Standard 3: Management and Learning Environment

Standard three states “Education leaders manage the organization to cultivate a safe and

productive learning and working environment.” An assignment that pertains to this standard is

the ​employee harassment ​ presentation I collaborated on for EDAD 616A: The Role of

Schooling in a Democratic Society. In order to build and maintain a productive learning

environment, staff and students must feel safe. Part of this maintenance of a safe environment

requires the leaders of the school to address inappropriate or illegal staff behavior. The

employee harassment assignment allowed me the opportunity to look at the details of harassment

including the definition, types, complaint process, and legal obligations. It was a first step into

one aspect of leadership I have not had any working experience in. As I continue to learn and

grow, I will familiarize myself with the appropriate responses to poor performance and illegal

and inappropriate behavior. I do not want an actual occurrence of such behaviors to be the first

time I think about or reflect on what my actions should be. Continuing to familiarize myself

with FRISK is a next step for my development in this area.

The standard also includes fiscal management as a part of cultivating a safe and

productive working environment. The ​Budget Snapshot assignment​ completed for EDAD 616B:

School Finance and Resource Allocation supported my growth towards looking at the budget at

the district wide level. Up until this point, I had managed a department budget as one of my

instructional leadership responsibilities, but I was lacking a working knowledge on where funds

come from and how they are allocated. This assignment provided some of the context I needed

in order to write a ​Single Plan for Student Achievement​ (SPSA), another assignment completed

for EDAD 616B. This assignment based on a fictional school, prepared me to think about how
funds can be distributed to support student performance in a way that serves the needs of all

students based on data and a shared vision. These experiences have given me the perspective

and a starting point to ask questions or to research and find answers to the questions I will

encounter in a leadership position. Creating a safe, fair, and respectful environment for students

and staff is a priority for me as a developing leader.