Sunday Nov 8

I’ve been included in our district’s hiring process and have seen several good interviews and some really poor ones. A strong applicant stands out! Everything about that person seems top notch: attire, hygiene, the way he or she walks in the room, the confidence that is observed when answering questions even that person’s follow up questions are strong. In addition to interviewing, we should also go through a pile of resumes and cover letters and see if we could pick out top notch people to interview. This activity makes me wonder if spotting an exceptional staff member is as easy to do when all you have is a resume?

Saturday Nov 7

The Brave New World activity was a good way to demonstrate consensus. There were times when I really wanted to tell someone to hush and just agree, it’s really not that big of a deal. I sometimes tell my para-pros to choose their battles, this one’s not worth fighting for, so let it go. This consensus activity made me rethink others “feelings”. Unfortunately, this is an area of weakness for me. I must admit though, majority rules and we’ll probably never get consensus on new initiatives within a school district, I’ll be happy with 80%! But, I will consider how others feel about topics and try a little harder to motivate those who don’t agree.

Administrator induction

I really enjoyed the mock interview experience. One idea that kept crossing my mind was the topic of administrative induction. I would be hesitant to accept a job from a district lacking an induction/mentoring program for administrators. The analogy that comes to mind is handing over the keys of an 18 wheeler to a teenager who just completed driver education. No matter how well you are prepared for administration “academically”, there are always the “unknowns” or the real life experiences that creep up and throw you for a loop. For me, the ideal first administrative position will be in a building with an administrative team. I really enjoyed my shadowing experiences and my sub experiences in my school’s main office because of the novel situations encountered and the expert support that was readily available. It was an empowering experience to be a member on an administrative team providing perspective and receiving perspective. The actual experiences foster professional growth but the teaming allows you to grow from a meta-cognitive standpoint. This is critical. Even if the team is not located in the same building, it would be helpful if a district mentor was assigned, at least during the first year as a new administrator.

J. Curtis Last Sunday

I like the others thought the interviewing was good experience for myself to be put in the role of an administrator or someone asking the questions. That was my first time being on the other end of it and it definately is different than being the one interviewed. I thought our group put together some quality questions that would give us a very good idea of what kind of candidate we had. Nicole looked to be a little nervous, but was willing to learn and had some very good answers on how to handle parents and disciplining students in a manner that is beneficial.

Interviews

It was nice to take the administrative role in the interview process. After all of our discussions in this class as well as other classes you can really start to pick up on red flags that would have maybe skipped your attention before. I was glad the 4 came in as it was good practice for us but will benefit them as well. I can see how, depending on the school you are in, the hiring process could be a daunting task.

Third Sunday

I really enjoyed today's activities. I had been part of the interview process before but not in developing the questions or as part of an entire team. I felt that our group worked well together. The interview team discussions after the actual interview were also valuable. For some of the questions, we all had different reactions to the interviewee's responses.

Higbee-Last Sunday

The handout today regarding the old paradigm/new paragdigm contrast was of interest where the consensus from the class was that most of us have experienced the "sit and get" PD. Kudos to those in the class and their respective schools if you believe your PD would fall into the new paradigm model. Although the new paradigm model would appear in most cases to require more time and money, obviously the payoff (school improvement) in the long run is so much greater that the typical old paradigm methods that these greater costs make it well worth it. With all the discussion today about the mentoring/induction programs in our school, I feel one of the most important aspects of these programs is the accountability/responsibility on the part of the mentor. Also, give credit to those four who came in today for mock interviews. I would have enjoyed interviewing at least two people (even better if there were two vying for the same position). Finally, I'll second the motion for mock interviews for principal candidates during the internship seminars.

Final Sunday

The interview activity was one of the best activities that I've participated in so far in the program. I feel that the hands-on activities such as the interview assignment, and the evaluation process assignment from another class really gave me a taste of what it will be like to be an administrator. Activities like these are so valuable that I wish the program was more hands-on.

Last Sunday of Class

The "mock interviews" were probably one of the best activities we did, even though we had to complete them in extreme heat!!! It was such a learning process being able to work with an interview group from the start by formulating interview questions all the way through the actual interview.

Thanks everyone for making this class such an enjoyable learning experience. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season.

A good day!

I enjoyed today's interview activity. Coordinating the effort with a team, rather than going it alone was an important element, I thought. We had a really terrific candidate to interview, which made the team's conversation to gather suggestions for her improvement easy. There may have been some value in having the opportunity to interview another "less prepared" candidate, but that may have been difficult for them.

Thanks to everyone for a good class, and best of luck as we continue forward...to the end of the program and beyond!

Last Sunday

The interviews today were very helpful. While I have been a part of interviews before, I had not been a part of developing the questions. The experience within our class had a bit more of a leader feeling since we had been the ones to decide what to ask, and what to look for. I hope we were helpful to our teacher, and that this experience was beneficial as she begins her career.

Final Post

I thought conducting the teacher interview was a valuable experience, as was preparing the questions for the interview yesterday. I think the more practical skills one can acquire the better, and interviewing is definitely part of any principal's job. I think it would have been interesting to have more than one candidate to interview to consider which you would select for a position. Adding this aspect would have made it more real, and there tere would have been the opportunity for discussion about the selection process.

I appreciate the knoweledge shared in this class about the interview process, especially because there are so many things you cannot ask!

R Lee says Good Sunday

It was a good sunday, we got out early, had a take home final and we were able to assist some student teachers in taking on their first "interviews". It also helped us because we got to figure out what questions we might want to ask a prospective student and we got to go through the procedure as well. In reflection of the whole course I was exposed to many things about personnel issues I had not thought about but the information was delivered in a PP format coupled with lecture. This type of instruction does not engage me, I need those activities like we had today. I liked the topics we covered and I think overall it was a good class to take; not too overwhelming on the work load while at the same time exposing me to some very valid content. As always enjoyed my classmates and contrats to Janet and Kristin for it being their last class. Good Job Ladies!

Randy Lee

Sunday, November 8th

Going through the interview process this weekend, developing questions, interviewing/observing. rating and then discussing was very beneficial as a future leader. It is really important to come up with questions that are tailored to the position being interviewed for. All aspects of the job should be addressed (lessons, classroom management, ISAT, etc) and all applicants should be asked the same questions. It was interesting to see what some of the other school districts used in their interviews. I also liked having some sort of rating system to use during the interview. I've never been in an interview that has used one, but I think it's a good idea, as long as the criteria for rating is clear to all on the interview committee.
The interviews today were a good experience for both groups (interviewers, candidates). I learned what to listen and look for while interviewing a future teacher. I think we all came away from this experience with good tips when interviewing and being interviewed. I wish we could have done more than one, just to gain more experience.

Sunday Week 3

The practice interviews were very helpful. I thought it was very interesting how people perceive different answers and other things involved in the process. A perfect example is dress. Several people would have preferred a white shirt on the applicant, while others thought he was dress ok. What is the preferred number of people to have in an interview? With more people there is a likely chance you could have several different ideas on the applicant. This could be a good thing or it could complicate matters. Myself, I like hearing different view points.
I would have liked to have another applicant interview that day, and then the team could have had an opportunity to debate which was better. The hope would have been that both candidates would be close, so the debate process would be beneficial.

Sunday

The mock interviews today were eye-opening. It proved the questions that go in to the interview should be well thought out and clarified. We ran across a question or two that with different wording would have been clearer for the candidate.
The discussions on principal evaluation was a plus as well. I was unaware of the February first deadline and that will be good to know going in to a new job.

Teacher interviews

Today’s mock interviews were helpful in two ways. Not only did it help me prepare for the day when I will hopefully be a principal interviewing teachers, but it gave me a chance to reflect on how well prepared I am for interviews for a principal position.

Interview

I really enjoyed the interviews conducted today, especially because I was part of the music interview. Being a math teacher, music content is not something that I am familiar with, and I can see the value of having a member of the inteview committee who is a lead teacher in that content area. They can serve as a great resource, but ultimately needs to be someone who's opinion you can trust.

Last Class

This class has been very informative. Today the mock interviews were very enlightening. It was interesting to speak with other class members and learn how the process is handled at differing districts. It was even more eventful to be able to interview a student who was looking to work in Music. I think the most important thing I learned was that you need to have the department head involved in interviews, especially when you are not familiar with the subject. Reading the standards doesn't mean you know exactly what you know what you expect.

The Old and New Paradigm

I believe that adminstrators either have their blinders on or they are scared to go over to the new paradigm in regards to professional develoment. Yes, it is going to be more work to implement professional development that goes beyond the sit and get idea. It takes a great deal of team work but it will make for a much more succesful school climate. Everyone working together to develop a program that is effective across the entire school. The coaches train the rest of the staff and they are their for them for questions and extra help with implementation. It is something that needs to be a continous implementation or program. There is a great deal that goes into the new paradigm of professional development and I love it. It is such a wonderful thing to have something that you stick with and continue to learn about as a school community.

Final Sunday

Today's interview activity was very good. The opportunity to go through those steps, from creating a question list and thinking about possible answers to actually asking the questions and providing feedback to the candidate, was a great experience.

Our discussion about induction and mentoring was interesting. I had never thought about mentoring the non-certified staff - thanks Tim for asking bringing up that topic. Good advice and thoughts followed.

All in all a good class. Many topics were covered that will be beneficial to all of us as future administrators.

Interview Day

I found the interviews to be an extremely valuable experience. This is a task that we will have to complete frequently as administrators. Even though we were not being the ones interviewed, examining the responses of the "applicants" gave me an insight as to how I need to be prepared for my interview. I need to know the latest research, terms, etc. concerning administration. I would like to be interviewed as a principal candidate as well. It would be immensely helpful to have that practice before I start looking for jobs.

Sunday, November 8

The mock interviews of the student teachers was a great experience. It also made me think a lot about how I interview. The group interview was a good time to colloborate and talk about what we each saw during the interview. It was nice to see the different perspectives.

Week 3 Interviews

Interviews were great. Gave an opportunity to practice asking questions and follow up questions like an actual interview. Doing it as a group gave me insight into what others picked up on that I did not. Great activity.

Interviewing

Interviewing is a two way street. It requires leaders/interviewers to be able to draw out responses and follow-up with questions in order to help candidates elaborate on their answers. During our mock interview, most answers were very short. I think this is because the students still lack critical experiences which helps them answer questions. In a way, this is a good set-up for us. It required our team to ask follow-up questions and try to draw out the candidate. This is a good activity for this class, and hopefully helps the student teachers as well.

Third weekend

Bringing in the conselors was a great idea. I learned alot about the changing position requirements of the position. I liked to get the input of people in the field and see how they would like to see a administrator handle a situation. I was surprised to hear how often they wanted to be in the classroom as this is a practice that does not happen in my school. I found it interesting that the position of social worker and conselor was so much different. I thought they were basically the same. I also liked the presentations. Hearing perspectives from other teachers in different schools always adds another perspective to a situation.

Dohse, Aimee Professional Development

When reading the article today in regards to professional development and contrasting the old paradigm vs. the new paradigm...I reflected on my own personal experience with professional development. I do believe that it's important that teachers have time for application of professional development, time for collaboration, and coaches that are well versed in the professional development. If something is to be implemented with fidelity, and it is a large undertaking, it is important that the supports are in place.

sunday last class

This is my last class in the program. I think that this was a great program and it has helped me tremendously as a teacher to see both sides of issues, and to understand what administrators go through.

sat nov 7

Saturdays class was very hot! The presentation was very nice, and the power points were interesting.

R Lee's November 7th Blog

Last weekend, that is always good. It was a tough day today, hot and it was a day where lecture was the main delivery method of the content. Those two make it very hard for me to stay focused in the classroom. We were able to do two activities; hopeful counselor candidates came in and we got to ask them some questions regarding their jobs. It is good to see WIU's counselor department provide such a diversified curriculum for its students. I always just saw a counselor as what the presenter shared with us, someone who schedules, someone who is in charge of JH dances, someone who helps with college applications, etc.....a job that seemed to be a no brainer. But when Dr. Nickels and her associate started discussing the clinical part of the job; gave me a new perspective and appreciation for what they do. I also became informed about the ratio of students to counselors that exists in most schools. Later on we were asked by professor Closen about what we would do in a certain situation and a classmate said, "call the counselor"; when just prior to that we had heard that counselors are spread thin, upwards of 500 students to 1 counselor. It was also good that we got to come up with some interview questions for the student teachers today, I am clueless with respect to the elementary educational world so my input was not overwhelming at this task, but I did learn about what makes a good set of general questions for any level of teacher.

Saturday Presentations

I thought our group had an interesting variety of presentations. Randy’s presentation really made me think about the impact of zeros on a student’s grade and attitude. I am not sure where I stand on the policy of giving a 50% in place of a zero, but I agree with the sentiment that a zero is disproportionate on the grading scale. Jeremy had an interesting perspective on the value of coaches and the importance of meaningful evaluation of coaches. As some of the people our students admire and respect the most in our schools, leaders have the responsibility to select quality coaches and assure that they are held to the same high standards we set for classroom teachers. These are some things I had not thought about before.

Saturday, Weekend 3

The presentation by the professional school counselor was very informative. I was unaware of the many services counselors can offer to students and the opportunities that exist for collaboration with instructors. In addition, it was beneficial to learn about the professional standards for school counselors prior to becoming an administrator. Professional standards are the criteria used for instructor evaluations in Iowa and I am assuming that the standards shared during the presentation would be the criteria used to evaluate school counselors. Are there any other school staff members or professionals who are evaluated by building administrators using a different set of standards? If so, are there national standards in existence that a new building administrator could reference?

Counselors

I really enjoyed the counselors visiting today. I hadn't really thought about that aspect of being a principal. I will keep in mind their suggestions today, and also remember that they are a vital asset to any school. I liked their statistics on how a child whose needs are met, does better in school. Those types of numbers speak volumes to everyone about how important a child's well being is.

I found the counselor presentation(s) to be very enlightening. Our high school had 3 counselors for 900+ students and the two middle schools share a counselor. There have been times that I didn't feel that they did enough. By these definitions they should be doing different things than I expected. Maybe they do.

I enjoyed the presentations. I was part of SAC training several years ago. As we discussed after Tara's presentation... the timing and school climate just wasn't right. I also found it interesting that, while many schools have Student Led Conferences, they are done differently.

Saturday

I found the counselor session this morning eye opening to say the least. Our district has one counselor in the true sense of the word but she handles K - 8. She is spread too thin and can't seem to get out of the elementary school to do anything in the middle school. It was eye opening because after listening to the presentation today, I see a huge benefit in having a good school counselor at the middle and high school. I further see benefits in some type of training for the staff from the counselor. Early out days would be a great time.
I enjoyed the presentations in small groups today. The topics were well researched and very well presented.

Going outside was GREAT!

Third Saturday

I felt that today's work with the counselors was very interesting. This is a group of people who are quite significant to the successful operation of your school. Understanding how these individuals are trained during the interview makes a great deal of sense. Getting those counselors who have been trained with the "professional counselor" mentality rather than the "guidance counselor" mindset will be a must in the present educational climate.

I also felt that the time spent looking at interview questions and discussing what "good" answers would look/sound like was time well-spent. I found a lot of consistency between the questions that group members brought to share.

The Last Saturday

I found the presentation by the counseling department very eye opening. My school district is limited on the actual number of counselors and I learned we are not using them to their full potential. My district primarily sees the counselor as a guidance counselor and not a professional school counselor. I learned as an administrator how important it is to be pro-active vs. reactive to issues, and to use your counselor as a professional school counselor. Also I learned many interesting facts from the afternoon class presentations. In my group we covered many topics from merit pay, co-teaching, student-led conferences, and the student aligned classrooms. I am going to try out Tara's idea about the "I CAN....." statement. We have walkaway goals at my school, but the "I CAN ...." statement will make it easier for the student to explain what actually happened in the classroom and what exactly can they do after the lesson.

Week 3 Saturday

Hearing from the counselors was nice as I was unaware of the new expectations. Letting them shed some light on what they want to/should be doing should help if put into a situation of hiring or evaluating. Presentations were good, nice to see some elementary teachers to help gain further perspective as I have always been in the high school setting. Looking forward to interviewing student teachers to see how they answer some of our questions.

Saturday, Nov. 7th

The discussion with school counselors was very interesting. Distinguishing between guidance and school counselors was helpful because I do think some people confuse the two. It also stressed the importance of having counselors in schools, especially with all that students deal with these days.

The presentations I got to see were very good. Mary Kelly did a great one on school climate. She showed a video of a school that is posted on the school website and that school looked so inviting. It is something we should all think about-as teachers as well as leaders.

I look forward to interviewing the student teachers tomorrow. I think it will be beneficial to both of groups.

Caldwell; School counselors

The presentation by Holly and the high school counselor was an excellent source of information. Holly stated that the counselors from Western graduate with a well rounded education and I have to agree. In my experiences, I feel I have been prepared for a variety of situations that I did not expect. The small group discussion was really nice and the counselor provided insight to what a counselor's role is and how the counselor can be utilized in the school setting. The handouts provided on the western on line are very informative and useful.

Saturday Week 3

I thought the discussion over the interview questions was very good. It helps hear other points of view on why they would want to ask certain questions.

Also having the counselors in hearing what they can actually bring to a school building was helpful. It was nice to know that they are able to do more than class scheduling and give the PSAE Test.

School Counselor

Dr. Nikles' presentation and the follow-up small group discussions this morning really opened my eyes to how the school counselor can make the administrator's life at school a lot easier.

Preventative programs in the classroom, although taking from academic time, are key to keeping the lid on the middle school society. The counselor's established relationships with parents and students and knowledge of school and student issues can provide the administrator with insight that they would never have without the counselor's input.

I think that an administrator who discourages preventative programs in the classrooms or pulling kids from class for conferences with the counselor should imagine life without the counseling staff.

Higbee 3rd Saturday

With the high stress levels that can be commonplace in schools, it was worthy to break down the more common types of stress and how they evolve. Even more noteworthy were the discussions and recommendations for avoiding burnout and relieving stress in the workplace. Also, I appreciated the time spent allowing the respective counselors to enlighten us as to what they do and how their roles in the schools have evolved in recent years. A lot of what they explained today cleared up some of the questions regarding the guidance counselors (yes I called them guidance counselors) that work in our building. I also like the idea of having a mental health specialist in the building for both students and staff.

J. Curtis Presentations

The presentations today were overall very well planned. I especially enjoyed the power point on supporting african-american students in the classroom. It was interesting to hear Janet's statistics of african-american staff ratio to students. Being the next city over, my building has much more african-american staff and our building leader is a female african-american. Her building had a 25% free/reduced population, whereas mine is 84%. Significantly different and being so close to one another is very interesting.

Martin Dave

I thought that the visit from the counselor was very beneficial. It seems at times in the schools that the roles of the counselors are not defines. Understanding their professional training and what there intentions and objectives are was beneficial. The projects were also something I enjoyed. I had the same topic as other people in my group and it was nice to here a different take on the topic that I presented. I believe that it will help me as I improve in the delivery of student-led conferences.

Professional School Counseling

I think the presentation from the school counselors was interesting and informative. I think there is a misconception about the role of school counselors, and these ladies helped clarify many of them. I did not realize that they were qualified mental health professionals, as well, which definitely explains the length of their program. Their role in a school is definitely important, although often misunderstood. The documents provided will be nice to file away for future reference.

School Counselors

Being a school counselor I have an advantage as I enter into the world of school administration when it comes to know what to expect of school counselors. I feel that guidance and special education are two areas that administrators are often fearful of if they don't have any background in either of these areas. In my opinion, school administrators are fearful of these two departments because they are not knowledgable of the content or the rules. Therefore, instead of challenging those in these departments they shy away from them. I feel each individual is an expert in their own content area, but in the areas of guidance and special education especially, people can "hide" for years and not accomplish much of anything. It's very important for administrators to be actively involved in both of these departments to ensure that the individuals in these departments are working to the best of their abilities and simply not "putting their time in" to collect a paycheck. Counselors and special education staff can be huge assets to a district, but only if they are being held accountable in improving student acheivement.

Counselor's Role - Alicia Christiansen

I found the counselor presentation and breakout session to be very beneficial to me as a future administrator. As a teacher I see what tasks my counselor is designated to do as well as the impact that she has on staff and students. Hearing how the world of counseling has changed and how the role of the professional counselor has changed was very interesting and very helpful. I feel like I have a better understanding of what the role of the counselor is and how it can benefit me as a leader.

Dohse,Aimee Day Counselors

Visiting with the counselors was a great experience. When Kelly said that it is important to make sure you know where your counselors are and what they are doing, it made perfect sense. I also enjoyed the break-out session we had where we were able to ask individual questions. I found out some valuable information. We were told that counselors can have up to 5 private discussions with a student before getting the parents approval. The information we were given will be valuable in my new position.

J Curtis Interviewing Students

I think a lot of the reading was common sense, but I thought it was interesting that if a student refuses to speak to law enforcement, the interview may not proceed on school grounds.

Counselor Presentation

I learned a great deal from the counselor presentation today. The people in my group have already heard this, but I will repeat my question here. While I believe that counselors coming into the classroom in the high school setting could be useful, I am questioning how many times the regular instructional period can be interrupted. So many organizations, programs, and initiatives only want "just one or two class periods" to present their case. With all of these people vying for instructional time, so many times actual instruction time gets pushed to the background. I would love to be able to present a viable solution, but I have yet to figure one out!

Saturday, November 7th

I really enjoyed talking with the counselors. I enjoyed the presentation they gave and really value counselors in the buildings. Even though we don't have a counselor, we have an Outreach Worker, he really does a lot to help our students. I would like to see counselors in our building to help with social/emotional learning. I do strongly believe that there should be at least one counseling class required in this program as it really helps to know that once you reach the administrative side (the Dark Side), you RELLY need to know the developmental stages of adolescents and why they do the things they do!! (If we'll EVER know why!!!!)

Saturday week-end 3

I really learned a great deal from the counselors. Things will help me understand their job. I found it very interesting that a requirement of the program is to prepare curriculum that is taught to the students. As, a administrator it is important to work with your counselors to establish the needs of the students. Then they can prepare curriculum that is productive for the student population. Also, as an adminstrator observing the students from the un-structured time can be eye opening in regards to behavior. I learned that counselors can see a student five times without paretnal consent. A good suggestion that was given is to have a setion in the handbook where the parents can sign taht their child can see the counselor anytime. This way they are covered throughout the school year as long as the parent signed the handbook. If anyone did not know this they can go to the ASCA web-site and get a lot of good information on conseling. As a principal you should make sure that you have a good realtionship with your conselors. Find out what their strenghts are and what things they would like to improve on as a conselor.

Building a Relationship

In the reading was interesting to see even 400 years ago how two different cultures built a relationship and worked through their problems together, while leaning on each other in areas of need; such as safety. Without communication their is no way to build a positive trust worthy relationship that can benefit both parties.