Professional Standards for Educational Leaders
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Artifact 1.3 - Focused Learning Community Video
Focused Learning is an essential piece in the learning cycle for Ellsworth High School. Each day, the flexible learning period provides opportunities for students and teachers to be successful within a standards-based educational system. Having parents "on board" with focused Learning helps students find value in seeking additional help from teachers within the school day. In addition, the community is a critical stakeholder in expanding the enrichments of Focused Learning. The video is posted on the EHS Facebook page to help communicate the purpose of Focused Learning with parents and community members. |
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Standard 2: Ethics and Professional Norms
Artifact 2.3 - STEM Academy Professional Learning Community
Professional Learning Communities (PLC) occur weekly on Friday from 1:30 - 3:00. During this time, the STEM Academy group meets to review past work and finalize the STEM Academy for Ellsworth High School. The goal of the STEM Academy is to be able to present to the curriculum subcommittee in January of 2022. As the co-chair of the committee, I am responsible for posting agendas, establishing protocols, and keeping the professional norms of our group. The group consists of 16 science, math, and physical education department members. The full committee has been divided into subcommittees to finalize the portfolio, 10th-grade experience, and internship.
Artifact 4.3 - Budget
As the Science Department head, I oversee the department's budget development, submission, and approval process. The Science department's budget is approximately $26,000 for supplies and textbooks, with an additional $4,500 for professional development. It is my responsibility to vet the needs of the science teachers and develop a budget that includes all required equipment, supplies, and textbooks and does not include excess costs. In addition, I meet with the department to create department-wide needs and purchase the bulk of common supplies to reduce costs. Finally, throughout the school year, it is my responsibility to approve all expenses and verify we have not exceeded any budget lines; to assist with this, I have created a spreadsheet viewable by all department members and the finance secretary to track requisitions ensure we do not overspend. Science Department Budget Spreadsheet
Professional Learning Communities (PLC) occur weekly on Friday from 1:30 - 3:00. During this time, the STEM Academy group meets to review past work and finalize the STEM Academy for Ellsworth High School. The goal of the STEM Academy is to be able to present to the curriculum subcommittee in January of 2022. As the co-chair of the committee, I am responsible for posting agendas, establishing protocols, and keeping the professional norms of our group. The group consists of 16 science, math, and physical education department members. The full committee has been divided into subcommittees to finalize the portfolio, 10th-grade experience, and internship.
Artifact 4.3 - Budget
As the Science Department head, I oversee the department's budget development, submission, and approval process. The Science department's budget is approximately $26,000 for supplies and textbooks, with an additional $4,500 for professional development. It is my responsibility to vet the needs of the science teachers and develop a budget that includes all required equipment, supplies, and textbooks and does not include excess costs. In addition, I meet with the department to create department-wide needs and purchase the bulk of common supplies to reduce costs. Finally, throughout the school year, it is my responsibility to approve all expenses and verify we have not exceeded any budget lines; to assist with this, I have created a spreadsheet viewable by all department members and the finance secretary to track requisitions ensure we do not overspend. Science Department Budget Spreadsheet
Standard 3: Equity and Cultural ResponsivenessArtifact 4.1 - Vision of a Graduate
The vision of a graduate was an improvement area highlighted in our NEASC visit of 2018. The vision of the graduate was developed over the 2019 school year and was refined by the department heads. Recently, the vision of the graduate was reviewed by the department head for a final reading. The NEASC visit is in December of 2021. Artifact 2.2 - STEM Student Survey Stakeholders are an essential component in the development of new curriculum or programs within a school. Therefore, the STEM Academy has to include the input of the student body. I developed a quick student survey that would have provided a focus for the STEM Academy. The survey was reviewed and edited by the STEM Academy committee. The final survey was approved by the administration and sent out to the freshmen class. The focus survey will allow the STEM Academy committee to gauge students' interest in STEM careers and troubleshoot the internship transportation concern. Survey Results Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction, and AssessmentArtifact 2.1 - STEM Academy Pathways
As part of the STEM Academy development, graduation pathways were developed to help students focus on academic classes within their area of interest in STEM careers. These pathways are designed to assist students in developing their Plan of Study (a requirement for the STEM Academy) during their sophomore year. The pathway highlights choices that students have for their Junior and Senior year. I designed the one-page overview of STEM Pathways to showcase all of the possible options in one place. This document would only be one tool used by students, and parents, to learn about the STEM Academy. The pathway was reviewed by the STEM Academy committee and edited. Then the STEM subgroup presented the document to guidance, HCTC, and the curriculum coordinator for review. Feedback was given, and the STEM Academy committee adjusted the pathway; the administration has reviewed and approved the final version. Artifact 1.1 - New Teacher Focused Learning Training Focused Learning is an essential part of the learning cycle at EHS. The Focused Learning block occurs each day; all students and all teachers are available during this time. In addition, Focused Learning is part of our RTI program, and we use the Edyousched app to "tag" students to work on Interventions, Extensions, or Enrichments. New teachers are trained on the purpose of Focused Learning, how to use the app, and we discuss different scenarios for interventions, extensions, and enrichments. The professional development is a 45 minutes session for new teachers. Focused Learning is reviewed during the opening day faculty meeting, and the yearly priority schedule is distributed to the staff. Standard 5: Community of Care and Support for Students
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Standard 6: Professional Capacity of School PersonnelArtifact 1.1 - New Teacher Focused Learning Training
After completing the new teacher training for Focused Learning (see Standard 4), the teachers completed a feedback survey. The survey evaluated their understanding of Focused Learning and the professional development that I presented. Survey Results Artifact 2.3 - STEM Academy Professional Learning Community Professional Learning Communities (PLC) occur weekly on Friday from 1:30 - 3:00. During this time, the STEM Academy group meets to review past work and finalize the STEM Academy for Ellsworth High School. The goal of the STEM Academy is to be able to present to the curriculum subcommittee in January of 2022. As the co-chair of the committee, I am responsible for posting agendas, establishing protocols, and keeping the professional norms of our group. The group consists of 16 science, math, and physical education department members. The full committee has been divided into subcommittees to finalize the portfolio, 10th-grade experience, and internship. Standard 7: Professional Capacity for Teachers and Staff
These other responsibilities cause inequity among the departments. The number of teachers per department does not have to be equal to be fair or balanced; it should be based on the number of students per teacher, the number of preps (including additional time in science and visual performing arts), and the amount of grading and student feedback that is required of the teacher. However, getting additional personal is difficult during these unprecedented times, but schools can make changes to help with the balance. It does need to be noted that we can not eliminate inequality or ever reach a true balance of roles, responsibilities, or duties due to the nature of a school and the educational system. With that understanding, we do need to strive to reach a point to maximize the equity within a school.
A change to the bell schedule is one place to create more balance and slow down the school day. Currently, we have an issue with the number of students per lunch, some teachers on a team and some teaching six classes, and not having enough required class slots in the master schedule. The block schedule addresses these concerns and provides balance and flexibility to the overall schedule. Artifact 5.1 - Balancing Teacher Equity in Shared Schools - (Mock Middle School)
Changing the status quo or reevaluating a system is challenging because there are multiple pieces to each puzzle. The most foundational change that can directly impact inequity is the daily schedule. Therefore, logistics is a critical component of any educational system. It can also provide a time for reworking and exploring different approaches to learning experiences. In combined schools, especially in a rural areas, there is often a sharing of teachers between grade levels. Especially the sharing of special teachers (art, music, P.E., etc.), and often these teachers are faced with having to travel between schools, work with a more significant number of individual students weekly compared to core teachers, less prep time, and are less likely to be able to communicate effectively. The system in place causes inequity for these teachers. Often this inequity is ignored because it is the "traditional ideas" or status quo. But what should not be overlooked is that this inequity directly impacts student learning, student-teacher relationships, and student behavior. West Shores Elementary-Middle School is a fictional school. The West Shores Middle School is looking for a change in the daily schedule to include new components and balance inequity of teaching responsibilities. The document presented highlights the parameters of a new schedule and explains the decisions made to meet these parameters. The most significant decision to highlight is the change in specials. The former schedule had specials occurring once or twice weekly. Art, Music, Language and Culture, and Health met once a week and had 36 classes per year. Physical Education met twice a week with 72 classes per year. Students also went to the library once a week. The specials run on a nine-week module (excluding P.E. and Health) in the updated plan, resulting in 45 classes in a year. Students have P.E. and Health in a combination of 3/1 or 2/2 weekly to total 45 Health classes within the year. The module system changes the teachers' student load from 176 middle school students weekly to 60 students. Note that these teachers (except for P.E.) still work with additional students in the elementary school, which is also adopting the module system, for a total of 90 students weekly. Schedule Rationale Document - Schedule .xls File |
Standard 8: Meaningful Engagement of Families and CommunityArtifact 5.1 Curriculum Showcase
The purpose of the Curriculum Showcase is to provide students with equal access and opportunities to learn about their educational options. In addition, the showcase will support the development of transparency across all academic content. The showcase is still in development and is planned for early March of 2022. Artifact 1.3 - Focused Learning Community Video Focused Learning is an essential piece in the learning cycle for Ellsworth High School. Each day, the flexible learning period provides opportunities for students and teachers to be successful within a standards-based educational system. Having parents "on board" with focused Learning helps students find value in seeking additional help from teachers within the school day. In addition, the community is a critical stakeholder in expanding the enrichments of Focused Learning. The video is posted on the EHS Facebook page to help communicate the purpose of Focused Learning with parents and community members. Standard 9: Operations and ManagementArtifact 4.2 - Department Head
Department Head meetings are held weekly, and these meetings are used to increase communication between the administration and staff. Topics of concern, policies, school issues, and updates from district A-team meetings are discussed during Department Head meetings. In addition, minutes are sent out to the departments via e-mail by each department head, and follow questions are addressed. During the meetings, questions are asked, and all parties can provide input on solutions. In addition, the open forum allows for department heads to bring up concerns, and often, there is overlap with other departments of an issue. Artifact 4.3 - Budget As the Science Department head, I oversee the department's budget development, submission, and approval process. The Science department's budget is approximately $26,000 for supplies and textbooks, with an additional $4,500 for professional development. It is my responsibility to vet the needs of the science teachers and develop a budget that includes all required equipment, supplies, and textbooks and does not include excess costs. In addition, I meet with the department to create department-wide needs and purchase the bulk of common supplies to reduce costs. Finally, throughout the school year, it is my responsibility to approve all expenses and verify we have not exceeded any budget lines; to assist with this, I have created a spreadsheet viewable by all department members and the finance secretary to track requisitions ensure we do not overspend. Science Department Budget Spreadsheet Standard 10: School Improvement Artifact 2.2 - STEM Student Survey
Stakeholders are an essential component in the development of new curriculum or programs within a school. Therefore, the STEM Academy has to include the input of the student body. I developed a quick student survey that would have provided a focus for the STEM Academy. The survey was reviewed and edited by the STEM Academy committee. The final survey was approved by the administration and sent out to the freshmen class. The focus survey will allow the STEM Academy committee to gauge students' interest in STEM careers and troubleshoot the internship transportation concern. Survey Results Artifact 5.0/5.1 - Systematic Equity Change Slowing down the pace of the school day and reducing transition is a small step to helping improve student (and teacher) stability. Block scheduling allows students to spend more time developing connections and understandings in one moment. Students focus on fewer classes per day, which reduces daily responsibilities. Many different teaching styles, chunking techniques, and instructional practices help teachers teach within a block schedule. The block schedule will allow all teachers to be on a team, have a prep, and teach six classes, which will balance the number of students in each class. Purposed New Bell Schedule West Shores Elementary-Middle School is a fictional school. The West Shores Middle School is looking for a change in the daily schedule to include new components and balance inequity of teaching responsibilities. The document presented highlights the parameters of a new schedule and explains the decisions made to meet these parameters. The change in specials causes the schedule to allow for Team Time between grade level teachers. The teachers will meet as a group to discuss student needs and concerns. Grade level teachers will also use this team time to plan for students' STEM and Humanities Problem-Based Learning experiences. In addition, to team time, teachers have a daily prep. West Shores Elementary-Middle School has adopted Professional Learning Communities; there is an early dismissal on Fridays at 1:00. The PLC time provides teachers, grade levels, and the school time to focus on curriculum development, social-learning development, the reflection on STEM and Humanities Problem Based Learning experiences, and district goals. West Shores Elementary-Middle School has recently upgraded its library to include additional technology resources and a collaborative learning environment. The West Shores Middle School new schedule needs to include opportunities for students to utilize the new space and support student-directed learning. The inclusion of Problem-Based Learning experiences will allow students to explore personal learning goals and work collaboratively with their peers. - Schedule Rationale Document. - Schedule .xls File |