Program+Action+Plan+2010


 * Where have I been?**

Working with at-risk and adjudicated youth and adultsyouth and adults has for the past 17 years has been a challenging, emotionally-draining, yet rewarding career. Statistics suggest that working with at-risk student populations has a burn-out rate of 5 years. With that, I think I'm still going pretty strong. I am currently working with EBD (Emotional & Behavioral Disabled) high school students in an alternative setting with a high level of supervision and structure. At present, we have about 20 students that are court-ordered to attend our school. More than likely, we will receive at least 10 more referrals by the end of the year. We receive funding from the Oshkosh Area School District and Winnebago County under the auspices that it is far more cost-effective to provide a self-contained EBD day program that has a high level of supervision and structure rather than incarcerate them. The mission and the objectives of our school goes beyond academic achievement. We facilitate programming that addresses the special emotional, behavioral, social, and developmental needs of each student.

2. **Where am I going?**

Having a wealth of teaching experience, received awards for creativity in my instruction, the tenacity to work 12 hour days, and having natural leadership skills, I think I am at the point in my career to mentor colleagues and take on a leadership role (in the capacity of a principal) in an alternative high school. I am excited of the prospect of this dramatic change and recognize that I can still build meaningful relationships with students, parents, and colleagues as I have in the past as a classroom teacher.

Part of my motivation to take on responsibilities as an administrator was due to an unpopular decision made by our community’s school board. The building lease for an alternative high school in the Oshkosh Area School District has been terminated. This fall (2010), nearly 80 at-risk-of-dropping-out students will no longer have a school that was designed to accommodate their unique academic, social, and developmental needs. East High School students, teachers, and an interim administrator will more than likely move to a “school within a school” and/or be absorbed at Fox Valley Technical College‘s Quest Program for the 2010-11 school year.

Without going into all the grisly details in which I am privy with, this particular school's original vision and integrity has been compromised. From an inside and outside perspective, East High School has not had a flattering image in our community. For example, a few of the school’s neighbors have reported to me that many of the students were often unsupervised, had the liberty to move freely in and out of school, and/or would be loiter outside neighboring businesses often smoking cigarettes and leaving litter on their properties. My perception of this situation is that this school lacked consistent leadership; for it has had a high turnover of classroom teachers and at least 6 principals within the last 10 years. From my inside-hands-on experience, the patients were running the asylum. It also appeared that the students //wanted// someone to be in control; for they appealed to my authority within 2 hours of my arrival.( I had a brief stint at East as an afternoon math substitute teacher).

It is unfortunate that the school board terminated East High School’s building lease. As I spoke out at a community meeting earlier this year, our community needs to support and keep alternative schools open and operating; for there is a high cost to a community when a teenager drops out of school. It is also important to note that our local high schools do not have the resources to accommodate the unique needs of the at-risk student.

As a strong advocate for alternative programming and the //original// idea concept of a school like East, I decided to take on a leadership role and be //proactive// vs. reactive. At present, I am working with East High School’s interim principal and other professionals on a planning committee to help create perhaps 3 alternative program(s) for the displaced students of East High School for the 2010-11 school year.

3. **What kind of a leader am I now?**

At present, I am a high school EBD teacher and a mentor for a former student who recently “aged-out” of our program. I work 10-12 hour days because I have been blessed with a lot of determination and ambition, but I also work hard because I want to do right by my students.One of my strengths as a leader is that I have a natural ability to build positive relationships with students, parents, and my colleagues. Although I am not a leader in the capacity of supervising peers and colleagues, I continue to be a positive role model for troubled teenagers who need so much guidance and direction. I think I have what it takes to be an effective leader: a strong role model with a solid work ethic along with being guided by our district‘s core values and mission statement: “We commit ourselves to educate young people to become life-long learners, caring individuals, and responsible citizens empowered to meet today's challenges and realize tomorrow's dreams.” (Oshkosh Area School District, 2010).

As a future administrator, I will not be afraid of to work hard and go beyond the expectations and duties of my job description. It will take a lot of work and tenacity to guide and support a team that share a common goal. I will demonstrate a willingness to listen and respect my colleagues’ opinions, be flexible, collaborate, and respect the dynamic and process of change. I hope to inspire others to work harder and smarter and to be more accountable; for through the years I have seen many colleagues settle for mediocrity and do the bare minimum to get by.

4. **Leadership philosophy statement:**

Leadership is an on-going process of developing and nurturing working relationships with others that share a common vision and goals aligned with the our school district’s mission statement:

//“We commit ourselves to educate young people to become life-long learners, caring individuals, and responsible citizens empowered to meet today's challenges and realize tomorrow's dreams.” (Oshkosh Area School District, 2010).//

If we are bound by this vision and mission statement, it will give us a sense of purpose, and our goals can be adapted and developed along the way. Making a difference in our students’ lives will not only benefit their families but also impact our community as a whole.An effective leader can be the agent of change when guided by a vision. He or she should emphasize the common goal everyday. It is important to be flexible and trust the process of change. It is a leader’s responsibility to guide the dynamics of a team; each member can collectively contribute their talents and strengths to accomplish short and long-term goals.

5. __**Program Goals and Dispositions:**__


 * I. Program Goals

Program Goal #1:__Envision and guide organizational change.__**

What guides my organizational change is my vision, passion, and the reality that alternative high school programming is needed in our school district. Alternative high school programming provides a curriculum and structure that appeals to the special emotional, academic, and social needs of a student at-risk of dropping-out of school. At present, Wisconsin has a 20% drop-out rate. Half of that 20% will end up incarcerated. Everyone pays when someone drops out of school. According to the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and the MacIver Institute for Public Policy (2009), high school drop-outs impact tax revenues, Medicaid costs, and incarceration costs. The report concludes that Wisconsin could save $395 million each year by improving graduation rates. Each student who fails to graduate from high school produces direct costs to taxpayers through lower tax revenues and greater social costs.


 * Program Goal #2: __Communicate effectively, engage constituents, develop people and build community.__**

As a life-long resident of Oshkosh and an educator for the Oshkosh Area School District, I have been actively involved in a variety of leadership roles that have had a direct impact on public education and our community as a whole. I am an active member of the Oshkosh Education Association in the capacity of a Public Relations Representative and Building Representative for my school. It is amazing how a few simple actions can have the most impact. For example, every local election, I am assigned to a phone bank to encourage district and community members to get out and participate in local elections. The phone calls often end with, “Thank you for letting me know who to vote for; for I want the best for public education and my children (or grandchildren).” I have also stepped up to the microphone at a few community meetings earlier this year to support and advocate for alternative high school programming with, “If you don’t invest in students at-risk of dropping out; you’ll pay for it in other ways…for the going rate for 3 ‘hots and a cot’ is approximately 35,000 dollars a year.”

This opportunity is not difficult for me; for this goal not only comes natural to me but has been developed for the past 17 years as an educator. Working with incarcerated individuals in the past and presently EBD teenagers has given me the opportunity to not only work with many individuals from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds but also with many students with emotional and learning disabilities. I have experiences that range from helping students who have aged-out of high school programming on a paid and volunteer basis to supervising sweat lodges for incarcerated Native Americans. My hands-on experiences with diverse populations have been rich, life-changing, and helped me develop and practice a cultural sensitivity to maintain what I do best: Advocate and teach self-advocacy for those who don’t have a voice and loving and accepting these individuals unconditionally and without judgment.
 * Program Goal #3: __Advocate and promote equity for diverse populations, and respect for individuals.__**


 * Program Goal # 4: __Integrate theory, data, research and ethical standards into the context of one's practice through continual learning.__**

This opportunity has been on-going for me since the mid 1970s. I have been attending classes at UW-Oshkosh and Marian College (non-stop) to not only keep my educator’s license current but also to reap the personal and professional benefits from life-long learning. As my piano teacher once told me, “You may lose a job, a home, and family and friends along the way, but no one, absolutely no one, can take your education away from you.”


 * II. __MS Educational Leadership Program Dispositions: Self-Assessment__**


 * Disposition #1:__Value change as the source of opportunity for improvement.__**

Whenever I encounter change, I know that it is important for me to let go of fear like the character, Haw, in Dr. Spencer’s, //Who Moved My Cheese?// I will continue to view change as an opportunity and a leap of faith; I have to believe that it will happen. As ever, I will trust the dynamics and process of change.


 * Disposition #2: __Display the ability to understand people and relations and be receptive to the ideas of others.__**

It appears that there is some symmetry with the discussion presented in Program Goals 2 & 3 above. However, I will continue to be bound by our school’s core values and objectives and continue to advocate for students. I will also have other opportunities to ask my colleagues for guidance and support when problems arise at our school. However, now is the time for me to develop and practice leadership skills mentioned in Disposition #2 as a future administrator. I will continue to be an agent of change guided by a common goal. It is a leader’s responsibility to guide the dynamics of a team; for each member can collectively contribute their talents and strengths to accomplish short and long-term goals.

Because I work with students with special emotional and academic needs, I modify all my lessons and exams. I facilitate a compensatory model of instruction. The modifications in my instruction are aligned with our district’s academic standards and benchmarks. The compensatory model of instruction is a strategy that breaks down each component with additional drills and practice to promote more meaningful learning and mastery of skills. In special education, it just takes us a little longer to “catch up” to our “regular” age peers.
 * Disposition #3: __Show a willingness to implement non-discriminatory access, accommodations and assessments.__**


 * Disposition #4: __Demonstrate empathic understanding of diversity in all domains.__**

A discussion of empathy and diversity are also presented in Goals 2 & 3 above. Empathy and understanding are demonstrated in my thoughts and actions as a student advocate as well as conscientiously facilitating a culturally diverse curriculum. Both dovetail nicely into the dominant white-middle-class cultural presence and themes in our schools‘ curriculum, the media, and our community as a whole.


 * Disposition #5: __Regularly reflect upon the philosophical assumptions, ethical principles, and rationale that guides one's practice.__**

I am bound to leadership philosophy as presented in this paper and the Oshkosh Area School District’s vision and mission statement and it is reflected in my student advocacy. These principles will also be reflected in my leadership skills as well.


 * Disposition #6: __Understand oneself as a learner, and value learning as a core capacity.__**

As mentioned in Goal #4, I will continue to be a life-long learner and enjoy the dynamics of change along the way. I would like to think that my growth as an educator is reflected in the growth and change I see in my students everyday. As I mentioned in my Change Project, I think I have a natural ability to connect with students because I truly accept them for who they are. I have learned so much from my students about unconditional love. As Hilarie Rooney stated in //The// //World is Flat,// “An educator cannot fire the passion in someone else if it doesn’t burn in you to begin with.” Rooney also suggests that there appears to be a direct correlation between ‘whether or not you love kids’ and your students’ learning in your classroom(Friedman, 2006, p.305).With this in mind, much of the //at risk// student’s academic success //starts// with building relationships first and providing an educational setting that provides consistent structure and supervision.


 * 6:** **__Career Paper__

I. Leadership Objective:** //To attain a position as a principal in an alternative high school.//


 * II. Requirements & Qualifications:**

//(per Oshkosh Area School District’s website, April 08, 2010)// 1.0 FTE-Principal -Webster Stanley Middle School Reports to: Executive Director of Administration Salary: $76,000 - $93,500 a. The position requires completion of a current valid Wisconsin Department of Instruction administrative certification in the respective classification **(DPI Code 51-Principal).** b. The position requires a minimum of 5 years of successful experience as a teacher and demonstrated educational leadership. c. Such alternatives to the above qualifications as the Board of Education may find appropriate and acceptable.


 * III. My Experience and Qualifications:**

First and foremost, it is required for me to attend graduate school and complete the Wisconsin DPI’s requirements as listed above to begin the process of taking on a position as an administrator. I have also successfully completed 5 years as a classroom teacher; for I already have 17 years in. As a seasoned educator with a desire to take on an administration position within the next 3-5 years, I have taken on a few leadership roles throughout my ‘tenure.’ These activities have helped me build the essential leadership skills I will need to be an effective administrator in the future. At present, I am a public relations representative for the Oshkosh Education Association. This position is affiliated with the OEA Executive Committee and my responsibilities are to find opportunities and/or report any on-going activities in the community in which OEA members are involved in. Reporting OEA members’ involvement in the community will hopefully improve the public's perception of educators; for educators need to be recognized and respected as professionals and their valuable contributions to public education and their community as a whole.

I am also working closely with two Oshkosh Area School District administrators, Dr. Barb Herzog and Patti Vickman, throughout the 2009-10 school year. (My work with them gives me an opportunity to double dip; for I can utilize this interaction as the interview requirement for this paper). Upon the local school board's decision to close Oshkosh East High School in 2010, I have joined a team of professionals to come up with alternative programming and a placement plan for approximately 80 students that no longer have an alternative high school home for the 2010-11 school year. We have been visiting other alternative high schools in the Fox Valley area to gain insights and best practices from the schools’ students and educators. The three of us and other team members have been scrambling with a plan that needs to be in place by the start of the 2010-11 school year. We have a lot of ideas, but unfortunately, a lot of those ideas will cost money. With the district's 5 million dollar deficit, it is unlikely that our school board will support such a plan. In the meantime, we are working together to come up with plans ‘b’ and ‘c’ because plan a would require additional funding.


 * IV. Demand & Availability for Education Administrators**

It appears that our district is always in the market for competent and innovative leaders. As I work and chat with Dr. Herzog and Ms. Vickman, it was brought to my attention that Oshkosh Area School District currently has 2 openings for an elementary and a middle school principal. However, the timing for me is not right. However, the outlook regarding the supply and demand for //alternative// high school principals and administrators, appears positive. According to The Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education(2009), the need for alternative high schools are in high demand, “There is a severe and chronic shortage of qualified special education personnel—including teachers, administrators, and related service providers. COPSSE research analyzes current trends and offers suggestions for recruiting and retaining qualified professionals.”

According to the National Association of Secondary Principals’ website, future principals and assistant principals should have favorable job prospects. Employment of education administrators is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2012. As education and training take on a greater importance in everyone’s lives, the need for people to administer education programs will grow. Job opportunities for many of these positions should also be excellent because a large proportion of education administrators are expected to retire over the next 10 years (Education Administrator, 2010: From my research and experience working with at-risk students, //half// of the students who will not graduate this year will end up incarcerated. According to Brett Healy, President of the MacIver Institute, “Higher incarceration rates put an added financial burden on taxpayers; because drop-outs are statistically much more likely to be incarcerated than high school graduates. Studies suggest that there would be //5000 fewer inmates// if Wisconsin’s graduation rate would be 100 percent. A drop in the inmate population would save Wisconsin taxpayers an additional $154 million in incarceration costs each year (MacIver Institute, 2009: maciverinstitute.com). What astounds me is that taxpayers appear willing (or perhaps are not aware) to pay //more// for incarcerating our young people than providing additional resources to keep them in school. It makes far more sense to fund education up front rather than pay for it later, doesn’t it? I will remain an advocate for keeping alternative high schools and programming operating. It is important to recognize that many students do not fit into the traditional mold of education. An alternative school has a specific focus that goes beyond academic achievement. The school’s focus and core values should be aligned with the students’ “home schools” but accommodates their unique and individual intellectual, social, emotional, and developmental needs. Providing public alternative school settings in our community can help prevent a student population at-risk of dropping out.

Because I am a veteran teacher who completed an initial educator's licensure //prior// to August 31, 2004, I am exempt from the extensive P-134 process.However, I am required to keep my special education licensure active upon the completion of 6 credits every 5 years. According to Wisconsin Department of Instruction’s website, “A professional educator licensed or eligible for a license //prior// to August 31, 2004, may choose to complete a PDP or six semester credits for license renewal (Wisconsin DPI, PDP Frequently Asked Questions, 2010).” I have more than fulfilled this requirement; for I have been consistently attending graduate school since September 1996.
 * 8. Wisconsin DPI Program Development Plan (PDP):**

Knowing my time and financial limitations, I can only take 1 graduate course per semester. This course (701) is just the beginning. My current teaching job is extremely time consuming and I do a substantial amount of volunteer work in the Oshkosh community. As I continue to learn, internalize, reflect, and write about leadership, I am going to trust the process. In theory and on paper, I expect to complete my principal licensure (51) and continue to develop my leadership philosophy and skills within the next 4 years. In practice, I will apply, and no doubt change along the way, those skills until I retire from the education profession at age 65.
 * 9. Where do I need to grow, how will I get there, what do I need to do when?**


 * 10. Program Planning Sheet & Wisconsin Licensure Program Content:** **Guidelines for Principal 51**


 * UW-Oshkosh Education Administration

Principalship** – Degree -- 36 credits
 * Licensure only** – 30 credits -- delete Research Methods AND 723/733, masters degree required

701 Intro to Ed Leadership (2 credits) & 794 Seminar (1 credit) 714 Curriculum 730 Org & Admin 735 Legal 723 Professional Development OR 733 Effective Communication OR XXX Community Engagement 750 Shared Decision Making OR XXX Tech Leadership 793 Principal Internship (should be taken at end of program, see note for graduating semester**)
 * __UW Oshkosh classes:__**

__UW Madison classes:__** 725 Research Methods 735 Student Services and Diversity in Elementary/Secondary Education 830 Financing Elementary/Secondary Education 845 School Principalship 847 Instructional Leadership and School Improvement AND 3 years teaching experience (and Professional Level license*)

A Principal will meet all of the standards in PI 34.03 (1)–(7) and demonstrate knowledge of and skill in:
 * PRINCIPAL (51) REQUIREMENTS:**

1. Diversity as identified in PI 34.15 (4) (c). 2. The organization, history, and operation of public schools. 3. The governance of education at the national, state and local levels. 4. Supervision of instruction. 5. Evaluation of personnel. 6. School finance and taxation. 7. School business administration. 8. School law including those related to pupils, special education and employee contracts. 9. School and community relations. 10. The politics of education. 11. Educational leadership at the building level including participatory management, long-range and continuous strategic planning and change agent processes. 12. Oral and written communication. 13. Operational tasks and instructional leadership of the principalship. 14. Coordination of co-curricular and extra-curricular school programs, including organizational structure, program planning, policy formation and curriculum development. 15. Curriculum development at the school level. 16. Tests and measurements including norm-referenced and teacher constructed testing. 17. The role, function and responsibility of the principal through a supervised practicum, internship or documented work experience in a school setting at the appropriate level.


 * __References:__**

Friedman, T.L. (2006). //The World is Flat.// New York, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Johnson, S., M.D. ( 2002). //Who Moved My Cheese?// New York, New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

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http://www.all4ed.org/puplication_material/understanding_HSgradrates

[|http://www.nassp.org__]

[|www.oshkosh.k12.wi.us__]

[|www.uwosh.edu/edleadership/programs/educational-administration__]