Candidate Reflection Journal (guiding questions)
- What do I have to have in place prior to the first day of school?
- What is the organizational culture of my district and school? (i.e., How
do I work effectively with central office? What is the chain of command?)
- How do I design a master schedule?
- What are the discipline policies and procedures?
- What is the collective bargaining agreement and what effect does it have
on my ability to lead?
- What are the Special Education procedures and what is my role?
- How do I maintain a safe, orderly, and positive environment?
- How does my district evaluate teacher performance and how does that effect
my instructional leadership?
- How do I organize the testing program? (i.e., How do I arrange the tests
for each teacher? How do I prepare the students/parents/support staff/teachers?
How do I collect and assemble the finished tests and where do I send them?)
- How do I effectively work with the support staff in the building?
- What do I need to know about the physical plant?
- What are the policies regarding confidentiality of records in my building?
- How-- do I handle arranging for substitute teachers in the absence of the
regular teacher?
- How do I handle a personnel problem with a teacher or a member of the support
staff?
- How do I effectively handle parent complaints?
- How do I initiate an effective parent and community involvement program?
- How do bring about school improvement?
- What strategies should I use to maintain my own personal health? (i.e.,
How can I keep stress under control?)
- How do I effectively manage my time in order to focus on instructional
improvement?
- How do I develop effective leadership traits?
- How do I create a healthy school culture where excellence is rewarded and
expectations of students and staff are high?
- How do I deal with the malcontents and the under-performing?
- How do I create effective staff development for teachers?
- How do I plan and organize for the close of the school year?