Operations & Management
Although Operations and Management is merely one of ten standards to which educational leaders are held, it can be the standard that takes up a disproportionate amount of time. As a school administration intern, I was able able help relieve my building principal of much of that management, having had five years experience at owning and growing my own business before I returned to teaching.
Full Time Principal Stand-In
Having multiple opportunities to be the Guest Principal in my school for days and weeks at a time has provided me the invaluable experience of what the daily operations and management of the school look like. From morning announcements (ISSL 5), to walk-throughs (ISSL 4), to discipline and concerned parents calling (ISSL 8) just as a district meeting has been scheduled (ISSL 10), I've already done it all and embrace the challenges.
Admin Reminders Jan 11-15.docxReturn to Learn Plan
Copy of Lourdes Return to Learn FAQ.docxFrom the beginning of the COVID19 Educational Changes, I served as an integral part of the creation of the plans for Continuous Learning and the Return to Learn Plan. Our school was able to stay open for 100% face-to-face instruction the whole 2020-2021 school year (ISSL 4 & 5), and I credit that to our exceptional planning for multiple contingencies (ISSL 9), our plans for social distancing and isolation, our commitment to equity (ISSL 3), development of personnel and staff (ISSL 6 & 7) and student achievement (ISSL 4), even as the laws and guidance changed almost daily (ISSL 2).
Systems and Organization
Textbook Buyback 2020.xlsxI initiated a textbook buy-back list, gathering, logging and selling many of our old, out of date, or unused textbooks and materials (ISSL 9).
Below, I have examples of schedules I created and distributed to the teaching staff that better facilitated their schedules, ensuring that students were always surrounded by loving, caring teachers (ISSL 5), but also a schedule for Virtual Back-to-School Night, so that all families and students could meet with their teachers (ISSL 8) while maintaining new COVID19 Social Distancing Guidelines (ISSL 2).
Copy of Lunch Duty Pickup Rotation.xlsxMeet the Teacher Zoom Schedule 2020.xlsxBigger Picture Management
One of the largest eye-opening realizations of my internship has been how much "bigger picture" management goes into being a Catholic School Principal. Where public schools have offices and positions dedicated to marketing, physical plant maintenance, retention, community engagement, and system-wide scheduling, as as a Catholic School Principal you wear all those hats and more. As an intern, I created and proposed a school district calendar (ISSL 9) that coordinated with our local public school district's calendar (ISSL 8), provided more opportunity for professional development for our staff (ISSL 6 & 7), and exceeded the minimum number of educational hours required by law (ISSL 2).
Tori_s Proposed LCS Schedule 2020-21 Calendar.docxCopy of Snow Removal Procedures.docxMy creation of a snow removal plan involved a committee of community businesses, our own grounds staff (ISSL 6), local ordinance (ISSL 2) and the needs of our parents and families (ISSL 5 & 8), expressing them in one document I was able to provide to the business office and Pastor for consideration.
Teacher Acquisition
Human Capital Management Paper.docxWhile teacher acquisition should be about building vision and culture (ISSL 1), and the fulfilling of a mission that improves the schools (ISSL 10), there are aspects of it that are purely management. Finding teachers for Catholic schools presents unique challenges in an ever-growing teacher shortage exacerbated by the pressures of COVID19 and in this paper I explore some of the concerns, as well as options for growing a staff (ISSL 9).
Much Principal work can be eaten up by time management, but with small changes, things like "Study Hall Coverage" can become time for teachers to gather and learn from one another (ISSL 7), an opportunity to connect with students (ISSL 5), and even assist students with their scheduling and work-load (ISSL 4).
With my years of experience as both a community and school leader, I believe I am an expert in taking these small changes and making them the norm.
If you would like a closer, more detailed look at my internship experiences, please click on my complete log.
Internship Hours - Operations & Management.pdf