Standard+6


 * External Development Leadership **


 * // A school executive will design structures and processes that result in community engagement, support, and ownership. Acknowledging that schools no longer reflect but, in fact, build community, the leader proactively creates with staff, opportunities for parents/guardians, community, and business representatives to participate as “stockholders” in the school such that continued investment of resources and good will are not left to chance. //**




 * 6a. Parent and Community Involvement and Outreach ** : The school executive designs structures and processes which result in parent and community engagement, support and ownership for the school.

Internship Activities
 * Participated in PTA meetings;
 * Home visits to the homes of students
 * Parent meetings and conferences; maintained a monthly parental contact log
 * Participated in "Transition to Kindergarten" meeting with preschool teachers, kindergarten teachers and principals
 * Community Internship at Union Mission of Roanoke Rapids
 * Current board member of Halifax-Warren Smart Start
 * Participated in High School transition meetings.
 * Created a letter to thank community members for support

Coursework, Trainings, and Readings
 * Practiced strategies from Crucial Conversations, Facilitative Leadership and Dale Carnegie in dealings with students, staff and community
 * Analyzed the level of student leadership opportunities and student engagement at my internship site through Distinguished Leadership in Practice assignment

Selected Artifacts


 * 6b. Federal, State and District Mandates ** : The school executive designs protocols and processes in order to comply with federal, state, and district mandates.

Internship Activities
 * Attended and participated in district-level principal meetings and administrative staff meetings

Coursework, Trainings, and Readings
 * Attended IEL conference in Washington DC
 * Common Core training for school leaders
 * Informational sessions with Dr. Bill Harrison, State Board of Education Chairman
 * Principal interview on major legal issues facing schools and legal lesson plan on one of those issues (development and delivery)
 * Co-presented, with NELA Cohort Fellow Doug Miller, a lesson to principals on legalities surrounding use of social media.
 * Completed a Special Education legal literacy assignment in response to an IEP Question involving Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for a current EC student

Selected Artifacts

**//Reflection after Presenting Law Professional Development//** The topic chosen during our Facilitative Leadership open/narrow/close was “the inappropriate use of technology”. That topic simmered in my brain for a really long time. It was difficult for me to figure out how to teach this lesson and hit all the topics. Doug and I narrowed the topic to student free expression and added a “cyber” component. My main concern was that we cover what the principals really wanted. In the end, I do feel we covered all the areas the principals requested.

Dr. Peel offered great insight immediately following our lesson. Our objectives were stated “participants will be able to” instead of “participants will have a knowledge of. . .”. He suggested changing the wording of our objectives and combining our two objectives into one.

My biggest regret was the absence of forced group discussion or shoulder buddy discussions. Our plan was to have group discussions. Just before the lesson began, we were advised to keep our lesson as brief as possible. So, we cut this critical piece of the assignment. The value of learning is diminished, I think, without the opportunity to discuss and problem solve together. I also learned timing is critical: make sure there is enough time allotted to present the topic. The next opportunity I have to teach a law lesson, there will be group activities included.



Standard 6

Self Assessment 2010 // Standard 6: External Development Leadership // The success of children in schools is no longer strictly the sole concern of the teacher. Parent and community involvement is critical to the success of students. The external development leader understands the importance of community engagement in schools. This leader empowers parents to have a voice and to be active participants in school. As a **systems thinker**, the external development leader understands how relationships impact the advancement of school achievement. Developing relationships between the community, parents, and schools should be a goal of this leader. Living in a small community has its benefits. Moving here from a large city was a bit of a culture shock. The biggest difference I noticed immediately was that everyone knows everyone. When I needed to have meetings with parents, for the most part, it was with someone I knew. Communication with these parents has always been easy for me. Empowering parents to be advocates for their children is something that I do everyday. I am passionate about having parents actively involved and participating in their child’s education. It does not bother me to have parents disagree with me. I value their perspective and want very much for them to be heard. While having conversation with parents is easy for me, representing my school to the community is outside my comfort zone. I need to learn what support from businesses looks like and how to implement their support in my school. Building rapport with business and finding common ground (Marzano, Waters and McNulty, 2005) is a good first step. It is important that I understand what our district policies are regarding sharing information with the media. I need to be bold as I advocate for my staff in meetings with the central office personnel. During this next year, my goal is to increase my confidence as an effective external development leader. My goals are as follows:
 * 1) I will complete the course entitled “School & Community Engagement” through the NELA during the summer of 2011.
 * 2) I will read leadership journals, keeping a file of articles related to school and community engagement.
 * 3) I will work with the staff at CHECC to develop a plan to increase community involvement at our school.
 * 4) I will participate in community outreach events sponsored by my school district.
 * 5) I will interview our media outreach coordinator to learn what the policies are regarding sharing information with the media.