Final Reflection

My leadership skills and knowledge have also evolved. When I entered PLI,  I was well versed in presenting professional development, providing model lessons, and coaching teachers. I also had a lot of knowledge about curriculum and instruction at the elementary level since this is where I have spent most of my teaching years. I was able to demonstrate leadership skills in these areas by taking initiative and being responsible and thoughtful in my work. Yet, it was through the PLI Program that I came to understand just how important it is to have an Institutional Culture of Care in schools. I learned that having this culture of care creates authentic relationships with students and their families, and this has such a powerful impact on our students. I learned that this Institutional Culture of Care at our schools is where “every student feels cared for by at least one adult at the school.” (Cooper.) This authentic care goes beyond the classroom and invites families to be engaged in the schooling of their children. This realization had a great influence on my leadership skills. Rather than seeing myself as someone who was to impart knowledge to my students and families, I now saw that relationships were more important than the lessons or workshops I was trying to teach. I no longer saw myself as the keeper of knowledge. Rather, I saw my students and their families as equally having things to teach me. It was through the PLI program that I came to see myself as a socio-cultural teacher leader. My leadership perspective changed to reflect and value the funds of knowledge held by my students and their families. My whole perspective on teaching and learning evolved to be more democratic and less authoritarian. I came to understand that if my leadership skills were to serve my school community effectively, I had to develop my skill set at building authentic relationships. 

This PLI experience has affected my perspective on leadership. When I began this journey, I was naive in thinking that following all of the rules, policies, and working within the system, would be the best way to create positive change for our students. Now, I know better. I have learned that leadership encompasses more than administration of the school. 

My professors taught me a lot about leadership. From Dr. Rogers and Dr. Franke, I learned that dynamic leaders work to create democratic places in education. I also learned that I “should not let the fear of what is difficult paralyze me.”(Freire) From Dr. Orange and Professor Isken I learned that it is important to have a vision and to know my positionality and to do right by my students. I learned that approaching my decision making through a social-cultural lens keeps my students at the center, for I see them as bringing funds of knowledge to the “table”. Dr. Rogers and Professor Lazo taught me that it is very important to listen to our families, that their concerns are legitimate. Additionally, I learned that this work is not to be done alone, that I need to surround myself with other principals who are leaders for change. From Dr. Gomez and Dr. Garcia I learned that improvement science takes time and lots of analyzing, that the cycle of improvement “may be wrong and definitely incomplete”, but I also learned that it is important to surround myself with like minded people who are willing to do the work. Dr. Barnes taught us the importance of knowing school policy and if we don’t know it, to stop and make that phone call before making decisions. From Nanette Terrenal, I learned the importance of having patience and perseverance, especially when working on the CalAPA. Finally, from Dr. Cooper, I learned the importance of creating an Institutional Culture of Care, in which “ all stakeholders (students, teachers,  administrators and the community) feel seen, heard, and valued as evidenced through the actions, relationships,  and experiences of connectedness with others” (Cooper et al., 2022) All of these learnings have influenced my perspective on leadership.

In doing my field work around English Learners, I saw how the learning that took place in my courses was directly involved in my project. I took the Science of Improvement and used it when having the RLP conversations and meetings with my team.  Whenever I got frustrated, I was reminded that this is not easy work, that it is messy, but that it is also what needs to happen in order to bring about systemic change. I also kept the Institutional Culture of Care at the forefront of my interactions with the

students, teachers, and families. By having this authentic relationship with these stakeholders, I was able to bring people together to work on my projects. Relationships were built and goals were reached because we all worked together in a caring environment. By bringing my coursework learning into my fieldwork, I blended theory with practice, and my leadership skills were enhanced throughout my journey in this Principal Leadership Institute. 

         The biggest challenge I had through the PLI experience was learning how to separate the important from the minutiae. As an itinerant who provides support and services to seven elementary schools and the Early Education Centers, I was often juggling multiple things at once. I was doing my fieldwork project while still trying to maintain my job duties as a Kindergarten Readiness Instructional Coach. I had to learn to prioritize and work within the time I had and make the effective choices that would best serve my community.  

The biggest success I had with this project was being able to put theory into practice, in real time, in an authentic place. I took what I learned about the culture of care, socio-cultural theory, and the science of improvement and applied these learnings to my fieldwork project. My community of practice came together, and though at times it seemed “messy”, at the end, we saw some very positive results from our focused work with English Learners. We reached our goals of reclassification and improvement in DIBELS scores. I am hopeful that this work continues into next year, and that we continue to see impactful instruction for English Learners.

Next year, I am taking on a new role with the district. For the 2023-2024 school year,  I will be working at a span school, grades 6 - 12. I will be working with middle school and high school students in the capacity as a College & Career Readiness Coach and the Instructional Coach for English Language Arts. I look forward to continuing the ELD work that I started at Loreto. I anticipate that I will work with English Learners.  While the setting may look different than elementary school, I am sure that in high school we will have the same goal of reclassification and the goal of students attaining benchmark in literacy. But, perhaps these issues faced by English Learners will be seen with greater urgency.  I will take what I have learned in the field project and apply it to middle school and high school.  

I would like to get more experience in a few areas. The first area is that I would like to shadow a principal for at least a week. I would like to see the daily work that goes into this leadership role. I believe that it is important to see someone in action to really learn about the work.  The second area I would like to learn is budget. I have had the opportunity to be on the School Site Council, but I have not had the opportunity to see how schools run a budget. I am also interested in developing a collaborative culture of teaching and learning at the high school level, where professional expectations and standards help guide student and professional growth. I would like to develop my skills as a secondary instructional coach to effectively impact instruction for all students.