Part E: Course Benchmarks
EDUC 545 School Law
According to ILLSC standard 3, a school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment. ISLLC also states in standard 6 that, a school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context. I have a better knowledge of both of these as I worked through my benchmark project for Educational Law.
I was fortunate to work on my legal entanglement project at a time when my state was making history by the enacting of a new state law, Virginia House Bill 58. With this new law, school divisions are required to revamp their AUPs (acceptable use policies) to include a component on Internet safety. The law also requires that the school division educate the public as well as the students. The teeth of this new bill come when the state has declared that the public school can be held liable if any student is found to be a victim or a perpetrator of an Internet based crime, even if this happens on a home computer, unless the school can document that it has followed the requirements of the new law.
One of the biggest hindrances that I came across in helping my division with the beginning stages of this new law was in “selling” the need to adhere to the law to the teachers. Virginia teachers, like in so many other states, have stressful testing responsibilities. One more “thing on their plates” was hard to digest. As I worked through this course, I gathered knowledge that helped me not only with my future as an administrator, but also as a teacher leader in the present.
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Grade earned: 100
EDUC 546 School-Community Relations
ISLLC Standard 4 says that 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. Educators sometimes are content to let parents and families take the initiative in becoming involved in their children’s education. But for a real partnership to occur, educators must look at ways in which the school can initiate this involvement. In such a partnership, the school and the home share responsibility for children’s learning; the relationship is based on mutual respect and acknowledgment of the assets and expertise of each member. As an extension of this partnership, schools can emphasize a broad base of community involvement. When schools develop and implement strategies for promoting effective school-family-community relationships the result is improved learning for all students and strengthened schools, families, and communities.
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Grade earned: 100
EDUC 548 School Finance and Management
ILLSC standard 3, a school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment. ISLLC also states in standard four. 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. These two standards were considered as I completed my benchmark project for School Finance and Management.
I will admit that I was frightened of this course. I am not strong in mathematical concepts but I did thoroughly enjoy working on this benchmark. We were asked to complete a thorough review of a budgetary program in our division. In my division, two of our seven elementary schools were considered at risk due to the poverty level of their students. These two schools qualified for Reading First grants. Although I was not a proponent of Reading First, I did come to see that the extra money was used appropriately to have a positive impact on the testing scores of the students in both these schools.
A school leader knows and understands that there is a difference between equity and equality. The students in the two at risk schools benefited from the extra money that this grant provided.
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Grade earned: 100
Benchmark Project: program_review
EDUC 640 School Administration
ILLSC standard 1, a school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community. Also, ISLLC states in standard 2, 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. During my work on my benchmark project for School Administration, I kept these standards in mind.
It’s important for a leader to have a vision and to strive to have all stakeholders buy into this vision. Too, as the organization grows and progresses, the vision needs to adapt and change. I work as a mentor teacher in my division. As I was working on this project, my division was revising its six year plan. I used my benchmark project to assist first year teachers to understand their place in our division as teacher leaders.
This course was very interesting! In our division we are taught to reflect. This course gave much insight into the reasons behind the way different administrators work based on their philosophy of management. It was almost like looking into the reflections of others.
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Grade earned: 100
Benchmark assignment-School Improvement Plan : sip
EDUC 641 Supervision of Instruction
Action Research: Observation Cycle
A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth. Guiding teachers’ instruction is a major component of an administrator who is the master teacher in the school.
I have the opportunity to work often in collaborating with teachers, both beginning professionals and veterans.
As a mentor teacher, I meet weekly with new teachers to help them reflect on their practice and to move this practice forward. The primary purpose of our mentor program is to assist and support new teachers as they enter the teaching profession and to advance their skills and knowledge in relation to the Virginia Standards for the Teaching Profession. This collaborative model focuses on improving classroom practice and on developing reflective teachers who are responsive to the diverse cultural, social and linguistic backgrounds of all students.
As a differentiation coach, I meet with veteran teachers to improve student achievement by incorporating differentiated instruction. There is a belief that since no two students are the same, teachers automatically differentiate instructed. This is not always the case; differentiated instruction is not intuitive. In Amherst, we use the Understanding By Design model to help teachers think about what the big idea is behind the concepts being taught. We collaborate together to understand what the standards want from the students. Together we plan pre-assessments to determine the needs of the students. Finally we choose respectful tasks that will allow students to meet the demands of the standard.
I used the experience of being a mentor and a differentiation coach in meeting the requirements of my benchmark for this class.
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Grade Earned: 100
Self-Evaluation
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Part E. Course Benchmark Assignments – Candidate Self-Evaluation |
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Rate each Benchmark Assignment on its preparatory value. 3-Excellent Preparatory 2-Good Preparatory 1- Somewhat Preparatory 0-No Connection |
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EDUC 545 School Law Preventive Measures Presentation
A. Skill: 3 B. Knowledge: 3 C: Disposition: 3
I was a little afraid I would be overwhelmed with all the facts and dates that I would have to remember. I discovered that I truly loved school law.
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Rate the Benchmark Assignment on its preparatory development. A. Skill 3 2 1 0 B. Knowledge 3 2 1 0 C. Disposition 3 2 1 0
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EDUC 546 School-Community Relations Personal Improvement Plan
Skill: 3 Knowledge: 3 Disposition: 3
I was very proud of my community relations plan. The principal of the school was very willing for me to put this into action.
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Rate the Benchmark Assignment on its preparatory development. A. Skill 3 2 1 0 B. Knowledge 3 2 1 0 C. Disposition 3 2 1 0
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EDUC 548 School Finance and Management Program Proposal
Skill: 3 Knowledge: 3 Disposition: 3
I was terrified of this course. Money and finance are not my specialty. I surprised myself by how well I did in this course.
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Rate the Benchmark Assignment on its preparatory development. A. Skill 3 2 1 0 B. Knowledge 3 2 1 0 C. Disposition 3 2 1 0
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EDUC 640 School Administration School Improvement Plan
Skill: 3 Knowledge: 3 Disposition: 3
This course was my favorite! I learned a lot about myself and my goals for the future.
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Rate the Benchmark Assignment on its preparatory development. A. Skill 3 2 1 0 B. Knowledge 3 2 1 0 C. Disposition 3 2 1 0
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EDUC 641 Supervision of Instruction Action Research: Observation Cycle
Skill: 3 Knowledge: 3 Disposition: 3
This course reminded me that the building administrator is the lead educator of the building.
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Rate the Benchmark Assignment on its preparatory development. A. Skill 3 2 1 0 B. Knowledge 3 2 1 0 C. Disposition 3 2 1 0
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EDUC 699 Internship Exit Portfolio
Skill: 3 Knowledge: 3 Disposition: 3
I was excited to discover that I could truly put the knowledge I gained in courses into practice. While working on my portfolio, I had the opportunity to reflect on the past two and a half years.
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Rate the Benchmark Assignment on its preparatory development. A. Skill 3 2 1 0 B. Knowledge 3 2 1 0 C. Disposition 3 2 1 0
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