Updated Vita

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Superintendent Interview

        I interviewed Mr. Philip Welch, Superintendent of Orangefield ISD.  Mr. Welch is a very visible leader.  On any given day, he can be found on one of the campuses walking around and talking with staff, parents and students.  When asked the question, “What is a leader?” Mr. Welch responded that a leader is a person in a position where their job is to make sure that everyone in the organization understands what needs to be done and what the goals of the organization are so they can achieve the highest level possible.  

Mr. Welch stated that one of the positive aspects of being in a leadership position, like Superintendent, is that you can be in a position to make some changes or put some things in place that can make a difference in the lives of the students.  You get to set the vision of the district and then have great infuence and input on the goals and direction of the district.

One of the  attributes of a good Superintendent, according to Mr. Welch is to be able to listen.  Mr. Welch takes time to visit with all stakeholders in the community.  Everyone feels that they can come talk to him or voice their concerns and he will listen to them.  Mr. Welch also stated that a good Superintendent is able to make decisions that benefit all concerned.  Sometimes people won’t like the decisions you make, but you have to do what is best for the district.

Mr. Welch’s response to the question, “How does a Superintendent promote and sustain a district culture that emphasizes student learning and professional development?” was to give the teachers the resources they need and let them know we value them for who they are as professionals.  Our teachers work on curriculum days and teach what needs to be taught.  This helps the teachers see that we value them as professionals and value their professional development.

The question that stood out to me the most was the last question.  When asked, “What additional experience, learning, or advice can you share to help me develop an effective internship?” Mr. Welch answered that I need to have a knowledge base of K-12.  If you go into a central office position as a Curriculum Director or Superintendent and all your knowledge is just at one level, he thinks you are at a disadvantage to your peers because you haven’t had experiences at all levels.  If you have experiences at all levels, it helps you understand the big picture.  This answer stood out with me the most because all of my experience is at the elementary level and I have been considering the best course of action for correcting this for quite a while. 

Transfer Theory

Transfer of learning is very important to the educational process.  Teachers and school leaders want students to be able to learn a concept in the school setting and then transfer that learning into a personal or professional setting.  Students should be able to attain knowledge and skills that they can use in any environment.  This learning should be beneficial both immediately and in the future.  When a student uses transfer of learning, they are transferring their knowledge from one problem-solving situation to another.  One example of transfer of learning that I have experienced personally is when I moved from private education to public education.  I taught in private school for four years.  I taught the students using curriculum purchased by the school, implemented discipline procedures, communicated with parents, and performed my duties to the best of my abilities.  At the end of my fourth year of teaching, I decided to move to public education. I was able to transfer what I learned during my teaching experience in private education, but I had to adapt and change to meet the needs of a different set of students and parents.  I also had to learn how to use the TEKS as a guide for my lesson planning and teaching.  I believe that the requirement to have leadership experience before beginning superintendent certification is very important.  When I earned my mid-management degree, I thought I understood the role of an assistant principal.  There is a big difference between taking classes and interning as a campus leader and actually being in the position of campus leader.  The same holds true for district leadership.  Anyone who wishes to aspire to earn their superintendent certification should first be in a leadership position.

My Professional Vita

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Blogs

I have followed certain blogs for a few years, as time has permitted.  I find them to be a very useful tool for a district leader.  The superintendent at our school district writes a weekly email that he sends to all district employees and school board members.  The emails started after Hurricane Ike as a way for everyone to be kept informed of what was going on at “home” while we were spread out in many different locations.  At the time, he would email everyone daily with updates on what was going on.  These emails are now sent every Sunday night.  He informs everyone of district-wide events and any student or faculty accomplishments for the week.  He also keeps us updated on deaths, births, weddings, or any other events occurring in our faculty and staff.  I believe he could write a blog in the place of sending the weekly emails.  This would allow many more stakeholders in our district to have access to events occurring in our district.  A blog could also be used to discuss relevant issues in public education.  In this way, teachers who are not able to attend workshops due to budgetary constraints could have a way to stay informed and educated on current issues.  Book studies are another way that a district leader could use blogs.  The superintendent could suggest a book to be read, designate when certain chapters should be read, and then write a blog on the section everyone is reading.  This would allow the stakeholders reading the book a way to comment on their thoughts in the blog. 

Action Research

Action research is an effective problem solving model that promotes inquiry and creative thinking.  It is a method that is used regularly in the educational setting, but most people do not know the technical term associated with this practice.  Action research basically means that someone finds an issue that they would like to explore further.  They ask a key question about the issue and then research the possible answers to the question.  For example, a group of teachers and myself are in the process of developing a Positive Behavior Support plan for our campus.  This will be a new initiative.  We will determine which times of day the students seem to misbehave more frequently and in which areas of the campus this occurs.  We will also explore the use of incentives as a way of positively encouraging appropriate behavior on campus and on the buses.  We will use the data from our research to determine the best course of action to prevent these behavior issues and encourage appropriate behavior.  The information we collect will enable us to create an effective school wide Positive Behavior Support system.  In this way, action research is a very effective tool for determining problems and finding solutions to those problems.