Standard III: Cultural Leadership
A. Focus on Collaborative Work Environment: The school executive understands and acts on the understanding of the positive role that a collaborative environment can play in the school’s culture.
Bethesda Back-To-School Retreat
To start off the school year we held a Back-To-School retreat at Durham Public Schools Staff Development Center. The focus on this event was to set expectations for the school year and to build a collaborative school team. Having this event off-site was intentional so that staff could focus on getting to know one another and not be distracted by the desire to be in their classrooms. At this event I created and led several team building activities throughout the day. These activities were designed to allow the staff members to get to know each other across the school and to also spend time getting to know their respective team members better.
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Bethesda True Colors Training
I was a member of the L2N team while at Bethesda Elementary. L2N was a district initiative that focused on training school leaders both administrative and teacher to lead different district initiatives. One such initiative was to create stronger collaborative teams within schools. As such they had each L2N team take the True Colors assessment and held a training around True Colors. The L2N teams were to take this training and create a plan to implement it or something similar within their schools. Our team decided upon doing a training similar to what the L2N committee gave us. Each member of the L2N team gave this training to at least one of the PLCs.
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B. School Culture and Identity: The school executive develops and uses shared vision, values and goals to define the identity and culture of the school.
Science Day
W.G. Pearson is a S.T.E.A.M. school, our school is extremely strong in the Arts part of S.T.E.A.M. For example we have several performance groups to include: a band, dance and step teams. Each semester we have a big showcase for the arts. We desire to be just as strong in the other parts of S.T.E.A.M. and have been intentionally planning to grow in these areas. As a result we hired a science coach this year. One of his ideas was to hold a science day. In March of this year through the efforts of many we were able to hold a science day that included assemblies, demonstrations, science kits, and quest speakers. Provided below is the schedule for each grade level and photos taken from many of the activities. Many of the science activities included elements of technology, engineering, and math. This event has peaked our students interest in science and resulted in a great turnout for other science events and has lead to a stronger more well rounded S.T.E.A.M program at our school.
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Capturing Kids Heart
W.G. Pearson is a Capturing Kids Heart School. Capturing Kids Hearts is a program created by the Flippen Group that focuses on creating classrooms where students feel welcomed and teachers can build respectful learning environments for all. Our school has implemented this program by incorporating its standards of meeting students at the door, having social contracts, using the four questions, starting the day with good things, and using affirmations. We have stretched this beyond the classrooms and use affirmations among the teachers and showcase our "Outstanding Tigers" that demonstrate adherence to the social contract within their classrooms. I am a member of the Process Champions team that trains and ensures the program is being implemented with fidelity. We have been receiving feedback from parents, students, and staff that the culture of the school is changing in a positive direction. When asked to elaborate many of the CKH practices are referenced.
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C. Acknowledges Failures; Celebrates Accomplishments and Rewards: The school executive acknowledges failures and celebrates accomplishments of the school in order to define the identity, culture and performance of the school.
Case 21 and EOG Rewards
W.G. Pearson gives the Case 21 Benchmark Exam at the beginning of the year, mid year and at the start of the fourth quarter. The students are informed of several performance incentives before each exam. The incentives revolve around both performance and effort. An example of an effort award is when the students receive raffle tickets for their efforts during remediation activities, or if they were observed using test taking strategies. The raffle was for a chance to win one of two bicycles. Students that received at least one proficient score were invited to attend a school dance for free during the school day. For the EOGs the rewards and the requirements will intensify. For example we are planning a trip to Frankie's with limousines providing the transportation, this will be for students that are proficient on all EOGs.
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PBIS Programs
Throughout my Principal Residency I have been at schools that have implemented strong Positive Behavior Intervention Systems. Each system incorporates a color coded tracker and calendars that go home to the parents indicating what color the child ended up on at the end of the day. Bethesda celebrated the students with a monthly PBIS store where students could convert daily colors from their calendar to dollars to purchase items. W.G. Pearson allows students to earn points and then get rewards from their teacher. W.G. Pearson also holds quarterly dances for students that reach a certain point total. In addition to individual rewards, classes can earn Tiger Bucks at W.G. Pearson to earn class rewards that will be provided with administrative assistance.
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Most Valuable Teacher
Recently we have come up with a new system of rewarding and showcasing the great work our teachers are doing in their classrooms. We are calling this system MVT or Most Valuable Teacher. Teachers earn stars for having perfect walkthrough, observation or having 100% of their students engaged. Teachers will be rewarded with food, supplies, and additional break time. We have found that many of the teachers are excited to see if they received a star after each walkthrough. An added benefit we have seen an improvement in instruction on a daily basis.
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D. Efficacy and Empowerment: The school executive develops a sense of efficacy and empowerment among staff which influences the school's identity, culture and performance.
Empowering School LeadersAt W.G. Pearson one of our fifth grade teachers is pursuing her Masters in School Administration and is currently doing a part time internship with our school. I have been holding discussions with her since my arrival and assisting her with growing her leadership within the school. For example, she has recently taken over as PBIS coordinator for our school per my suggestion. By working with this teacher and empowering her to have more leadership roles in the school, several other teachers have stepped up and asked to lead some initiatives within the school. This has had a profound impact on the culture at our school as teachers are frequently taking more responsibility for the success of the school and not just their classroom.
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Testing Coordinator
At W.G. Pearson we believe and trust in the strengths and talents of our staff members. This trust is evident in the case of our Magnet Coordinator. We were in need of a Testing Coordinator and we asked if he would be willing to take on that additional role. He took on this monumental task and through his work ethic, organizational skills, and leadership we have had a very successful testing program established this year. Throughout the testing window and the stress that comes with it we as an administrative team were consistently impressed with his efforts and took every chance we could to praise and acknowledge him.