School Choice

Artifact 2

"What If"

Artifact 3

Needs Assessment

In an era of businesses, banks, and even schools conducting business in an unfair, unethical, way it is vital that schools and administrators maintain integrity and carry these things in high regard. It could be easy to get caught up in the management and competition of other schools and lean towards an unfair and unethical manner. It is important for administrators to be progressively proactive so that they are not reactive in a manner that would lead to some poor ethical decisions. Making sound ethical choices that help promote the entire school system is what every administrator has to have in mind when making difficult decisions. 

Artifact 1:

Open enrollment has caused problems for some schools and it has allowed other schools to grow and enhance their schools. Along with the issues of rising and shrinking populations, open enrollment has caused some unethical and unfair decisions to be made by schools. At Chester, we have prospered because of open enrollment. We are among the highest rate of open enrollment schools in the state. We have done things very ethically and in a fair manner. Even before the state legislator initiated set laws for open enrollment, we were following and abiding by these statutes. My project explains the guidelines that we have at Chester for dealing with open enrollment and how we have fairly done this to enrich our school.

Artifact 2:

My principal and I have had a great working relationship and since I started taking courses for an educational administration degree, she has been worlds of help and insight. Since I started working at Chester eight years ago, we have both been early risers and bounce things off each other in those morning times. Since starting my administration degree she has openly discussed different school issues and other school's issues on a “what if” basis. This helps me go through some scenarios that might arise after I get an administration job. It also helps her see another perspective on issues. It also helps me to see many aspects that need to be taken into consideration when dealing with different issues. By having these open discussions, I have learned a great deal about the grey area. Not all issues are black and white and you have to look at the grey in the problem to resolve it completely for all. We have had these discussions, meetings, and share times in a fair and ethical manner, and we held all issues with a high regard to integrity. Because of these discussions, I have grown a great deal as a person, educator, and future administrator.

Artifact 3:

After doing the test score project during my principalship class, I discovered that as a school we had a need to reach students. We have students that were scoring in the basic level for both reading and math. Some of those students are students that are not receiving special education services but have deficits in different curricular areas. We have students that are scoring in the basic level that aren't receiving special education services but still have curricular needs. What are we doing to close the gap and build skills that are behind them in the classroom? That is the question that I asked. After finding the need, I wrote a proposal to start a program that would take place before or after school for those students. Teachers would refer those deficit students to the program, and their parents would select a time that works for them. After selecting time that works, the student would go to a classroom where all the teachers have volunteered time to work with our deficit students. In this classroom the teachers would work with these students on specific skill areas assigned by the teachers based on Dakota Step results and in-class observation and assessments. Constructing a needs assessment and being able to follow through with it was an extremely valuable part of my administrative growth.