Leadership Platform 1

Leadership Platform

Christina Sanchez

California State San Marcos

EDAD 620

Mark Reardon
Leadership Platform 2

As a prospective administrator and lifelong learner, I heavily rely on research-based, best

practices. I couple these practices with my experience in education, as a person of color, a

woman, and student. Becoming an effective leader requires many tenets. As I prepare myself for

the journey ahead, there are certain principles I would like to bring with me. I want to be an

administrator who leads with cultural proficiency, who motivates my staff and students, and

promotes academic excellence through instructional leadership.

Cultural Proficiency

Right now we need effective leaders who are willing to represent the whole of a

community. In order for a leader to be effective, they will need to build a framework that is

inclusive and culturally proficient. Our leaders need to acknowledge, respect, and adequately

accommodate all cultures. Leaders need to be well informed about all cultures, including the

historically oppressed cultures and the systems that continually perpetuate it.

Cultural proficiency is a way of life in which people, or an organization, are able to

interact with one another effectively, regardless of cultural differences. Culturally proficient

individuals are able to teach others about how to communicate with other cultures respectfully.

Cultural proficiency allows people to recognize and embrace difference gracefully.

Many administrators and teachers are not adequately accommodating the needs of these

students due to internal biases and a lack of awareness. In order to achieve cultural proficiency

schools must develop a framework that includes identifying and removing barriers, developing

guiding principles, using a continuum, and creating and abiding by essential elements of cultural

competence (Lindsey, 2009).

The barriers to cultural proficiency include systems of oppression, a sense of privilege

and entitlement, and the unawareness of the need to adapt (Lindsey, 2009). Lindsey introduces
Leadership Platform 3

the terms “dominant group” and “historically oppressed groups” to describe the people in power

and the disenfranchised (Lindsey, 2009).

“Cultural proficiency is a worldview that reflects a commitment to serving students in

unprecedented ways” (Lindsey, 2009). The four tools learned this week are complex and difficult

to address. However, these difficult conversations need to take place in order for change to

occur; all children need to be respected and given the opportunity to succeed.

As an administrator, I will work tirelessly to be the sturdy bridge between my school site

and the community. In order to do this, I will give parents the opportunity to voice their concerns

in a non-threatening atmosphere by inviting parents to monthly “Coffee with the Principal”

gatherings. In doing so, I hope to create a positive relationship with parents that fosters trust and

communication.

Instructional Leadership and Effectiveness

Instructional leaders exhibit two important behaviors: instructional ethos and

instructional actions. In regard to instructional ethos, teachers want their leaders to be

knowledgeable both in research and practice. Leaders should “emphasize the value of research-

based strategies” because teachers respect an approach that is built upon facts (Leithwood,

2012). This eliminates a personal preference based on the individual needs of a particular

principal. Instead principals set high standards for teachers within a framework that has proven

to work and yield great results. Furthermore, instructional actions help set these high standards.

When a principal knows what and how each teacher is teaching, they are able to work with that

teacher and help support them. Leithwood gave an example of a “high scoring” principal as

reviewing lesson plans and attending team meetings (Leithwood, 2012).

Leadership Platform 4

Leaders are accountable for how their school appears and the truth that exists behind it.

Moving Leadership Standards Into Everyday Work maintains that leaders must cultivate a

“Professional Learning Culture” (Kearney, 2015). A school’s culture should acknowledge staff

diversity and create an environment “that affirms staff members’ shared responsibility for

continuous learning” (Kearney, 2015).

In order for a leader to have a positive and professional learning culture, they need to lead

according to their school’s mission and vision and with the support and input from the staff

(Wallace, 2017). School culture and decision-making should be data driven, not “based on

assumptions” (2017). This should be a long-term and reflective process. When decisions are

made by a few, it can seem punitive and cause dysfunction (2017). Leaders must also begin by

“[assessing] their school culture” and then communicate with their staff by “[asking questions

and engaging in a dialogue]” (2017).

In order to achieve this goal, I would like to ensure that I am keeping current on all best

teaching practices. I will regularly observe my teachers, suggest professional developments for

struggling teachers and attend them alongside them to better support them, and continually meet

with teachers to review data and identify our needs.

Motivation

A positive climate breeds positive performance. A school leader influences teachers’

motivation by allowing them to be integral parts of the decision making process. The idea of

having a collective leadership, which strays away from a more hierarchical or autocratic

approach to leadership, brings about “high levels of influence by all levels or roles” (Leithwood,

2012, p.12-13). With this type of leadership, the employees’ beliefs and values are valued. In

addition to this they receive “an increased level of responsibility” (Leithwood, 2012, p.12-13).
Leadership Platform 5

Initiating a collective leadership model has proved to increase teacher motivation and teachers’

work settings, which in turn influences student achievement ( Leithwood, 2012, p.16).

In “Introduction to Educational Leadership & Organizational Behavior”, Chance

explained that people behave based on external stimuli or internal conditions. (Chance, 2009,

p.127) I understood this as, What can I do to motivate them? vs. What do they need? In reading

the theories by Maslow, Glasser, Herzberg, Vroom and about the Goal and Group theories, I was

able to get a wonderful perspective about these needs and what the implications are when they

are met and when they are not met. I thought of my students and how some of them do not have

the Physiological or Safety and Security needs as outlined in Maslow’s theory and how that will

affect their motivation in school (Chance, 2009, p. 131).

By employing the Motivation-Hygeine Theory, administrators use maintenance factors to

increase job performance. These factors include salary increase, class size reduction, job

security, etc.

Encouraging the Heart not only makes people feel validated and important, it increases

job performance. When people feel like they are valued, their confidence increases and they are

able to be creative and innovative. Everything is a learning process, and in understanding that

employees are continuously learning and adapting is part of the process of encouraging the heart.

Employees need set rules and goals to drive them. When they know what they are working

towards and the confines of their expectations, they are able to produce and achieve.

I will use my experience as a teacher to breed a positive and well-rounded climate for my

staff and students by treating everyone like they are the best. I will acknowledge the hard work

that I continue to see, and find the individual strengths in my teachers and help them use their

strengths to become better teachers.

Leadership Platform 6

Conclusion

I look forward to using what I have gained from this program to become a great leader. I

will need to continue to learn through observation. I plan on becoming an administrative intern to

allow myself the opportunity to witness various leaders in action. While I have learned so much,

I need to gather experience in the administrative field. I hope to see leaders going above and

beyond to include the differences of every student. I want to sit in on staff meetings where the

staff work effectively, collaboratively, and contentedly with one another. Lastly, I want to

understand what administrators do to improve test scores with their staff. Once I have

accumulated this experience I will feel ready to pursue my career in Educational Administration.
Leadership Platform 7

References

Chance, P. (2009). Introduction to Educational Leadership & Organizational Behavior. New

York, NY: Routledge.

Kearney, K. (2015). Moving leadership standards into everyday work: descriptions of practice.

San Francisco, CA: WestEd.

Leithwood, K. A., Louis, K. S., & Anderson, S. E. (2012). Linking leadership to student

learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lindsey, R. B., Robins, K. N., & Terrell, R. D. (2009). Cultural proficiency: a manual for school

leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Wallace, Stephanie (2017). Transforming School Culture [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from

https://cc.csusm.edu/course/view.php?id=10170