Standard 6: Professional Capacity of School Personnel

6a. Recruit, hire, support, develop, and retain effective and caring teachers and other professional staff and
form them into an educationally effective faculty.
6b. Plan for and manage staff turnover and succession, providing opportunities for effective induction and
mentoring of new personnel.

Activity: Mentor for Student Teacher

Time: 20 hours

Description: I acted as a mentor teacher for a student teacher for a period of eight weeks. During
that time, I observed her as she taught. I also met with her to perform evaluations and scored her
performance. We also met weekly to discuss lesson plans and behavior management. The
process of being a mentor teacher included having her observe me, handing over instruction
slowly, and then fully handing over instruction for two weeks to observe and evaluate. I had to
complete several formal observations, followed by meetings with my mentee.

Reflection: I learned a lot by being a mentor teacher. The main takeaway was that I liked to be
in control and letting someone else have that control took some serious will-power. As a teacher,
we invest all of our time and energy on our students. To have someone “take over” for eight
weeks, meant that I lacked total control over my classroom. The lesson I learned was when to
step in and when to let her learn on her feet. I became a better leader through this experience. I
learned how to lead through guidance instead of just taking over and modelling. I learned how to
give criticism, which was not a strong suit of mine. Finally, I learned how to better communicate
concerns and suggestions.

Artifact: Letter from Host Teacher Packet

Standard 6: Professional Capacity of School Personnel
6c. Develop teachers’ and staff members’ professional knowledge, skills, and practice through differentiated
opportunities for learning and growth, guided by understanding of professional and adult learning and
development.
6d. Foster continuous improvement of individual and collective instructional capacity to achieve outcomes
envisioned for each student.

Activity: Textbook Selection Committee

Time: 20 hours

Description: As a member of the Textbook Selection Committee for English/language arts and
reading, my role was to listen to all of the presentations made by the textbook companies. After
all presentations, I had to rank the textbooks from favorite to least favorite. I took all of the
information back to my school and shared the textbooks with my upper grade colleagues. I
answered questions, acquired feedback, and created a list of new questions from my colleagues
to take back to my next meeting.

Reflection: Viewing all of the options for ELA and reading textbooks was a great learning
experience. Not only did I have to consider which series would be best for my fifth grade
students, but I also had to consider that this textbook would be used for grades preschool through
fifth. As the only representative for the upper grades at Yough Glades Elementary, I took notes
on each program and truly wanted feedback and concerns from my fellow colleagues. The
Textbook Selection Committee met several times and shared questions and concerns before
deciding on a new series for the following school year.

Artifact: Professional Leave Form for Textbook Selection Committee

Standard 6: Professional Capacity of School Personnel
6i. Tend to their own learning and effectiveness through reflection, study, and improvement, maintaining a
healthy work-life balance.

Activity: Data Analyst for PBIS Team

Time: 15 hours

Description: I acted as the data analyst for the PBIS team. The data I collected was logged into a
system called PowerSchool. My focus was on behavior and discipline data. From this, I was able
to identify most frequent behaviors, locations, and grade levels.

Reflection: My position as data analyst corresponded with my capstone research project on

PBIS effectiveness on behaviors. This position allowed me to take a more quantitative look into
behavior. The data and my analysis are being used as we prepare a PBIS plan for next school
year. I was able to determine students who had the most behavior referrals, the time of day when
most behaviors occurred, and the behavior that caused the most referrals. This information was
later a part of my capstone project to determine effectiveness of the current PBIS program.
Having more detailed information and using it to better the entire school was the purpose of this
data collection.

Artifact: PBIS Sign In Sheet with titles

Standard 6: Professional Capacity of School Personnel
6i. Tend to their own learning and effectiveness through reflection, study, and improvement, maintaining a
healthy work-life balance.

Activity: Teacher-In-Charge

Time: 7 hours

Description: As a senior teacher, when the principal was out of the building, I was appointed
Teacher-In-Charge. This title meant that I dealt with all behavior issues for the day while my
principal was out of the office.

Reflection: Being Teacher-In-Charge allowed me to experience the true role of a teaching

principal. I had to balance teaching along with frequent interruptions for behavior issues and
meetings. In this role, I was able to meet with students from all grades and deliver fair yet
appropriate discipline. It was a great way to get used to that role which is much different from
discipline in the classroom. The role also let me get used to the idea that I needed to handle
discipline in a developmentally appropriate way for students from different grade levels, while
also letting the teacher know she was supported in the incident.

Artifact: notes from teacher in charge duties

Teacher in Charge Notes

5/8/19

- Met with KL for behavior. Pulled from classroom for constant disruption. Counseled with
him, practiced and modeled expectations in the classroom. Sent back to class and
checked in on him 20 minutes later
- Called to assist with student transport with CPI team. KD was removed from 2 nd grade
room after assaulting a student. Once she de-escalated, she was given ASC time for 30
minutes to complete work.
- Called to office to meet with a parent about custody agreement. Note left for you to
follow up with court papers.
- Assisted with dismissal to help JM manage behavior in bus line.
Standard 9: Operations and Management
9a. Institute, manage, and monitor operations and administrative systems that promote the mission and
vision of the school.

Activity: Service Learning Projects Newsletter

Time: 3 hours

Description: As a part of the Gifted and Talented program, my students organized service
learning projects for the entire school. The projects consisted of a coin drive benefitting HART
for Animals and care packages for our troops overseas.

Reflection: Typically, the intervention teachers have taken over the Gifted and Talented
program. This year it was left to the classroom teachers due to the high volume of students
needing RTI services. I decided to have my students work on projects that would benefit the
community. The students worked with me selecting projects and organizing it for the entire
school. For both the coin drive and the care packages, I took the lead and guided the students. I
also created newsletters for parents of all students to spread the message about the project. The
turnout for both was a great success. I received so much positive feedback from parents about
doing something nice for the community.

Artifacts: Newsletter sent to all parents

Standard 9: Operations and Management
9a. Institute, manage, and monitor operations and administrative systems that promote the mission and
vision of the school.

Activity: Hatchery Trip for Fifth Graders

Time: 5 hours

Description: Each year, students visit the Bear Creek Fish Hatchery as a part of the Trout in the
Classroom program that I implement. Students learn about the local hatchery and get to learn
about how trout are raised for releases.

Reflection: This year’s trip to the hatchery did not get to happen due to COVID-19. It was
planned for May, but the students never got a chance. I took charge of all of the planning for
both fifth grade classrooms. I love working with the DNR and fisheries employees each year.
Ever since I began the Trout in the Classroom program, I have always collaborated with them in
teaching my kids. Organizing a field trip is a leadership skill that all true leaders should possess.
Collaborating with community members exposed my students to new careers and things that
exist in their communities that they may not know about yet.

Artifact: emails to schedule hatchery trip

Standard 9: Operations and Management
9a. Institute, manage, and monitor operations and administrative systems that promote the mission and
vision of the school.
9f. Employ technology to improve the quality and efficiency of operations and management.
9e. Protect teachers’ and other staff members’ work and learning from disruption.

Activity: PBIS Survey

Time: 5 hours

Description: After the December PBIS incentive of a movie day, I created a survey asking
students opinions and input on PBIS incentives for the future. The survey was given to students
in third, fourth, and fifth grades. They were asked to rate the December incentive as well.

Reflection: Student input is something that is greatly overlooked, especially in elementary

schools. When planning incentives for the year, my first thought was to ask the students what
they would want to work towards. When students get choice, it makes them feel heard. It also
added motivation for them to work towards that incentive. The students came up with great ideas
that we plan to use next year on our incentive list. This year’s incentives were cut short due to
COVID-19.

Artifact: PBIS Survey

Standard 9: Operations and Management
9d. Are responsible, ethical, and accountable stewards of the school’s monetary and nonmonetary resources,
engaging in effective budgeting and accounting practices.

Activity: Trout in the Classroom Grant Writing and Invoicing

Time: 8 hours

Description: In order to implement the Trout in the Classroom program, I have to apply for the
grant each year. I also have to track spending, ordering, and complete invoicing at the end of
each program year. The grant gives funds to purchase the trout tank and supplies for the
classroom as well as funding for field trips. At the conclusion of the program, final reports, data,
and invoicing occurs.

Reflection: The Trout in the Classroom program requires a lot of paperwork, grant writing, and
invoicing. This is my third year of having the program in my classroom and it is worth all of the
time and effort. In order to receive the funding for parts and equipment, a grant must be written
and approved at the state level. This grant details how the Trout in the Classroom program ties in
with environmental literacy and science standards. I also have to place an order for equipment
needed to run the trout tank. In addition, I have to spend personal money on large items like the
fish tank. At the end of the program, I have to write an invoice to get reimbursed and write a
final report. All of this paperwork and record keeping is worth the lessons the students get from
the program. The process introduced me to grant writing and managing funds. I have improved
record and receipt keeping skills from implementing this program.

Artifact: Grant Application

Standard 9: Operations and Management
9d. Are responsible, ethical, and accountable stewards of the school’s monetary and nonmonetary resources,
engaging in effective budgeting and accounting practices.

Activity: Principal Financial Responsibilities Project

Time: 15 hours

Description: As a part of my School Finance class, I had to interview an administrator and ask
questions about her financial responsibilities. I created both PowerPoint and a reflection on her
responses, the Policies and Procedures Handbook, and the county budget.

Reflection: This project taught me so much about finances and the job of a principal when
dealing with funds. Even though many of the financial record keeping is done at the county level,
the principal has to act as a financial accountant for her own school. In addition to distributing
funds, they also have to maintain a positive balance in all accounts. The most difficult part would
be allocating funds. I feel that you have to prioritize what you think is important. This could
cause some friction amongst the staff if not done appropriately. I earned a new respect for
principals and their financial roles within the school.

Artifact: Screenshot from PowerPoint on principal responsibilities