Week Three Reflection

Review the above analysis, and write at least one page thoroughly describing recommendations and lessons learned from experiences with the improvement initiatives or action research plans.


I learned a lot in dealing with the aftermath of the tornado that blew through Rice destroying the brand new building that had just opened.  Although this was a terrible thing to have happen in our district, it provided me with a wealth of opportunity to see our district administration deal with the aftermath.  The thing that made this such a learning experience for me was the high profile the incident had in the media.  Before I could even get to the school that night to view the damage, the media had already set up shop in the parking lot.  Our superintendent, who has a lot of experience, was trying to figure out exactly what to do also.  I learned through experience just how pushy and scummy the media can be as they constantly pursued and tried to trap our district leaders into interviews and giving information.  My recommendation for this type of high profile media event is to immediately get in touch with the region center and get some resources on campus to help deal with the media. Through this experience I watched the board and district administration work together to get the district up and running again.  I saw firsthand the importance of a good superintendent/board relationship.  It was also interesting to see the contrast between our superintendent who was desperately trying to avoid the press and the mayor of the small town who was running after the press trying to get any air time he could.  I did disagree with our superintendent on this one matter.  She released a written statement and nothing more.  She never spoke to the press or gave a press conference.  In my opinion, this led to the underhanded tactics the media were adopting to “get the story.”  I feel if the superintendent would have sought some council on what needs to be said to the media and then offered one press conference to address the state of the district and give some basic information, much of the tension of the situation would have been eased.  There was not a feeling of transparency during the event, and this made people feel like the district was hiding something.  This whole experience involved everything from superintendent/board relationships to many physical plant issues. 
    It was a valuable experience leading my staff to evaluate our early literacy program and implement some changes.  It required the team to focus more on data and ensure that our program is data driven and structured around that data.  Part of our district’s vision statement is about a rigorous curriculum, and I believe we made some changes to ensure we were accomplishing the district’s mission.  We evaluated, made recommendations, made appropriate changes, and then engaged in on-going evaluation of the program.  This was valuable on a campus level, but is also valuable experience for leading a district as well.  These basic concepts are important on a district level to ensure that the district is accomplishing its vision and goals. 
    During this program it was required to do several interviews and I enjoyed learning from the experience of others.  As a principal many times I see the large picture of what our maintenance men, transportation director, nurse, human resources director, etc do, but do not see the smaller details of what their jobs involve.  It will help greatly as a superintendent to understand these jobs and the value they play to the district.  It will be hard as a superintendent to make decisions involving these jobs and programs without an in-depth understanding of the role each plays in the district.