What do I see myself doing in the next five years?
When 2024 arrives, I am very hopeful that I will have accomplished many things relating to leading a school community. While I have absolutely no desire to leave the position I am currently in as the high school principal in Proctor, MN, I do have a desire to lead a school district in achieving it's goals and continuing to contribute to the shaping of our next generation of citizens.
If I am lucky enough to find myself in my current position in 2024, I am hopeful that I have and will be doing the following:
- Provide support and direction for site-wide professional development and collaboration among faculty/staff during effective learning team time that is embedded in the contract day and is focused on assessment and data literacy.
- Provide coaching of faculty and staff that include a discussion and feedback surrounding the support of lessons that are engaging, relevant, rigorous, and empowering for students.
- Promote purpose in the course offerings at the high school level that correlate with interests and goals of students for their life after high school through a creation of career pathways and post-secondary plans.
- Collaborate with our district director of curriculum and learning, math coach, and STEM coordinator to successfully implement MTSS (RTI) interventions at the Tier I (Classroom) and/or Tier II (enrichment) levels.
- With the support of our Northern Lights Special Education Cooperative, create a mindset of "CAN" in our special education department so students on IEP's can be successful on grade-level content and our achievement gap in the secondary level can decrease between Special Education and General Education students.
- Support, educate, and train our faculty and staff on the use of digital learning tools and environments to engage and empower students in their curriculum and daily lessons and to allow students who are proficient to accelerate.
- Work with teachers who are eligible to receive CTE certification to help them become certified and to be able to access levy and Perkins funding to enhance their programming for student growth.
- Support, educate, and train our faculty in utilizing assessment that is authentic and that measures student learning in ways that facilitates innovation, creativity and problem-solving instead of compliance-based environments.
- Develop and refine an effective and consistent social media presence that not only supports the branding of our school as a place where “Accelerated Learning” is fostered through differentiated instruction and digital engagement, but also provides real-time access and information to all stakeholders within our district.
- Continue to develop and support a student-run media production program that can serve our school and district in "telling our story" about the amazing things happening in our schools each day while also providing a connection for those in our community and around our country to be able to see the events our students participate in free of charge.
- Continue to develop and cultivate a “growth mindset” among students, parents, and staff at the secondary site to allow for continued growth toward school-wide goals and objectives.
- Educate our faculty, staff, students, and parents about the role confusion and failure have in the learning process so that students are more likely to take risks in their learning each and every day.
- Continue to support and promote efforts to educate students about diversity in our school as well as ways to handle conflict in “RAILStrong” ways to foster respect, responsibility, and citizenship and to promote a strong academic learning environment.
- Continue to work with local law enforcement and emergency personnel to prepare for and address any security risks to our site in order to maintain the safety of all staff and students in our school building.
Professional Learning Network
- Continue to work with the MASSP and the Northeast Division of the MASSP to collaborate with fellow school administrators in our area regarding best practice and strategies in navigating complex issues that arise.
- Continue to make connections on social media with educational leaders and experts around the country through sites like LinkedIN, Twitter, etc. to learn about best practices in education and strategies in navigating complex issues that arise.
- Attend at least one state conference yearly to build my network and to engage in sessions which further my learning about a variety of topics affecting school administrators.
- Read at least one book per month related to an area of professional inquiry I am interested in.
- Meet with and shadow established Superintendents in the area to learn of areas that I need to further my growth and experience in order to be a viable candidate to lead a school district in a superintendent's role.
- Research and establish ways to better track my time and responsibilities using technology (work smarter, not harder)
- Commit to leaving school each day by 5pm so as to spend much needed time with friends and family outside of school and to keep a work/life balance that is healthy and energizing.