As I complete my first year as an Assistant Principal, I believe it important to reflect on my experiences in what I will term The 5 Frames of Educational Leadership -Leadership, Finance, Law, Curriculum, and Technology.  I have found my first year as an AP to be stimulating, relevant and fulfilling.  I am fortunate to be surrounded by a strong and supportive administrative team, quality teachers, support staff and outstanding students!

            

The Leadership frame is the most interesting to me, because I believe it encompasses the other four frames.  I enjoy reading books on leadership and have benefited from outstanding authors such as, Collins, Fullan, Barth, Hoerr, Whitaker @ToddWhitaker, Senge, Welch, Covey @StephenRCovey, Thomas-El @Principal_El, Bolman, Deal and all our Forefathers.  My 11 years in administration (10 as Athletic Director/1 as AP) have taught me that effective leadership is primarily about developing relationships.  A sense of respect may be fostered through honest and open dialogue amongst leaders and between them and their colleagues, students, staff and parents.  To lead a successful school, I believe we must lead by example.  My philosophy as a leader is to never ask a teacher, staff, or student to do something that I, myself, have not done or am willing to do.  Setting high expectations is also vital as a leader, and something I do myself, and expect of our staff, students, parents and community – you don’t get to be the best by shooting for the Bronze.  Finally, I believe in treating schools as a “Home away from Home” with discussions shifting from mine to ours and from them to us.  This includes discussions about students, school & community. Lincoln put it best when he stated “a house divided against itself cannot stand” – enough said!

            

Educational Finance is a matter of personal responsibility.  As administrators, we are entrusted large amounts of tax payers’ hard earned money to make sound decisions, which will positively affect student learning.  I believe we should make financial decisions based on a set of “core values.”  It is clear to me that maintaining quality teachers is my highest priority when considering budget.  I received excellent advice from the Plymouth Public Schools’ former Business Manager Bob Gurek, who was quick to impress on me the importance of examining the budget as a “dollar representation of the cost of delivery of goods and services”.     He described a scenario to make his point:  “when I go home to my wife I can tell her we just cut 1 million dollars – let’s have a drink, or I can go home to my wife and tell her we just cut 6 teachers, 8 aides, 2 administrators and the new math and science programs – let’s have a drink”.  Obviously when expressed in the latter scenario, cuts take on a new meaning, which makes people think.  Acting responsibly, basing financial decisions on core values, and presenting your financial decisions with conviction allow you to make responsible decisions that will improve student achievement.

            

Living in such a litigious society has given me cause for concern when embarking on an administrative career. Educational Law is constantly changing and being tested in court.  It is imperative for me as an administrator to know the laws that effect schools, while paying close attention to relevant case studies and new laws.  I believe that you’re only as good as the people around you.  Being part of a strong administrative and legal team who are sound in knowledge of laws will decrease chances of liability, while honoring student and staff rights.  When faced with a decision that involves educational law, I do my homework and collaborate with colleagues before rushing to judgment.  It is wise to live by the words of my former law professor Dr. T.C. Mattocks when he said “don’t do anything that will put you on the right side of the v.”

            

Curriculum and instruction are considered the heart and soul of education.  I am a firm believer in the Richard DuFour model that states “we need to switch from a culture of teaching to one of learning.” I believe strongly that the individual teacher is the most powerful contributor to student learning.  A strong curriculum is one that challenges students to think critically.  The basic skills of literacy should be emphasized in curriculum.  We could strengthen curriculums by simply providing teachers common planning time to share best practices, and develop curriculum as a team.  I am competitive by nature and after reading the book “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, I realized that the American children in our classroom now have to compete against an aggressive world job market - this motivated me!  Our curriculum needs to change as our world changes.  It is apparent that our curriculum and instruction and our mode for teaching it need to be re-evaluated to keep up with the rest of the world.  In today’s education we are constantly trying to close the gap between our highest achieving and lowest achieving students.  I am concerned that there is a second gap not garnishing enough attention, and that is the gap between America’s best and brightest students, and the rest of the worlds.  As an administrator, I plan on scrutinizing our schools’ curriculum, focusing on the importance of literacy and skill development which will prepare our students for the new global economy.

            

Technology has become a primary player in our global economy, our schools and our homes.  We must view technology as a tool to enhance student learning and teacher/administrator professional development.  As Tom Whitby @tomwhitby so eloquently put it in a recent post on twitter “Social Media should be part of PD to enable educator’s connections with other educators to end isolationism and maintain relevance”.  We need to expand learning beyond our school borders.  I personally was able to expand my Professional Learning Network (PLN) through a conference presentation by tech ninja and respected Principal Patrick Larkin @bhsprincipal.  I have never learned so much professionally as I have on Twitter and starting my own blog.  If I am able to learn so much in such a short amount of time, our kids and teachers can do even more.  Through consistent and structured professional development, our teachers will feel comfortable with current trends in technology and model its use for our students. 

Technology needs to be a core value instituted and modeled by administration if teachers are to buy in.  That means money, training, supplies and curriculum need to support technology.  Because technology is constantly changing at a rapid pace, an effective administrator needs to follow technological trends and base the implementation of technology on the schools’ core values.

My administrative philosophy is simply based on a relentless work ethic, respect for self and others, love of children and discipline.  Relentless work ethic: I am a committed and passionate employee who enjoys my job, arriving early and staying late – you never become the best by being average.  Respect: I believe that people will follow you if they respect you.  Love:  A value sometimes lost in today’s world of education.  I love children and all my decisions are based on how I would want my own child treated in any situation.  Discipline: I would never ask a teacher or student to do anything I have not done or am doing.  I believe discipline should be fair, consistent and administered immediately.  In conclusion, leaders of the 21^stCentury need to have a vision, work collaboratively with stakeholders to work towards that vision, and provide opportunities for every child to succeed.