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Reflections on Domain III Competencies 8-9
Winifred Jackson ET8053
EDLD 5398 Week 4 Assignment 1
Lamar University
August 12, 2012
Reflections on Domain III Competencies 8-9
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.
In competency 008, I spent 31 hours and 30 minutes completing activities to understand and practice this competency. All funds are allocated to help meet the needs of our students; therefore, instructional leaders are challenged with the task of developing a campus budget. This campus budget must effectively meet the needs of the school. The school consists of students, teachers, administration, and other unexpected financial needs. Since many individuals are impacted by the results of the budgeting process, this process should be conducted carefully and thoroughly. I feel that the budget reflects the goals and objectives of the Campus Improvement Plan, since all programs, staff development, support staff and instruction supplies are included in our plans.
After interviewing the instructional technology specialist, I learned about the procedures, policies, planning and budgeting for the district technology. I discovered that campus leaders are required to have a comprehensive knowledge of all the components necessary to ensure ample access to technology for all stakeholders. The budget must include funds for the initial price of equipment and peripherals, the cost for infrastructure and connectivity, the installation such as labor and materials, professional development for managing and using the technologies, the price for software and online resources, technical support for keeping the new technologies working, the operation cost for the regular use of the technologies, and the upgrade and replacement costs for the equipment and software. The instructional leaders ensure that technology integration occurs on a planned, strategic basis through well-developed and clear procedures into the schools to promote the campus improvement goals. According to the policies, the instructional leader is responsible for all site-based accounting procedures.
Another activity I completed in this competency was the evaluation of the district’s Student Information System (SIS). I evaluated the total cost of software ownership including reoccurring and ongoing costs; software feature sets; Texas-specific functionality such as Texas-specific tests, attendance reporting require school districts to provide pre-identification files, and loading of test scores back into the system; ease of use and reporting; customer support and experience of the support staff; and thorough user training in the software system.
Instructional leaders are required to monitor spending and adjusting plans by making sure funds are used efficiently for meeting the needs of the students within the district. While completing the procedures, other policies are of importance for the instructional leader, such as the accounting procedures. All funds must be in accordance with the state, local and federal regulations while meeting the needs of the students.
Competency 009
The principal knows how to apply principles of leadership and management to the campus physical plant and support systems to ensure a safe and effective learning environment
Instructional leaders are leaders in a numerous ways. Within the schools, instructional leaders have the challenging task of ensuring the safety of schools through crisis management in addition to the daily assignment of maintaining a safe and secure facility for instruction. This extremely important task involves the direction of the instructional leader working with several other members of the school system. In order to maintain a school building, instructional leaders must have a process and a plan for completing repairs or installing technology. This plan involves interacting with the district’s support service, technology and maintenance departments.
In this competency, I had 25 hours in learning the 009 competency. I modeled strategies for teaching legal and ethical use of technology in the classroom as stated in the district’s acceptable use policy. Through the use of videos and presentations, I taught my students about cyber ethics, internet safety and copyright laws. Next, I applied technology resources such as Pearson Success and Envision Math to differentiate instructions based on the individual needs of all my students. As a leader, I assisted teachers with appropriate technology materials, equipment, strategies, and resources to address the diverse needs of our students.
Although instructional leaders are ultimately responsible for instruction on the campus, a safe campus is needed for instruction. They must promote the safe and healthy use of technology resources by following all legal mandates such as FERPA, CIPA, and local AUP policies for participation in federal funding such as E-rate. Finally, leaders must recommend policies and strategies for achieving equitable access to technology resources for all students and staff based on the campus goals.