Andrea Foster Foundations of Educational Administration Professional Growth Plan September 29, 2011 The principal s role, as described

in !unnin"ham s Educational Leadership: A Problem-Based Approach, is the role of an educational leader more specificall# referred to as the $lead learner% and $adult educator&% The principal should not onl# be pro'idin" learnin" opportunities for teachers but also modelin" learnin" for all b# as(in" )uestions, see(in" collaboration, and continuousl# reflectin" on her own practices and learnin"& This directl# relates to m# beliefs of what an educator should be& *n m# personal paradi"m, * stated the followin"+ $* will lead b# e,ample&% $* will not "i'e up or stop learnin"&% $-eaders must be proficient in the profession of those that the# are leadin"&% $.nowled"e reall# is power&% and $* will lead b# e,ample&% $* will not "i'e up or stop learnin"&% The te,t mentioned fi'e structures that pro'ide opportunities for teacher collaboration+ stud# "roups /P-!0, instructional wal(1throu"hs, teacher conferences, school 'isitations, and district and2or school instructional conferences& * belie'e a principal s role here to ma(e se'eral of these opportunities a'ailable and2or facilitate these structures for teachers& The te,t states that teachers need to ha'e multiple opportunities to practice and recei'e feedbac( and * thin( of the operati'e word here as bein" opportunit#& Time to reflect and practice is a (e# component in learnin" and * thin( that teacher s don t alwa#s ta(e the time to do these thin"s on their own&

Teachers are too bus# chu""in" alon" throu"h the #ear desperatel# tr#in" to "et it all done& *t is the principal s 3ob to be sure that each teacher is learnin" and sharin" what the# learned with others& *n m# personal paradi"m * stated,$*f a decision is mine to ma(e * will do what * can to support those people that must implement it&% The focus here bein" that a principal should be "uidin" her staff in the same wa# she would a classroom of children& 4uFour and Ea(er ma(e note that the most effecti'e schools ha'e these thin"s+ stron" leadership, staff de'elopment, ma,imi5ed learnin" time, and a sense of communit#, parental in'ol'ement, and district support& The author s also mention that the most successful school restructurin" occurs in schools where teacher s function as professional learnin" communities& *t is the principal s role to o'ersee that time is made for teachers to meet in learnin" communities and that the time for P-! is bein" used to answer the )uestions of the P-!& *t is also the principal s role to protect instruction and learnin" time as much as possible& *f a principal is to ma(e a positi'e chan"e in the school district and act as a learnin" authorit# she must possess a wide ran"e of (nowled"e to include theories of learnin", curriculum, assessment, and instructional methodolo"#& There is a multitude of information to hold and utili5e in 3ust these cate"ories and in this case as relatin" to the role of the principal described in the be"innin" of chapter 6, the principal s role is similar to that of a ph#sician, usin" her (nowled"e to dia"nose problems, prescribe corrections, and administer support and feedbac( but to teachers& -eaders must (now how students learn, ta(in" into account theories such as Garner s theor# of multiple intelli"ences&

The principal s roles in assessment is to ensure that assessment is educati'e, which means that the assessment ta(in" place in the school teaches not onl# students but teachers& *t should reflect real life situations and be authentic& Assessment feedbac( must be "i'en in a timel# manner to both students and teachers& Principals must ensure that the purpose of assessment in schools is not 3ust to $audit% performance but also to impro'e it& *t is then the administrator s 3ob to determine what information should be reported to the public and how to best communicate the results& The role of the principal in a school is the role of a learner, a teacher, an authorit# fi"ure for both teachers and students& A principal should lead b# e,ample and pro'ide instruction and feedbac( to teachers in the same manner as a teacher would pro'ide instruction and feedbac( to students& The principal should ta(e the lead on curriculum de'elopment and understandin" as well as on assessment& A successful leader is one who is able to 3u""le all of these roles and be set a positi'e e,ample for the staff& A leader e,pectin" to ma(e an impact in student achie'ement must first start with assessin" teacher performance and wor(in" from the "round up impro'e instruction& 7ith all this bein" said, * thin( it is eas# to see that not e'er#one is capable of ta(in" on a leadership role in a school or district& *t ta(es a special (ind of person to be a successful principal&

DuFour, Richard, and Robert E. Eaker. Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement. Moorabbin, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education, 2009. Print.