Classroom Observations

Date	Time of Observation	School	Teacher	Grade/Subject
3-27-2009	Morning	County MS	T1	6^th Grade Math Advanced
3-27-2009	Morning	County MS	T2	7^th Grade Math ELT Remediation
4-1-2009	Afternoon	County MS	T3	7^th Grade Social Studies Inclusion
4-1-2009	Afternoon	County MS	T4	7^th Grade Science Inclusion

During this program, I had the opportunity to visit four classrooms at County Middle School. I chose to visit 2 math classrooms because that is my area of interest and 2 additional inclusion classrooms to provide additional insight in strategies teachers use to work with special education students.

These observations most closely linked to ISLLC Standards 1 and 2 indicating that an administrator should look at several things when observing classrooms. According to Standard 1, an administrator should have knowledge of effective communication and should understand the importance of educating all students. The administrator should be committed to ensuring that all students have the knowledge, skills, and values to become successful members of society. In order to complete an effective observation, the administrator must be able to communicate with the teacher whether or not all students are engaged in the learning process and help them to understand whether they are teaching the standards in an effective manner for all students. According to Standard 2, an administrator should have knowledge of applied learning and motivational theories, curriculum design, implementation, evaluation, and principles of effective instruction. As a result of classroom observations, administrators should identify areas of strengths and weaknesses so that high expectations can be monitored and appropriate professional development can be provided for all teachers in a timely manner.

During my observations I was able to see many excellent teaching strategies. The teachers in the two math classrooms used similar strategies to provide conceptual, standards based instruction to their students, while at the same time differentiating for the needs of their students. In the 6^th grade classroom, the students were learning about volume and the relationship of the volume of figures. Students were using manipulatives to determine these relationships and develop the formulas for volume. In the 7^th grade Math ELT classroom students were actively engaged in remediating math skills they were weak on. The students had clearly been working hard all year and their confidence in their ability was beginning to show brightly. The teacher’s interaction with his students was very supportive and worked to motivate the students to work to their fullest potential. The science and social studies classrooms added a new dynamic for the inclusion portion. Both of these classrooms had two teachers in them. In each classroom, however, the collaborator had a very different role. In the social studies classroom the collaborator and general education teacher were very similar. It was difficult to distinguish between the two teachers. In the science classroom, however, it was clear who the general education teacher was because they dominated the classroom. The collaborator would occasionally participate in the classroom discussion, but it was clear that the individual was not as prepared and was unsure of the content and standards being taught.

In three instances I conducted observation post conferences to practice my communication skills and discuss student engagement. All of the teachers were receptive to this dialog and interested in the things I had observed. We had productive discussions about the standards and the ways the standards were being implemented in the classroom. We discussed the student achievement in the classroom and the things the teacher was doing to ensure the success of their students. In addition, we discussed possible strategies that could be used to ensure that both the general educator and the special educator in the classroom were working collaboratively to ensure that all students were being served effectively and that the pyramid of interventions was being used effectively. It was a valuable learning experience that allowed me to interact with teachers as a supervisor and provide effective feedback to the teachers.

Administrator Observations

Date	Time of Observation	School	Name	Position
4-12-2009	9:00-3:00	County MS	A1	Instructional Lead Teacher
2-27-2009	8:00-3:00	County MS	A2	Assistant Principal
3-30-2009 3-31-2009	8:00-4:00 8:00-4:00	County MS	A3	Principal (mentor)

During my observations with administrators I became keenly aware that time management was an essential aspect of the job of all administration. Their time was quickly designated into a series of meetings, discipline issues, meeting with parents, budget issues, and curriculum issues. Everyone indicated a need to be in classrooms, do walk-throughs, be in the hallways, and be highly visible. However, they all indicated that this was very difficult due to because of the other obligations and responsibilities on them.

My first observation was done with the assistant principal at an urban county middle school. The assistant principal indicated that the most important part of moving into a position of leadership is having a philosophy that guides everything that your stances and beliefs in everything. He said that this way when things begin to get chaotic and stressful, you will have guiding principles to fall back on. He also indicated that the key to dealing with discipline is to have relationships with students. I also noted that for discipline to be really effective teachers must be clear on the chain of command and what should be done for various levels of infractions so that there is clear communication and consistent follow through.

My next observations were with the principal of County Middle School. I spent two days shadowing him and learning what it is that he does to gain further insight into the role of an administrator. I noted that his day had far more disruptions that the assistant principal. He had to deal with a variety of meetings and requirements from the district offices while at the same time running the building. Issues with student teachers not performing, discipline infractions, teachers’ annual reviews, as well as raising money for the school were major aspects of his job. Being able to multitask and prioritize the items on the “to do” list (even as it changed constantly) was key in being effective.

My final observation was the Instructional Lead Teacher. She is responsible for instructional supervision of all teachers as well as testing coordination. In addition, she is serving as the family engagement liaison at County Middle School. Unfortunately, most of her day was spent preparing a notebook on family engagement for Title 1 money. In addition, she began preparing the materials that were going to be needed for CRCT testing. Although she is responsible for overseeing curriculum and instruction, she spent little time in the classroom or working with teachers on curriculum and instruction. She indicated that she wished she was only and ILT and was able to focus in on curriculum and instruction to provide teachers with the support they needed to be effective in standards based instruction and rolling out the Georgia Performance Standards.

My observations taught me that all areas of administration require an enormous amount of time management. Administrators have to serve in a variety of roles and to be able to accomplish everything that is needed; they must prioritize what needs to be done daily. Discipline clearly takes the majority of time, and shared responsibilities could clearly help administrators to get everything done in an effective manner.

Observation of AP of Urban Middle School

Date: 2-27-2009

Duties: AP and Discipline

Time: 8:00-4:00

Duration: 8 hours

Notes	Reflections
8:00 AM- RW does busy duty	Do you find morning bus duty helps make you aware of the mind sets of students in the morning? Yes—I enjoy greeting the students and helping them start their day correctly. If you pay close attention to students in the morning you can intervene in some situations before they escalate.
8:30 AM- RW comes back to office, checks email, prepares for announcements	How do you prioritize email? I look for high priority email first. I am copied on emails that go to all grade levels. I look for ones that are indicating problems that I need to be aware of immediately as well as work orders. I am responsible for work orders.
8:45 AM- Resource officer reminds RW that fire drill needs to be done today and should be soon because of rain.	Are there certain days you want to do fire drills or does it just have to be once within the month? A day with good weather that will be the least intrusive to classroom activities. We try to avoid doing a fire drill during benchmarks, exams or standardized tests. If there are special events occurring during certain parts of the day we do our best to avoid those times. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter.
8:50 AM- RW alerts office staff and Principal of drill. Also completes work order for toilet that is not working.
9:00 AM- RW calls fire drill, checks building, verifies everyone is clear
9:10 AM- Gets out standards based check-list and starts classroom observations	How do you keep up with everyone’s standards to ensure that everyone is teaching what they are supposed to be teaching? I make a point to understand the standards based check list fluently. I know that is most important for me to understand.. I review the standards on a weekly basis. Before I go into classrooms, I make sure I look at the lesson plans that have been posted and look over the standards that are connected to that lesson so I am aware of what I am looking for when I enter. There are also stronger teachers than others. There are teachers in this building that are model classrooms for the region. Sometimes I will ask one of them to come with me on observations to point out content specific areas for feedback.
9:20 AM- RW goes to MSG classroom. Notes that technology is not being fully utilized. Notes that there are some conceptual practices not being utilized fully.	How do you address a teacher who is clearly not using the technology that is provided in the classroom? How do you provide feedback that is constructive and effective? I try to speak to teachers continually about the use of the technology in their classroom. This is an area that is noted on the yearly observation. Sometimes teachers need to be reminded that this is part of their duties and responsibilities. Teachers will be asked to use the professional days to observe other teachers to ensure that they are provided with feedback.
9:50 AM- RW goes to EJA classroom. Classroom is a collaborative classroom. Asks teacher to please see him during planning within the next 5 days in reference to observation.	What do you plan on meeting with this teacher about? Why did you choose to meet with this teacher and not the previous teacher? This is the classroom of a first year teacher. I try to meet with new teachers every time I am in their classroom to provide feedback. This is especially true for teachers who are struggling. This teacher has had some issues with classroom management as well as understanding the standards in their entirety. I want to speak with her about the routines that are not occurring in the classroom, the pacing, the standards that should be covered at this point in the year, as well as addressing the classroom management issues. I am going to try and provide specific feedback and give her the opportunity to observe some other teachers classrooms.
9:55 AM- RW goes to SKP classroom. Classroom is a collaborative classroom. Indicates that we will remain in the room until classroom instruction occurs.	Why did we remain in this classroom for so long during a video? The last few observations I have done in this classroom have all been during a video of some kind. I am concerned that there are too many videos and not enough instruction. In addition, there have been some complaints about the collaboration in this classroom.
10:30 AM- RW returns to office to work through discipline referrals.	How do you sort discipline referrals? I look through the referrals for the ones where there is a student who is harming themselves or others. I deal with those first. Them I go through them and determine which ones have had the proper things done prior to the write up. There are some teachers who never make a phone call home. In that case, we are not going immediately to ISS or OSS. There are protocols in the handbook that we do our best to follow. There are some teachers (he makes specific references here) who call home so often that when they write up a student I deal with it immediately because I know they have done everything possible to prevent the behavior. Some write ups appear to be power struggles between teachers and students. I am not here to win power struggles—I am here to make sure classrooms are safe places where learning is taking place.
10:45 AM- RW has secretary call students to the office.
10:50 AM- RW speaks with 2 students (MB and AS) about their write up. Students (one male student and one female student). Expressed concern with students that wrestling could escalate as well as danger in someone getting hurt. Also spoke with students about the disruption that their behavior caused to learning. Called parents of both students and then sent them to ISS. Called math teacher to alert her to their location in ISS.	Do you always call home with every write up? Yes. Sometimes I can’t get anyone on the phone, but I always call home. Students understand that is part of the process and they would not expect anything less from me. There are many times I make them part of the discipline process where they determine their consequences. It is important that they recognize how their actions effect their education. I believe that we are in the business of educating students which means we are doing everything possible to have them in the classroom.
11:30 AM- RW called male student to office who had 3 write ups on his desk. Student (TC) stated that he wasn’t doing anything and teacher just picks on him. RW went through the write up with him and talked to him about his grades and discipline record. Called TC’s mother and assigned him ISS.	How do you deal with students who are chronic discipline problems and do not take responsibility for their actions? I work really hard to help them see their responsibility in their actions. If there is a teacher they will perform for, I often get them involved in the process to help the student see how to move their success from one classroom to another classroom. I carefully document all work done with chronic students so that if we are ever at a hearing for SOAR academy we have sufficient evidence.
12:!5 PM- RW had lunch with some students. Students pre-arranged to eat with him and brought lunches to office.	How often do you have lunch with students? I try and eat with students as often as possible. They are the reason that we are teaching and it is important to me that students feel supported. Sometimes lunch is what they need to feel connected to someone. I use it as a preventative measure as well as a time to be around students when they are not in trouble.
1:00 PM- RW walked through building—checked classrooms, made sure doors were locked, spoke to students in class change	Do you have to do this daily? Unfortunately many teachers leave their classrooms unlocked and open when no one is in them. In addition, some teachers leave their doors unlocked which leaves the classroom vulnerable. I am always amazed at the doors that get left open. Part of our security includes locked doors—it is imperative that this is enforced.
1:30 PM- RW prepared for Black History Month assembly. Made sure microphones were set up, stage was set up, chairs were out, computers and projectors were ready to go. Spoke with special groups that were performing at Urban Middle and welcomed them to school.	Is the general set-up of events like this normally part of your responsibility? It is always an administrators responsibility to make sure special groups like this are welcomed and everything is set up. Because the principal is out today, I am responsible for this event.
2:30 PM- RW called grade levels to gym for assembly and started the assembly.
3:40 PM- RW dismissed students from assembly to buses.	Is there a particular way that you dismiss all the students from the gym? How do you ensure that order is maintained? I rely on my teachers to help us maintain order. Students are dismissed back to different locations where they are dismissed home. I make sure that I have coordinated and spoken with grade level leaders so that I dismiss students in the manner that teachers have requested to maintain order.
3:45 PM- RW went to bus ramp and monitored students as they loaded buses and went home.	Is bus duty your responsibility? Bus duty is a responsibility that I assign myself to help provide additional supervisors outside in the bus circle. In addition, it is important that I am active and involved in the direct supervision of the students. After school is when things tend to happen, so I try to make sure I am available.

What piece of advice would you give me as a future administrator?

Decide what you believe in now. Determine what is most important to you and focus on it. Make sure that you do not sacrifice what you consider most important or a priority ever. If you do, you will become dissatisfied and angry with your job. You don’t want to get to this point, so it is important that you prioritize early and focus on it.

Also, make sure you know what your job description says. Some assistant principals do different things. Understand the responsibility and role you would be stepping into before accepting a position. Don’t just take a job because it is there, look for a job that fits you and is something you want. That is where you will grow, learn, and experience the most.

Observation of Principal of Urban Middle School

Date: 3-30-2009

Duties: Principal

Time: 8:00-4:00

Duration: 8 hours

Notes	Reflections
8:00 AM- - Check email, respond to teacher requests - Morning announcements- email and intercom - Emails- absent teachers, who needs a sub still- coordinate with secretary - Reminder of curriculum night tonight and CMS Savannah bike ride - Crisis in 8^th grade with 2 teachers- collaborating teachers who can not get along and refuse to work together—has to be resolved. Set up meeting with teachers - Learn when to fix it yourself and when to have others fix it - Year end evaluation- on self, turn in to Dr. Hardaway - Calls soccer coaches to verify practice and games - Chronic discipline problem letter for student- spoke with AP before sending it home	- Do you find the lengthy announcement emails to be successful in communication? Yes, parents have expressed appreciation in the level of communications. I often receive emails thanking me for the announcements and information. - How often are do substitute positions not fill? There are times in the morning that positions are unfilled, but normally teachers are good about covering them until we can get a substitute down there. This does not happen often, but occurs more when we are close to holidays or the end of the year. - Do you ever find that teachers are resistant to the extras they are asked to do like curriculum night? I work to hire people that have a high level of commitment. Sometimes you have teachers who are resistant and you have to deal with them on a case by case basis. - What is your approach to resolving conflict between teachers that in this case is clearly affecting the classroom? I work to do what is best for the students with as little disruption as possible. In this case I am working to involve other teachers on the hallway to help me resolve the conflict with minor disruption. We are so close to the end of the school year and I can’t make more permanent changes until next year. - How does your end of the year evaluation work? Does the superintendent read your entire portfolio? Normally, no they do not read the entire portfolio. It is done in good faith. I do it in good faith in its entirety. Am a professional and want it to be professionally done because the work is important and provides a good summary of the year.
8:45 AM- - Principal creates a hot stack of emails. This way he knows the ones he needs to get to ASAP otherwise the sheer number of emails can be overwhelming. - MSP/ MSIC meetings have been moved to high school from district offices. Urban Middle School is providing the food. Called district officer to verify the move.	- How long does it take you to get to the emails in the non-hot stack? I try to get to them by the end of the week—but sometimes it takes longer. That is something I am not as good at—responding to all my email in a timely fashion. - Be prepared for last minute changes!! Roll with whatever comes to you!
8:55 AM- - Files email—makes files so he can keep up with the emails.	- Why do you use this system of filing? This system is good for me because it keeps the emails organized and provides copies for later use.
9:00 AM- - Principal goes through urgent emails: Attendance discrepancies, discipline, etc - Always respond to emails—even if it seems unnecessary. This is especially important when it has taken you longer than desired to get back to them. -
9:05 AM- - Gets email requesting a letter of recommendation for a former teacher applying for an administrative position.	- Do you get a lot of requests? Yes. You have to be careful. If you do not feel the candidate is strong, then you need to make sure you tell the candidate that before you write a letter that indicates such.
9:10 AM- - Meets with ILT about scheduling for the day. Discuss the 5 observations needed to finish for the year. Go over the agenda for the MP/MSIC meeting and plan what they want to do. - Talk about plans for 6^th grade transition camp for rising 6^th graders. - May 8- 6^th grade orientation- tentative plan for that - 8^th grade appeals meeting set for summer school/appeals- probably not going to have a new location like original plan. Retainees will return to Urban Middle School next year. - Reminder of 12:00 meeting with teacher and her student teacher—problems with student teacher not being dealt with—student teacher not coming into work, not taking over classes, no classroom management, etc. - Curriculum night fliers, information table, and snacks. - Thursday evening—fundraising dinner - Attendance letter for Saturday school kids - Principal selection committee	How do you deal with student teachers who are not performing? It is very difficult when there is a weak student teacher with a weak teacher. The weaknesses of the teacher start to amplify the problems with the student teacher. Parents are now complaining as well, and the supervising teacher is complaining and not sure what to do next. I have to address the issues with the student teacher to make sure she understands that I will remove her from the school. This is a rare occurrence, but occasionally does become and issue. - How do you determine which students you want in Saturday School because of attendance issues? If their attendance is such that we can recover days absent for AYP purposes or if their attendance is negatively impacting their grades. - How did you determine who you wanted on the selection committee? I looked for candidates who were willing who were a representative sample of Urban Middle School and had been at the school more than 3 years. I also took input from teachers in the building about who they thought best represented them.
9:50 AM- Fight between 2 female students—one was brought immediately to the Principal’s office because her mom is a teacher in the county.	Do you often deal with discipline issues? Normally discipline is handled by the AP. However, there are incidents where I have to deal with personally.
10:00 AM- - Pulled camera for fight to see everything that happened. - Pulled up staff attendance to determine information for observations - Spoke with parents of girls involved in fight - Showed tape to parent to verify what happened	Do you typically show the video tape of fights, etc to parents? No, however, in this incident the parent is a district employee who needed verification that her child was at fault. Do you always pull attendance of staff for observations? Typically, I do. There are some teachers who miss too many days of school and there are others who never miss any. It is important to speak to teachers who are missing too many days so that it does not become an issue later.
10:30 AM- - Take observation forms to paraprofessionals to sign. Made copies for their files.	Are the paraprofessional observations similar to the teachers’ observations? There are similarities and differences. Because the paraprofessionals have different responsibilities their observations are slightly different.
10:55 AM- -Put together notebook for evaluation at district level.
11:30 AM- Met with teacher and her student teacher in regards to her behavior and performance.
12:15 PM- - LUNCH
12:30 PM- - met with the other girls parents in regards to fight from this morning.	Did you show this parent the video? No, her child did not instigate the fight. He is suspended for the remainder of today and tomorrow to calm down and then she will return to school. Her mother was very understanding.
1:00 PM- - Board Office- drop off evaluation notebook, confirm principal selection committee with teachers selected, review requirements	It is difficult to select a committee that is representative of the school and is a strong committee. However, I feel our committee is a strong representative committee.
2:30 PM- - Principal checked email again- went through priority emails - Met with graduation coach about 6^th grader who may promote to 8^th grade next year. Child is going to turn 15 years old next year and the goal is to catch him up to his grade level.	How often do students have to be promoted because of their age? Are there requirements to be allowed to skip a grade when students have not exhibited mastery over the curriculum? There are supports we would have to put in place. This student struggles academically and was placed in special education this year. If the committee decide to promote him, there will be certain supports that will have to be in place to make sure that the student could be successful in the 8^th grade.
2:56 PM- - Building maintenance—room needs repairs	Is building maintenance typically part of your job description? The AP deals with work orders, but I oversee overall school maintenance. As the Principal it is my responsibility to take care of the building.
3:00 PM- - Met with ILT briefly about after school program
3:08 PM- - Principal discussed observations and evaluations of teachers.	What is the important thing to know about evaluating teachers? Evaluate teachers early and often. If there is a problem, give teachers early and clear notice of what the problems are and what needs to be done to address it. Provide teachers with the support they need to fix the problems. If mentors are needed—provide the teacher with one. In addition, give consequences to actions so that teachers understand what is expected of them. When hiring what do I need to know? Always look for people who understand there is more to teaching than an 8-3 job. You want people who will go above and beyond their job description! Look for people need to love the kids and are involved in or will attend after school events. Look for teachers with interest in professional growth and understand the research. Look for teachers who know their content and standards based curriculum. Always allow teachers to talk in interviews. You can learn more from listening than you can talking.
3:30 PM- - Talking with representatives of the community- discussing the bike fundraiser	Do all principals do the amount of fundraising you do? Not always- however, fundraising is important when you need additional funds in your school. Some principals use other people to do these things. The bike ride is a passion of mine that has evolved. Unfortunately it takes a lot of time.
3:35 PM- Curriculum Night- make final plans and set up