COMPETENCIES
Competency |
Artifacts |
I communicated effectively with all staff members when Hurricane Dorian hit in the fall. We had our first ever school cancelation, which meant we had to plan for Saturday School. The communication that we sent to staff members occurred efficiently during the two days, especially so we could share pertinent information that staff needed to know regarding making up time. |
|
My Problem of Practice centered around how to lead academic change within our building with the goal of improving achievement. Halfway through our first year, we knew that some instructional expectations needed to be put into place to improve our year-one outcomes for children. This Logic Model discussed the process that I utilized. Please view my Problem of Practice page for additional information. |
|
As an administrative team at Alston Ridge Middle School, we participated in a training called "The Collaborative Operating System." This training put our team through a protocol that helped us develop commitments to one another regarding feedback, communication, conflict management, and more. The purpose behind this system is to then take these agreements and utilize them with other committees or teams that we engage in within the building to help them create their own alignment and ownership. |
|
One thing that is unique about our identity is the use of a House System. Alston Ridge Middle School is one of the only schools within Wake County to operate on a house system where students are placed into "houses" by track. By placing students in a house, we are forming community across all three grade levels and with adults throughout the entire building. Our goal is to ensure that all students feel like our school is a place for them to feel safe and have academic success. |
|
In addition to gathering staff perception data, we knew it was important to gather data from our clients, the students. We designed three questions that represented what we wanted the student experience to be at Alston Ridge. Similarly, we provided this survey to students quarterly and utilized the trends to engage in discussions around how to improve that experience. |
|
At Alston Ridge Middle School, we strategically provided leadership opportunities to as many teachers as possible within our school. Knowing that many of us were new to the year-round system, we decided to be intentional in developing a leadership system that had co-department chairs and co-leaders on grade levels. Doing this allows us to always have a leader in the building for every team, which helps us communicate more effectively and efficiently. |
|
I conducted an activity at one of our School Improvement meetings which gathered qualitative feedback on our successes and difficulties in opening a new school within the Northwestern Area of Wake County. This provided an opportunity for us to acknowledge areas of growth, especially from the perspective of various stakeholders. By gathering this feedback, we were able to be more intentional in decision-making processes. |
|
In one of my coaching conversations with a teacher, we read this Emotional Intelligence article from Dr. Wirt's class together. I wanted the teacher to have the skillset to take care of herself and to learn tools and strategies to more effectively connect with her students and with her colleagues. |
|
I am an active member of our PTSA general and executive board meetings. I have been able to build strong relationships with this team and because of that I gained PTSA support in providing donations for our House Council Fall Dance, 8th Grade Field Trip, and Love the Bus Week. I am understanding how valuable strong partnerships are with the parent community. |
|
During my observations of teachers, we often discussed the element surrounding global awareness. I commonly ask teachers, "How do you make this relevant for your students?" which produces some impactful conversations. The most interesting of these has been having these discussions with math teachers who sometimes struggle to find real-world connections themselves. Due to the sensitive nature of this artifact, it is restricted. |
|
We had an experience with one substitute teacher that led to her being added to the "do not use" list for our school. A teacher reported to me that her substitute e-mailed her making a comment about our demographics. Through my investigation, I confirmed with the teacher that her mindset did not align with our school's mission or vision. I completed all of the appropriate steps including submitting a letter to her file at HR. Due to the sensitive nature of this artifact, it is restricted. |
|
I conducted a House Council Leadership Summit with the four house leaders. The purpose of this meeting was to empower these teacher leaders to lead House Council more effectively. The team had been used to relying on me to finalize decisions, but we designed commitments to one another in order to have improved alignment and ownership. |
|
One book that I read upon the suggestion of one of the Ed Elements consultants is Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity. Throughout the semester, I reflected on my use of "radically candid" strategies with my executive coach. Understanding how to give both positive and constructive feedback has allowed for me to provide teachers with intentional coaching. Ultimately, I have been able to empower teachers to rise to the challenge of being the best they can be for students. |
|
I have been proactive in seeking feedback from colleagues at various levels as I am always trying to improve. I created this video after my first semester in my Principal Residency to reflect on the progress that I had made in my role and to determine some next steps. |
|
I am one of the primary contacts over facilities at Alston Ridge Middle School. As the contracting company was very delayed in finishing our building, we had a number of room needs upon entering the school. I created a streamlined process to gather needs of staff members, which then allowed me to place work orders through the proper channels. Over the first couple months of the school year, I sent bi-weekly e-mails sharing updates with staff members. |
|
At Alston Ridge, we want our teachers to be committed to problem solving and taking on leadership opportunities that are presented to them. Instead of making decisions for each of our teams and committees, we asked them to create proposals to send to us so we could provide them with ownership. Attached is a link to the original proposal sent to us by our Staff Equity formation team. |
|
As our year progressed, the administrative team emphasized the importance of "grace." As we are a brand new school, we want to have grace for our teachers and we want teachers to have grace for their colleagues and their students. We put together a list of "Errors in Cognitive Thinking" to help reframe some thinking for specific people within the building. As we conduct individual conversations with teachers, this has been used as an effective resource. |
|
I collaborated with one of the APs this year to write our Emergency Operations Plan. After we attended a required training, we went back to school to ensure that decisions we made followed local mandates in preparation for our lockdown drill and tabletop exercise. Along with this role, I have assisted in fire drills and other required events that must occur on campus. |
|
As the Principal Resident at Alston Ridge Middle School, I participated in the creation of a SIP Data Dive Website. This website incorporated a number of data regarding perception and achievement at our school. As we are in the creation stages of our first school improvement plan, analyzing our data served as an essential step in determining our comprehensive needs. |
|
My daily activity log shows the variety of experiences I have leveraging staff expertise to make school-based decisions. I collaborated with PTSA, Athletics, and the House Council on numerous occasions and was able to bring them together using tenants of the Collaborative Operating System. Due to the sensitive nature of this artifact, it is restricted. |
|
As part of our inaugural year at Alston Ridge Middle School, I planned and executed a successful Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. This event helped to show the Northwestern community our vision and values. One of the highlights of the event was watching the reactions from school board members when viewing the video I created to highlight our school. |