Running Head: COMPETENCY REFLECTION

Competency Reflection
Michelle Wheeler
University of St. Thomas

Dr. Eduardo Torres

Spring 2015

COMPETENCY REFLECTION

Competency 001: The principal knows how to shape campus culture by facilitating the
development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is
shared and supported by the school community.
This competency I learned a lot about by participating as a member of the Site Based
Decision Making Committee for our school. As a committee one of our biggest task was to
cover our schools goals for the year and set where we would like to be as a school community.
Parts of these goals do include community involvement like parent volunteers, parent workshops,
or community events like the school carnival. As a school community everyone has to do their
part which is why the committee is open to parents, community members, and teachers so there
is a wide variety of participants with different backgrounds so as a committee we can decide
what is best for the children involved.
Competency 002: The principal knows how to communicate and collaborate with all
members of the school community, respond to diverse interests and needs, and mobilize
resources to promote student success.
During one of my administrative intern projects, I focused on grouping students based on
student expectations set forth by the state. With test results I was able to group students into
small groups and place them with a teacher who had done really well in teaching her students
these particular expectations. At times groups would be too large for one teacher to handle so I
would have to illicit help from other school community members. One of the keys to the success
of this program is the small groups allowed us to meet the diverse needs of the students and
specialize a lesson tailored just for their ability.

COMPETENCY REFLECTION

Competency 003: The principal knows how to act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical
and legal manner.
With regards to competency 003, I have really learned a lot about this competency in the
last few weeks. This summer I am getting the opportunity to be an assistant principal for
summer school and over the last few weeks I have had to complete several e-courses regarding
the STAAR examination. There are many rules and regulations that administrators and school
personnel must follow in order to administer the STAAR exam. These rules are set in place so
there is fairness among the students and integrity in the results the schools receive regarding the
examination.
Competency 004: The principal knows how to facilitate the design and implementation of
curricula and strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment of
curriculum, instruction, resources, and assessment; and promote the use of varied
assessments to measure student performance.
The data wall project I completed during Administrative Internship II was all about
aligning curriculum with instruction to assessments. Assessments were used to ability group
students based on their strengths and weaknesses. With these results students were placed in
groups and paired with teachers who had strengths that matched the students weaknesses.
Students were retaught the material and reassessed at the end through varied assessments to see
if the student had mastered the topic.
Competency 005: The principal knows how to advocate, nurture, and sustain an
instructional program and a campus culture that are conducive to student learning and
staff professional growth.

COMPETENCY REFLECTION

This past summer right before school started I was asked by my principal to put together
a staff development class on CHAMPS. CHAMPS is a classroom management model used by
our school to help students be successful in a safe learning environment. I was very pleased with
the outcome and the receptive nature of the staff and surprisingly enough I was asked by my
principal to complete another staff development this summer before school starts on the
handbook.
Competency 006: The principal knows how to implement a staff evaluation and
development system to improve the performance of all staff members, select and implement
appropriate models for supervision and staff development, and apply the legal
requirements for personnel management.
Last summer I was able to take the PDAS, or Professional Development and Appraisal
System, class to learn about the legal requirements on evaluating the school personnel. This
class was very interesting from an administrators standpoint along with a teachers standpoint.
Although I have not been able to apply this knowledge in real world situations, I have been told
that I would be able to practice this summer while working as an assistant principal. No formal
evaluations will be made but I will have the opportunity to be walked through how to complete
an appraisal and things to look for.
Competency 007: The principal knows how to apply organizational, decision-making, and
problem-solving skills to ensure an effective learning environment.
Knowing how to organize, make decisions, and problem solve are skills that every
professional should acquire, not just the administrators. While I used all of these skills to help
plan the school carnival this year, I could see where they would be used to help make decisions

COMPETENCY REFLECTION

with regards to the learning environment. Teachers use these decision making schools every day
as they plan their lessons for the students. For example, when you have two students who do not
understand a particular topic, the teacher has to make a quick decision on how to reteach this
topic in a different manner so the students are able to understand.
Competency 008: The principal knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and
management in relation to campus budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial
management, and technology use.
This semester I was not able to work with this competency as closely as I did in the first
semester. The school budget window is not the same as the school calendar window so when
principals work with the school budget is outside the range of the graduate school calendar. The
first semester of Administrative Internship our principal was kind enough to sit down and discuss
the school budget along with the time frame that goes with it. Pasadena ISD really has the
school budget streamlined so a lot of the finances are not even handled by the individual schools.
I look forward to working with this competency in the future.
Competency 009: The principal knows how to apply principles of leadership and
management to the campus physical plant and support systems to ensure a safe and
effective learning environment.
I can relate to competency 009 not from an administrative view point but from a carnival
organizational view point. Having to set up the carnival in a manner that had an effective flow of
commerce but also keep everyone safe was a very difficult thing to do. While I was wanting to
place some booths in the hallway, this would have not been the ideal situation as it would not
allow people to be able to move about from booth to booth. Since I had never planned anything

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of this magnitude I did realize throughout the carnival that there are things I just did not think
about but made sure that I kept a set of notes if I ever had to organize a carnival again. Just like
being an administrator, I lot of ideas are trial and error and we must remember to always learn
from our mistakes and make things better as we continue on.