Design

Describe your action plan and how each of your four chosen competencies will influence its design and implementation.

My action plan is to work together with a team of colleagues to create a project that promotes a shared vision for our school. I will provide team members with a copy of our current Teach-To manual which was created in 2006. We will devise a plan to create a new relevant manual that is technologically relevant and easy to share with all staff members.

The foundational competency is to collaborate purposefully. The team of staff members that will be working together on this project come from various back grounds within the building.

Myself- 1st grade teacher 15 yrs. experience

Our administrator- 5+ yrs. as principal

Kindergarten Teacher-5+ yrs. teaching

3rd grade teacher-in 1st year of teaching

4th grade teacher-15 yrs. teaching

5th grade teacher- 5 yrs. teaching

School Counselor-10+ yrs. experience

Title Teacher- 10+ yrs. experience

Special Education Teacher- 10+ yrs. experience

This group represents a team of colleagues from diverse backgrounds.

The leadership pathway is Collaborative Relationships. Time is the biggest barrier we will face in terms of ability to complete this project. Post covid we have found new and innovative ways to promote and encourage collaboration with colleagues through technology. My plan is to utilize these programs to promote ease of accessibility to contribute by all team members. We will use Teams which allows virtual meetings, outlook to converse regarding the project, Google Forms to survey all our staff members, Microsoft PowerPoint to share, Microsoft Stream to upload videos to our project, and Microsoft Sway to finalize our virtual and interactive manual that can be edited as needed and shared with anyone we wish to provide access to.

My two overarching Competencies are Interpersonal Effectiveness and Continued Learning and Education. I want to provide opportunities for myself, as well as others, to create a new and innovative project with a shared vision. We need opportunities for other teachers to show their ability to lead, not just to our administrator, but to themselves. Researching and learning from others will be important as the team moves forward with a plan. Having a project to be excited over really helps to build team morale and personal pride. Since Covid, teachers have lost much of the momentum that once drove us. I want this project to allow us to feel empowered individually and proud as a team.

How will your leadership leverage the strengths and address the needs of diverse stakeholders to support the action plan, develop capacity, broaden decision-making, and learn collaboratively?

Our first meeting will be to determine the plan of action we want to follow as a team. We will set expectations for all team members. I will set the stage explaining the purpose of pulling our team together, our need, and my goals with the project. From there we will begin our discussions. What do we see as important components to our project? How can we make this manual more user friendly? Who do we see as important influencers and how can we reach out to them for feedback and to meet what they see is important?

Leading without leading is the goal. Allowing teachers to take ownership, but keeping everyone on the same page, is one possible obstacle. It is important to have a diverse group that allows ability to reach more stakeholders, however you also need leadership, so the team doesn't stray off of their path.

This is a new and challenging role for me, as I tend to want to try and make everyone happy.

How will you use collaboration, questioning, data, and reflection during the implementation of your action plan?

During our first meeting we will lay out our initial plans. We will set dates for upcoming meetings and divvy up workloads with expectations of what items need accomplished by the next meeting date. We will discuss how we would like to obtain further data and implement a plan with a deadline for obtaining further information which will influence our final project.

How will you address obstacles that you may encounter in implementing your plan?

I personally foresee encountering technology related obstacles. Since we are trying to create a new manual that will be tech friendly, we may struggle with design and development. As these situations arise, we can research and work together as a team. We all bring different abilities to the table. Together we can discuss ways around any obstacles we face.

How will you know if your action plan is successful? What evidence would support your claim?

I suppose my evidence will be a finalized Universal expectations manual.

But really that is not the question here, the question is, was I able to grow as a teacher leader? The only way to truly measure that is through my final reflection when I complete my Capstone project.

Evidence 1- of Initial meeting sent through Microsoft Teams

Evidence 2- Current Teach-To's Manual