1. To return to a building-level principalship in a public school setting
2. To effectively observe and direct improvement in teachers and building leaders
3. To influence curriculum and pacing decisions on a large scale
1. To lead a school to National Blue Ribbon School status
Achieving My Short-Term Goals
Having achieved a position as a director in a public school, I have learned that my drive and my energy are fueled by school leaderships. Returning to school leadership will not mean a return to “what it was like before.” School leadership has changed and that change has opened the doors to new opportunities for achievement in both students and staff.
My goal of effective evaluation and improvement of teachers and leaders can be met only through continued practice. Though I have had the chance to experience the evaluation process through my administrative work and have come to appreciate that truly effective supervision is a skill that can only be honed through meaningful interaction with peers and staff. This is an on-going goal and one that continues to evolve and one in which I enjoy my own growth.
The influence of curriculum and pacing is near to my heart. I have enjoyed working in curriculum design as part of my administrative experiences, and as a veteran teacher. The analysis of SOLs (through blueprints, scope and sequence documents, pacing guides, and released tests items) has also been a process of great personal interest, and I believe that I have a great deal to offer in terms of what to teach and how to teach it. The improvement of assessment instruments goes hand-in-hand with making curriculum and pacing decisions. Effective assessment can improve teaching. Ineffective assessment weighs down instruction and makes the classroom a tedious, anxious place. As we become more and more immersed in SOL achievement, the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the VLA, the changing math and science standards, and other forms of accountability, effective assessment will become vital in preparing students (and teachers) to meet their professional expectations.
Achieving My Long-Term Goals
When I started the ODU Principal Preparation Program, I was not sure I had any interest in becoming a building principal or central office administrator. I learned otherwise as I participated in that program. I became aware that I welcomed the challenge of leadership, of inspiring others. After I achieved a position as an assistant principal I saw the hard work and endless hours required of building principals. I saw principals have to shift gears repeatedly between budget concerns, personnel matters, instructional questions, testing issues, parent and stakeholder calls and emails, cafeteria questions, building-use concerns, school board inquiries, media questions, and student concerns. Then, in a few years, I found myself saying, “now that I’m a principal” in conversations with peers and supervisors.
If being a principal is, as I believe, truly about leading a school and all its stakeholders to success, one of the pinnacles of that success is national recognition of the school and its programs. I not only believe that such recognition is possible for Sunnyside Elementary, I believe Sunnyside to be in an outstanding position to undertake the process for such recognition.