Recommendations & Lessons EDLD 5399 Week 3

Developing a system-wide plan, whether at the campus or district level, that responds to a need in the system involves many factors.  Through the internship process I have learned that even though an individual may identify a problem and develop a plan of action for the resolution of that problem, there is no guarantee that the problem will improve.  Time, money, and communication each play an important role in solution process.

As a superintendent intern operating at the central office level, many problems the district was facing were obvious to me.  Working each day with the central office team and with the campus teams gave me insight into the needs at both levels.  Participating in the monthly board of trustee meetings gave me insight into the workings of that team.  Working with teachers through academic coaching and vertical curriculum councils helped me understand the problems faced in the classroom.  Evaluating student data gave me insight into the needs of students in the district. However, identifying a problem and getting others to also recognize the problem was more difficult than I first anticipated.  Just as change creates conflict, I found that identifying a problem with a group created conflict every time.

After the problem was identified, seeking consensus on the problem and solution through communication with all stakeholders was essential.  This meant meeting with the leaders, teachers, parents, students and board of trustees to inform, develop a common understanding of the problem, and identify the solutions.  In the instance of the response to the concerns of TEA regarding the high school’s over representation of African American students in DAEP,  certain solutions were mandatory so consensus was not needed.  Communication and consensus building is a time consuming process.  Smaller districts where a few people have many jobs, the time needed to adequately develop communication and garner input from all stakeholders is sometimes bypassed due to lack of resources of time and personnel.

The 2010-2011 school year presented another unique set of obstacles in the process of working on problems.  Plans that were made in 2010 with regard to funding and budgeting were suddenly changed in the spring of 2011.  The reality of working with changing budgets and finances was a lesson learned that will last through the rest of my career.