs are placed, and the guidelines
she used to make sure the spending is not going over budget, or more is not being used
than the previous year. She informed me of the different amounts she looks for at
different times of the year to see if the funding is on track. She came from a district that
did not have the luxury of a financial clerk, so she did have a lot of knowledge about the
process.
9. Competency 009: The principal knows how to apply principles of leadership and
management to the campus physical plant and support systems to ensure a safe and
effective learning environment.
On my campus, one administrator is in charge of the safety procedures for the entire
building. It is a task that is traded from one administrator to the next every year. This
person is in charge of fire drills, severe weather drills, evacuation routes, go-bags, the
traffic flow of the school, etc. It is a large undertaking, but one that is tedious and
necessary. I also am part of a Watch Dog Program, that allows dads to come follow
their students schedules. During the day they are on campus, one of the tasks is to also
participate in safety walks to make sure all doors are closed, there are not any

unrecognizable people on campus, and also to make sure there are no messes or trash that
needs cleaning. I am continuing to observe my administrators to learn more about the
daily needs of the campus.