True Grit:

Reflections of an Aspiring Principal

Charlyn Henderson
University of St. Thomas
Spring 2011
Competency 001
Shape campus culture by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of
a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.

Great leaders must have

great vision guiding their
decisions. The leader’s
vision determines how
success is defined and
realized by establishing a
success culture. Once a
vision has been created
they must learn how to
articulate that vision to their
communities and use it to
empower the community to
make the vision stronger.
Competency 002
Communicate and collaborate with all members of the school community, respond to diverse interests
and needs, and mobilize resources to promote student success.

This job of educating children and

preparing them to be in the position to
enjoy their citizenship is not a simple
task and requires the commitment of an
entire school community to be
successful. I found the more I did alone
the more isolated I felt and the less
successful my tasks were in meeting the
needs of the campus. I had to seek help
to mobilize our resources. Tapping into
the gifts and expertise of the community
requires me to know what it can offer so
we can work together to make learning
relevant and accessible to all students.
Competency 003
Act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical and legal manner.

Leading with integrity sometimes requires one to be fearless. We cannot be

afraid to sit on the opposite of coworkers, constituents, friends, or family when it
comes to keeping the best interest of children at the forefront of our politics.
Doing what is right is more important than doing what is popular. I have been
challenged in unusual ways as an observer, outside of decisions made by our
leadership team. My eyes and ears are more open to their challenges, those fine
lines between professional colleagues and executive leaders.
Competency 004
Facilitate the design and implementation of curricula and strategic plans that enhance
teaching and learning; ensure alignment of curriculum, instruction, resources, and
assessment; and promote the use of varied assessments to measure.

Instructional leaders are

classroom teachers,
administrators, and anyone
within the school
community. As a school
leader I need to understand
how to encourage a
community of people to
plan, design, gather
resources, and implement
changes that positively
impacts student
achievement. Leaders
enable success.
Competency 005
Advocate, nurture, and sustain an instructional program and a campus culture that are
conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

The culture or climate of a school creates

the social landscape for student
achievement; it is the affective thread woven
through the fabric of a school. The National
School Climate Council (2010) defines
school climate as: School climate is based
on patterns of people’s experiences of
school life and reflects norms, goals, values,
interpersonal relationships, teaching and
learning practices, and organizational
structures (p.15). Learning will not take
place when students do not feel like a
valuable part of the community. It is
important to create a culture of mutual
understanding, respect, and care that
nurtures positive relationship to set the
context for high student achievement. My
campus has suffered with years of declining
student achievement and campus rating. As
the student population changes and
instructional designs remain stagnant
disparities between ‘what students know’,
‘what students need to know’, and ‘what
students learned’ are becoming more
apparent. Concerns with nurturing a positive
campus culture have begun to surface as
the reason for the disparity as well as the
decline in student achievement.
Competency 006
Implement a staff evaluation and development system to improve the performance of all staff members,
select and implement appropriate models for supervision and staff development, and apply the legal
requirements for personnel management.

Provided the overall goal of education or school

is student learning and teachers are the greatest
factor in student achievement it would be
assumed teacher training is the greatest
commitment made by a school or district
according to the human capital theory. Human
Capital Theory suggests that education or
training raises the performance of workers by
imparting useful knowledge and skills…(Becker
1964). Educating teachers to perform their
duties more efficiently and effectively will add
positive value to conducting any type of change
on a campus. I need to be sure that I engage in
meaningful and effective professional
development for myself as well as the campus. I
noticed the discussions surrounding a change in
scheduling on our campus needs to be anchored
by a small group discussion protocol then
followed with an action plan and subsequent
training to help the staff transition through the
changes.
Competency 007
Apply organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving
skills to ensure an effective learning environment.

Every decision on a
campus impacts the
learning environment.
Leaders must consider
how even the smallest
change will ripple
through the academic
and social landscape of
a campus. When
change is needed it has
to be planned and
systematic to avoid as
much disruption as
possible. My campus
Competency 008
Apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to campus budgeting.
Personnel, resources utilization, financial management, and technology use.

Student learning will be my primary

concern as a school leader. Budgets
are set by school enrollment and it is
my responsibility to allocate funds in
a manner that can be directly linked
to improving student achievement.
Having 21st schools for 21st learning is
a critical concern for many schools.
Finding new ways to address this
concern through other sources of
funding is a manageable idea for me
to explore as a school leader. The
budget is a chore, an undertaking that
should be shared with the entire
school community.
Competency 009
Apply principles of leadership and management to the campus physical plant and support
systems to ensure a safe and effective learning environment.

School safety is a multi-dimensional factor

in education management that is governed
by the physical and affective needs of a
school community. Safe schools lay the
foundation for learning and instruction.
There are a host of operational,
maintenance, and resource issues that arise
once instructional leaders have determined
‘where’ students will gather with their
teachers that require a systematic plan for
ensuring the safety of a campus’s physical
space. Trying to evaluate and redesign the
Fire Evacuation Drill showed me how
challenging securing a school is safe for all
students.