My Philosophy of Education 1

My Philosophy of Educational Leadership

[Educational Leader]

Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

and Postsecondary Education

University of Northern Iowa

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the

Advanced Studies Certificate

By

Sarah J Saladino

Fred Becker Elementary

Cedar Falls, IA

(12/4/2015)

Susan Alborn-Yilek

Why I want to lead.

My Philosophy of Education 2

As I sat down and began to organize my thoughts for my philosophy of education a lot of

different ideas went through my head. What will my lasting impact be? What do I believe in and

want other people to know about my philosophy. I have had so many different wonderful role

models that have made a strong impact in my life. I stumbled upon multiple ideas and came up

with the following in connection with educational leadership. This connection all encompasses a

teacher, coach, and principal. All of the roles have influenced me to pursue educational

leadership. I have had the opportunity to be a teacher and a coach, which are my current roles.

These two current roles have pushed me more outside of my box to work into leadership. It has

also been one of my passions to be in a leadership role. I have already experienced it through

being a coach and this opportunity has shown me that I have certain strengths that a leader needs

in order to be successful.

One main reason I have chosen educational leadership is for a new challenge in my life.

Im a firm believer that if I am continuing to be challenged, then I am continuing to learn more.

The more challenges in my life the more I am taught and each challenge brings a huge learning

curve in the process. According to the article, Daily News, There are many areas that an

effective leader should have and look into when they are in a leadership role. Some of the

following include: assess personal strengths and weaknesses and by doing this I will better know

myself and be able to make adjustments where I see it fit, (Hill 2009).

Strengths and Weaknesses: As I look at my personal strengths I see the following:

determination, work ethic, and a caring person. One of my strengths is the determination I have

to do something. Im a very goal driven person that will do whatever it takes to be successful. It

doesnt matter the time investment or the challenge that comes along with it these are

opportunities that I thrive upon.

My Philosophy of Education 3

Another strength is my work ethic, as a former athlete I know what its like to have to

train in order to achieve greatness. I have spent countless hours when I was an athlete through

research, repetition and also working on the skills. I know the amount of dedication that it will

take to become a successful leader. In connection with strengths I also have weaknesses.

Weaknesses: Two major ones that I have been working on is time management and

dealing with conflict. As a leader it is imperative that I am organized with my time, as its such

an essential piece of this job and requires the ability to be at many different things. I have to be

intentional about meetings that I have and I plan what I chose to do with the time I do have. I

also deal with conflict, but it is not something I enjoy doing. I have become a lot better with the

process of dealing with a problem than I was when I first started.

What it takes to be a successful leader.

In order to be a successful leader there are certain skills that must be present to make this

happen. One skill is the way that I am perceived as a leader and relate to other staff. This will

allow me to improve on the areas that other people in their opinion see that I need to work on in

order to become more of an effective leader. As a current teacher I have had the experience to

work for a great leader and I am able to relate that to how I want others to perceive me.

According to an article in the Daily News, A big key to leadership is developing a style that

works for the whole team, (Hill 2009). It is very hard to come into a leadership role and be

stuck in a way that I am not willing to change or adapted to the culture that I am serving.

Communication: As a leader I know that it will be challenging to work to change the

climate and culture of a building, but eventually will make the business in the building work

much smoother. This will allow me to communicate with the building the expectations that I will

have for my staff. In having the ability to be able to communicate, this allows everyone to be on
My Philosophy of Education 4

the same page and if there are any gaps through communication they will be bridged. Good

communication is a critical feature of any endeavor in which people working in close proximity

for a common purpose, (Marzano,R.J,Waters,T.,& McNulty B.A., 2005, p.205). With this being

said it goes to show that communication is one of the major pieces that keep everything a float

between all avenues in a school and community.

As a teacher I think its very important to communicate effectively with other colleagues,

principal, parents and also students. Making sure that everyone is on the same page. Along with

communication being a strong characteristic of a successful leader. The ability to build

relationships is another key characteristic to have.

Relationships: As a teacher, Im constantly building relationships with my students,

parents, colleagues, principal and other stakeholders. When building these relationships it helps

to build the trust between people and makes it that much easier to work with someone that I have

a strong relationship with. Teachers are being used to help with leadership roles since

principals are so overwhelmed. This allows teachers to have more of a say of what is taking

place and this article states that teachers are more willing to be involved when their opinion is

validated, (Superville, D, Education Weekly, 2015 pg. 15-16).

Its also very important to build the relationship with students. In my experience as a

teacher many students thrive on that relationship piece in order for them to be able to feel

comfortable with their teacher. It also allows students to know that someone will always care for

them. The relationship piece is the first place to start building a solid foundation with a student

and add specific layers to the students education. Not only has my teaching experience migrated

me towards education leadership, but being also in my role as a coach.

My Philosophy of Education 5

Deliverer of Instruction: In my role as a coach this has also helped to persuade me

towards educational leadership. As a coach I see myself as a deliverer of instructions to be able

to build fundamental skills. It is my job to give these instructions in a way that everyone

understands and is able to transfer the knowledge on their own. In giving these instructions I also

have to make accommodations where I see needed in order to reach all learners. Through the

coaching that I will be doing the building of the instructions is the foundation.

Developer: As a coach I also am a developer of skills. First, I give the instructions and

then transfer over the instructions to develop the skills. As I continue to develop my skills and

coach other people to develop theres, it allows me to be able to work hard and challenge myself.

It will take awhile to build these skills, but they are imperative to have in order to build on top of.

This skill set also allows a task to be accomplished that may be challenging. In being a

developer of the instruction I need to make sure to provide my staff with opportunities to

enhance their teaching skills and have different opportunities for them to be supported.

The ISSL standard #2 refers to providing professional development opportunities that

help staff to become more educated in areas that they need. It also states about the importance of

providing ongoing coaching in order to help staff make improvements. This connects with the

idea of being a developer of skills as well. Through being a teacher and a coach my vision has

been very clear on why I want to pursue educational leadership. I feel that it takes a certain skill

set and knowledge to be able to carry out this role

Skills to be a Leader.
My Philosophy of Education 6

Some of the following skills are needed in order to be effective and successful: effective

communicator, relationship builder, organization, time management, knowledge base,

compassionate and visionary. These skills as a whole are ones that I feel a leader definitely needs

to have when choosing this position.

Effective Communicator: In the leadership role having the ability to be an effective

communicator can change the whole dynamic of the schools community. This piece really shows

teachers the importance of community to help build a positive learning environment. As an

effective communicator I will be able to verbalize to my staff my goals are for this school and

once they have an idea what the goals are it will be much easier to implement them. ISSL

standard #6 discusses the idea of reaching desired goals along with this comes the

implementations of the goals just like I stated above.

Building Relationships: Another skill to build this learning community is the piece of

building relationships. I find its so important to establish this piece even before beginning to

teach students as I already stated. If there is a lack of relationship is built the trust factor is out

the window and students are not going to want to do work for the teacher.

Organization: A skill to help keep the school community going is for the leader to be

organized. This skill allows the school community to run smoothly, things to stay in order and

others to follow. I am a very organized person that knows how to keep things aligned, establish a

vision/plan of the best way to reach the goals that I have planned. Organization keeps the stress

level down and in this role stress level is high.

Time Management: As I stated early in my paper the importance of being intentional

about not only my time as a leader, but also the staff members. Time is such an essential piece

and everyone values time. As a leader the time piece is essential for my staff as they value all of
My Philosophy of Education 7

the time they are allowed to have in order to get organized and plan. ISSL standard #3 addresses

the fact of protecting instructional time like I stated above.

Visionary: Another skill is to have the ability to be a visionary. In having a vision it will

be very easy for me to show my school community where we are going and how we are going to

get there. Especially, in a leadership role it is very important to have this vision and the ability to

see in the future as to what the school community needs to look like and places that need to

improve. A clear vision allows for everyone involved to not guess whats going on, but to have a

definite path that they will travel. In having this vision it shows others the values and beliefs that

I have as a leader. ISSl #5 talks about the ethics and integrity. It expresses that the values and

beliefs will be demonstrated and carried out. This makes it much easier for others to follow. The

vision will have big rocks and also little rocks that will be focused on along the way. In

connection with these skills its also very important for me to have a knowledge base once I am

in a leadership position.

Knowledge: I need to first have knowledge of the curriculum thats being used across the

district. This will allow me to support my staff in a way that they can become more successful.

Todd Whitaker believes that, one of the principals most important tasks is to help

teachers improve their instruction and rapport with students. Finding

ineffective means of helping teachers improve is critical to school

improvement, (Whitaker, 2012 p. 105).

I also feel that in order to build a stronger school community is for me as a leader to

continue building my knowledge on education by making sure that I am reading more text, going

to more training and talking with other leaders. In conjunction with the skills and knowledge it is
My Philosophy of Education 8

my job to help lead the community. If I was chosen to lead a school community there would be

quite a few characteristics that I they would be inheriting.

Characteristics I have as a leader..

First, a driver of leadership and success, I am someone who is determined to establish

greatness no matter the time or effort it will take to put in. I am a person with compassion who

truly has a heart for education and the ability not only to help students be successful, but also

watch them develop this success. It can be expected from me as a leader that I will do whatever it

takes to help every student learn no matter their current status. The toughest students need the

most support and love to get an education.

The community can expect for me to be a mentor and lead by example. I will model what

needs to be done in a positive way that can be emulated by others. According to Todd Whitaker,

As leaders our role is to continually take a positive approach. In particular effective leaders

understand the power of praise. I will be someone who will communicate effectively the

information from the top down and allow myself to be vulnerable and risk the chance of failure.

Its failure that I will experience that truly will help me to see how I respond. I will see this

numerous times through the leadership process, but make me a powerful leader. They also will

get a person who will be a supporter that will support the students and the staff as well as help

them to succeed. I will do whatever I have to in order to make sure each student has an

opportunity.

Who I have learned from..

I have been inspired by a few different leaders that have helped me figure out what

certain characteristics I want to make sure I have. One of the leaders was an old athletic director

that I had in high school. Randy Schrader was a very compassionate person and he was very
My Philosophy of Education 9

inspiring as a leader. He was never afraid of failure and when a challenge arises he just went to

work that much harder to rise and conquer the challenge. He was a very personable person who

worked to establish a relationship with each person he came in contact with. No matter what his

situation was he always looked at each opportunity as a new learning experience and a way to

challenge himself. Just his presence in the room established a whole different level.

Another leader who has inspired me and pushed me to challenge myself to become a

leader is my dad. He is a teacher and a coach who expects greatness out of himself as well as

others. He strives to be the best he can even when he is faced with challenges. Although,

perfection is unattainable this is what he strives for. He is known almost everywhere that he goes

is very well respected. The reason for this is that he has put in the hard work and hours to be a

dominating leader. He has high expectations and the desire to keeping going no matter the

situation. Any challenged that he is faced with he always talks about, Rising to the Occasion,

never settle for less than the best. This characteristic he executes has pushed me towards

leadership.

How I will Lead....

As a leader I will have high expectations of my staff to make sure that they will

constantly be challenge, but will also use these challenges to get better. I also expect my teachers

to work as hard as they can in the classroom to give the students a great opportunity to get an

education. To be a mentor to those students who are in need of a positive role model. As far as

the students I expect the students to work their hardest in the classroom. To be a role model for

other students who may be struggling.

As far as the community I just look for support for the school and the decisions that may

happen. It is a hard enough position being in a leadership role and not having support of the
My Philosophy of Education 10

community and other staff members make the job that much more challenging. I will also make

sure that I include the community in what is happening at the school. Since all of these people

surround the school decisions in fact will make an impact on them as well.

One of the ISSL standards connects to the community and the involvement it has with the

school. Standard #4 stresses the importance of have the community as an involvement piece and

also having parents involved in their education. As a future mentor the community can expect

from me that I will in fact want the parents involved in their childs education and I will do

whatever I can to make sure that this happens.

In conclusion, my philosophy has taken a long time to develop and is constantly

changing. Each new experience brings along a new perspective and also a new opportunity. All

of these new opportunities are in a sense like a measuring stick and allow me to measure the

experience as something that may or may not pertain to my philosophy. I have had a lot of role

models that I have taken bits and pieces learned from them in order to create my philosophy. It is

always a changing document that will always be open ended.

My Philosophy of Education 11

References

Robbins, P., & Alvy, H. (2009). The principals companion: Strategies for making the job

easier (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. A. (2005). School leadership that works: From

research to results. Aurora, CO: McREL.

Hill, C. (2009). What Makes An Effective Leader. Daily News.

Superville, D. (2015). School Districts Turn to Teachers to Lead. Education Week, Volume 34,
(Issue 18), pp.s15.-s16.

Whitaker, T. (2013). What great principals do differently: 18 things that matter most. New York,

NY: Routledge.