Running Head: FINAL REFLECTION

Meredith Clark
Final Reflection
EAD 820: School Leadership Internship
Michigan State University
Dr. Dave Chapin
8 April 2017
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Introduction

Throughout my internship, I acquired an indispensable wealth of knowledge regarding

school leadership in the form of building administration. Although the job position appears

transparent to the general public, I have learned there is much more to the role of an

administrator than first meets the eye. Throughout my internship, I had the opportunity to serve

as acting principal when my administrator was not able to be in the building, I have served on a

multiple number of district wide curriculum committees involving the creation and

implementation of new subject matter curriculum, as well as led a school wide March is Reading

Month building initiative, serving the role as my Challenge Project for this internship. These

opportunities have led me to my current understanding of the complexity of the job

responsibilities encompassing the role of administrator.

Insights

I have grown to learn that the role of a principal looks a little bit different depending on

the district one is hired into, the student population, and the ways in which resources are

allocated. In addition, each district, or more specifically school building may look for a different

leadership style when hiring a principal. Perhaps not all districts seek an instructional coach in

building principals, and instead look for an individual to play a managerial role amongst staff.

There is no such thing as a perfect recipe for a building leader because what might be effective at

one school, may not work at another school. In addition, the complexity of the job heightens

because like a classroom, no year will be quite the same. With new staff members, new students

and students progressing through grades, a host of challenges and successes can be manifested.

Through all of the anticipated uncertainty that comes with being a building administrator, I have
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learned it is critical for an administrator to listen before being reactive, to think critically, and be

proactive to serve as a visionary when implementing change.

Throughout my challenge project, I gained new insight on staff buy in and the differences

in how people can act in different situations. From my challenge project, I learned there are four

different staff personality types. The first type of staff member is the person who is open for

anything and everything. This person serves as a cheerleader and staff enthusiast, excited for any

challenge. The second type of staff member is one who will silently participate in building

initiatives and do as he or she is asked, without being vocal about doing so. This staff member

wont raise opposition, even though he or she may not be on board with the initiative. The third

type of staff member is one who will question everything and be skeptical of any areas of

change. This person may exhibit partial participation but will be very vocal on their lack of

support or all of the reasons why the particular event or initiative will not work and should not be

done. This person can be the most detrimental to staff because they often have the loudest voice.

Individuals in general tend to love skepticism and if not buying into a particular cause can save

someone else time or energy, than there is an even greater opportunity for the lack of buy in. The

last type of staff member I have encountered is the person who does not feel the need to be a

team player or buy in to school initiatives; however, this person will do so silently. They do not

feel encouraged to spread negativity because they do not enjoy or feel the need to collaborate

with other staff members. This person operates more so on an island and does his or her own

thing, without influencing others.

In noticing staff members can be put into one of these four categories, I have reflected on

this insight to realize a staff is always going to be composed of people with these similar

personalities. There is no such thing as inheriting a perfect staff as a building principal;

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however, effective principals use the knowledge they have to alter the direction of their sails. In

rolling out a new initiative, I would form a committee that contained all four personality types.

For example, as an effective building principal, all four personality roles can be utilized to

maximize staff support for building directives. First, the cheerleaders need to be identified. This

type of positive energy should not go unnoticed; staff members need to recognized for going the

extra mile to support and participate in new directives. The silent staff member that will

participant, without raising opposition needs to be given a voice so that he or she can take

ownership in the initiative. The staff member who questions everything could serve as a positive

impact on the committee. In hearing negativity from this staff member as to how others might

respond, the committee could anticipate this feedback and make the necessary changes before

presenting to staff. If this staff member was given a voice, he or she may not raise such

opposition. The staff member who silently chooses not participate may need encouragement.

Being a part of a committee may serve as a catalyst for change in their thinking. Support should

be offered and provided so all staff members feel as if they can be successful in their

responsibilities.

Shifts in Thinking

I used to think support was as simple as backing ones staff and presenting to family

members and the community that staff and administration are on the same team essentially. Now,

I think support is multi-dimensional. It is not as easy to say that support is backing a teacher in a

situation, and not being supportive is taking the side of the parents. I also have a newfound

appreciation for the role of an administrative because I never considered how strong the

relationship between a parent and administrator is, and the importance of a principal to be the
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middleman between the parents, the teacher and the students. Coming from the perspective of a

classroom teacher, I previously looked at a teachers role of being the direct contact person

between students and family members. After the multitude of guest speakers throughout this

course, I can now better understand how different involved and invested parents versus

uninvolved parents may view their own role in their childs educational journey. Both scenarios

can have lasting effects on the education happenings within the walls of a classroom.

I used to think students and teachers played the largest role in a principals allocation of

time; however, now I understand the large role parents can take in a principals day. Of course

this is largely dependent on school population and parental involvement, but before my

internship I did not realize how many parent meetings my administrator has each day. Whether

meetings are scheduled or not, it seems like on any given day parents are stopping by and

dropping in to informally talk with him, pulling him away from his day to day duties. In addition,

due to the nature of my building and its location within a subdivision, many parents come inside

the building for pick-up and drop off. Although this may seem like an easy task, handled

primarily by the office secretaries, during these times there is a high volume of traffic within the

building. My building principal is visible during these high traffic times, allowing for parents to

feel the opportunity to meet with him about their students, teacher or curriculum concerns, and

after school activities. I believe it is important for him to be visible during these high traffic

times; however, I understand how this can completely alter his day. Due to many unforeseen

events such as parent meetings, it is difficult to circulate throughout the building and be present

for staff and students.

During my internship, I had the opportunity to play the role of acting principal on

multiple occasions. One aspect of serving as acting principal that greatly surprised me was how
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frequently teachers called the office for administrative support due to student behavior. Hardy

Elementary is unique in the fact that it houses the Blue Hall, comprised of students with severe

cognitive and emotional challenges. These students are often mainstreamed to general education

classes without paraprofessional support. This places a large responsibility on the general

education teacher of meeting the needs of all students and teaching the planned lesson, given

unforeseen circumstances as these students can often act out in a violent manner. As a 5th grade

teacher, often by the time these students are mainstreamed within my classroom, their violent

behaviors are more controlled. Previously, I had not stopped to think about how these students

behaved or functioned as part of a first or second grade classroom. In my time as acting

principal, multiple kindergarten and first grade teachers needed support due to violent or

oppositional student behaviors. The amount of time I spent meeting with students and helping

students manage behaviors was quite eye opening. As a building principal, I am not sure there is

a perfect system when dealing with these very special situations; however, I am not sure the

administrator should be the first point person. Due to the complexity of the job, and the multiple

areas and places an administrator is pulled and stretched throughout the day, I believe it would be

most effective if the social worker or a paraprofessional with CPI training was first called to the

scene. If additional support was needed, the building administrator should most definitely be

called upon. Becoming too reliant on a building principal to handle extreme student behavior

issues seems worrisome, as an administrator is often out of the building for mandated principal

and curriculum meetings. When these situations arise, they need to be handled immediately to

ensure the safety of all students, and that the issue doesnt escalate any further. A team of first

responders should be identified and properly trained so all parties are familiar with protocol

when needed.
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Key Questions

As I learn more about the role of an administrator, the more questions arise. It is no doubt

a balancing act in juggling the multitude of parties involved, their belief systems and perspective

of the education system.

One of the first questions I struggle with in learning more about district policies, is how

to balance the direction Central Office may be pulling or pushing onto a school and ones own

mission and vision as a principal. As a building principal, I would bring to my school a vision,

my own philosophy on educational practices and a few non-negotiables. Throughout this

internship, I have seen the control and power Central Office can have on the schools within the

district. Although I appreciate the curriculum and resources provided, and do believe the best

interests of students are intended with the creation of common assessments, I wonder what room

this leaves for an administrator to control and influence staff as an instructional coach. I believe

teachers know the students in front of them better than those working in an administration

building creating curriculum. I also believe the principal should be able to influence teaching

practices within his or her building, given their knowledge of student population and student

needs. There is no one size fits all educational curriculum, making it difficult for Central Office

to create mandates for all schools within the district. I struggle with this balance and wonder how

much creativity and freedom administrators are allowed to truly make the school their own.

Additionally, the internship has left me to question school finances and how money can

be allocating amongst classrooms and teachers in the most equitable manner. As part of my

challenge project in cultivating a school wide March is Reading Month initiative, my

administrator used school funds to buy all students a March is Reading Month t-shirt. I was

surprised with his generosity in the purchase of shirts for all students, due to the size and cost of
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the purchase. With this surprise, my principal spoke with me briefly about the budget and

funding and how funding is allocating based on need. In this conversation, I learned our school

budget is larger than I expected and a high percentage of funds go unused from year to year. This

opened my eyes to the idea it never hurts to ask for additional classroom funds because there

may be money available to support classroom initiatives, new book club books, mentor texts,

science lab materials, etc. I am also left to wonder how additional funds, if applicable can be best

distributed based on need and interest, while striving to create the most equitable situation for all.

The PTO at my school plays a prominent role in after school events and activities. If funds are

available, I believe students receiving free and reduced lunch should be allowed to attend after

school events for free. The obstacle of needing a ride home from the event is already a deterrent

for these students, prohibiting many from attending. I would like to balance funding to eliminate

the financial obstacle for students in hopes of greater participation from low income students at

after school activities.

The final question I am left to wrestle with is the balance an administrator must place

between work and ones own personal life. Throughout the internship we have listened to guest

speakers speak on the challenges and demands of the job, as well as the affect the job has had on

ones personal and family life. I understand the job is one with indefinite hours and at times I am

sure it feels as if one can never walk away. I hope to find this balance because although it may

seem like jumping all in and fully and completely dedicating oneself to ones job may be the best

solution in being the most effective administrator, I truly believe in order to be effective it is

important to have a balance between ones work and personal life.

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Summary

This internship has opened my eyes to all of the inner workings of school administration

that are not obvious at first glance. I am more conscious of a principals responsibility to

facilitate multiple personalities on staff, to placing the right people in the right seats on the bus.

Although near impossible for every person to be satisfied with building policies, playing towards

individual strengths can maximize the overall productivity and work satisfaction for all

employees. In addition, I have a greater understanding of the tight schedule a building principal

must operate in order to achieve basic day to day duties. Regardless of the schedule one has

planned for him or herself, parents and student behaviors can dictate any pre-established

schedule. In most cases, these requests or calls of action must be taken care of immediately and

cannot be pushed to the side and be dealt with at another time. As a building principal, I have

learned there is no way to prepare for the unknown, or to know what each day will hold. Each

day will be unique and different. With a guiding set of principles, values and non-negotiables,

one can find clarity and reassurance in all decision making and procedures.