Design

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

My action plan is in two parts (Artifact 4). The primary project goal is to set up orientation sessions and resources for new teachers. I am identifying necessary sessions and fitting them into the schedule, finding presenters, and identify and create/modify resource documents.

The second part is mentorship, which will be accomplished by setting up mentor/mentee pairings and providing training for mentors.

~ Foundational: Explore & Challenge Inequity

This competency has people identify inequities and address them through awareness and advocating for change. The Needs Assessment Survey identified common needs of new staff, and now the Capstone Challenge aims to address those needs. New staff have a range of skills and abilities, and providing sufficient orientation and mentorship allows them to be on equal footing starting out the school year.

~ Pathway: Instructional Leadership - Coaching & Mentoring

With the goals of orientation and mentorship, this competency fits the Capstone Challenge well. My project partner and I identified common needs of new staff and then matched colleagues to mentor and lead the orientation sessions, therefore creating more teacher leaders within the district.

~ Overarching #1: Personal Effectiveness

My ability to lead depends on me understanding and using my own strengths, understanding power dynamics (Artifact 5), and cultivating positive relationships with staff. This process has taught me a lot about the importance of building connections in order to be a successful teacher leader.

~ Overarching #2: Adult Learning

My intention is to coach and mentor adults rather than my typical audience of high-school students in a Spanish classroom. Understanding how adults learn differently from children is a key component to this capstone so that I can meet this new audience's needs and expectations effectively (see Artifacts in the Reflect page for evidence).

• 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?

Kate and I worked together well to bring different perspectives and leadership strengths (note-taking, synthesizing information, brainstorming solutions, etc.) to this project. The orientation sessions address the major common needs of new staff. We can leverage strength of our current staff by having them lead the sessions and/or mentor, and involve administration in articulating a clear vision of mentorship goals in the district.

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

Kate and I met weekly during this process to collaborate, and having a project partner was beneficial in keeping me on track and focused on actionable steps. Our survey, emails, and empathy interviews yielded quite a bit of data from questioning. We reflected together on the data, and there is significant reflection throughout the TLI process of creating the project.

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

Obstacles that have occurred have been collecting sufficiently varied survey data, and collaborating with administrators. For the people who did not complete the survey, Kate and I reached out and conducted empathy interviews to broaden representation of voices; we were able to collect data from a minimum of one person from each different job (human resources, technology, special education, food services, etc.), as well as new and experienced teaching staff and all administrators.

Regarding collaboration, the three administrators and human resources had different schedules so setting up meetings proved challenging. To address this, Kate and I recorded our presentation virtually so it could be viewed on their own time. We have also pushed meetings into the summer due to the end-of-year crunch so there is more availability in their schedule and less stress is placed on everyone.

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

Approval of orientation time. People available and willing to lead seminars or meetings, and serve as mentors. Stipends to acknowledge the effort of leadership responsibilities. Orientation surveys indicating high levels of readiness. Administration collaborating to create reasonable expectations and a shared vision for mentorship within the district.

ARTIFACTS

~ Show initial action plan vs. current action plan??

~ Survey results or presentation notes of needs

~ Adult learning assignment reflection

~ HR meeting notes copy

ARTIFACTS

Artifact #4

Capstone Action Plan Capstone Action Plan document