Educational Administration Artifact Reflection

Artifact Title: School Improvement Project

Date of Experience Completed: June-July 2015

Artifact Description:
My artifact is a School Improvement Project that I assisted in designing for a
phantom school during the Systems I Module of the Educational
Administration two-year masters program at the University of WisconsinPlatteville. The purpose of the project was to assess and address the needs
within the phantom school district. Our group created a school climate
survey to identify areas of concern, determine district goals and an
improvement timeline, budget resources and solutions for the areas of
concern, and generate separate presentations and reports summarizing our
findings for staff members and school board members.

Wisconsin Administrator Standard Alignment:

This School Improvement Project best aligns with Wisconsin Administrator
Standard 2 which states: The school administrator is an educational leader
who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development,
articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is
shared and supported by the school community.
This School Improvement Project best aligns with Standard 2 because it
demonstrates competency in understanding the implementation of a school
vision with high standards of learning via continuous school improvement.
School visions are effectively communicated to staff, parents, students, and
community members and progress toward the vision is communicated to all
stakeholders. Competency is also demonstrated through a developed school
improvement plan in which objectives and strategies to achieve goals are
clearly defined. This artifact includes information sources, data collection,
and data analysis strategies for developing the principles and implementing
strategic plans. Required resources were sought and obtained to support the
implementation of the school improvement plan.
Much time and effort was placed into creating plans for the assessment,
development, and implementation of this School Improvement Project. In
order, the artifact contains a professional development reflection survey, a

project narrative, a school board presentation, district goals and objectives,

fiscal information, and a staff professional development presentation. All
components working together demonstrate competency in understanding
the implementation of a school vision with high standards of learning via
continuous school improvement. Specific examples of implementing a
school vision and high standards of learning can be observed in the school
mission statement within the school board and staff presentations as well as
the plan for targeting and planning for student and staff learning goals. In
addition, school missions and progress are effectively communicated to staff
through professional development presentations, to stakeholders through
school board presentations, and to parents, students, and community
members through community outreach efforts. The dedication to continuous
school improvement can be observed via the school improvement plan
developing over the course of three school years. Standard 2 competency is
also demonstrated through a well-developed plan in which goals, objectives,
strategies, and activities are developed and implemented to achieve three
goals that are clearly defined. This school improvement project sought out,
obtained, and used required resources, such as a full time
instructional/technology coach, professional development text for book
study, and PLC and Infinite Campus staff trainings. The slide presentations
of this artifact include several information sources, data collection methods
and plans, as well as strategies and means for data analysis in developing
the principles of implementing and continuing the school improvement plan.

What I learned about administration from this experience:

Administratively, I learned three things that generally work most effectively
in tandem; communication, delegation, and role acceptance. Our groups
School Improvement Project required communication via email, in-person
conversations, and shared google documents. Jobs and tasks were
delegated evenly amongst the group members using effective
communication skills. While an individual's task may not have been their
preference, it is important to remember that when working with a team,
everyone has a role to play. It is necessary for everyone to buy-in and
effectively work in their role for a team to be successful. In many ways an
administrator is both on the receiving and giving end of these three things.
Administrators should be effectively communicated with, but more than that,
they should be effective communicators to their students, staff, parents, and
community. In addition, great administrators know when, where, how, and to
whom to delegate tasks in order to increase productivity. Administrators

need to utilize various resources, including people, to maximize the use of

everyone's time. Knowing your role in a situation is also an essential key to
keep in mind when leading. Unless deemed necessary, administrators do not
need to micromanage their staff members. Delegate tasks, give support,
trust your staff, and reach success.

What I learned about myself as a prospective administrator as a

result of this artifact:
As a result of this experience, I learned a few things about myself as a
prospective administrator. First of all, I learned that I am not a patient
person when a 30 minute meeting could have been an email. I have always
felt the need to use my time wisely and purposefully. I feel blessed to have
been grouped with similar personality types while completing this project. I
appreciate the work ethic and focus all group members brought to each
discussion. We would set short-term and long-term goals during our concise,
purposeful meetings. Second, I learned agendas were not developed as a
micro-management tool, but rather as a necessary strategy to have
productive meetings. For the most part, our group had a written agenda, or
at least a bullet-pointed list, of discussion topics, goals, jobs, etc. These
agendas were not developed in order for one person to control a meeting.
Rather, they were created to assist group members focus and productivity.
Finally, I learned my dedication to step-making stems deeper than I originally
thought. At first glance, this project appeared extremely overwhelming.
Luckily, I am a list-maker and step-taker. After moving past the initial shock,
I began to prioritize pieces of the project to, eventually, develop somewhat of
a timeline. Now, this timeline was not necessarily for group use, but I was
more than willing to share it. I know enough about myself that I recognize
my need for organization and purpose. Breaking the project down into
multiple manageable steps allowed my heart rate and anxiety levels to
decrease and the project to be completed successfully in a timely manner.