Running Header: ADMINISTRATIVE SHADOWING

Administrative Shadowing

Anthony Virgilio EDL 651-Administrative Internship- Fall 2013

Running Header: ADMINISTRATIVE SHADOWING As an administrator, one must be well rounded and knowledgeable about all the different positions in a school building. For this reason I chose to shadow two separate administrators and wrote two separate summaries in preparation for future career endeavors.

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL On Thursday, September 26th I spent my morning with assistant principal John Smith. I arrived to the William A. Shine Great Neck South High and joined John promptly at 7:59AM for first period. John had been working since 6:30, which is normal for him. Coincidentally, the first thing John did was field questions from several other administrative interns concerning the school budget. These students, (myself included) were assigned the task of setting up a school or department budget in an Excel spreadsheet for our Administrative Core II course. John was very patient while answering questions and printed up a few documents for reference. Shortly thereafter, a department head came upstairs to inquire about some equipment that was ordered but never installed properly. The department head spent 25 minutes discussing the situation in detail with John and his secretary Maureen. The confusion was related to video cards purchased for the World Languages department that were signed off on and supposedly installed by the company. Now that time has passed since the delivery, our World Languages department was unable to locate the hardware. The interesting thing about this situation is that this particular department head is leaving our district to accept another position in two weeks. John discussed this with me

Running Header: ADMINISTRATIVE SHADOWING

as well and said that he was skeptical. Could it be that this department was stealing from the school? As the conversation ended John told the department head to call the company again and double check that the order shipped. His secretary reminded him that this was a $2,000 order. Shortly thereafter, John and I had a brief conversation about his duties as an Assistant Principal and he explained that he is in charge of the building budget. John stressed the importance of an administrator to be cautious with district funds. We also had a few minutes to talk about the particulars of his position and I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his job. I asked him what his average day is like, what his hours are, and if he enjoys the job. I found out that Johns days vary, which I love. He spoke about multi-tasking and the importance of organizational skills combined with a good secretary. John said that an average workday runs from 6:30am-5pm, and that its a great job. We then spoke about his path to Assistant Principal. John went from being a classroom Science teacher, to Science department head in Sewanhaka High School. Then, when life put him in a position to either accept a Science District Coordinator position or jeopardize his career in Sewanhaka he applied for three Assistant Principal jobs and took the position he holds today in Great Neck. I always find it fascinating to learn where people come from and how they attained the position that they hold. In my opinion, life and career options are related to fate. Where will my career take me? My goal in this internship is to make myself as well rounded as possible, so that when I apply for an administrative position, I will be a viable

Running Header: ADMINISTRATIVE SHADOWING candidate for the job. I also aim to spend much of my time with Michael Music, as Performing Arts Department Head is the most probable path for me to travel. Later in the day John and I attended a Pupil Personal Team (PPT) meeting and took a long walk through the building. For the most part John was quiet during the PPT meeting and just did a lot of listening while the Guidance Department and Principal discussed various ways to help troubled students. During our walk I noticed that John was talking to almost everyone in length about completely different topics. The initial purpose of the walk was to speak to the Math Department Head and inquire about a

textbook order she placed to comply with the new common core standards, which we did eventually accomplish, but the walk itself lasted for about 40 minutes! Once back in his office, John checked his email to see what had occurred while we were away. He told me that he checks his email every time he enters his office. At this point we began sorting out the Basic Educational Data System (BEDS) forms from the state. The bell rang and my time shadowing John abruptly came to an end. I stopped by to see him later in the day and thanked him for a great experience. Im not sure if I would ever hold this position, but I know now that I am capable of doing the work.

PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT CHAIR On Friday, September 27th I shadowed the current Performing Arts Department Chair Michael Music. When I first greeted Michael in the morning he was already busy working on choosing/copying music for the upcoming South High pep rally scheduled for Friday October 4th. Michael was asked to form a pep band and perform for this event just eight days before it took place! Michael informed me that this is typical; non-musicians

Running Header: ADMINISTRATIVE SHADOWING

do not realize the amount of time it takes to rehearse for an event like this, let alone form a group. Michaels solution was to include student volunteers from his current Symphonic Band and teach them the music during class. He also informed me of the administrative tasks that one must complete for an event like this to function smoothly. These tasks included the creation of student passes from class to the music wing, custodial setup, and a logistics discussion with the event coordinators. Towards the end of the period Michael stepped into the classroom of the ninth grade Concert Band to help students and support one of his teachers. Michael is a hands-on leader who enjoys leading by example. During periods two and three Michael taught his Symphonic Band and Chamber Orchestra while I observed. I noticed that Michael spent time talking to each of his classes about the department as a whole, our goals, and explained how each of them fit in to the big picture. I admire that transparency. I believe that Michael does this to let his students know they are important and are part of something great. I hope to emulate this trait someday. At the end of the period Michael explained the tasks currently on his to-do list. Like John Smith, Michael is extremely busy and must prioritize his tasks on a daily basis. Ive always considered myself to have great time-management skills. This aspect of the position does not intimidate me. During period four Michael showed me how to create a purchase requisition and walked me through the process. We reviewed the purchase templates he created for each separate vendor the school frequently uses. We discussed the difference between supplies and equipment, which correlated with the material I was studying in my

Running Header: ADMINISTRATIVE SHADOWING Administration Core II course. It was beneficial to see this information presented from Michaels perspective.

After a few minutes Michael was interrupted to address some computer issues by the IT department. He asked me to continue the order myself, which I did. When he returned to his office we reviewed my work and discussed the purchasing procedure for a few minutes. At this point the bell rang and my shadowing assignment with Michael concluded. I learned something very valuable from this experience that I wouldnt have, had I only chose one administrator to shadow. In speaking with John Smith about his job I admitted to him that I did not yet know which administrative position Im most interested in. He said something very profound about the Performing Arts Department Chair position that I never thought about. He said that the position does not have to be run the way Michael runs it. Michael is a very hands-on leader that chooses to direct both the school musical and full-scale opera each year. After speaking with John, I now realize that I can facilitate those traditions without having to necessarily do all the work myself! That was very comforting to hear. I was always worried on some level, that if I did not do those things, it would diminish my chances of becoming an effective department head. It is motivating to stand corrected.