Tracy Anderson

University of St. Thomas

October 24, 2015

Competency 001:
The principal knows how to shape campus culture by facilitating the development, articulation,
implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the
school community.

Throughout my internship I have gained a better understanding of how

important campus culture is to a school community and I have great

respect for those who willingly accept this challenge.
My greatest experience with this competency is serving as department
leader and overseeing an additional content in which there was a teacher
vacancy for an entire semester. Among the challenges which included
lesson planning, gathering resources, and collaborating with a long term
substitute teacher, I was responsible for ensuring success for the students.
The objective was for the students to remain engaged and enthusiastic
about their work, as well as maintaining their academic goal toward
graduation requirements. My goal is to continue to gain knowledge of the
specific skills needed to shape campus culture on a broader scale.

Competency 002:
The principal knows how to communicate and collaborate with all members of the school community,
respond to diverse interests and needs, and mobilize resources to promote student success.

Communication with the school community is vital to the success of the

schools growth. During my intern, I hosted a University Interscholastic
League (UIL) region competition in which students, teachers, and guest judges
from several districts attended.
The experience in planning the event and seeing that communication about
every facet of the competition such as parking, room assignments, performance
times, and hospitality matters were important to a successful event.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to work with various groups that rented the
auditorium facilities on our campus.
Each group presented varying needs and it was necessary to collaborate with
our campus leaders and the organization leaders to make certain their needs
were met. My goal is to increase my experience with every means of media
format to make certain that I provide several avenues of communication and
collaboration with the school community.

Competency 003:
The principal knows how to act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical and legal manner.

This competency is of the utmost importance as it relates to leading a school

community and legal issues that may arise. I had many opportunities to make
decisions concerning discipline matters and I understand the importance of

making those judgments based on district and campus policies, rather than
personal biases.
Although I spent a great deal of time helping to manage a back-log" of
discipline issues and helping to supervise Saturday detention sessions, I do
not feel I gained enough insight on the process of responding to higher level
infractions. My goal is to continue to update and review laws and policies in
accordance with the campus and district guidelines.

Competency 004:
The principal knows how to facilitate the design and implementation of curricula and strategic plans that
enhance teaching and learning; ensuring alignment of curriculum, instruction, resources, and
assessment; and promote the use of varied assessments to measure student performance.

One of the most important aspects I have learned about curriculum in my

studies at the University of St. Thomas, is that consistent collaboration based
on data are key to successful curriculum planning and instruction.
Additionally, providing opportunities, time, and resources for effective
professional development is necessary and greatly affects student achievement.
My goal is to further my studies in curriculum planning and scope out
professional development opportunities to better prepare myself in this
competency.

Competency 005:
The principal knows how to advocate, nurture, and sustain an instructional program and a campus culture
that are conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

As an intern and department leader, I have been able to conduct observations

and provide feedback to team members to ensure the campus expectations are
implemented.
During these observations, I look for clearly defined performance objectives
and goals that are aligned with assessments. I look for ways in which
differentiated instruction is utilized and offer suggestions if needed. The
observations are intended to offer suggestions and collaboration is welcomed.

Competency 006:
The principal knows how to implement a staff evaluation and development system to improve the
performance of all staff members, select and implement appropriate models for supervision and staff
development, and apply legal requirements for personnel management.

As a future instructional leader, I understand that in order to increase student

achievement, there must be ongoing professional development that is relevant
to the needs of the students.
I must ensure that I collaborate with staff members to understand their needs
and provide resources, time, and appropriate materials in order for them to be
effective teachers.
Among all the competencies, this is the one I had the least exposure and
experience with, but it is my goal to seek further studies and training through
professional organizations.

Competency 007:
The principal knows how to apply organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills to ensure an
effective learning environment.

My experience as a team leader requires that I take the lead in setting up

meetings and making certain they are organized, relevant, and structured to
impact instruction. The most important outcome is to share best practices and

gather ideas on how we can improve our instruction for increased student
achievement.
My personal goal as the team leader this year is to be organized so that our
meetings were not utilized for griping, but rather to actually share and present
strategies that work. In order to make this happen, I provided my team
members with personalized binders to house meeting agendas, resources on
instructional strategies, planning calendars, parent communication logs and
professional development handouts. The binder will also serve as a portfolio at
the end of the year in which teachers may present to their appraisers.

Competency 008:
The principal knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to campus
budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management, and technology use.

Of all the competencies, I have had the most experience with this as it pertains
to budgeting. As a team leader and director of a program, I have had the
responsibility to manage several budgets and have received extensive training

with budget codes and procedures.

My principal has emphasized the importance of being organized and
overseeing every facet of the campus budget with a critical eye. As she has
explained, it is one of the number one reasons principals have been dismissed
from their positions.

Competency 009:
The principal knows how to apply principles of leadership and management to the campus physical plan
and support systems to ensure a safe and effective learning environment.

I was given many opportunities to supervise after school events such as

basketball and volleyball games, parent meetings, and other fine arts and extracurricular activities. Additionally, I serve on the Foundations Committee at my

campus in which building a safe and secure environment for all stakeholders is
essential.
I believe a key component in this competency is to delegating and
collaborating with staff members in order to provide a safe place for students to
learn. This competency requires collaboration and team work with custodial
staff, transportation staff, and district maintenance staff. These groups are
vital to the operations of a school and my goal is to ensure that all stakeholders
understand their value in providing a safe environment for the school
community.