Kirsten Henderson

December/January, 2016 daily log

Eden Jr. Sr. High School

Total Internship hours- 210

DATE

ELCC
standard

Description of
activity

Reflection of activity

Time of
activity

Total
time
this
date
1.5
hours

Total
time
accrued
to date
1.5
hours

1 hour

2.5
hours
4.5
hours
8.5
hours

12/15/15 3.2

Manage organization

I attended a superintendents hearing for an eighth grade student.

1.5
hours

12/16/15 3

Manage organization,
operations and
resources

I attended a Board of Education meeting. There was a Budget Advisory

team meeting going on as I entered. There was discussion regarding the
BOCES program needing to make improvements to their buildings.

1 hour

I began research on local school districts that offer a middle school within
a high school.
I researched middle school best practice for information on transition
planning, schedules and course offerings.
My first whole day at Eden Jr./Sr. High School went well.
I attended a meeting with the Principal, Mr. Cervoni, Assistant Principal,
Ms. Menkiena and the guidance department to discuss ongoing issues
with students.

2 hours

2 hours

4 hours

4 hours

I attended meetings with the Assistant Principal, Ms. Menkiena regarding

discipline issues. I excused myself from one meeting because the student
was familiar to me from the community. A principal needs to be well
aware of the code of conduct and consequences for infractions and refer
to the code of conduction that is the front of the student agenda that every
student receives. I gathered information regarding academic and athletic
probation. I made calls to classes to send students down to remind them
to report to the Academic Enhancement Program (AEP), a requirement
for students who are receiving an unsatisfactory in 1 or more classes.
Questions I have to ask tomorrow are: Is attendance at the AEP weekly so
a student could be off the next week? Are the students called down each
week or just after long school breaks?

3 hours

1/2/16

2.3

Best Practice

1/3/16

2.3

Best Practice

1/4/16

3.1

Manage organization

2.1, 5

Promote positive
school culture, Acting
with Integrity,
Fairness and in an
Ethical Manner

1 hour

2.3, 1

2.1

1/5/16

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

Positive School
Culture

I continued research regarding middle school best practice. I had a

discussion with Mr. Minton, a guidance counselor, regarding ratio of
staffing to students in classes.
I attended a faculty meeting where I was introduced to the faculty. There
was a presentation about the approved Annual Professional Performance
Review (APPR) 3012-d. The coordinator, Mrs. Carter, said she trains
administrators every month. I will be asking her if I could attend a
training. I also have questions about what a principals APPR looks like.

3 hours

I participated in a discussion regarding the student from the

superintendents hearing. The student was suspended for 30 days. The
discussion revolved around providing the student with his modifications
and needs from his IEP. There was also a question around if the student
should be allowed in the school to collect schoolwork.

1 hour

1 hour

9 hours
17.5
hours

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

I assisted in preparing a draft proctor and scoring schedule for the

upcoming Regents exams. I was asked to add a watermark to the
document, which I figured out. I sent the draft to Mr. Cervoni who asked
that I send it out to the department heads. I also sent correspondence to
Mrs. Ramaekers regarding the use of room 107 for the January Regents
exams. The FBLA club she advises uses that room throughout the day.

3 hours

2.1,

Positive School
Culture,

I continued to alert students regarding AEP and detention. I discussed

with Ms. Menkiena about students need to attend this afterschool
program. Teachers report on a students progress for the week. If a
student receives a satisfactory in all subjects then s/he does not need to
attend AEP the following week. We used a different system to remind
students today. Ms. Menkiena shared that she has tried different ways to
remind students trying to come up with the least disruptive method.
Today I made a list of the students lunch period and asked the lunch
monitors to send students to the office. This worked for most students.
There were four students who did not have a lunch period. The
classrooms were called and the students reported to the office.

2 hours

2.1

Positive School
Culture

I attended meetings with Ms. Menkiena about discipline issues. The

monitoring of student behavior is ongoing. Today there was a problem
with 3 girls making inappropriate comments while using school

1 hour
2

computers. The computer program monitors usage for targeted words.

Each student was called to the office to discuss the incident.

1/6/16

4, 5, 1

Collaborate with
Families, Act with
Integrity, Vision of
Learning

I also attended a parent meeting. This parent has a child with a 504 plan.
The mother described the childs school history that led to the need for
modifications to her general education program. Teachers were asked to
alert the mother to upcoming graded assignments. One teacher was not
providing the needed information. Ms. Menkiena called that teacher to
the meeting. She brought a union representative with her. Ms. Menkiena
assured the teacher that the meeting was just to brainstorm ideas to help
this student. After the meeting we had a discussion about the teachers
attitude at the meeting, how she doesnt seem to understand what is
needed for this student and that she commented that she felt that the
student is just choosing to behave the way she does, not because of a
disability. An administrator needs to balance the needs of the faculty with
the needs of a family, supporting both parties.

2 hours

2.4

Professional Growth
Plans

Mr. Cervoni discussed a few upcoming activities I would be participating

in. One was observation training on Friday connected to the Danielson
Rubric. The other was an in-service about the new SAT format. He
discussed that there is talk in NYS to use the SAT to evaluate a schools
performance. I read an article on edweek about this topic.

2 hours

The discipline issues today involved instagram outside of school. A

parent emailed Ms. Menkiena with screen shots of a site bullying some
students and text messages of a conversation between 2 students
threatening young children with harm. Today was a half-day and we were
scheduled to present on bullying at the elementary school. So time to
work through the problem was tight. Ms. Menkiena sought the guidance
of the counselors. This reminded me of moodle conversations in class of
not going it alone. She was able to get some advise of other
professionals before acting on the issue. The one student who sent the
text messages was spoken with as well as one student who was harassed.
Ms. Menkiena was going to call parents to inform them of what her plan
is to deal with the harassment. Ms. Menkiena is the DASA coordinator
for the district. In a small district like Eden administrators are tasked with
more than one responsibility. I organized the information from the sign in
sheet from AEP yesterday and planned for calling for discipline referrals

3 hours

2.1

Promote Positive
School Culture

10
hours

27.5
hours

from teachers. I have been using the Powerschool site to gain the needed
information to find students in class.

1/7/16

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

Mr. Cervoni and I met with a department head to discuss the proctoring
schedule. She suggested some changes to the schedule as well as
suggesting students and substitutes eat lunch during period 5. Others
were contacted about the schedule with no changes. I made the changes
to the schedule along with notes for reminders of what needs to be
completed as the Regents date approaches. I know that for myself I
benefit from using a large monthly calendar to add action items to. I need
to easily see, at a glance, if something needs to be done on a certain day. I
brought along a page from a January calendar to add and check on each
day. To prepare for the upcoming Regents exams, I searched the NYSED
website for directions for proctors and administration of exams protocols.
I began to read through the 2 manuals to familiarize myself with the
process.

4 hours

2.1, 2.4

Promote Positive
Culture, Professional
Growth Plans

I reviewed information for the APPR training on Friday and gathered the
list of clubs and advisors to begin sending out a questionnaire. I sent the
questionnaire to Mr. Cervoni for review.

2 hours

2.1

Promote Positive
School Culture

I called all the students scheduled for detention today and received follow
up on the situations from the instagram incident.

2 hours

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

I continued to prepare for the January Regents exams with discussions

with department heads and revisions to the proctor schedule. I began
reading the Administrators Manual and the Proctor Manual. I sent both
manuals to Mr. Cervoni. I recorded the information we needed to
consider while having school in session for the first time for the January
Regents. I continued reading the Administrators Manual at home.

4 hours

2.1

Promote Positive
School Culture

I formatted the club questionnaire to share with Mr. Cervoni and Ms.
Menkiena. Mr. Cervoni suggested that I add a due date to the email I
send along with the questionnaire. Mr. Cervoni mentioned trying survey
monkey to make the recording easier. I checked it out and made a survey
but after testing out the survey, the information we need needs a different
format. I emailed the advisors the questionnaire

2 hours

9 hours

36.5
hours

6, 1

Understanding,
Responding to, and
Influencing the Larger
Context, Vision of
Learning

I participated in a meeting regarding Title IX with the superintendent,

Mrs. Anzalone and Ms. Menkiena. Ms. Menkiena is the Title IX
coordinator. In general Title IX is a federal law prohibits discrimination
of many groups in any federally funded education program or activity.
Our discussion revolved around making sure Eden Central School is in
compliance with all the requirements of the law.

2 hours

A general observation I noticed today was that I could be involved in a

project but if a student or teacher comes in needing to speak with me I
need to be prepared to switch gears when those people are available. I
need to be organized to find the notes or document to speak on whether it
be a discipline referral, email or other issue.
1/8/16

10
hours

3.3

Manage resources

Upon arrival to school, I found out there were 6 teachers out and only 4
substitutes available. The secretaries had the list of open periods and we
worked to use the 2 teachers who are half day and filled in the classes
with open times for the substitutes. Each period was covered.

2.1

Promote Positive
School Culture

Ms. Menkiena was out of the school for the whole day and Mr. Cervoni
4 hours
needed to leave for a meeting and was out of the school for 3 hours. I was
tasked with handling incidents that come to the office: A grade 7 student
came down to tell about a foul language comment another student made, a
student asked to drive to his vocational school, 2 students skipped study
hall, and 2 grade 7 students were involved in an incident with a cutting
knife in Family and Consumer Science class (FACS). I spoke with all the
students. I waited for direction from Mr. Cervoni for the FACS class but I
ended up speaking with the students and parents, one from home in the
evening. Since I left a message for one family before I left I felt strongly
that I did not want to leave it all weekend if I could help it. I was able to
speak with the mother regarding the incident.

3.1, 3.2

Manage organization
and operations

I reviewed the Proctor schedule and made the changes Mr. Cervoni made
in a discussion with a teacher yesterday while I was at the Title IX
meeting. I contacted the last teacher to secure the changes. We will
finalize the copy and send it out to the necessary parties on Monday.

2 hours

3.2

Manage operations

I began reviewing the safety procedures to be prepared incase of an

.5

55.5
hours

1 hour

2.1
1

2.4, 1

emergency especially since I was on my own as administrator in the main

office for a few hours. The Director of Instructional Technology was the
acting supervisor in charge.

hours

Promote positive
school culture
Vision of Learning

I received questionnaires from a few advisors and sent a thank you to

them for their quick response.
I followed a school wide teacher email regarding differentiated
instruction. I thought this was a great way to have teacher dialogue on a
topic to expand learning and think about professional development. My
questions would be: do administrators get involved in the discussion?
Does this happen often?

.5
hours
.5
hours

Professional Growth
Plans, Vision of
Learning

I attended a training regarding observations. There was a discussion

around what to specifically look for when observing either a special ed
self-contained class or an integrated class. Most of the items demonstrate
good teaching and could be used in the general education setting as well.
We all observed a clip of a teacher teaching a grade 4 class and reviewed
the Danielson rubric. This was to prepare the administrative team to do
unannounced observations of teachers in the Elementary building next
week. Questions I have about that: Do evaluators try to write out
everything they hear in the class? Do you alert the staff that the visits will
happen during a certain general time frame? What was the order for
visiting the different buildings? Do you give time for the youngest grades
to get acclimated to the new classrooms?

1 hour

When the training was over Mrs. Anzalone directed a meeting/discussion

around issues of the capital project, upcoming Admin meetings, and the
move for grade 6 to the high school to create a middle school model. I
shared that I am doing research to facilitate the move.
I researched and began a paper for the middle transition. I found many
things for activities to help students with the transition. I believe these
activities could be started now for the students in grade 6 as they
transition to grade 7 at the Jr/Sr High school.
Continues work on the middle school transition paper.

1 hour

I researched Title IX posters and found a few that were interesting. I

made copies and will send them to Ms. Menkiena tomorrow.

1 hour

1/9/16

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

1/10/16

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

10.5
hours
4 hours

4 hours

66
hours
70 hours

3 hours
4 hours
74 hours
6

1/11/16

1/12/16

3.3

Manage Resources

As I arrived I found out there were limited substitutes again. Today was a
half-day for students. A few teachers directed their classes to the library
for a presentation. Substitutes were moved around through the free
periods to cover other classes. One concern is taking attendance to be
sure students are attending the classes they should.

.5
hours

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

I finalized the January Regents schedule and gave copies to the

department heads along with the Proctor direction packet. I began work
on the June Regents schedule and sent an email to department heads
asking for information on giving locals exams during that week as well as
looking for conflicts on testing day. 2 department heads returned my
emails already. I am adding the comments to the bottom of the Regents
schedule. I finished reading the proctor directions as well as the
administrators guide to the Regents.

3 hours

2.1

Promote a Positive
School Culture

I received a few more club questionnaires. Most have come back

electronically. One I put the information on the form myself to keep all
the questionnaires together. One advisor had added information after she
sent me the questionnaire. I added the information to her questionnaire. I
sent a thank you to each advisor.

1 hour

6. 1

Understanding,
Responding to, and
Influencing the larger
context, Vision of
Learning
Promoting a Positive
Culture, Vision of
Learning
Professional Growth
Plan

I read the Title IX documents, reading for understanding of the legislation

as well as looking for the important items that need to be displayed at
entrances.

1.5
hours

I worked on the academic probation list, highlighting the students who

have received 3 or more unsatisfactories in their classes for last week.

1 hour

I had a discussion with Mr. Cervoni around APPR. We discussed how he

records what he sees during an observation. Mrs. LaRosa, the Director of
Curriculum, Instruction and Staff Development, sets up the professional
development and could use information learned from observations for
professional development.

1 hour

Understanding,
Responding to and
influencing the larger

I completed reading about Title IX and read some documents in the

schools manual on transgender. It seems that bathrooms and locker
rooms are the big issues. The courts seem to want to wait for students to

1.5
hours

2.1, 1
2.4

6 hours
80 hours

1/13/16

context

complain if the school has decided that these students can use the
bathroom they identify with.

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

I continued my research on middle schools. Tonawanda Central School

4 hours
seems to have a middle school within a high school. I gathered
information from their website and began preparing a questionnaire to call
them for more information as well as other schools to compare there
practices. I researched transition articles for middle schools and grade 612 schools (from home)

3.1, 3.2,
3.3

Manage Organization,
Operations and
Resources

We had an early dismissal from school today due to weather. First

students going to vocational education were dismissed from the bus.
There were issues with where to put them until the end of the day. Then
we learned that the whole school was being dismissed. Students began
wandering the halls before the dismissal. Mr. Cervoni made another
announcement to hold students in class. Upon his request I began a list of
the questions to consider during an early dismissal such as- contacting the
schools for vocational, alternative education, ISS, and the Boys and Girls
club, notifying other school districts for students we have at Eden and
coordinating lunches for students receiving free or reduced lunches that
did not get to lunch yet.
I received an email regarding the test modifications for the January
Regents. I added them to the proctor schedule. I began to organize the
substitute assignments. Since most of the subs will be proctoring I
needed to organize for 1 sub to start in a class while a teacher starts with
exam. I sent emails to ensure that the science and social studies teachers
wanted to do that.

3.1, 3.2

Manage organization
and operations

2.1

Promote a Positive
Culture

.5
hours

8 hours
88 hours
1 hour

I organized the detention list for the student with excessive tardies and
2 hours
call them down to alert the to the need to attend detention one day next
week. Ms. Menkiena returned to school and I filled her in on the issues
while she was out. We followed up with the family from Fridays incident
and organized a plan for her to attend detention. I left a message with the
mother and she returned my call. She was pleased with the plan for her
daughters detention. Ms. Menkiena received an email from a parent
regarding a harassment incident. Talking with students to find out
information can be tricky. Ms. Menkiena asked open-ended questions and
then allowed students to talk.
8

1/14/16

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

I spoke with Mrs. LaRosa regarding the Middle school transition. We

discussed my research so far. I shared that the transition should be
happening now for the students in grade 6 transitioning to grade 7 at the
Jr./Sr. High next year. I shared information I found from 1 school district
and that I am planning on calling local schools to gain information about
how others structure middle school in a high school. I searched other
school districts outside of Erie County to find other school to contact that
may have a grade 6-12 school.
I continued to gather the questionnaires from teachers about clubs.
I started an early dismissal check sheet incase there is another early
dismissal day. The office is prepared with who needs to be contacted
when afterschool activities are cancelled but early dismissal days are rare.

2 hours

2.1

Promote a Positive
Culture

Understanding,
Responding to and
influencing the larger
context

I researched and discussed the posters for Title IX with Ms. Menkiena.
She had one she preferred from the ones I found. Since the information
was not exactly what we needed I began to create my own with a similar
format.

2 hours

2.4

Professional Growth
Plans

I began looking through teacher APPR folders. The school is planning for .5
both the requirements for 3012-c and 3012-d. The teachers had to provide hours
student learning objectives.

3.1, 3.2,
3.3

Manage Organization,
Operations, and
Resources

We needed to organize substitutes. We were down 1 substitute for today.

There was a student in crisis this morning. There was the possibility of a
call to shelter in place. Ms. Menkiena took care of the situation. There
was the possibility of calling CAReS to help this student. I coordinated
more on the proctor schedule. There is a question about who would be
the teacher of record for the science exams. These students are retaking
the exam. The teacher of record cannot score the exam. I attended an
administrative meeting. There were discussions regarding: the
transportation of students on the snowy half day as well as the early
dismissal, contract language revolving around teachers alerting the
superintendent about an interest in moving from their current position,
staffing changes, and budget discussions. Tom Murphy, the Director of
Finance, asks all the administrators, (3 principals, technology, special
education, buildings and grounds, transportation, curriculum and
instruction and athletics) to prepare a wish/wants/desires list to start with

1 hour

8 hours
96 hours

7.5
hours

the big picture so they can stay focused on the direction they want the
district to go in. The budget needs to be student centered with the
administrative team deciding where money needs to be spent.
6, 1

2.3, 1

1/15/16

Understanding,
Responding to and
influencing the larger
context, Vision of
Learning
Best Practice, Vision
of Learning

3.1, 3.2,
3.3

Manage the
Organization,
Operations, and
Resources

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

I worked on the Title IX poster.

1 hour

I continued the work on the middle school transition by organizing

questions to call districts next week. I plan to email the districts to find
out a possible good time to call and who would be the best contact person
for these questions.

1 hour

This morning emphasized for me the need to have a plan of activities to

complete when there is a free moment so time is not wasted. As an intern
I have my matrix and projects. As an administrator I plan to keep a list of
tasks with due dates and a plan for the day to start even if the day does not
allow for a task to be completed. I could then refer to that list to see what
tasks I am not getting to and organize my day so I can get them done. An
administrator needs to be flexible to change focus throughout the day.
Today we had 9.5 teachers absent and only 6 substitutes. 2 teachers not
covered were special education and unfortunately the periods they were
attending a regular class to co-teach were pulled. Another Special
Education teacher agreed to take the Special Ed classes not covered.
Later in the day there were some issues with a test and having too many
students in the room. Adjustments were made and a 1-1 aide took some
students to the library and other students went to the guidance department
conference room. I completed the proctor schedule for the January
Regents. I contacted the math department head for names of teachers
who would start the exams so the substitute would know where to go. I
completed the substitute assignment sheet.
I finished my questions to ask other schools and sent it to Mrs. LaRosa to
get her input. I planned out an email to send to some schools and sent an
email to Fredonia, Alexander, Tonawanda, Cheektowaga Sloan school
districts. I received a reply from Fredonia with the appropriate contact
person. I worked on organizing the middle school transition report. I

10
hours
106
hours
1.5
hours

3 hours

10

want to add a table of contents and hyperlinks to make it easy to navigate

through the report.
2.1

Positive Culture

I resent the questionnaire to advisors who did not return it in by the

deadline. I then received 4 more. There are only 2 out. I did hear that a
garden club is in the works. Mr. Cervoni would like to keep these in a
folder for reference in the future. I called students down to set up
detention for tardies to school. There was an issue between 2 grade 7
students. Mrs. Menkiena discussed how they do not need to like each
other but they need to show respect to each other and sometimes that
respect is not interacting with each other.

2 hours

5, 6

Acting with Integrity,

Fairness and in an
Ethical Manner and
Understanding,
Responding to and
Influencing the Larger
Context

There was follow up on student in crisis yesterday. She ended up going to

Eastern Niagara Health Systems in Lockport. She will spend 7-10 days
there. There was also a follow up on a transgender student with Ms.
Menkiena and a teacher. The teacher seemed concerned about
confidentiality. I assured her that I do not discuss situations at home. (My
2 children attend the high school.) I shared the Title IX poster with Ms.
Menkiena. She shared a memo that would be appropriate to place near a
unisex bathroom. It stated that the bathroom is available for those moms
with boys or dads with girls, adults with the disabled children or adults or
those in the LGBTQ community.

2 hours

3.3

Manage resources

Mr. Cervoni and I discussed how the budget is planned. Eden uses a zero- .5
based budgeting plan. This type of budgeting considers the entire budget hours
each year.

9 hours

115
hours

11

Standard 1
Although there were no specific activities for Standard 1 I have noticed that many of the interactions I have with the staff at Eden are demonstrations
of that vision of learning. The vision is ECSD is a collaborative learning community that embraces the individuality of each student, educating and
empowering them to become productive citizens in an ever-changing and diverse society. The work I have been doing with Title IX as well as
gathering the information about students on academic probation is focused on helping the individual student. Eden shows they care about each
student by taking the time to follow up on student progress throughout the semester not just at report card times. The dedication to helping students
achieve is evident.
Standard 2
I have been able to learn about the APPR 3012-d that was approved for Eden. The APPR process now has pre- and post conferences for the
announced observation. I believe these are important opportunities for a teacher and principal to form a relationship and gain a common
understanding of what is happening in the classroom. I am hoping to walk around the school more to observe what is happening but so often events
happen in the office and it is difficult to get out of the office. The research for the middle school transition is going well. I will be calling school
districts to gain information that is not available from different school websites. Visiting different sites is very interesting. How are other schools
showing the vision of their schools? What information is available about the school?

Standard 3
Managing the organization and operations has been most interesting. The behavior challenges that need to be addressed daily, staffing classrooms
when multiple teachers are out and there are not enough substitutes, and keeping students accountable for coming to school on time takes up time in a
principal and assistant principals day. I learned that I need to drop what I may be doing when a student or faculty member comes to me to discuss
something. I need to be organized with files and projects to pick up what I need to discuss with anyone at any time. I also need to know the tasks for
the day to complete them in small snippets of time between the unplanned issues that come up. Planning for projects each day helps to focus those
few open times during the day. Time is not wasted figuring out what should be completed in a day.

Standard 4
Interactions with families happened often during these 2 weeks: meetings with one family for a superintendent hearing, another family needed to
leave their home in Eden suddenly, a parent came in for a conference to help her child with a 504 plan, calling to speak with parents regarding an
incident at school, a child having difficulties in school while navigating the feelings of being transgender and another child in crisis needing to go to a
mental health facility. A strength I have is talking with families and helping where I can. This was an aspect of being a teacher that I did not want to
lose out on when moving to administration. This internship has demonstrated to me that you dont lose that contact with families. A principal needs
to know who to contact to help families and when to contact others to help with a situation.
12

13

Standard 5
There have been many opportunities to demonstrate my integrity and fairness and to act in an ethical manner. My children attend Eden High School.
Because of this I have excused myself some discipline issues because I know the student involved. There have been delicate issues I have been made
aware of with a student I know but there is no need to remind me that confidentiality is important. Information shared at administrative meetings are
also kept confidential. I am a parent in the district but I am performing an administrative role. Any information I hear is as an administrator for the
district, not as a parent.
Standard 6
I attended a meeting about Title IX and began planning for sharing information by developing a poster to be displayed throughout the district. In a
small district like Eden, one administrator can wear many hats. Ms. Menkiena holds the position of Title IX coordinator, 504 coordinator and home
instruction coordinator, as well as Assistant Principal. There are many different laws and statutes that govern schools. An administrator needs to be
familiar with these laws and statutes, know where to find the latest information and keep current on the requirements for each. Reading through the
information in Title IX I have a better understanding of how it could impact the school.

14

DATE

1/18/16

1/19/16

ELCC
standard
2.3

2.1

2.3, 1

Description of
activity
Best Practice

Positive Culture

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

Reflection of activity

Time of
activity

I continued my research for the transition of grade 6 to the Jr./Sr. High to

make a middle school. I also began organizing the report to make it easy
to navigate digitally. I added links to move from the Table of Contents to
elsewhere in the document and back again.
I received one more club questionnaire. I began printing the ones sent
electronically (then the print stopped receiving my requests). Speaking
with Mr. Cervoni, he suggested they be put in a binder for future
reference. I plan to make a list of the possible clubs that were suggested
by the advisors.
I called students down to remind them of detention and/or attending the
Academic Enhancement Program (AEP). I followed up with a student
from last week regarding an incident that I phoned the mother about.
Knowing the mother was concerned about her daughter getting on the
correct bus when I spoke with the student I reassured her that the
detention teacher, who is familiar to the student, would make sure she gets
on the correct bus.

5 hours

I received emails back from districts to set up for calls regarding middle
schools. I organized my question sheet and printed it to be prepared to
call the Alexander School District today. The principal was very helpful.
It emphasized for me that if I have a question I dont need to flounder on
my own. There are people who have answers. I just need to seek them
out and ask. I set up an appointment for Thursday to speak with the
principal from Tonawanda School District.

2.5
hours

Total
time
this
date
5 hours

1.5
hour

Total
time
accrued
to date
120
hours
131
hours

2 hour

11
hours
15

3.1, 1

1/20/16

Manage Organization,
Vision of Learning

I participated in a guidance meeting to review students. There was an

update on a few students in crisis. Another student is planning to attend
an Alternative Education program. We discussed the dress code
especially for girls. There was a discussion around the course offerings
for next year and possible Super Seniors who would return to finish
high school next year.
I attended an interview for a substitute aide position for the district. There
was a checklist for the specific documents she needed to have.

1 hour

1 hour

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

After a discussion with Mr. Cervoni I prepared for a meeting with the
teachers regarding the regents schedule for next week. I sent out emails,
copied the schedule and prepared a proctor manual for the substitutes who
will be proctoring the exams. Mr. Cervoni received an email with 4
documents form the Board of Regents. I read through these new manuals
to be sure the information did not change what is planned.

3 hours

2.1

School Culture

I organized all the club questionnaires. I need to get one more. I looked
at the answers, especially for the suggestions for new clubs or the return
of past clubs. I began preparing a top sheet for the binder of clubs with
suggested clubs and a list of clubs from the past.
I called down students for detention or for failing to report to AEP
yesterday. There was an incident with a student and a verbal outburst in
the cafeteria. The police and parent were called and the student was put
on out of school suspension.
I was preparing for the proctor meeting, preparing and copying the
materials, changing the schedule, checking on 504 modifications and
answer sheets. I directed a meeting with the proctors. There was a
discussion about teachers needing time to teach but also wanting to be in
the exam room. Teachers were given the option of staying in the exam
room or going back to class to teach. I attended an interview for a
substitute teacher.

2 hours

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

Understanding,
Responding to and
influencing the larger
context,

2 hours

4 hours

3 hours
I attended a district shared decision-making team meeting. They were
regrouping after the leader of the team moved to another school district.
I attended the Budget Advisory Team meeting where the Director of
Curriculum and Instruction and the 3 building principals presented their
budgets. I attended the Board of Education meeting.

11
hours

142
hours
16

1/21/16

2.1

School Culture

I completed the club questionnaire binder. I added a table to contents to

include an overview (including new clubs, past clubs and request for
clubs), a list of the clubs (school council first then the social clubs in
alphabetical order) and a blank questionnaire.
I called students down who did not show for AEP yesterday. Some spent
the time with a specific teacher, others just didnt show. They needed to
spend their lunch time out of the lunchroom. One student started to argue
with me, first asking to just take detention and that he was allowed to do
that before. When I told him that was not an option, he continued to
argue with me. He needed to sit out of lunch. I managed the students
sitting out for lunch. I began calling student for detention. One student
who was involved in an incident last week has been serving her detention.
I feel I connected with her. I have seen her in the halls a few times and in
the office as well. When she sees me she always looks to say hello. That
is important for her to be accepted at school- I make a point of speaking
with her. The best part of education is connecting with young people!

4 hours

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

I connected with all the students who are taking the regents on Friday and
might need a bus. I contacted the head bus driver to give her the name of
the one student who will need a ride. I followed up with 3 emails
regarding the proctor schedule. I emailed all the teachers to alert them
about the regents schedule, reminding them that students will be taking
exams, where they will be and to keep students as quiet as possible in the
hallways. The Regents exams came in today. The key was supposed be
delivered a few days ago. After finding the sentence in the manual that it
should have been delivered before the exams, the secretary doubled
checked in the mailroom and found the envelope. I helped organize the
answer sheets and will remind the proctors that certain attendance papers
need to be turned in. I attended a calendar meeting with the principals,
curriculum coordinator and the superintendent. We worked on next years
school calendar. There are specific rules to how many student days, staff
days (based on the contract), superintendent conference days and half
days. It can be difficult to plan out all the days between regents weeks for
the high school and parent teacher conferences for the lower grades.

4 hours

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

I phoned the principal for Tonawanda City School. It was very

informative. They have a similar sized school to Eden. I emailed Mrs.
Ramaekers about how this school handles student of the month.

9
hours
1 hour

151
hours
17

1/22/16

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

There were 3 teachers absent but only 2 substitutes. I worked through the
problem. We needed to pull 1 substitute who was scoring exams for 3
periods. There were behavior issues that needed to be sorted out. The
police were involved in one issue. There were behavior issues with 2
students from last week, a call about educational neglect to Child
Protective Services, an incident of bullying then follow up on the issues
rom the morning. We needed to call down students who did not show up
for AEP. One student said he was somewhere else during lunch the day
before. I did not make him sit out of lunch. I asked him to be sure to get
a note from his teacher in the future. I emailed his teacher and found out
that he only went to the teacher for lunch one day. I called him down and
with Mrs. Menkiena we talked with him about the issue. He will need to
serve again next week. Today was a day of having short periods of time
between incidents to work on projects. I was prepared. I helped with
checking the Regents exams to be sure we have all the exams that were
ordered. We set out the essay papers according to exam. There is a
process to securing the exam and for distributing the exams on exam day.
I spoke with the lunch monitors to alert them that extra students will be in
lunch period 5 so they can take the exams at the appropriate time in the
afternoon. On Monday I will be distributing a list of the students
expected to take the exams so teachers will let them out of class.

5 hours

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

I typed up the notes from my phone conferences with 2 middle schools to

add to the middle school report. I continued adding to the middle school
report.

4 hours
9 hours

1/23/16

1/25/16

3.1

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization

Manage Organization
and Operations

I began organizing the schedule for June Regents exams. I inputted all
2 hours
the exams currently scheduled to begin placing proctors. I will need to
find out the number of students planning to take the exam and the rooms
they can take them in.
I organized the substitute proctor sheets, listing the beginning room and
3 hours
all the movement they might need to do. I made a list of all the students
taking the exams and sent them to all the teachers with a note about
students needing to have lunch during period 5. I made an announcement
on the PA system for all students taking the exams this week to have lunch
period 5. I prepared for exam day tomorrow by copying the proctor
directions, and the declaration statement for proctors.

2 hours

160
hours
162
hours

18

1/26/16

Acting with Integrity,

Fairness and in an
Ethical Manner

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

3.3

Managing Resources

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

I completed the call downs for students needing to attend AEP for the
week. One student came to the office to check on detention for tomorrow.
I was supposed to check back with her last week due to tardies to school.
Her father was driving her. I needed to stay on top of this situation and
check back with Mrs Menkiena and I did not do that. I did not make a
note about it to myself, only to Mrs. Menkiena about the situation for this
student. After checking with Mrs. Menkiena, the student needed to stay
after on Thursday. The parent called and explained the situation to Mrs.
Menkiena and the student will not be serving the detention.
I attended a guidance meeting to review the Regents exam procedures. I
shared the plan I have in place. They helped me with the names of
students to send out to teachers. This is the first year that school will be
in session for the January Regents exams.
I attended an Administrative budget meeting. This was a continuation of
the meeting from January 14. This meeting ranked the wish list. There
was some discussion about the reason behind some line items. Interesting
conversations revolved around which union would claim a position,
which budget line would some things fall under, principals needing to
justify the reasoning behind some choices, and preparing for grade 6 to
move to the current Jr/Sr High School to make a middle school.
I spoke with the middle school principal from Fredonia Central School
and typed up the notes. I organized the Middle School transition report.

1.5
hours

.5
hours

3 hours

2 hours
10
hours

I arrived 15 minutes earlier just to be able to settle in, find out if other
teachers were out and gather my thought before the start of the substitutes
arrival. I needed to have them read the proctor rules and understand how
they would be starting in a classroom while a teacher started an exam. It
was a very busy day but all the proctors were diligent in completing their
tasks. The second exam of the day had a conflict for 2 students. 2
students needed to take both exams offered. I was not aware of the
conflict before and recalled the rules for such a dilemma. I notified the
proctors. Those 2 students would be allowed to have full time for both
exams as long as they did not leave the room unescorted. The substitute
proctors were relieved of their duties and a guidance counselor and I took

172
hours

6 hours

19

turns proctoring the exam. At the end to the exams I organized the
substitutes for tomorrow. There will be more people due to the scoring of
one exam. I then began organizing the scoring protocols. Mr. Cervoni
needed to input passwords to receive the answers to the exams. Mrs.
Menkiena and I prepared a scoring sheet and all the materials. Everything
was stored in the vault.

1/27/16

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

I sent a note to department heads about the June regents and local exams.
We will start filling in proctors when there is time.
I read through my middle school report making it clearer. I shared the
comments from the schools and the way I organized the report, adding my
conversation with the schools to the end with hyperlinks from the top to
anywhere in the report.

4, 2.2, 1

Mobilize Community
Resources, Provide
Effective Instructional
Program, Vision of
Learning

For my overarching project I wanted to create a simple report about the

2 hours
transition from high school to college and/or work for special needs
students to go along with the information I received from the preschool
placement about information for parents as their child begins receiving
special education services. I met with Shawn Johnson, Director of Pupil
Personnel, and Jen Carriero, school psychologist, about this transition,
when it starts and what programs are available for students and their
families. They start including student in their IEP meetings in grade 6 as
they transition to the Jr./Sr. High School. Students are encouraged to help
write about the strengths and weaknesses sections for the IEP as well as
set goals. They help parents learn to allow their child to make decisions
about their own future. The 2 big programs for helping are the Adult
Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation
(ACCES-VR) and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities
(OPWDD). The OPWDD was discussed at the preschool level as well.
I tried calling the Cheektowaga Sloan school district to discuss the
1 hour
questionnaire. I Fredonia looked through Fredonia website and emailed
the last few questions to the principal I spoke with last week. He returned
my email with questions answered and a handbook from their middle
school. I forwarded the handbook to Mrs. LaRosa. I completed the
Fredonia questionnaire and added information to the middle school report.

2.3, 1

Best Practice, Vision

of Learning

4.3

Mobilize Community
Resources

I met with the finance Director, Mr. Murphy, to discuss how the budget
works, what is reported to the public and how it is reported and different

2 hours

10
hours

182
hours

2 hours
20

1/28/16

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

2.1, 1

Promote Positive
School Culture,
Vision of Learning

3.1, 3.2

sections included in the budget.

I set up the proctors for todays exams. There ended up being only 1
student taking the morning Regents. We had 3 proctors scheduled. I
decided to leave 2 proctors in the exam room and relieve an extra English
teacher to score the ELA Regents exam from yesterday. For the afternoon
exam I needed to rearrange the rooms for testing because one teacher
needed her room for test modifications and her students needed a
classroom for class. Originally other people were planning on taking her
class but they were called to a meeting. For the afternoon exam 3
students needed modifications and 1 did not. I needed to call her to the
office. When speaking with her I was speaking very quickly. She asked
me repeat what I said to her. That is something I need to keep in mind.

5 hours

I had a discussion with Mrs. Menkiena about an 11th grade student failing
all of his classes. At this point he has only earned 3 credits towards
graduation. He needs 24 to graduate. He is currently attending the
vocational education program. Mrs. Menkiena stated that the school will
not pay for it anymore due to many absences. Mrs. Banks, a guidance
counselor shared that he needs seat time in the class so he could elect to
take summer school. He can choose to fail.

1 hour

A caseworker from Child Protective Services visits frequently to follow

up on students, support the school and act as a go between with families.
She was here today and there was follow up on a few students.

1 hour

Manage Organization
and Operations

I organized the last Regents day with students in session. I needed to

make an announcement to call students down for the exam. I didnt
hesitate with making the call but I did plan out what I would say. There
was one proctoring issue. I secured a substitute for the afternoon from a
conversation with the special ed department. I wrongly assumed that they
would let the teacher know the change in plans but she had no idea. In
the future I should just let others know myself or ensure that others will
do it. Later in the day I prepare all scoring sheets for scoring day. Mr.
Cervoni printed all the rating materials. I coded all the scoring sheets and
I organize all the sign off sheets.

4 hours

School Culture,

I attended a meeting with the administrators about Planning for

4 hours

10
hours

192
hours

21

Instructional
Programs

Personalized Learning with Educational Elements. This company helps

schools districts move toward digital learning for students. They
described the support they give to schools and how the process works. It
is costly but Eden is looking into the possibility of having a consortium of
BOCES school districts working together and sharing the cost.
It was immigrant food day in one classroom today. As I was walking
down the hall and was invited in. The students made different food from
where their ancestors came from. As an administrator it is important to be
out interacting with the students and getting involved with their activities.

1, 5, 6

1/29/16

Vision of Learning,
Acting with Integrity,
Fairness and in an
Ethical Manner and
Understanding,
Responding to and
Influencing the Larger
Context

Mrs. Menkiena and I reviewed the Title IX requirements to be sure the

poster would suffice. We checked the website to be sure all the pertinent
information was there as well. I reminded her about a letter she found
regarding gender-neutral bathrooms. She could not find it on her
computer but I found it on mine and sent it to her so she could add it to
her transgender binder.

1 hour

3.1, 3.2

Manage Organization
and Operations

I organized for the last Regents of the week. I made sure of all the
signatures for proctoring and scoring. I delivered the scoring for the last
Regents exam and began filling in the proctor schedule for June.

6 hours

1, 5, 6

Vision of Learning,
Acting with Integrity,
Fairness and in an
Ethical Manner and
Understanding,
Responding to and
Influencing the Larger
Context

I watched the webinar on Legal Rights of Transgender Individuals in

Public Schools.

2 hours

I spent time learning about a Smart board.

1 hour

9 hours
201
hours

9 hours

210
hours

22

Standard 1
Throughout this internship I was able to interact with a variety of staff and faculty. I encouraged the collaborative community by informing others of
activities, specifically the Regents exams and asking for their input. I demonstrated a curiosity about any activity others were engaging in. I was
able to learn about the various choices students have, whether they are in special education or in danger of failing. Eden works with students helping
them to make choices about their future. The vision for Eden is also reflected in the research I completed regarding middle schools.
Standard 2
The focus has been on researching positive instructional programs focused on best practice for middle schools. Grade 6 will be moving to the high
school building in the 2018-2019 school year. The administrators were interested in schools that already had a structure of a grade 6-12 building. I
was able to call and speak with principals about the positives of their programs. I organized a document with hyperlinks for ease of locating the
information of interest. I included links to articles I retrieved information from, schedules from my interviews with principals and the completed
questionnaires. I also completed an inventory of the clubs currently being offered to the Jr./Sr. High students.

Standard 3
Working through a busy first few minutes of a school day when there are 9 teachers out and only 6 substitutes was a challenge. Piecing together
coverage for all the teachers was truly a puzzle. I was getting nervous for the busy Regents week when there needed to be many substitutes for
proctoring and scoring on one day. Thankfully that week went very smoothly with actually extra substitutes on one day that allowed me to add an
extra scorer for the ELA Regents exam. The simple project of setting up rooms and proctors for the Regents week while students were in session
grew to be a larger project. The many different unforeseen variables kept the changes coming. Even with planning, unexpected modifications
needed to happen each day. I continued to organize my time so I could drop one thing and pick up another without the need for searching for the
notes.

Standard 4
The first half of the internship seemed to focus on the personal relationships with students and families while the second half was more focused on
the behind the scenes activities for an administer. I attend the shared decision-making, budget advisory team and a board meeting, all in one evening.
I met with the financial director and participated in 2 administrative meetings regarding budget planning. Eden uses a zero based budget. This helps
to revisit the goals and vision for each building and the district as a whole. I met with the special education department to understand how students
transition out of high school. One thing I learned is that when a student turns 18 they need to make decisions for themselves. There are 2
community/government programs that are available for students- Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation
(ACCES-VR) and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).
23

Standard 5
I need keep track of the speed I speak especially when I talk with students. I can be a very fast talker. When interacting with students to alert them to
a detention or to the need to attend academic enhancement I needed to stay positive and supportive. I want the students to feel they can achieve at
school. One student started to argue with me about the consequences I was imposing. I slow became more firm in my approach. I worked at trying
to diffuse the situation.
Standard 6
I created a poster to alert the staff and community of their Title IX rights. I attended a webinar called Legal Rights of Transgender Individuals in
Public Schools. There was a discussion about the case law and statutes that affect the transgender issue. There was a Superintendent who discussed
his process for aligning the policies for his school to include transgender individuals. The big issue is use of locker rooms and bathrooms. He
focused on communicating with the public and hearing from both sides, advocates and opponents. He stressed that people protest when they are
surprised by a situation. Districts need to have the conversation with all parties involved.

24