I recently applied for an administrative position. *YIKES* The application process involved the requirement of "a one or two-page description of their philosophy as an educational leader, including a vision statement describing the priorities they wish to establish as Principal." Please note that I applied for an associate principalship, but there is an expectation that as an applicant, I would be "[s]upportive of direction from principal and desire to advance to this role".
This is tough stuff! I sweated. I Googled. I reviewed tweets. I posted to Facebook. Then I wrote the following. Then I rewrote, revised, shared, tweaked ... any feedback is appreciated!
Vision
Statement:
To foster
continuous growth in a thinking community.
I believe …
This belief
statement uses community for
all environments, as the most supportive learning environment is a community,
and learners for all participants within the community.
Every
individual can experience growth given the right environment. Humans are
curious by nature; igniting thinking is the goal of learning and the core of
educating. The leadership team (principal and associate principals) work
together to set direction and model behaviour for the community. An
effective collaborative team gives voice to all members when making decisions
and are united in their message to the community.
School
environments can foster growth for every individual (teacher, student, leader
and parent) through a sense of community. Leaders develop strong relationships
through acceptance and respect, and providing everyone with voice. In a healthy
community, learners feel safe taking risks, and gain a deeper understanding of
curriculum, each other and themselves. People thrive when they know they belong
and are useful, when they feel valued for who they are. Recognizing strengths
permits everyone to contribute to the community by using strengths to
collaboratively reach goals.
A leadership
team guides a community through change. Change is difficult for many and may
seem daunting if presented as an endless series of goals; participants may
become discouraged with the sheer immensity of the vision. Leadership can avoid
this by clearly defining the vision in obtainable steps which are celebrated at
every accomplishment. To foster risk-taking, disappointments need to be
acknowledged for the growth they represent. Participants need to see that
although change takes time, time passes either way, and growth is more
worthwhile than stagnation. Furthermore, leaders cannot disregard the value of
the naysayer. Those who oppose the vision can often help refine the goals and may
reveal overlooked roadblocks. By acknowledging the contributions of opposition,
relationships and community are strengthened. However, honesty and true
acceptance of each individual may lead to moving forward without everyone on
board. Hopefully the perceptions of stalwart resistors are changed by evidence
of success, but leaders must be prepared to prioritize the health of the
community over any individual.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/14279306964 |
Measuring
growth comes from asking meaningful and revealing questions about progress.
Frequent and cyclic reflections provide checkpoints for growth measurement.
Reflecting honestly on evidence gathered will reveal successes as well as
problems and possible solutions. To help ensure success and improvement,
leaders need to model the behavior they want to see. Leaders support risk
taking by being honest about weaknesses and strengths, and disclosing struggles
during goal attainment. An associate principal welcomes the feedback and
direction from the principal. By seeking feedback from self, peers, teachers,
and students, they model for teachers how feedback can be gathered and
processed in an assessment cycle, enabling teachers to effectively reflect on
their own progress, so they are better prepared to guide students in the cycle
of feedback for growth.
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