Name: Cindy Miller-Walker

NELA Internship Weekly Activity Log: week of January 6, 2014

Teacher Observation

Teacher Evaluation

Teacher Meetings

Building Meeting

s

District Meetings

Community Meetings/ Contacts

Extra- Curricu

lar Events

Management Tasks Other

Monday Ms. Daly re: bullying accusations

Open building for Extended LearningSecure substitute bus driversAttendance for Extended LearningAnnouncements/DismissalDirect Teachers to notify parents about 2-hour delay

Parent Contacts- 8

Absences;bullying accusations

Tuesday NELA

Wednesday Walkthroughs- K and 3rd

Ms. Daly Open school building

Attendance

Parent conferences- 2Student conferences -3

Thursday Walkthroughs 1st,2nd, 3rd, and 4th

Open school buildingAttendance

Central Office contacts, emails

Friday NELAAttendance

*Reflection on this weekly log (include feedback from coach and mentor)

This week we had Extended Learning- only students who need more academic support were in school- one class per grade level except third. Mr. Smith was on vacation and Dr. Headen is still out on medical leave for her broken ankle. It was very quiet and sort of scary opening the building. We had a 2-hour delay on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Monday, I had to direct and assist the teachers in notifying all the parents of their extended learning students about the 2-hour delay. That took some time but we did it.

Extended Learning is usually quiet and flows smoothly. This time was different. There were a lot of students who did not show up so I had to contact their parents and find out if they were participating this week. I also had to secure a substitute bus driver for 3 days. With the help of the school secretary we managed to arrange for one of our custodians, who is certified, to drive.

I had one major issue to address this week. Almost first thing Monday a parent calls and was adamant about to speaking with Mr. Smith or Dr. Headen. I introduced myself as the principal intern and asked if there was something I could help her with because Mr. Smith was on vacation this week and Dr. Headen was on medical leave indefinitely. She proceeded to tell me that a classmate has bullied her son and a few other 3rd graders since school started. She also stated that she and the other parents were going to the school board if she could not speak with administration because she was not accepting this kind of behavior. I reiterated that she would not be able to talk to administration until Monday and that I was the only one here in an administrative role. I asked her to tell me who was being bullied and by whom, when, how, how often and how she found out about it. She provided me with her story of how she found out about it and as many details as possible. She wanted the student who was the so-called bully to taken out of the class, or not around her son on Monday when we resume our regular schedule, because her son and the others were afraid to come to school. She said that they try to tell the teacher but she doesn’t believe them or takes it lightly. I assured her that we would check out this matter because we take bullying seriously and that I cannot just take a student out of class. I also informed her of protocol for matters like this- I have to talk to all the students involved including the so-called bully and that it is a lengthy process. I wrote down everything she said and took the names of all the students. She volunteered the name of one parent and her phone number and urged me to call the parent. To make a long story short, after talking to the son of the parent who called, the other two boys and their parents, the teacher, and another student from the class things became clearer. The parent who initiated all of this had embellished her story a bit. Her son was not afraid to come to school and neither was another boy. There was some accuracy in her story about certain incidents. The root cause of all of it seem to center around competitiveness in sports during recess. The boys, the one other female student and I talked to all started with the fact that the so-called bully “always brags about being faster and better than all of them at different sports”. So I began to think was it in fact bullying? Was there name calling going on from the ones who said they were bullied? I would not be able finish my student interviews until Monday Jan. 13 when all the students return.

I feel that I really used the sensitivity and conflict management competencies this week. I was sensitive to the parents expressing themselves about what they thought had happened. I think that I deterred them from going to the school board until I had spoken with all students involved and gathered more information.

STANDARDS ADDRESSED: 1a.Vision, Mission, Goals

1b. Leading Change1c. School Improvement1d. Distributive Leadership

2a. Focus on Learning and Teaching, Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment2b. Focus on Instructional Time

3a. Collaborative Work Environment3b. School Culture and Identity3c. Acknowledges School Failures; Celebrates Accomplishments and Rewards3d. Efficacy and Empowerment

4a. Professional Development/Learning Communities 4b. Recruiting, Hiring, Placing and Mentoring Staff

4c. Teacher and Staff Evaluation5a. School Resources and Budget5b. Conflict Management5c. Systematic Communication5d. School Expectation for Students and Staff6a. Parent and Community Involvement and Outreach

6b. Federal, State, and District Mandates7a. School Executive Micro-Political Leadership

COMPETENCIES ADDRESSED: Communication, Change Management, Customer Focus, Conflict Management, Creative Thinking, Delegation, Dialogue/Inquiry, Emotional Intelligence, Environmental Awareness, Global Perspective, Judgment, Organizational Ability, Personal Ethics and Values, Personal Responsibility for Performance, Responsiveness, Results Orientation, Sensitivity, Systems Thinking, Technology, Time Management, Visionary