Dr.

ODonnell 592 Web Plus Wilson, Jessie Synthesis of Major Lessons Learned Taking on the role of an administrator in education has been proving to be a challenging and stressful undertaking. Characteristics such as flexibility, motivation, perseverance, social-skills, and possessing a backbone are necessary to be successful; these attributes can be innate or developed. Administrators must be able to meet deadlines, multitask, and organize curriculum, staff, and school events. But, most importantly, they need to possess the ability to delegate roles and present themselves well to the community. Most of the mentioned attributes were imperative to the completion of the six administrator competencies. After analyzing the completion of the clinical, each competency had its shares of pros and cons. I will definitely utilize some of these methods and tools in the future. When performing administrative duties, I found myself dealing with stakeholders on an administrative level. It was difficult to change my perception and ways of thinking, from teacher to administrator. I felt slightly overwhelmed. As a teacher, I only manage my classroom and help to monitor the hallways. While assisting with administrative duties during my job shadowing, I had to consider the best interest of the overall school. In doing so, I adopted methods to organize duties on a weekly basis. First was the allocation of time and specific days to carryout managerial, monetary, and leadership functions that helped to create a balance of administrative duties. This also included building trust within the school to provide assistance. Sergiovannis eight competencies discusses delegating administrative roles to staff members, not only to increase staff morale, but to provide stakeholders with the sense of ownership to create staff buy-in. My administrator delegates duties to lead teachers and her administration team to carry out functions of the school. Prior to delegating power, there must be a development of trust and

respect. This competency was difficult for me to adopt. The idea of putting trust in staff members who may not share in the school vision, could create a dysfunctional workplace. In order to deal with these issues, I needed to develop a backbone/thick skin and learn to be stern, as well as, how to delegate orders. Challenges continued throughout my clinical competencies. Teacher evaluations were time consuming and difficult because of the demanding format and grueling procedures that needed to be implemented before completion. However, listening to ideas from other staff members had made this process less novice. Implementing technology is a great idea, making the evaluations easy to process and store. Also creating a team of evaluators, made up of trustworthy staff members, provided experience to staff members, but also eased the workload for the principal. Grade Level Team Meetings made it apparent that you cannot please everyone. Managing and providing leadership for teachers (twenty years my senior) with more teaching experience was overwhelming. My competence and confidence were what qualified me for the position. The first problem that occurred was coming up with a specific time to conduct team meetings. With different schedules, teachers wanted to hold meetings on a day that was more convenient for them. Frustrated with the little progress, I decided to set the meeting day to Friday mornings. Slowly, I noticed the change within myself and my colleagues. The change from a passive personality to a confident state of mind helped me earn respect and aided in my reassurance for the school. The Masters in Public Administration program has definitely prepared me for a future in public administration. Performing administrative competencies provided a great insight on the profession and what it will entail. It has been a great experience, applying these theories and practices, which were taught in previous courses during the clinical internship. I can confidently say, that I will be a great administrator and will secure a leading principal ship position in the near future.

Works Cited: Sergiovanni, Thomas J.; the Principal ship: A Reflective Practice Perspective; Pearson/Allyn and Bacon Publishers, 2009