Superintendent SBEC Reflection

BLOG REFLECTION

As I completed my post SBEC self-assessment, I thought about each domain and competency, identified areas of strengths, areas I was competent in, as well as areas needing improvement without reviewing the pre SBEC assessment completed in the first course. Afterwards, I was surprised at how much growth I felt I had made in many areas yet not surprised at my areas of concern.

 

The areas where I feel are my strengths are:

Competencies 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 10

 

I have made tremendous growth in the above competencies. I really struggled with competency 2 and 6 at the beginning of the superintendent internship, but after participating in the internship assignments and activities I feel confident in those areas. Competency 2 was my weakest area at the beginning. Creating a vision and articulating that vision to all stakeholders is extremely important.  The following are a few of the areas where there was significant improvement:

 

·         Implementing strategies for involving all stakeholders in the planning process and for faciliting between constituencies

·         Recognizing and celebrating contributions of staff and community toward realization of the district’s vision.

 

Often times I found myself working on a project on my own without involving others in the process. It is important to know the goals and to work as a team in order to accomplishment those goals. Everyone matters and everyone has great ideas that should be taken into consideration. Once those goals are accomplished, it is important to recognize those individuals that assisted in realization of the vision. Everyone wants some type of recognition for their hard work.

 

The areas I feel competent in are:

Competency 3 and 10

Comparing the post assessment to the pre-assessment, I made gains in the above areas, but I would not consider them areas of strength just yet. Communication and collaboration along with being a good decision maker and problem solver are key areas in being a successful superintendent.

 

Areas I feel I need improvement are:

Competencies 4, 8, and 9

 

These 3 areas deal with collaborating and working with the school board, finances, and facilities. I struggled with the above areas. I still have much research to do in order to gain more knowledge to be successful in these three areas. Finances are the weakest for me out of the 3. There is so much involved with taxes and federal funding that the time in one class was not sufficient enough for me to be confident with handling the district finances. Many superintendents eventually attempt to encourage voters to pass a bond issue in order to improve facilities. The job of a superintendent to get a bond issue passed and the legal ramifications with working with contractors and contracts are other areas that I will study more on.