FLORIDA PRINICPAL LEADERSHIP STANDARDS - REVISED 2011

Purpose and Structure of the Standards
Purpose: The Standards are set forth in rule as Florida's core expectations for effective school administrators. The Standards are based on contemporary research on multi-dimensional school leadership, and represent skill sets and knowledge bases needed in effective schools. The Standards form the foundation for school leader personnel evaluations and professional development systems, school leadership preparations programs, and educator certification requirements.

Structure: There are ten Standards grouped into categories, which can be considered domains of effective leadership. Each Standard has a title and includes, as necessary descriptors that further clarify or define the Standard, so that the Standards may be developed further into leadership curricula and proficiency assessments in fulfillment of their purposes.

Download a copy of the revised Florida Principal Leadership Standards.

Training for New Teacher Evaluation System

Principals, Assistant Principals and Teacher Leaders have been attending professional development sessions to learn about the new Marzano Observation & Evaluation System.

School-based administrators attend Leaders of Learning and iObservation. The Principals will also attend Supervision of Learning with the/a BTU Steward from their building. The information and skills learned will enable the Principals and Assistant Principals to use the new teacher observation/evaluation tools.

Teacher leaders attend Teacher Leaders of Learning and iObseration. The information and skills gathered in these sessions will help the teacher leader develop a presentation for their school sites. The teacher leaders will facilitate a 3-hour session for the faculty at their school on October 28, 2011. This session will give the members of the faculty information on the Marzano Observation & Evaluation System and possibly answer many questions.

Materials from the Leaders of Learning and iObservation sessions can be found on The Marzano Observation & Evaluation System Wiki at: http://obs-evalsys.pds-hrd.wikispaces.net/home. When the wiki page is accessed, click on the appropriate title from the index on the right-hand side of the page.

2009-2011 INTERN PRINCIPALS COMPLETE PROGRAM

Area Directors David Hall, Valerie Wanza and Carletha Shaw joined Sherry A. Rose, Director of Leadership & Non-Instructional Development at the graduation ceremony of the 2009-2011 Intern Principal Program Cohort. The program included presentation of Certificates of Completion and a book entitled The Principal's Companion, Strategies and Hints to Make the Job Easier.

Congratulations to the Intern Principals on this professional accomplishment.

FLORIDA STATUTE #1001.363 - DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD MEMERS TO REPRESENT ENTIRE DISTRICT

The Florida Legislature in 2010 passed F. S. 1001.363 District School Board Members to Represent Entire District - Each district school board of each district shall represent the entire school district. Each member of the district school board shall serve as the representative of the entire district, rather than as the representative of a district school board member residence area.

History - s.46, ch 2002-387

SBBC Policy #1005

SCHOOL BOARD- RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY

1) The School Board is responsible for the organization and control of the public schools of the District and is authorized by Florida Statutes to determine policies necessary for the effective operation and the general improvement of the school system.

2) The School Board shall limit its action to establishing policy and fulfilling the requirements of and exercising authority under the appropriate Florida Statutes and State Board of Education Rules.

3) The School Board is a corporate entity and shall take action only when the Board meets in accordance with Florida Statutes. School Board Members are free to express their opinion; however, they cannot make a representation on behalf of the School Board unless official action has been taken.

4) Recognizing that each School Board Member has a responsibility to their constituents in the member’s elected area, each School Board member shall serve as a representative of the entire District in accordance with Florida Statute 1001.363.

5) The School Board clarifies the goals and objectives of the school system through the District Strategic Plan.

6) School Board Members should practice governing excellence by preparing for meetings, attending meetings, and practicing good stewardship of the District’s human, financial, and property resources.

7) School Board Members are encouraged to visit the schools and departments of the District in order to be better informed concerning all phases of the District school system.

8) Requests for data or other information from a School Board Member on topics other than School Board agenda items or which requires significant staff work to prepare should be requested through the appropriate executive leader with a copy to the Superintendent. This is not intended to preclude School Board Members from requesting the status of existing items from the appropriate staff.

9) School Board Members are governed by the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees pursuant to Florida Statutes, Title X, Chapter 12, Part 3.

Authority: F.S.C. - Article IX, s.4(b), F.S. 1001.32, 1001.33, 001.363, 1001.372, 1001.41, 1001.42, 1001.43

Policy Adopted: 12/16/08

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

Excellent story and worth reading!
A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.

Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however, he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.

Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes.. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!

His name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed.

"How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!"

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

* If you plant hard work, you will reap success

* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later. Think about this for a minute.... If I happened to show up on your door step crying, would you care?

If I called you and asked you to pick me up because something happened, would you come?

If I had one day left to live my life, would you be part of that last day?
If I needed a shoulder to cry on, would you give me yours?

This is a test to see who your real friends are or if you are just someone to talk to you when they are bored.

Do you know what the relationship is between your two eyes?

They blink together, they move together, they cry together, they see things together, and they sleep together, but they never see each other; ....that's what friendship is.. Your aspiration is your motivation, your motivation is your belief, your belief is your peace, your peace is your target, your target is heaven, and life is like hardcore torture without it!

RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION: AN EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING MODEL

This month Intern Principals Marisa Davis Fishlock and Mindy Wessinger are presenting updated information about Response to Intervention.

Response to Instruction /Intervention (RtI) is a result of NCLB and IDEA legislation. It is defined by Florida’s Department of Education as, “a multi-tiered approach to providing high quality instruction and intervention matched to student needs, using learning rate over time and a level of performance to inform instructional decisions.” The paradigm shift is moving from student placement as the primary focus to outcomes as the focus. It is the process of using assessment data to make decisions and provide services based on the results.

There are several beliefs that drive a successful RtI process: (1) Assisting hard to reach students is the shared responsibility of all school staff members (2) Problem solving procedures are best applied as part of a school wide effort (3) Problem solving should make use of all appropriate resources (4) The primary puprose of problem solving is to solve problems by designing effective interventions (5) With appropriate support, teachers can assist a wide range of hard-to-teach students to achieve improved performance.

At each tier of the model, the process of defining the problem, analyzing the reasons, implementing services and strategies, and evaluating results is used to match available resources with student need.

Tier 1 includes core, universal instruction and supports. These are the teaching practices and behavior systems schools and teachers have in place to support all students. At this level, it is essential that the core curriculum and general education program be based on evidence-based practices. The task is to assure that the core curriculum and behavior support is effective for a major portion of the students. This requires a school to evaluate the systems in place to ensure success for most students. With tier 1 intervention 80 to 90 percent of the student population will be successful.

Tier 2 interventions are targeted, small group, supplemental interventions and supports for identified students. These supports are aligned with and delivered in addition to the academic and behavioral supports provided to all students. 10 to 15 percent of the student population will need this level of targeted support to be successful either academically or behaviorally.

Tier 3 instruction and intervention is individual, intense support tailored to the specific need of each student. Only 1 to 5 percent of the students will require this level of support. The evidence based interventions that are implemented for the targeted students are specific to the behavior or academic deficiency identified through data collection and analyzed by the collaborative problem solving team.

Before a student is referred for a comprehensive evaluation and/or alternate placement it is best practice to move up the tiers sequentially through tier 3. If these interventions are unsuccessful or too costly to maintain in the general classroom, referral for evaluation is appropriate.

What does the RtI process look like at your school location? As a school leader, how do you best support this process to ensure student success?

RECENT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM GRADUATE IS NAMED FLORIDA PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR

Broward County Public Schools Principal James Griffin has received the state's top principal honor - Principal Achievement Award for Outstanding Leadership. The announcement came today (January 21) at the Florida Department of Education Commissioner's Summit for Principals in Orlando. Griffin was named Broward's Principal of the Year 2010 while at Rock Island Elementary School last year. He beat out two other finalists for the state's top award and will received a check for $5,000. Rock Island Elementary will also receive $1,000 as part of the recognition.

The state honor recognizes the principal who has demonstrated strong leadership and enhanced community involvement. Griffin set a standard of high expectations to create positive change in the teaching and learning culture while at Rock Island Elementary. He used educational equipment and groundbreaking methodologies to provide students the best learning experience possible.

Griffin's passion for exposing students to the most current research-based resources, attributed greatly to Rock Island's image and the students' thirst for knowledge. Every classroom is student friendly, print rich and contains a Promethean Board. He supported team members, substitute teachers, parent volunteers and tutors being visible in every corner of the school assisting students in reading, math and writing. Those efforts led to tremendous academic growth and student achievement.

Griffin will now represent Florida in the U.S. Department of Education's search for the nation's top school leader - National Principal of the Year.

Broward County Adopts Online Tutoring

Broward County Public School District (FL) will offer one-to-one online tutoring to 3,100 ninth graders in six high schools who must now take an end-of-course algebra proficiency exam. The program is supported through Title I funds, and provided by Tutor.com, whose network includes over two thousand professional tutors and career specialists.

Students will receive additional support from professional, online algebra tutors during the school day and after school from any computer with Internet access. Tutors will help students master skills and concepts, complete homework assignments and prepare for exams. Ninth graders may also connect to a tutor for help in science, social studies or English coursework.

Tutor.com is currently in use at school districts across the country including East Baton Rouge Parish School District (LA), Park City School District (CO), South Delta School District (MI), and New York City Department of Education’s School of One.

The on-demand tutoring services work with the existing curriculum to increase students’ relevant time on task. When a student gets stuck on a homework assignment, is studying for an exam or didn’t understand the day’s lesson, he or she can connect to a subject-qualified tutor for personalized assistance – without an appointment.

The student and tutor work together in real-time, using an online classroom that features an interactive whiteboard, application and file sharing, and co-browsing. Students and tutors provide summary information and ratings of each session. The Broward County Public School District will be able to use data from the program to help identify where students are struggling and to document the topics they are mastering as a result of on-demand tutoring support.

“We know from helping millions of students that on-demand access to qualified help is the key to preventing small problems from becoming larger, long-term learning issues,” said George Cigale, founder and CEO of Tutor.com. “This is especially true in challenging, gateway courses such as algebra which rely on students having a complete and thorough understanding of fundamental skills that will play a role in later math and science coursework.”

Broward County Public Schools is the nation's sixth largest public school system and the largest fully accredited district with over 234,600 students in more than 230 schools and education centers.