Educational Administration Artifact Reflection

Artifact Title: Seventh Graders Individualized Education Plan

Date of Experience Completed: September-October 2015

Artifact Description:
My artifact is an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that I designed for a
seventh grade student identified with significant vision and hearing
impairments. This IEP is written specific to the students needs and includes:
demographic information, team participants, the students present level of
performance, special factors, annual goals, assessment participation,
transition plan, services, accommodations/modifications, and determination
of placement.

Wisconsin Administrator Standard Alignment:

This Individualized Education Plan best aligns with Wisconsin Administrator
Standard 5 which states: A school administrator is an educational leader who
promotes the success of all students by collaborating with families and
community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs,
and mobilizing community resources.
This Individualized Education Plan best aligns with Standard 5 because it
demonstrates competency in collaboration and communication with families
as partners in their childs education, successful partnerships and relations
between the school, businesses, and community resources, the fair
treatment of stakeholders, and opportunities for staff collaboration.
Per special education law, the parent(s) and/or guardian(s) of a student
receiving special education services have the right to participate in the
determination of education for their child. As observed on pages one, three,
and four of the artifact document, the students parents were invited to
participate in the IEP meeting, contacted several times to ensure their
participation, and given the opportunity to share input during the IEP
meeting. In this particular case, in order to communicate with the parents,
the case manager recruited the assistance of Darlington Community Schools
ELL teachers/translators. The parents of the student receiving special
education services are Spanish-speaking, therefore requiring the assistance
of ELL teachers/translators to effectively communicate information to the

family. The case manager requested that the teachers translate various
conversations and documents including, but not limited to: the IEP invitation,
telephone conversations, the IEP meeting, and the IEP itself. In addition, the
students vision and hearing needs required partnerships between the school
and other community resources and businesses as seen on pages four
through 11 and 17 through 21 of the artifact. Together, the case manager,
the Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students, the Orientation and
Mobility Specialist, the district Audiologist, and the Teacher of the Visually
Impaired Students collaborated on how to best meet the needs of the
student to allow the student to receive a fair and appropriate education. As
stakeholders, the parents, student, case manager, four special education
service providers, and regular education staff were allowed the opportunity
to be equal and contributing members of the students IEP. The regular
education staff members were given the opportunity to collaborate through
the completion of documentation for the student. The staff members were
questioned about the students current levels of performance, strengths, and
needs. The regular education staff members were also given an opportunity
to participate in the IEP meeting, which can be demonstrated on pages one
and two of the artifact. Based on this evidence, this artifact demonstrates
competency in collaboration with families as partners in their childs
education, successful partnerships between the school and other resources,
the equal treatment of stakeholders, and staff collaboration.

What I learned about administration from this experience:

There are two lessons I learned about administration that may be applied to
this artifact experience. The first lesson is to identify your resources early
and utilize them respectfully. The second lesson is to use effective and
timely communication.
This Individualized Education Plan was timesensitive. IEP meetings must be conducted annually and this students IEP
was due in late October, which gave about six weeks for data collection,
collaboration, communication, and writing. I was required to contact and
collect information from the parents, student, ELL teachers/translators,
regular education teachers and student teachers, LEA, and four services
providers in order to successfully complete the IEP. It was important to
collaborate respectfully with the participants in order to most effectively
meet the needs of the student. It is also important to use effective
communication when participating in time-sensitive cases. Due to the
number of participants in this IEP, I was required to use a communication
timeline and log. Because there were so many individuals to contact, my

communication had to be concise and purposeful. In an administrative role,

an individual needs to be prepared to quickly identify inside and outside
resources in time-sensitive cases. Though these cases may be stressful, it is
also important to handle them respectfully keeping in mind the attitudes,
beliefs, etc. of the individuals involved.
Everyones time is valuable,
including your own, therefore respectful, effective communication is
necessary while acting in an administrative position.

What I learned about myself as a prospective administrator as a

result of this artifact:
While there are several things I learned about myself as a prospective
administrator, I will only identify a couple. Through this experience, I learned
the ability to communicate and collaborate with many individuals at once
during a short time and the ability to handle stressful situations without
breakdown. As stated earlier, there were approximately 20 individuals
involved in this students IEP. Concise communication and data collection
was required for the process to be completed successfully. This IEP was
stressful with little room for delay or mistakes. Multiple mistakes or
miscommunications could have resulted in noncompliance. As a prospective
administrator, I will need to perfect my communication techniques and
delegate tasks in order to make the best use of everyones time and efforts.
I am aware that the inbox never sleeps and what is a priority one moment
will be pushed to the bottom of the pile the next. Life of an administrator is
ever-changing, which makes the job more stressful. This artifact experience
gave me a small glimpse into the responsibilities of leading a group. It gives
me confidence in my ability to survive and thrive in stressful situations that
may arise in the future.