NELP - 7

The development of the Candidate Hiring Process was a collaborative effort between myself and two colleagues. Together, we developed a clear hiring process that considers implicit bias, attention to diverse hiring recruitment practices, and candidate character. Our process includes an example of a carefully written job description and considerations when putting an interview team together. Interview questions and a rubric were developed to ensure consistency and inter-rater reliability. A candidate schedule was creating, allowing the team to get to know each individual, identifying a good fit for the position. We built a character component into the interview process, ensuring the morals and ethics of the candidate align with the school mission. The process includes templates of letters, emails, or phone conversations to guide the refusal process for candidates not chosen. Finally, the process includes gathering feedback about the process from the candidates and the interview team. 

This artifact directly demonstrates NELP 7.1, program completers understand and have the capacity to collaboratively develop the school’s professional capacity through engagement in recruiting, selecting, and hiring staff. Together, with two other developing leaders, we created a comprehensive hiring process. We began with a solid job description that considered biases. Descriptor phrases were chosen with careful consideration to attracting candidates from culturally diverse backgrounds. In addition, the interview team is chosen carefully, taking various perspectives into consideration. Team members are included in the process to ensure the new hire is a good fit. The interview considers implicit biases prior to and throughout the interview process. A rubric allows for consistent feedback from all stakeholders. Final decisions are made based on collaboration, discussion, and team reflection. 

School leaders have an obligation to build staff capacity through collaboration and collective decision-making. Staff need to be included in the recruiting and hiring process, particularly those that will be working with the new hire directly. Likewise, collaborative conversation before and during the process is essential. All thoughts and feedback should be given careful consideration. The hiring process should be evaluated, gathering input from each member of the interview team as well as candidates. 

This artifact was developed as a result of a mentorship with one of my colleagues. This colleague has been teaching for many years at various capacities and is in her third year as a kindergarten teacher. The purpose of the mentorship was to support her as she worked toward goals she had identified. The first goal involved planning and timing of instruction. Another goal was the integration of social-emotional learning into authentic situations. The last goal was striving for a better home/school balance. We met regularly to reflect on current practices and brainstorm ways for her to achieve her goals. I completed observations to collect baseline data, and we used the data to develop plans for improvement. Several times I visited the classroom to be a second set of hands as students were being challenged by the new practices we had put in place. This experience allowed me to develop as a leader and mentor while it supported my colleague to improve her practices. 

This artifact demonstrates NELP 7.2, program completers understand and have the capacity to develop and engage staff in a collaborative professional culture designed to promote school improvement, teacher retention, and the success and well-being of each student and adult in the school. During this  mentoring experience, I worked closely with an experienced third year  kindergarten teacher focusing on her lesson components and timing. Throughout the process, we engaged in many conversations about the most important components of the math curriculum and how to plan for more independent practice time. Observations were conducted so baseline data could be collected. From there, we collaborated to make minor adjustments to her math to allow time for math centers. 

As a developing leader, this mentoring experience provided practice with supporting a teacher as an adult learner. I was able to apply my knowledge of adult learning to assess where the teacher was at and provide support that was appropriate. The collaborative conversations led to improved practices that led to student growth. The development of this artifact also illustrated the importance of mentoring programs within a school. New teachers benefit from the support of an experienced mentor to gain knowledge and guidance as they learn who they are as an educator. Likewise, providing mentor opportunities for experienced teachers is also very beneficial. It provides support as teachers strive to reach the next level of expertise in the classroom. As a leader, I will ensure that mentoring is utilized to grow teacher leadership.

This artifact included two components. Component one involved interviewing various members of the school staff that are not classroom teachers. The purpose was to gain insight into all the positions within a school community. I chose to interview the LMC director, Acceleration/Enrichment teacher, head custodian, an instructional assistant, and the district nurse. I chose these positions to ensure a global perspective was obtained through this process. The second component of this artifact involved a coaching experience. I chose to coach a learning behavior specialist student teacher interested in gaining more insight on cultural responsiveness and implicit bias. Rich conversations developed during this coaching experience, and the student teacher was able to gain a stronger awareness of implicit biases that may develop when working with students with various disabilities. 

This artifact demonstrates NELP 7.2, program completers understand and have the capacity to develop and engage staff in a collaborative professional culture designed to promote school improvement, teacher retention, and the success and well-being of each student and adult in the school. The personnel component of this artifact provided an opportunity to gain insight into what staff members need from school leaders to grow and develop as professionals. The coaching component of this artifact addressed promoting adult growth and development that leads to strong student achievement.  It also focused on the importance of strong mentoring and coaching programs within a school system. New teachers need the support and expertise of experienced educators. Seasoned teacher can also benefit from coaching cycles to continue to develop their craft. 

As a developing leader, I learned a great deal about the coaching process. First, it’s essential that the person you are coaching has identified the strategy they would like to improve. This ensures their buy-in to the process, openness to feedback, and investment in improving. I also learned how crucial conversation is. In addition, I learned how important it is to identify where the person you are coaching is at as an adult learner. I was able to capitalize on those strengths.  Also, I learned that school leaders need to promote coaching as a way to provide differentiated professional development. Teachers at all stages in their career can benefit from the instructional coaching cycle. It is also a way to build the capacity of teachers as leaders. Building a collaborative culture is essential to continuous staff growth and development. This, in turn, has a positive impact on student growth and development. I do recognize that coaching may not be a process that all staff members are comfortable with. As a developing leader, I would start with those staff members willing to engage in coaching cycles. The outcomes could be shared with staff members, building interest in participation.  

This artifact was developed as a group project. Five developing leaders including myself, collaborated to gain a better understanding of best practices related to PK-12 numeracy. We considered numeracy skills, strategies, assessments, and content connections.  Emphasis was placed on what leaders need to know to support staff in providing quality mathematical education to all students. 

The artifact supports NELP 7.3, program completers understand and have the capacity to personally engage in, as well as collaboratively engage school staff in, professional learning designed to promote reflection, cultural responsiveness, distributed leadership, digital literacy, school improvement, and student success. The PK-12 numeracy overview provides detailed information about current best practices that ensure student engagement and growth. It outlines the standards, an example of a concept's development throughout a student's educational career, research-based strategies, and a wide range of assessments. 

This artifact promotes leadership growth in many ways. First, the collaborative process that was required to design the artifact is a good reminder that leaders must tap into the expertise of educators in the school, district, and community to provide meaningful PD. Also, leaders must be open to input and feedback on what would be most helpful to promote staff growth. Leaders need to have a strong background in all academic areas, to ensure staff are utilizing the most effective strategies. Finally, leaders must have an in-depth understanding of each academic area in order to be an effective evaluator, mentor, and coach. 

This artifact included three parts. Part one involved observing a teacher, accurately reflecting the events of the lesson in an observation report. The report included feedback on strengths and areas for development. Part two included a video of a conference role play. The role play was conducted with two other members of the class, where each of us had the opportunity to be the evaluator, the teacher, and observer. Collaborative feedback was shared after each role plan. Part three involved the flip video, reflecting on leadership development as a result of this project. 

This artifact directly demonstrates NELP 7.4, program completers understand and have the capacity to evaluate, develop, and implement systems of supervision, support, and evaluation designed to promote school improvement and student success. As a current teacher evaluator, I have a clear understanding of the state and district guidelines that must be followed when evaluating teachers. I take the time to walk each teacher through the process during their evaluation year to ensure they understand all the components and steps involved. Through this artifact, I was able to integrate more teacher-initiated goal setting. During the pre-conference, I asked the teachers to identify one area I could help them with during the evaluation process. This led to rich conversations about their own goals and how these goals would improve student learning. 

This artifact reflects my growth as a developing leader. I have been able to adjust my focus from the completion of the paperwork and mandated process to teacher leadership development. Trust and collaboration were strengthened as the teacher and I focused on specific data and goals she identified as areas of growth. This experience also allowed me to develop my skills when having honest conversations. While feedback needs to be positive, in order for teachers to grow, they need constructive feedback as well. I was able to practice the art of these conversations. Evaluation should be a process for growth that is cyclical. It's much more than a rating and completed paperwork. It's a leader's way to support staff on their individual growth journeys.

This artifact required a deep dive into supervision as a supervisor and leader. I investigated the state and district level requirements for teacher evaluation and identified current challenges. I looked closer at the impact supervision has on student achievement and identified knowledge one needs to have to be an effective supervisor. In addition, specific interpersonal, technical, and cultural skills were identified as critical elements of an effective supervisor. A supervisor must also possess strong character and apply ethical standards to all actions, communication, and decisions. All these areas of investigation allowed me to draw a personal conclusion and a belief statement identifying who I am as a supervising leader. 

This artifact addresses NELP 7.4, program completers understand and have the capacity to evaluate, develop, and implement systems of supervision, support, and evaluation designed to promote school improvement and student success. I gained research-based knowledge of supervision and evaluation throughout this assignment. Critical skills that I must possess as an evaluator were identified, and the impact evaluation cycles have on student achievement was identified. 

This deep dive into effective leadership and supervision has allowed me to reflect on my current practices as an evaluator. It is very easy to be consumed by the logistics, paperwork, and requirements set forth by the state and district. It's critical that the evaluation cycle be more than that. It's important to integrate more in-depth questioning, reflection, validation, empowerment, guidance, and a desire for personal growth. My goal is to make the process a continuous learning cycle involving both formative and summative evaluation. A learning environment needs to be created that challenges adults to develop and build internal capacity. Finally, the importance of being a virtuous leader and supervisor is always at the forefront. Relationships, trust, respect, and integrity are essential to developing learner capacity and creating a positive learning environment for all students and staff.

This artifact was a team project that required collaboration to develop a comprehensive plan for creating a healthy positive school culture and environment. Our team reviewed articles related to creating a positive school culture and applied this information when setting goals for the plan. We created surveys that involved collecting data from all stakeholders, which is essential to any comprehensive plan. We identified our "why" as community, values, and engagement. An action plan was created to ensure the success of each goal, and steps for communicating plans and goals were outlined. 

This artifact demonstrates an understanding of NELP 7.2, program completers understand and have the capacity to develop and engage staff in a collaborative professional culture designed to promote school improvement, teacher retention, and the success and well-being of each student and adult in the school. It addresses the importance of gathering input from all stakeholders to establish a safe, positive, equitable learning environment. It focuses on building a strong sense of community through a focus on values and engagement. Building staff capacity and encouraging student and educator leadership is at the forefront. 

When thinking about creating a positive school culture, the relationships that a school leader cultivates leads to the trust of future initiatives and the well-being of the school community.  For school environments to be considered "healthy", especially in the implementation in effective community engagement, one must understand that true trust in the process of a school culture comes from building the capacity of faculty and staff for the well-being of students.  If one wants to create "buy-in" to not only communicate but to fully involve to the school community, a school leader must provide equitable and comfortable opportunities for stakeholders to give their time.  If the school community does not trust a school to have their best interests at heart, then they will not be vulnerable enough to establish relationships and thus hinder the well-being of the community.  True engagement to build a community setting needs to be not only reflective of the community that surrounds it, but authentic enough where the stakeholders see value in being involved.  To cultivate this positive school culture, a school must fully involve all its stakeholders as equitably as it can, and not just "advertise" that it does.  If the stakeholders do not believe in the school's ability to advocate for their needs or provide for their students, there will be no trust given, relationships established, or well-being provided.  As future school leaders, we need to understand that amicable leadership builds these in combination over time and effort and does not deserve them with initiatives that do not reflect the school community or data from that community.