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1. I chose Instructional Leadership competency and Adult Learning. My TLI experience lead me to seeing the need for professional development that recognizes teacher leaders and utilizes their area of expertise. I collected data from the teachers within my school building asking what type of professional development they feel the would benefit from the most. I also polled my building population to see what their area of expertise is and if they would be willing to share it with other teachers. From the teacher survey, I gathered that all professionals want to be respected as adult learners that have a direct impact on student success. They want to enhance their professional development and want it to be targeted toward their specific needs. Teachers want to be viewed as professionals who want to grow and develop, but also have an area of expertise that they can share with others. They value their time. They want professional development that will directly impact their classroom and the student learning.

2. The diverse stakeholders for this project are the teaching Staff of Medicine Crow Middle School as well as the administration. The staff is comprised of approximately 60 teachers and support staff as well as a principal and associate principal. The teaching staff has anywhere from 1 year teaching experience to 35 years of teaching experience. Although the physical structure of our school is new, the collective experience from the staff is significant and diverse. All staff members of Medicine Crow Middle School were invited to take part in a Google Survey to specific feedback for my capstone.

3. Although our district provides professional development opportunities, teachers feel that they are not directly impacting their classroom and student learning. Teachers report that they have areas of expertise but would like mentorship or help in sharing it school wide. Teachers are professionals who need to be respected and supported as professionals. If we viewed teachers as professionals we would support and build up teacher leaders within our buildings. We would utilize their expertise to enhance the professional growth of others in the building as well as beyond the school building. I have a passion for teaching and a desire to continue to improve it. I want to support the excellence of other teachers and encourage them to lead.

4. Teachers must be constantly growing in their ability to engage effectively with diverse people and groups who are culturally different from them. My capstone seeks to collaborate purposefully among the stakeholders within our school. I want to create and support regular opportunities for stakeholders of all cultures to contribute their knowledge, skills, and perspectives in a variety of ways. Through monthly professional development, which will be targeted to their specific needs and designed to encourage growth, the teachers will be able to share their expertise.

5. Although our district provides professional development opportunities, teachers feel that they are not directly impacting their classroom and student learning. Teachers report that they have areas of expertise but would like mentorship or help in sharing it school wide. Starting in the 2019/2020 school year, our superintendent of Billings Public Schools, has given teachers the opportunity to seek out 18 hours of professional development of their choice. This allows teachers to find professional development opportunities that best fit their needs for professional growth.

6. My capstone would identify and promote colleagues who would be good mentors and leaders. Then, come alongside them and support them to ultimately provide targeted professional development based on data analysis and instructional needs. This project would help to promote a collegial environment of trust and respect within a diverse group of teaching staff.

7. Within the overarching competency of Adult Learning, my capstone of targeted professional development opportunities, which are lead by teacher leaders, will respect adult learners’ expertise and value the direct impact they have on student success. There is a vast and diverse experience among the teachers at Medicine Crow. My capstone project will address the adult learners’ diverse needs while utilizing their area of expertise and meet the needs of adult learners to enhance their professional growth.

In regards to the second overarching competency of Interpersonal Effectiveness, my capstone project will help others to identify areas for growth and personal development. After identifying teacher leaders, I can help to plan, organize, and host events aimed to share a student-centered vision. By utilizing the diverse expertise within our own building we can facilitate and train others in activities designed to build empathy, humility, and trust and mobilize colleagues on a shared student-centered vision.

8. Within the diversity-equity-cultural competency, my project will focus on collaborating purposefully. My capstone will create and support regular opportunities for stakeholders of all cultures to contribute their knowledge, skills, and perspectives in a variety of ways. Through monthly professional development opportunities, lead by teacher leaders in our building, we will identify and explain shared visions, shared goals, shared perspectives, shared work habits, and shared interpretations of success. Teacher leaders will have the opportunity to share their skills and practices with each other. Teachers will have the opportunity to attend the professional development opportunity that most directly meets their needs for their professional goals and ultimately student learning in their classroom.

9. My chosen pathway competency is instructional leadership. My project seeks to promote a collegial environment of trust and respect. Through targeted professional development it aims to foster the development of colleagues and values their skills and abilities as well as identifies and promotes colleagues who would be good mentors and leaders. All through providing targeted professional development based on data analysis and instructional needs of teachers within my building. The capstone plan is to provide one professional development day a month where teacher leaders are able to share their passion and expertise with the teachers in our building and possibly district wide.

10. I plan to primarily work with the teachers and administration in my building. In our building alone, we have several different culture groups and professional identities represented. In addition to the teaching staff, we have Indian Education coordinators, counselors from Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, and administration who have voiced their commitment to addressing this challenge.

11. The people needed for the capstone project are teachers who are interested in becoming teacher leaders. The professional development opportunities will take place at our school building after school hours. Each teacher leader may require different resources for their professional development, the resources will be minimal. From the data that I have received, the only resources that will be needed is the technology that is available in the classrooms at Medicine Crow Middle School.

The following are artifacts from my needs assessment. The google survey shows the questions I was asking of the stakeholders. The following artifacts are responses from the survey. The survey clearly shows the professional development that teachers feel would impact their classroom the most. I was surprised the number of teachers who voiced that they had something to share with the staff as a whole.