School Administrator Interview Essay

Improved Essays
Over the course of my seven years teaching high school social studies, I have had the opportunity to learn about the evolving roles and responsibilities of a school administrator from three amazing principals. Henry Kluttz, Kelly Withers, and Angelo DelliSanti have been excellent models for anyone aspiring to be an administrator. Having recently started my own journey towards this leadership role, my knowledge of what makes a great principal has grown exponentially. Having the opportunity to interview a pair of veteran elementary school principals through this assignment has been an eye-opening experience. Having spent the entirety of my teaching career at the high school level has left me with a limited understanding of how an elementary school functions. Both principal A and B openly shared their knowledge of the intricacies of running an elementary school, and the importance of having a strong school improvement plan that pushes their students and staff towards …show more content…
Principal A leads a school of 586 students, grades K-4; compared to 411 students, grades K-5, for Principal B. Both schools qualify as Title 1 schools, having a large percentage of their student populations living in poverty. Principal A faces a 65% poverty rate, while Principal B must account for a 60% poverty rate. While they share similar poverty rates, the ethnic backgrounds of the students at both schools are very different. Principal A impacts a student population that is 42% white, 23% black, 10% Hispanic, 2% multi-racial, and 1% Asian in a town with a suburban population of 24,231 people. Principal B empowers and influences a student population that is 88% white, 8% Hispanic, 2% multi-racial, 1% other, and 1% black in a rural town of 2,664 people. School A has 57 employees, 41 of which are full-time teachers. School B has 25 full-time certified teachers of their 42 school

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    ELAD542 M2 DISC Applying the ISLLC Standards and the 11 Top Ten Most Wanted Strategies for school culture by Sorenson & Goldsmith, to transform the Earl Roloff Elementary School, in Combes Public School System, into a model school using a $150,000 grant will be a worthwhile challenge! When the new superintendent demonstrated a collaborative leadership style by forming a Principal interview team that included both veteran and new teachers to choose the new principal, it well-received; therefore, as the new principal, following through with a similar collaborative style would likely be successful. In my perspective, the principal needs to develop a strategic plan that creates a shared vision and goals with a variety of stakeholders, provides professional development for the staff to achieve those goals, and reaches into the community to develop partnerships and positive relationships.…

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Greenville R-2 Case Study

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Kinder has had a tremendous impact on how the Greenville School District operates, before he was hired as a district administrator the schools culture was organized in a traditional top-down autocratic leadership style. The previous administrator made all the decisions with little to no input from the professional staff, parents or community stakeholders. The culture was one of employee disconnect with low rates of job satisfaction, high rates of professional absence and large numbers of employment turn-over each year. Under Mr. Kinder’s tenure the district has initiated professional learning community policies and he has worked hard to establish the collaborative culture now in found within the district. Teachers are not simply told what will be done, but rather they are the ones making the plans and implementing changes from within.…

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Robin Kvalo Symbols

    • 1373 Words
    • 5 Pages

    An analysis of educational leadership reveals one of the many challenges facing a principal is the development of the school’s value system. The rituals of the school often demonstrate to the students, staff and community what the school values as important. The principal is often the leader of these rituals and they reaffirm the values of the school through what they attend to (Deal & Peterson, 1994, p. 30). Thus, the principal becomes a symbol of what to value and believe in.…

    • 1373 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Before making any decision or attempting to bring about any change, effective principals ask themselves one central question: ‘What will my best teachers think” (Whitaker, 2009)? As part of the decision-making process, great principals should ask themselves: What is the purpose of this, will this actually accomplish the purpose, and how will the most positive and productive people feel about this? Making teachers feel a part of the decision-making process is very beneficial and very important. When principals discuss their ideas with staff members, they become more accepting toward the implementation of change (Whitaker, 2009). Effective principals have the confidence to seek input in advance from staff members and feedback after implementation.…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    ALC Interview Guide. Kylen Blanchette, Rebecca Bubp, Jamie Hilderbran, Emily Mannes, Maggie Sobaszek, and Patrice Somerville Instructors: How long have you been teaching? How long have you been teaching in the Active Learning Classrooms?…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Communication The principal of Gibsland – Coleman is an effective emerging leader. He is only in his second year of being an actual administrator. Prior to accepting the full - time position last year, the principal had been a classroom teacher at a larger inner-city Title I school in Shreveport, LA. Several of his administrative missteps were directly related to his inexperience as an administrator; however, many of the new ideas he attempted at Gibsland were potentially effective methods for fostering a positive school climate.…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Even though I spent a dozen years in the educational system, and devoted a good amount of time pursuing a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and aspired to be the next great school administrator who was going to rock the world of community stakeholders, I failed most of my attempts. James MacGregor Burns described two basic types of leadership: the transactional and transforming. Ironically, when I was an ordinary classroom teacher, long before my ambition to implement all sorts of action plans to elevate my Title I school, I exhibited more transforming leadership traits. I cared about the reasons behind the parents’ and students’ motives. My goal was no different from theirs; it was our utmost important duty to educate and shape…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Iep Meeting Video

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There was one teacher who took notes of the entire meeting. The kid, Dominic attended, along with his parents. There was a regular education teacher. The school psychologist sat in on the meeting, along with the Assistant Principal representing the district, and a teacher from the middle school Dominic will be going to next year. Everybody in the meeting worked collaboratively, with the parents having the final say.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Principal Shadowing Upon guidance and recommendations from the SPA internship team, three head building principals from the Wyoming Valley West School District were sensibly selected. Having an overwhelmingly extensive amount of time in public education, the three principals had a combined total of over 60 years in the school district and with nearly 30 years of that time in administration. Respectively so, they are all in charge of the three largest buildings in the school district, too.…

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To reflect on the many theories, strategies, and planning processes discussed throughout this course, one section particularly stood out to me. The 21 responsibilities of the school leader presented in the Marzano book provided some insights into frequently occurring responsibilities of the school leader. As stated in the book, the “wide array of behaviors explains why it is so difficult to be an effective school leader. (Marzano , Waters, & McNulty, 2005, pg. 41).…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The job of a principal in any academic setting is a monumental task as students, curriculum, parents, teachers, faculty, legal issues, etc., all vie for guidance and attention. But I believe that the job of a Catholic school leader entails far more because I believe the profession of Catholic school leader is a vocation rooted in Christ. My role as a Catholic school principal is one of managerial leader, educational leader and most importantly as spiritual leader. It is my job to nurture a faith community that is built with relational trust and where my school can be transformed into a sacred place (Sergiovanni, 2015, p.12).…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The distinctive knowledge gained through the shadowing experience and interview with my school 's principal is invaluable and I am grateful for the principal 's graciousness in allowing me the opportunity to explore the complexities of school leadership. I was able to observe the principal 's style of leadership, planning with the school 's leadership team, and collaborative processes. I was also able to indirectly observe, conflict management, application of state and district mandates, and parent and community involvement outreach.…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Teacher Interview Essay

    • 1077 Words
    • 4 Pages

    For the teacher interview assignment, it was decided that interviewing a high school friend and his wife would be best. Jeremy and Velva are two teachers in northern New Mexico who teach public school on a Native American reservation. Jeremy teaches second grade and Velva teaches high school. Jeremy has been teaching for about five years now and Velva has been teaching for almost ten.…

    • 1077 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Importance of Teachers as Leaders In today’s world, there is an ever-present need for restructuring our public school systems, particularly regarding leadership in our schools. “Teacher Leaders” is a term that is becoming more used in today’s educational setting. Teacher leaders, or leaders as teachers, are teachers “who aspire to stretch beyond their classrooms to engage in leadership roles that take many shapes and forms, both informal and formal” (Education Commission of the State, 2010, p.1). This is not a new concept but one that is being tweaked.…

    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A principal must truly understand the dynamics of the school and facilitate a positive culture that allows growth for the staff and…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays