In my opinion, one of the best ways we have used reflection in our course work for this program has been the use of pre- and post-assessments at the beginning and end of most courses. Assessing my level of proficiency initially and then again at the conclusion of the course made me really think about how much my level of knowledge had grown over time and where I still had gaps to fill. The most powerful use of this type of reflection was the post-assessment for EDLD 5399 when we were asked to evaluate our proficiency in all competencies and then reflect on the change in our responses from the pre-assessment in EDLD 5396.
Another useful type of reflection the course work required was reading and responding to the discussion boards each week. Reading other colleagues’ postings provided me with different ways to consider situations and their solutions. In addition, reading colleagues’ posts on the discussion boards allowed me to examine how districts of different sizes and student demographics approach the challenges we all face.
Prior to participating in this program, I had not created a blog. Although its purpose is to share information and “discuss” the information posted, the blog has also been an excellent way to reflect on the course work from beginning to end. While the program has gone by quickly, it is insightful to read back over my blog and think about all of the activities we have completed and things I have learned along the way.
I think one of the activities we completed early on in the course work that I have reflected on throughout the last nine months has been the superintendent interview. At the time, I was intrigued by the superintendent’s response to the importance of the superintendent/board relationship and by all of the steps he takes to ensure that he is communicating with board members frequently. I had never really given much thought to how the superintendent goes about ensuring that the relationship is positive and that there are no surprises for board members. This year has been filled with some challenges for my district, and even with all of the proactive steps my superintendent takes to build the superintendent/board relationship and communicate with them frequently, the challenges have caused some division among some board members and the superintendent. This situation has reinforced to me just how political the superintendent position can be and how quickly the superintendent/board relationship can change. In addition, the comment one of our professors made that if this happens, it will be the superintendent not the board who must find another district is something I have reflected on frequently.
There are two internship activities that I have reflected on most throughout this school year. One has been the activity which required me to participate in an interview for a professional position and then critique the process. As the Executive Director of HRS, my job requires me to recruit and select administrators for district schools. An extensive process has been in use to do this in the district for the past ten years, but upon accepting my position in HRS, it has been clear to me that the process needed some revision. Revising this administrator selection process has been a department focus throughout the school year.
The second internship activity that I have reflected on throughout the school year has been to review job descriptions of key office personnel and then meet with those employees to discuss their job requirements and how well they match the job description. Again, because of my role in the district, this activity has been extremely important to me. My department made a commitment to review and revise the 350+ job descriptions that currently exist within the district this year. This is something that cannot be done successfully without meeting with supervisors to discuss job descriptions and areas for improvement so that they are in alignment with what the employee is actually being required to do.
As I stated earlier, finding the time and solitude to reflect is not an easy thing for a busy leader to do. As a superintendent, the demands on one’s time are even greater. However, reflection is still essential if the goal is to continuously improve in the superintendent position. If I become a superintendent, I will look for ways to make reflection a daily part of the job. For example, I will likely continue to use a strategy I use now for reflection. After a major event/project/situation I have conducted, I take time to jot notes on what went well and what needs improvement, and I keep those notes with the file for the event/project/situation. Then, the next time I am faced with a similar event/project/situation, I have notes to review so that I can address the improvements needed from the beginning. Group reflection will also be a strategy I will incorporate with my executive leadership team in order to process how successfully we addressed various initiatives and how we can improve in the future. Finally, on a personal level, I believe it will be important to keep a personal journal to reflect on the successes in my personal and professional life. This will be a way for me to keep perspective on what is going right in my personal and professional life and to remain focused on what is truly important, especially in times of negativity and criticism that unfortunately are part of the superintendent’s daily professional life.
