Artifact Reflections and Explanation

One of my core values is that I am a person of character and high

moral standards. I have an expectation of myself to embody ethical
and professional behavior and lead by example. It is also my goal as
an educator to shape my students character and help them create
healthy and successful habits. With these values in mind, I
implemented the Leader In Me program in my classroom during the
2013-2014 school year. I created a bulletin board with the 7 Habits of
Happy Kids posters and we went through some anchor lessons at the
beginning of the year that could immerse the students in the ideas that
were created by the Leader In Me program. We would continually refer
back to the posters and the common language throughout the school
year when teachable moments were available to make sure the
students were living out the healthy habits they had learned. Steven
Covey is one of my leadership influences and I felt that I could help my
students grow by introducing them to this concept and continually
modeling the expectations for conduct.
One of the most rewarding experiences of my internship has been
working with the level 3 special education students in the classroom
next door to me. There are several students in the room that have
been labeled with learning disabilities and behavior disorders. There
are other students in the room that have mental disabilities. As you
can imagine, there is often behavioral outbursts and situations that
tend to escalate due to their limited coping abilities. Over the course
of the school year, I have been spending my prep time twice a week
working with these students and building relationships with them. One
student in particular is mainstreamed into my classroom with an
associate. He has extreme behavioral episodes and often needs to be
deescalated. Working in the room has given me an opportunity to
build a relationship of trust so I can help to deescalate him when he
gets into one of his episodes. There is also a 5th grade student who has
a cognitive level of about three years old. I work with her on improving
her social skills and also help to deescalate her tantrums when she
gets frustrated. Over the past few months, the special education
teacher has had to miss several days due to health issues and I have
been able to step in and help the associates in the cases that major
behaviors have erupted in the classroom. This experience has given
me a greater appreciation for the diversity of children in a school and
has helped to give me a greater appreciation for the needs of the
students in that room. I have been able to expand my de-escalation
skills that will be helpful as I move into the role of the school leader.
Over the past four years I have had the opportunities to show ethical
character and actions through my service on the TAG Identification

Committee. We have an objective process of looking at the whole

student and picking out those who qualify on multiple data points for
the TAG program. The process doesnt show the students name at all
during the selection process. As committee members we have to
analyze the data we have been given and give consideration only to
those who show extraordinary skills. This experience has shown me
that it is important to look at students objectively and not make
decisions based on bias or preconceived notions. Our TAG
Identification process was largely based on recommendation and
classroom success and not on data. It is also an important part of the
process to remain confidential throughout the process. Being a part of
this committee has shown my abilities to remain objective and
demonstrate ethical practice in creating opportunities for students to
receive the instruction they need to be successful.