EDLD 5399- Update Vita

The main revisions placed on my vita reflect skill gained since experiencing this internship.  I added skills that reflect the ability to implement policies and procedures that involve multiple levels of district leadership.  Specifically, I added an activity that required me where I worked with campus and district leaders to revise school board policy EIC (Local).  During this activity I used feedback gained from committee members and revised EIC local to implement the requirements of recent legislation requiring courses with End of Course assessments to count the score receive as 15% of the student’s final grade for the course.  This task also required me to work with the Board of Trustees to have the policy approved. 

Nancy Webster

8607 Jackson Creek Bend Lane, Humble, Texas 77396| (281) 932-8413 | nancy.webster@live.com

EDUCATION

Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas

Superintendent Certification In Progress

University of Houston, Houston, Texas

Mid-Management Certification May, 2002

University of Houston, Houston, Texas

M.Ed. - Curriculum and Instruction May, 2001 

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

B.S. - Biochemistry, Minor - Chemistry May, 1996

CERTIFICATION AREAS

Superintendent Certification- In Progress

Mid Management

Secondary Science Composite

Administrative Experience

August 2009-Present  Director of Instructional Measurement and Accountability;  Galena Park Independent School District; Houston, Texas

o   Utilizing committees of district leadership, revised Board Policy to reflect changes required by the Texas legislature that pertain to End of Course assessments.

o   Oversaw communication of information regarding STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) to ensure all key stakeholders understood the new assessment system as well as considered implications for their existing role

o   Drastically revised district test security procedures utilizing district and campus leaders to ensure all aspects of the plan complied with TEA policies as well as addressed local needs

o   Reported state and federal accountability ratings to school district leaders including the Board of Trustees

o   Used SPSS to analyze state-mandated assessment data and create reports which describe the data set

o   Worked with groups of district leaders to ensure low performing subgroups met state and federal expectations

o   Served as the District Testing Coordinator for the following standardized assessments: TAKS, TAKS-Accommodated, TAKS-Modified, TAKS-Alt, TAAS, TELPAS, state field tests, EOC, and assessment used for the identification of LEP and GT students

August 2006-August 2009  Coordinator of Student Assessment;  Humble Independent School District; Humble, Texas

o   Expanded the duties of my current position to include reporting state and federal accountability ratings

o   Used SPSS to analyze state-mandated assessment data and create reports which describe the data set

o   Problem-solved ways to ensure low performing subgroups met state and federal expectations

o   Served as the District Testing Coordinator for the following standardized assessments: TAKS, TAKS-Accommodated, TAKS-Modified, TAKS-Alt, TAAS, TELPAS, state field tests, EOC, and assessment used for the identification of LEP and GT students

o   Created online modules to more efficiently train test administrators and campus testing coordinators

o   Trained campus test coordinators on how to give state-mandated as well as GT/ELL identification assessments

o   Instructed campus and district professionals on the ARD Decision Making Process as well as the allowable accommodations on state-mandated assessments

o   Collaborated with our district IT professionals to prepare for online testing, create precoding files (used to populate student demographic information on state-mandated assessments), and populate a district assessment database in a maximally effective format

June 2002-August 2005          Academic Dean; Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District, Robert E. Lee High School; Baytown, Texas

• Presented to the school board and community members the current state of the high school and described current and future student needs while participating in district rezoning and visioning committees
• Coordinated TAKS, TAAS, and SDAA testing for a campus of 2400+ students
• Evaluated program effectiveness using various sources of data (TAKS, TAAS, PEIMS, AEIS, AYP, Just for Kids) and ensured this data was used to make high-quality decisions about educational programs
• Managed the implementation of appropriate instructional programs and changes in curriculum to meet the needs of students taking state mandated tests
• Involved appropriate members of the faculty and staff in continual needs assessment of the Campus Improvement Plan
• Responsible for the development of the master schedule each school year and implemented a seven-period-day master schedule from a six-period-day master schedule
• Worked  with parents concerning student academic progress
• Hired highly-qualified educators to ensure staffing met the requirements of NCLB
• Worked with teachers in need of assistance to develop growth plans and documented adequate/inadequate growth towards growth plan goals
• Proposed and oversaw the usage of an off-site facility to reduce the effects of overcrowding and create a small learning community for the most at-risk incoming freshmen while managing overcrowding at Lee High School as the campus grew from 2000+ to over 2600 students
• Worked to create teams of students, parents, and community members to increase buy-in to the educational program for at risk students
• Oversaw the implementation of a district-wide program for students arriving in the district with little or no English
• Implemented sheltered instruction for ESL students in the areas of social studies, science, and math (the English program was already established)
• Implemented co-teaching for special education students to reduce the amount of time this group of students spent in non-inclusive classes
• Established an after school program allowing freshmen to recover credits lost in science, social studies, math, and/or English- this program was implemented to ensure a maximum number of students reached sophomore status in the face of district promotion standards requiring all freshmen to gain 5.5 credits in addition to passing all four core area courses in order to become sophomores 
• Oversaw the implementation of the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) to ensure at risk students with individual determination were involved in a college preparatory program
• Implemented Read 180; a program set to increase a student’s reading instructional level

June 2002-July 2002  Principal; Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District, High School Summer School; Baytown, Texas. 

• Prepared a budget to ensure educational goals were funded appropriately
• Hired all teachers
• Worked with curriculum coordinators and high school administrators to ensure student educational needs were met

June 2001-June 2002  Assistant Principal; Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District, Baytown Junior High School; Baytown, Texas. 

• Coordinated the administration of the 2002 TAAS and benchmark tests
• Member of the GCCISD Science Vertical Team responsible for aligning the science curriculum for students as they progress from elementary school to high school
• Addressed instructional problems and concerns as a member of the Instructional Leadership Team during the 2000-2001 school year
• Resolved employee concerns concerning non-instructional issues at the campus and district level as a member of the Campus Action Committee and Employee Action Committee during the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 school year
• Observed and evaluated a teacher’s ability to instruct and manage a classroom of students
• Counseled students with discipline problems
• Mediated conflict resolution between teachers, students, and parents
• Facilitated the development of campus guidelines for future events such as field trips

Professional Teaching Experience

August 1998-May 2001 Educator; Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District, Robert E. Lee High School; Baytown, Texas. 

o   Created a TEKS-correlated pre-AP physics curriculum for GCCISD

o   Placed an importance on meeting the needs of all students regardless of gender, race, or academic ability

o   Taught AP and pre-AP physics to students increasing the population of pupils from 60 to 150 in one year

o   Created curriculum for Conceptual Physics, a new course added during the 2000-2001 school year

o   Awarded the Exxon Math and Science Teacher of the Year for GCCISD

o   Presented at the 1999 Association for Educational Communications and Technology National Convention in a round table discussion of “Female Friendly” Physics

o   Created an Academic Challenge Team for the GCCISD district

o   Sponsored UIL Science Team (1999-2001)

o   Academic Decathlon sponsor with a team member placing first in math

Other Professional Experiences

July 1996-August 1998 Research Technician; Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery; Houston, Texas.  Responsible for animal husbandry, procurement of laboratory supplies, repair and trouble shooting of equipment used in the laboratory, and other general lab maintenance duties. 

Jan.1993-May 1996    Mainframe Assistant; Systems Network Control Center, Louisiana State

University; Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Student worker in a mainframe computer lab.  Answered Internet and programming questions for students.

Presentations

Texas Assessment Conference: December 2010

• Treading Troubled Waters Successfully- Tips for Meeting State and Federal assessment/Accountability Requirements

Texas Assessment Conference: December 2009

• Treading Troubled Waters Successfully- Tips for Training and Handling Secure Testing Materials

Association for Educational Communications and Technology National Convention: May 1999

·       Facilitated a round table discussion of “Female Friendly” Physics

                                                                                                                        

MEMBERSHIPS

ASCD – Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

TSNAP – Texas Statewide Network of Assessment Professionals

BRATS- Bayou Region Association of Testing Specialists

Currently serving as BRATS director, August 2011 to present

AWARDS

Exxon Math and Science Teacher of the Year for GCCISD                                 May, 2008

                                                                                                                                                             

EDLD 5399- Three Year Professional Development Plan

Year One

I- Leadership of the Educational Community, C3	The superintendent 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.	Review the resources on the TASB web site.	Self	Understand the resources available for school board members.
II-Instructional Leadership	The superintendent knows how to facilitate the planning and implementation of strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment among curriculum, curriculum resources, and assessment; use the current accountability system; and promote the use of varied assessments to measure student performance.	Attend Lead4ward workshops as well as the Texas Assessment conference to learn details regarding STAAR.	Senior Directors in curriculum, SPED, LEP, and DES	Body of work produced and communications to key district stakeholders.
II-Instructional Leadership, C7	The superintendent knows how to implement a staff evaluation and development system and select appropriate models for supervision and staff development to improve the performance of all staff members.	Study the work of Rick DuFour regarding PLCs	Me	Utilize this resource to place a priority on professional development and building capacity throughout the ranks of the organization
II-Instructional Leadership) C3,4	The superintendent knows how to advocate, promote, and sustain an instructional program and a district culture that are conducive to student learning and staff professional growth. The superintendent knows how to respond to and influence the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context, including working with the board of trustees, to achieve the district's educational vision.	Attend the TASA sponsored events pertaining to the 1st time Superintendent’s Academy	Senior Directors in curriculum, SPED, LEP, and DES	Learn from experienced superintendents the problems unique to the superintendent’s role.  Build a group of colleagues to discuss how they are achieving this goal and continually reflect on progress.

Year Two

I- Leadership of the Educational Community, C5

Facilitate the design and implementation of curricula and strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment among curriculum, instruction, resources, and assessment; and promote the use of varied assessments to measure student performance

Attend Lead4ward workshops as well as the Texas Assessment conference to learn details regarding STAAR.

Senior Directors in curriculum, SPED, LEP, and DES

Body of work produced and communications to key district stakeholders.

Year Three

I- Leadership of the Educational Community, C2	The superintendent knows how to shape district culture by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the educational community.	Read, “The Mentor Leader” by Tony Dungy	Discuss tenets of book with Dr. Williams, Superintendent	Able to utilize the content of the book and use to better develop, articulate, implement and provide stewardship of a vision of learning.
III—Administrative Leadership,C8	The superintendent knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to district budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management, and technology application.	Attend the TASA Budget Boot Camp	Build a team of fellow superintendents who are local and/or who have similar district characteristics	Learn from colleagues the problems unique to the superintendent’s role and the budgeting process.  Build a group of colleagues to discuss how they are achieving this goal and continually reflect on progress.

Reflection:

Building a professional development plan is akin to developing a roadmap to a planned destination.  The destination in this case is to be a competent superintendent with a reputation as a strong, capable leader.  Throughout this course, I have been engaged in the development of many skills that will lead to becoming a competent school district leader.  While I have learned quite a great deal, I still have areas I will continue to develop over the next three years. I plan to focus on continuing to increase my knowledge in shaping school district culture as well as interacting with the community and families within the school district community.  My goal is to understand how to further encourage community involvement as well as shape and drive school district culture.  Since I have never performed this task before, developing my professional skills in this area will ensure I am focused on the achievement of this task as well as continually reflecting on my progress.  I look forward to involvement in academies offered by the Texas Association of School Administrators such as the First Time Superintendent’s Academy and the Budget Boot Camp.  Both of these offered training sessions will allow me to collaborate with other superintendents in addition to gaining insight by learning materials related to items unique to the superintendent’s role.  I truly anticipate this to augment my current knowledge in all SBEC Superintendent Competencies especially in how to work with the Board of Trustees to set a vision for the district as well as oversee the district’s budget so the vision can be supported through purposeful funding. I will continue to use reflection as a practice both during professional development and as I perform the tasks required of a superintendent.  I will use this practice to measure the degree to which I meet the behavioral objectives stated on my 3-year professional development plan.  I look forward to the pursuit of the professional development goals and will utilize them to better myself as a leader in education administration.

EDLD 5399 Reflective Leadership Practices

Reflection is a useful skill because it allows one to make meaning of a given experience.   Superintendents must master this skill in order to maximize their effectiveness in their role.  Throughout the Lamar Superintendent Certification program, we have been engaged in activities that require us to reflect upon our learning in a manner that will develop a deep understanding of the Texas Superintendent Competencies.  Specifically, I have been acutely concerned about my ability to oversee the proper management of state and local funds for an entire district.  The reflections in the EDLD 5342 forced us to reflect on issues such as basic issues impacting the state formula used for the state funding of local schools.  Additionally, a reflection covering equality, equity, and adequacy of state funding of local schools enhanced my understanding of the current lawsuits filed by my district and many others to fight the current formula.

Throughout the Lamar Superintendent program, we utilized blogs to post our reflections over certain topics.  This format allowed other students to comment on our thoughts, furthering our understanding by examining the viewpoints of fellow classmates.  I found one of the most profound blog assignments was when we posted our strengths and weaknesses as a Superintendent by completing the SBEC Post Self Assessment.   It was nice to see that many of my fellow classmates and I still had concerns in some areas while we all showed a great deal of growth overall.  This exercise helped my hone in on the few areas I have left to gain a deeper understanding.

The supervised Superintendent internship gave me various experiences and forced me to reflect in writing my perception of the learning achieved while completing the activity.  During one of my activities, I was engaged in working with the curriculum department to create a method to analyze district assessment scores.  As a team, we examined several models and came up with one that was the most ideal fit and the simplest to explain.  I was most pleased to be a part of a team that achieved this task and it showed me the importance of involving a team in any decision-making process to create a solution that is a best fit for a maximum number of individuals. 

The assessments in the course were often tricky I erred on a few due to a failure to read the test items closely.  This is a skill any superintendent must master to be successful in their role.  Policies and laws are often filled with nuances and unforeseen implications.  An ability realize this and make timely plans to prepare is a useful skill to survive in the superintendent role long term. 

I will continue to use reflection to guide my learning and ensure that each of my experiences to further develop my skills as a practitioner.  Additionally, I will seek professional development and assistance from colleagues when I am unable to determine the most appropriate course of action. 

EDLD 5399- Week Three Assignment, Part 2 – Part C of the Comprehensive Final Report

Describing Recommendations and District/Campus Improvement Initiative/Action Research Lessons Learned

District improvement plans are put in place to tie district goals to budgets and personnel resources.  Additionally, they are the roadmap the district uses to attain it’s stated goals.  The more articulate and clearly stated the map is, the better the change that the road map is followed.  Campus and district improvement plans help each district articulate priorities and drive how monetary/professional resources are allocated.  These plans should never be stand-alone documents, produced once annually.  Instead, they should be used to drive all campus operations and referred to frequently to ensure progress.  Additionally, district/campus improvement plans should also link together from one year to the next, through a long-range strategic plan.  District improvement initiates must be clearly articulated and over-communicated.  Each entity within the organization must state how they will work to achieve district initiatives.   Close monitoring of campus goals should occur on an annual basis.  This close monitoring will work to ensure campus goals are aligned to campus goals and each campus goal contains objectives describing how the goal will be achieved.  A needs assessment tool must be published so that all members of the organization can determine their progress towards district/campus goals.  The needs assessment should also describe when the needs assessment process should occur and meetings should be held to discuss needs assessment findings.    I recommended that campus/district administrative appraisals are tied to the success of the campus/district improvement plan.  Additional professionals with key roles in the attainment of district/campus roles should also have appraisals tied to their ability to realize campus.  This will provide the necessary accountability to realize goal attainment.  A great deal of training needs to happen when moving to this type of system so that goals are properly stated and professionals are properly redirected when a needs assessment reveals corrective action is needed. My current superintendent has been in her current role less than a year.  It is apparent that her appraisal is directly linked to the achievement of district goals.  Through conversations with her, we are looking towards aligning additional appraisals to district/campus goals.  Additionally, while only goals and objectives are part of the district and campus improvement plans, we will work towards including monetary and personnel allocations to the plan for next year.  The main focus this year was the development of consistency between the campus and district goals.  A few campuses were less explicit in their statement of objectives tied to achieving these goals.  Retraining needs to be targeted for these campuses.  Overall, I am excited about the progress we have made in less than a year under the leadership of our new superintendent.  I look forward to being a part of the additional planned development of this process and the leadership experience that I will earn while doing so.

EDLD 5399 Week 3 Assignment, Part 1

Please review your intern plan. In the first course, students were encouraged to engage in some action research, or participate in district or campus improvement initiatives. Each of you has had some experiences with such initiatives or action plans. Please review those experiences and complete the following analysis:

Concerns – Review your participation in improvement initiatives or efforts to engage in action research, and list at least three concerns that you have identified from these experiences – a concern may be any matter that engages your attention or interest.

1. While more consistency between the campus and district goals has been achieved, the format of the form is very general and states only goals and objectives.
2. Increase the review and level of feedback for individual campus plans.  Some campuses objectives are very brief, while others go into great detail stating how they will work to achieve a given goal.
3. Each campus plan should focus on the use and evaluation of accommodations for English language learners and special education students.  This continues to be a problem and an increased focus will work to place an emphasis on this task.

Affirmations - Review your participation in improvement initiatives or efforts to engage in action research, and affirm or identify at least 3 actions that must be sustained and supported to achieve the District/ Campus improvement initiatives.

1. The continual review of local and state-mandated assessment data must be disaggregated and used to drive the revision of curriculum and instruction.
2. A focus on meeting AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) at both the campus and district level.
3. Parent involvement must be a focus.  Additionally, ensuring all parents are able to receive important communications regarding their child’s education is paramount.

Recommendations - Review your participation in improvement initiatives or efforts to engage in action research and describe at least 3 recommendations you would make regarding the District/Campus Improvement plans or action research plans.

1. Initiate additional levels of review for each campus plan.  Create a model campus plan that campuses can work to mimic. 
2. Ensure all campuses create a plan for meeting AYP, especially their special education and limited English proficient subgroups of students.  Each campus and the district should focus on accommodations as well as ensuring these students are taking STAAR (and not STAAR-L, STAAR-M, or STAAR-Alt) unless these students truly meet the state-articulated participation requirements.
3. Have each central office department articulate their goals and how they will support campus and district goals.

Evaluate - Review your participation in improvement initiatives or efforts to engage in action research and identify at least 3 strategies for evaluating the improvement plans or recommendations.

1. Publish a needs analysis tool and place in the same location as the campus improvement plans.
2. Have each campus complete the needs analysis at multiple points in the year and communicate progress towards goals.
3. Conduct individual reviews of the needs assessment activities with campus principals.  Give feedback on this process and include as a portion of the campus principal’s evaluation.