Practicum in Leadership

Format for Shadowing Field Notes

Date:  5/2/06                                      Time:
7:30 to 2:30                 Duration:
7 hours

Notes                                                                                      Reflections

(Descriptive,
non-evaluative)                                                           (Insights,
questions)

(Typed in black ink)                                                                           (Typed
in red ink)

7:30 NT (principal) at doors speaking to students: Good
morning, get your shirt tail in, Johnny, Mrs. H has
your jacket.  How you doing?

7:55 NT clears halls
for morning announcements.

8:09 Talks with TT
about Young Authors Conference.  Reminded him about the coolers/cokes.

Assigns 2 boys to get
coolers, sprites and ice and put on the bus.  NT helps boys get them.

8:20 Secretary tells
NT that JL needs him in the computer lab.
JL tells NT that there are 8 chairs missing from the lab and he
can’t find them.  NT searches
nearby rooms.  Finds them in the
science labs and assigns 2 boys to take them down to the lab.

Is it normal procedure for a teacher to call the
Principal for a concern like this?
NT does not want students wandering halls or teachers out of the room so
he prefers to do the “leg” work.  It prevents problems.

8:37 NT speaks to
band director about the 4 people interviewed for the band job.  Band director contacted references and
last person interviewed stands out above the others and he recommends her.  NT asks how he feels about working with
the person he is recommending.  Band
director feels very confident that he can work well with her.  NT will contact elementary principal CW
and personnel director RW about his input/decision.

How are interviews for positions
handled?  We include the person
currently filling the position as part of the interview team.  This position will be shared with the
elementary school so their principal will also be on the team.  We all provide input and agree on a
final decision, which is then given to the personnel director and on to the
Superintendent for approval.

8:51 NT speaks with
counselor about the 5th grade students who are shadowing at
GMS.  NT wants to clarify how
students are to get home after school.
The counselor recommends he contact the
elementary school principal over the 5th graders.

As NT passes nurses
office on the way back to his office he speaks to Nurse SD.  NT asks how the physicals are
going.  Nurse says that there are
over 50 students still needing physicals. There is a
conflict for the next scheduled day to do the physicals.  8th grade job shadowing is
also scheduled for that day.  NT
checks palm pilot calendar.  Nurse
will call high school nurse to discuss.
NT talks with AP about physicals and dates for summer football camp and
the conflict.  AP reminds NT to talk
with CW about 5th grade shadowing students and how they will get
home.

9:06 NT called
elementary principal CW at GES. Asked about procedures to
follow for the 5th grade shadowing students to get home after
school.  NT concerned about
releasing pick-up students to the correct parent/guardian.  He had assumed students would return to
GES for transportation home.  Letter
has already been sent out from GES stating students would be released for the
middle school GMS.  NT decides to
follow the procedures stated in letter sent home from GES.  NT asks CW about band position and
shares band directors input and recommendation for the last lady
interviewed.  He feels strongly that
she is the best person for the job and he can work well with her.  NT will call RW to confirm
recommendation then NT will notify the job applicants about the decision.  NT discussed his upcoming vacant
position.  Superintendent will hold
faculty meeting this afternoon to get feedback from faculty and staff on
filling the principal position.  NT
does not feel he should be present during this part of the meeting.  NT wants the teachers to be open and
share their concerns and feelings related to his performance and their concerns
for his replacement.  NT relates how
the incentive for Saturday school perfect attendance fell through.  Reservations and payment was made for a
movie party at a theater.  When bus
arrived with students the theater was closed.  Theater claims they had not received
payment so they thought school canceled.
During phone conversation AP Crisp comes into office with a golf match
transportation roster and asks, “is this today?” and lays it on
NT’s desk and leaves.

Are you going to attend the faculty meeting this afternoon?  I am going to express my concerns to the
superintendent and suggest that I not be present for the portion of the meeting
when he will be discussing my replacement.
I want everyone to be able to openly express their feelings and I feel
my being there will hamper that.

How will you handle the Saturday
school incentive since the movie was closed?  I have Ms. Smith contacting the manager
and I have doubled checked with my secretary to verify the date the check was
mailed and the phone call was made to verify our reservation.  I haven’t heard back from that
yet.

9:28 NT asks to be
excused and says he will be back momentarily.  He leaves the office.

9:34 NT returns to office.  NT checks his emails and says,
“Only 3 emails today, slow day.”  Makes notes on a pad as he checks/reads
emails.  NT makes entries in his
palm pilot.

9:47 NT goes to
Counselor’s office.  Explains
how 5th grade shadowing students will go home at the end of the day
and how procedures were sent home to parents from GES.

9:56 NT explains that
he is going to do a GTOI teacher observation since he doesn’t have many
more school days to complete those on his assigned list.  NT says I may observe him but that the
teacher evaluation will be confidential.

How do you
determine on whom and when to do an observation?  At the beginning
of the year we determine whether me or CC (AP) will do the observations based
on whether the teacher is a 1st year teacher and what cycle they are
in.  I take the 1st year
teachers and we divide the others based on content area.  Since CC has a strong special ed background he does those.  We establish deadlines and meet those
unless problems occur like a teacher being out unexpectedly for an extended
period of time due to an illness or emergency.  That can throw us off and we just have
to re-schedule.

10:05 NT supervising
6th grade break.  Walks among the students.  A group of students asks about when the
movie incentive for Saturday school perfect attendance has been
rescheduled.  NT explains that he is
waiting to hear from the manager of the theater to set another date.  NT reassures students that they will get
their incentive. NT directs students to clear the hall and restroom and return
to class.

10:11 NT
conducting a teacher observation.  He uses a small keyboard with his palm
pilot to take notes.

10:35 NT leaves
classroom.  NT stops and opens/looks
into the doors of the classroom as he moves up the hall.  He doesn’t enter or make comments.

What is your purpose of opening
classroom doors and looking in as you go up the hall?  I want students to know that I am going
to be dropping in on their classrooms.
By randomly doing a visual check I can often help prevent discipline
problems by letting students know that I am aware and nearby.  If I know that a certain student is
having problems, I make sure that I stop by that classroom and make eye
contact.  If I see a behavior that
eye contact can’t or doesn’t fix, I may call a student out of a
classroom but I rather do it as low key as possible.

10:41 NT
checks in with the front office for messages.  He asks to be
excused.  I wait in the waiting area
of the office.  NT returns and goes
to eat lunch.

11:13 NT
monitoring lunchroom.  Tells table they are too loud.  Asks a boy to pick up
napkin off of floor.  Speaks to teachers about the expected date for CRCT scores to come
in.  NT expects them around
post planning.  NT says the number
of teachers needed for summer school will be greatly impacted by CRCT results
and priority will be given to 8th grade students due to the state
requirement for promotion.

12:45 Leaves
lunchroom to supervise 8th grade break.  NT tells 2 boys to stop chasing each
other.  Speaks to the 8th
grade teachers about the job shadowing scheduled for Thursday.  NT directs students to return to class
and clear the hall.  NT checks the
restroom and clears them of students.

12:47 Goes to
lunchroom and tells the AP that he needs to talk with him as soon as he has the
lunchroom cleared of 2nd lunch.

12:52 NT goes to
AP’s office.  NT asks for
suggestions for a tennis coach next year.
AP suggests SW who is currently a 1st year teacher.  NT tells AP that KD will be the Lead
Coach over sports next year.  NT
asks AP about discipline concerns.
AP shows NT a discipline referral on a 7th grade boy who threatened
a teacher when she was writing him up for refusal to comply.  AP was a witness to the incident.  NT and AP check the PDA (progression of
discipline) and the school handbook.
They assign student 5 days OSS
based on this information.

How do you and the AP work
together to handle discipline?  CC
is responsible for the daily discipline problems in the school.  I check with him each afternoon for
situations that need more careful consideration or that are dealing with a
student that is further up the ladder on the progression of discipline.  I want to be aware of major concerns in
case a parent wants to contact me.
I also want to be aware of any situation that requires it to be reported
to the authorities or that would involve a tribunal.  I also want to be aware of OSS days assigned to a
student.

1:27 NT returns to
his office and completes/prints the GTOI Observation Record for the observation
he completed earlier in the day.

1:50 NT supervises 7th
grade break.  A teacher requests to
speak to him privately.  They step
away and have a discussion.  NT
directs student to go to class.  NT
clears the hall and restroom area of students.