The Principals Role as Leader of Service

-Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
-In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the
Master of Arts in Education
-by
Dana E. Schrader
Davenport Central High School
Davenport, IA
(July 1, 2015)
-Dr. Timothy Gilson

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June 16, 2015

The speaker, Mike W, from the Maxwell Team and UNI campus was an
interesting speaker. He provided some great insight into leadership and the
qualities of a leader. Leadership can be learned. With a great mentor and
support system, the opportunities for leadership are countless.
Mike said, Its not the position that makes the leader; its the leader
that makes the position. I think there is a lot of truth to that statement. The
Teacher Leader Compensation System (TLCS) has allowed many Davenport
teachers the opportunity to gain leadership experiences as lead and mentor
teachers. There are a limited number of positions, and many applicants. I
was nominated to be a lead teacher by my curriculum coordinator, however
due to my lack of experience in teaching (had only been teaching two years)
I was not eligible to apply or receive an interview. However after hearing this
quote from Mike, it has provided some inspiration to take on new
responsibilities. Just because I am not labeled as a leader or mentor by the
district and the compensation grant, does not mean that I cannot be a leader
or mentor. On the flip side, just because an individual does hold that position
does not make them any more of a leader than myself. It was nice to gain
this perspective as he was speaking in class.
I also appreciated Mikes view on growth. He said that many people,
and I agree, think that growth is an automatic process. Regardless of the
circumstance, longevity does not imply that growth has been made. The

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ability to grow and make progress is attributed to the reflection,

understanding, knowledge, and changes that are made. This has reminded
me of the necessity to reflect frequently and make changes in accordance,
and to make it meaningful.
June 17, 2015
Lt. Marty Beckner had many helpful suggestions and insights when
dealing with the public. One thing he said was that it is important to
recognize that what people are complaining about or come to you about is
the most important thing to them at the moment. Teachers and
administrators are constantly dealing with many stimuli and deciphering
which to deal with first and how to deal with them. When a student has a
complaint it is easy to overlook the importance of their situation when
dealing with everything on our own plates. However, we all need to take a
moment to stop and listen to what they have to say. The student felt that
what they came to you about was important and wanted to get the situation
resolved or at least heard.
The assertive communication information will also be valuable in the
future--be genuine, dont bluff, admit mistakes upfront, stick to the facts, and
dont label or judge. The two from that list that stood out the most to me
were to not bluff and to stick to the facts. Judgment and assumptions can
easily creep in when voicing a complaint or trying to resolve a situation, but
stick to the facts and leave out any personal opinions or biases. Avoiding
bluffing, or lying, has a few different meanings. First, and the most obvious,

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just dont lie; be truthful and honest. Second, do not make promises that you
cannot keep. Avoid saying that you will do something if there is no intent to
follow through.
Dr. Horn has quite a bit of experience and provided some great
examples and advice to consider and remember as future administrators.
The statement that resonated with me the most was to reflect at the end of
the day, I helped someone else do what today? This is something to share
with teachers and other faculty members in our current positions and again
when we are administrators. There will always be students, parents, and staff
members that get into similar situations and expect a similar outcome as
someone else. Dr. Horn shared with the cohorts that he inquires to those
individuals how their situation exactly, with emphasis on exactly, is the same
as anothers. The two situations will never be exactly the same, so no two
situations need to have the exact same outcome. It is equity versus equality.
June 18, 2015
Something that Lt. Beckner said yesterday was in full effect during
todays A Day in the Office. He said, Dont assume you know what they
want or that they know what you want when working with the public. Each
of us had a different situation to deal with in our simulation. There were
individuals who had hints or clues as to who was going to be coming in to
see them the next day; however, the hints might have been a disadvantage
for some. Franks clue was, A Dr. Cooley is coming in to see you around
noon. No clue what she wants as shes awful hard to understand. Frank and

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the class discussed how vague this was and his initial assumptions of what
his situation was going to be were wrong. Shes awful hard to understand
could have meant a variety of things, maybe the person mumbles, had an
accent, or even a speech impediment. In the end it meant that the woman
spoke Spanish; again, we should not assume that we know what someone is
coming in to see us about.
I thought the situations were very valuable. As a principal, each day is
different, and you never know who will walk through the door or what they
will say. It was great to attempt to handle the situation (even with minimal
knowledge of the situation, Iowa Law, or school policies). I thought that the
reading was quite helpful from the night before. There were many helpful
insights and things to remember when talking with parents, teachers, other
staff, and community members. Lt. Beckners discussion with the two cohorts
was also very helpful. Both occupations deal with sometimes very heated
individuals, sometimes your safety might be in jeopardy, other times an
individual just needs to know that someone is listening to their concerns.
Despite how different their opinions or knowledge might be from your own,
being able to stay calm, communicate clearly, and listen to what they say
before developing a plan are all important.
Takeaway statements from the administrators and professionals that
helped us experience the day in the office were readily available. Matt had
an interesting situation. In situations where a parent, teacher, or other
individual comes to you with a complaint or concern but indicates their

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wishes for the person in question to not be notified, it is important for the
administrator to say something along the lines of, I understand your
concern but if it is an issue that needs to be dealt with then I will.
June 23, 2015
What the Possibilities Can Be, during the Inclusion Conference was
great and eye opening. As a general education teacher this is not the
population of students that you get to work with on a daily basis, nor is it
included in the teacher training programs that I went through. It brought light
to what it really means to be a leader of service. Years ago, and even still
today I am sure, individuals that do not look like everyone else, act like
everyone else, or behave like everyone else were institutionalized. These
individuals just needed a way to communicate. They have the knowledge
and things say, but no way in which to do it. Jamie Burke, Sue Robin, and
Tracy Thresher are all amazing and very intelligent individuals. Each
mentioned in their own way that before being able to communicate through
devices like the Lightwriter, they felt trapped in a world of silence. Being a
leader of service as an administrator is exactly what these individuals
needed from someone in their life. They needed someone to identify the
potential they already possessed and provide the proper resources and
support necessary to be successful. Jamie and Tracy started off
communicating through the text alone, now they can also do it verbally.
Whether being a leader of service in an administrative position or in another
way, the goal is not a selfish one. The goal is to help others reach their full

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potential and succeed in their own ways. I thought that Jamies quote was
fantastic, he said, We are the perfect example of intelligence working itself
in a much different way. Those words are so loaded with possibilities, and it
is one quote I will definitely look back at.
June 24, 2015
Dewitt Jones is an excellent example of being a leader of service. In
fact, although he is retired and no longer in a formal leadership role, he is
still being a leader of service. He gave us his cell phone number so he could
help each of us with entry plans. He is willing to provide the necessary
supports for others to be successful. I thought it was great that he provided
his services to University of Northern Iowa graduates exclusively. This week
thus far has provided a lot of inspirational individuals who demonstrate the
core values in the Iowa Standards for School Leaders.
June 25, 2015
The All Iowa and UEN cohorts had the opportunity to listen to Dr.
Beverly Smith and Dr. Denise Schares discuss diversity in the schools. With
the recent events in the last year, it seems to be more difficult to hold
discussions about different cultures and race. They discussed at length about
the differences in their own cultures and how it impacts their work. These
two professionals work together closely, yet they come from much different
backgrounds.
They stated that engagement is more important than agreement. This
resonated with me. You do not have to agree with what people tell you, but

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at least sit down and listen to them. The more you listen to someone elses
opinion or ideas the more you learn. This is something the two of them had
to do and still have to do when they work together.
Their presentation got me thinking about how this applies to
administrators. The cohorts have read and discussed at length the
importance of building relationships and developing/maintaining the culture
of a school. I think that the goal of an administrator should be to create such
an inviting and welcoming culture that the backgrounds of the students
come together to create one culture. The final statement that made an
impact on me was, Differences are not deficits. This is a common thread
that has come up in each day of seminar.
June 29, 2015
Dr. Tammy Gregersen was the guest speaker this morning. Her
experiences and knowledge were engaging and interesting. I have not had
the opportunity to work in a school with a large population of English as
second language learners. She shared that the new term was emergent
bilingual. Despite the fact that bilingual limits the possibility that a student
could be fluent more languages, the name is posed in a way that is positive
and encourages success.
Dr. Gregersen provided some ideas for the classroom for ESL students.
Again, these suggestions were not just beneficial for ESL students. Strategies
such as stopping to recap what was being discussed in class, using hands to

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show and model what you are saying, and embedding a definition into
course reading are beneficial for all students.
Many things Dr. Gregersen shared with us transition over to an
administration position. She gave us one way to define prejudice as,
identifying a tendency and assuming that everyone must be exactly like the
tendency. She stated to be careful not to group all English learners into one
group and have a prejudice. In my opinion this is not only relevant for ESL
students, but for all students in our buildings. Whether a student is identified
or has the tendencies as a special education student, an ESL student,
identified with others from the same culture, or even labeled as a band nerd,
we cannot assume that all individuals fit the mold.
June 30, 2015
Todays speakers provided good insight into what we will experience as
we become administrators. These individuals were in our seats just a year or
two ago, and have met all of the struggles we discuss during class. The
advice each administrator and spouse gave us was honest and real. It was
nice to hear their opinions about how to manage time between school and
family. Each of these individuals that spoke had children and a spouse. I think
it would be interesting to get the perspective of someone who maybe does
not have a spouse or children of their own. I am not sure how easy it would
be to find an administrator from the UNI program that fits that criterion
though.

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10

The Irving Elementary school principal had great advice for us. She
mentioned how vital communication was between the family unit.
Communication is a skill that carries over to each dimension of life. It is vital
in the school and it is vital outside of school. Another thing she mentioned
was how the legacy that she hopes to leave includes being a wife, mother,
and administrator. She appears to not let her new position as the leader of a
school define who she is. She still considers her job as a mother and a wife
more important than the school title she has earned.
Overall the panel got me thinking about how some of the problems
that administrators face, as far as work load and time management, are not
exclusive to being an administrator. There are many professionals that face
similar daily dilemmas. Do other professions also discuss some of these
struggles that a family might face as one member of the family gets
promoted to a higher, more time demanding position? I think it is great that
we are able to discuss openly some of the less glamorous aspects of the job
openly.
July 1, 2015
It was great to see each of the leaders of service presentations today.
There were some very creative and impressive presentations. Each person
interpreted the role of a leader of service in a slightly different way. Some
applied the leader of services role to the academic portion of the job, and
others to student success and relationships with stakeholders.

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11

I reflected back on each of the speakers and the conference we

attended for the last three weeks. Overall the speakers did something so
simple, yet extremely difficult. The listened to the people that they are
serving, then provided resources and support in order to help them succeed.
A true leader of service places others needs and success ahead of their own
self-fulfilling interests.