Jim Shetter Ed.

639 Final Paper Spring 2013

Looking back at my products from Ed. 639 and how I applied my insight at Iditarod Elementary this past year has been a time consuming and ongoing process throughout the semester. Looking at the products I developed from the Assessment Project, PCM Unit, Service Learning Project, Culturally Responsive Project, and the Discussion Questions and the Coaching Plan was a continuous growth of learning about being involved in my school and what I could bring to the table as an Educational Leader. The majority of my learning came from working on the PCM Unit and it taught me the importance that all students can learn and it doesnt matter at my school what grade you are, what your learning abilities are and that if your gifted, an average student and a special needs student, they can learn the same lesson and assess them in similar ways. As we are a Title 1 School and we have Emotionally Disturbed Students and I really never understood how you can break down a lesson that will increase the number of students who participate in and challenge and motivate them into a curriculum. The idea that nurtures the varied strengths and interests among all students as equals. What the PCM provides for teachers is the comprehensive framework with which they can design, evaluate, and revise existing curriculum for all units. This improves the quality of curriculum units, lessons and tasks that will enhance the general, gifted and special needs curricula for teachers. This increases the authenticity and power of the knowledge that students acquire and their related learning activity.

The greatest factor I can see the PCM can help our teachers at IDE provide opportunities for continuous professional, intellectual and personal growth. The offers teachers the flexibility to achieve changes in a lesson and allows flexibility to address varying needs and interests to all students. So as a whole, this was the best insight I felt I learned this semester on how important this can help my school if teachers had a better understanding the importance of the PCM philosophy. I really think my weekly meeting and questions I would go over with my mentor meant growth towards management. Understanding how my mentor works with human relations and what advice he gave me about politics, contracts, and placement of students while always trying listening to his teachers and their needs. All this changes when youre in a smaller school or smaller districts. He explained the importance that each district has different motivators. Is your district National and State driven or is it specific as our district is towards the RTI Model? As a principal, am I going to be data driven leader or am I going to be focusing on keeping people happy? I learned its a combination or both. Similar to the SIP/STEPP process, you have to have your checks and balances on both your students, teachers and building chemistry. Is there progression each day, week, month, quarter and semester growth towards accountability? Are you going to be a reactive or proactive leader? It really does matter on the way you react. The last focus on my growth as an educational leader is to be organized. I enjoyed learning how my mentor uses technology for his daily and monthly calendar on his Outlook E-Mail for reminders and that he has his hard copy calendar for his monthly and semester objectives for activities. He also uses his cell phone that the district provides for him that allows him to have information on each student so that at any moment, he has access to names, faces, parent contact and information about each student at our school.

I believe I have grown in confidence in my role as principal too. I was able to be involved in many areas of our school philosophy. That is our mission statement. Our mission at Iditarod Elementary is to prepare our students for success by creating a safe, responsible, and respectful learning community. These products made you get involved. By doing your internship as a daily principal is one point, but this program supported and forced you to learn so much about the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and semester objectives to run a school.