Educational Administration Artifact Reflection

Artifact Title: Staff Emails and Parent Emails

Date of Experience Completed: October through December 2013
Artifact Description:
My artifact is a copy of my email exchanges with staff members regarding an
IEP process and the parents of a student regarding upcoming appointments
and accommodations. The emails include scheduling and gathering
information for the students IEP meeting. All staff members involved with
the students education, including related service providers, were contacted
and invited. The parents were also contacted and actively involved in their
childs IEP process.
Wisconsin Administrator Standard Alignment:
These staff and parent emails best align with Wisconsin Administrator
Standard 1.10 which states: The teacher fosters relationships with school
colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support
students learning and well-being.
These staff and parent emails best align with Standard 1.10 because they
demonstrate understanding of how factors in the students environment
outside of school may influence the students life and learning. Evidence of
this is shown on pages nine and 10 of the artifact. This student has
significant health concerns that directly affect his ability to perform day to
day functions, not to mention the demand of the school day. The mother
sent an email informing this student would be going to get specialized
medical treatments during a two week span in January. An appropriate
response was returned with well wishes and promises to take care of the
school aspect of the students future absence. The email artifacts also align
with Standard 1.10 because they demonstrate willingness to consult with
other adults regarding the education and well-being of the student,
willingness to work with other professionals to improve the overall learning
environment for the student, and respect for the privacy of the students
confidential information. The overall purpose of the staff email was to get a
conversation started about the best educational opportunities for this
student. All of the school personnel involved in his IEP team were contacted
including those from the previous IEP as well as the students future high
school case manager. There were many people involved in this meeting (PT,
OT, speech and language, special education, regular education, etc.), so it
had to be scheduled far in advance to accommodate all schedules.
Professionalism and privacy are evident in the way the parties involved
spoke about the student as well as the students confidential information
whited-out so the artifact may be shared publicly. Finally, these emails

demonstrate alignment with Standard 1.10 because they make links with the
students other environments by consulting with the parents, teachers of
other classes and school activities, and professionals in other community
agencies. As mentioned before, many professionals were contacted during
this students IEP process. The parents were contacted as well as the regular
education teachers working with the student daily. Out-of-district
professionals included in the email were our physical therapist and
occupational therapist. These two professionals work for community
agencies and are contracted by multiple schools.
What I learned about administration/teaching/learning from this
experience:
I learned that is it a necessity to have the ability to communicate effectively
with students, parents, and coworkers as a professional special educator. It
is required by law that you discuss IEP meeting dates, accommodations,
present levels, goal, etc. with parents. You cannot be bashful! I am always
polite and informative during my communication, and I am never fearful
about making a call home. I strongly believe in an open line of
communication between the parents of my students and myself. I give my
students parents my email address as well as the phone number for the
school at the beginning of each year.
I also learned to draft, check, and recheck every communication piece when
participating in professional relationships. An administrator or a teacher
needs to consider their phrasing, word choice, spelling, grammar, etc. when
communicating with a student, parent, staff member, administrator, media,
and other community contacts. I make sure to remain professional while
communicating by phone and email with my students parents. Not only do I
find this increases productivity of the conversation, but it also encourages
the parent to continue the line of communication. Additionally, it is
important to conduct yourself professionally with administration and
community members. Word travels fast, especially in a small town. Your
career and/or reputation could be affected by your ability/inability to
communicate effectively. For the sake of my career, I think before I
speak/write and conduct my business in a respectful and professional
manner.
What I learned about myself as a prospective administrator as a
result of this artifact:
As a prospective administrator, these emails taught me two lessons. The
first lesson was: when you start something, see it all the way through.
Whether required to or not, administrators begin incentives/projects for their
schools. As a future administrator, I will finish what I begin. Today, there are
so many incentives required by governments. I know I need to be committed

to the implementation and follow through of these programs. Additionally, I

will be proud to call them mine and give recognition to individuals involved in
the process. The second lesson I learned was: its not what you say; its how
you say it. As a future administrator, there is a high chance I will be required
to deliver an unpleasant message to students, staff members, parents,
administrators, and/or community members. There is also a chance I will
have the pleasure of delivering spectacular news to the same individuals.
Either way, I will need to strategically phrase the news. I will be required to
take into account the feelings and positions of all parties involved. The
message will not be as important as how it is delivered. Sensitivity is
important to keep in mind as an administrator.