Administrative Portfolio

For

Donald F. Spencer

 


 Supervised Distance Education Teachers

 

As the administrator for an experimental at-risk academy of an intranet high school, I was responsible for supervising teachers operating in an intranet environment.  I was responsible for supervising staff duties such as: being on duty from distant locations, making regular contact with the students, and maintaining proper bookkeeping of grades and attendance. 

 

Created a program to monitor teacher contact with students.  Program summarized all calls made to that student by an individual teacher.  Program also served as the teachers' call logs.

 

Maintained communication between staff members.  We met online in chats and discussed problems and solutions.  Information was shared that helped us grow professionally and foster a collegial atmosphere.   We emailed each other extensively.  I also made many phone calls daily to teachers. 

 

These efforts resulted in teachers performing their assignments and growing professionally.  The students’ success also increased from the high quality instruction in which their teachers were enabling them to participate.

 


Scheduling and Placing Students

 

My administrative duties for an intranet academy of at-risk students that centered on credit recovery, included serving as their guidance counselor.  I was responsible for placement and scheduling of students’ classes.  In this, I was not alone.  Hundreds of calls had to be made to students in order to facilitate their placement in the academy.  I lead a team of teachers in this endeavor.   Coordinating these efforts was complex.

 

The students were contacted and advised of their options.  The students’ schedules were adjusted, and placed into academy classes.  This involved a dual enrollment and dual record keeping for both the regular high school and the academy.  

 

The result was that many students were able to recover credit for classes and stay on track for graduation.  The students were able to go around a speed bump and stay on schedule for graduation. 


Coordinating Alternative Placement and Expulsion Procedures

 

It is important to create an orderly environment in which learning can take place.  My task was to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment; part of which was to coordinate alternative placement and expulsion procedures.  Prior to the actual hearing, I made sure that all required procedural steps and paper work had been completed.  I made certain that the student’s rights were respected, and that the student was receiving due process. 

 

During the hearing I was the Principal’s representative.  I presented the student’s discipline record and all written statements taken by the school.  The Superintendent’s representative would then call on the student’s guardian and the student for their statements.  I would then present the Principal’s recommendation to the Hearing Officer. 

 

The hearing officer decided whether there were grounds for expulsion or alternative placement.  After discussing the matter with the parents, he recommended what action the Superintendent should take.

As a result of my involvement, dangerous or disruptive students were removed from our campus with no legal actions being taken against the Principal or district.


Coordinated the Selection of Disney’s Dreamers and Doers Award

 

Walt Disney World sponsors the Dreamers and Doers Award to acknowledge those students who best exemplify the attributes of curiosity, confidence, courage and most especially constancy.  I was appointed by the Principal to coordinate the selection of a student to represent our school for this award.

 

I devised a means to notify students to apply for this award and choose a representative sample of our school staff to insure fairness in the selection process.

 

The procedure for which I was responsible resulted in our school being represented at this prestigious event with no complaints by teachers, students or their parents.


Planned the Stay in School Jam.

 

The Orlando Magic has a “Jam” for students of Orange County to encourage students to stay in school and improve in their studies.  My task was to clarify the criteria, select the students eligible to attend, and organize the trip for 300 students.  I was given the task of identifying those eligible to attend shortly before the jam since I took over the position half way through the year. 

 

The criteria for selection are subject to a great deal of discretion by each local school.  I used the two team leaders of the eighth grade since our school traditionally reserves attendance to eighth-graders.  The criteria were established by the Orlando Magic, but which students met those criteria were a matter of discretion.  I established a committee that reviewed each eighth grade student and determined his/her eligibility.

 

I met with the teachers individually and discussed any concerns they had regarding the students selected. 

 

The other half of the task was to coordinate the coordinate the transportation, seating, and supervision of roughly 300 students, teachers and parent chaperones to the TD Waterhouse arena.  Students had to be assigned to chaperones and buses.  The teachers and chaperones had to be briefed on procedure to supervise the children in a sea of other middle school students, to locate their seats, and account for each child on the return home. 

 

As a result our school enjoyed maximum participation, met safety requirements for transportation and did not disrupt our school’s normal schedule.

 


Administered Discipline for the Eighth Grade

 

It was my job to assist teachers in maintaining a safe and orderly environment in which to conduct classes.  My task was to handle all discipline referrals for the eighth-grade classes.  This presented a wide variety of challenges.

 

My main focus was on counseling children and fostering a change in behavior.  In this I had both successes and failures.  Parents of the children who were in trouble were often not in agreement with the school’s position.  I found that talking with the parents, and most importantly, listening o them allowed us to reach a common ground for helping their child.  Occasionally, there was the parent who was not willing to work with the school.  On these occasions, I had to be decisive and show resolve.

 

The vast majority of teachers were skilled in maintaining good discipline in their classes.   However, occasionally there incidents were a teacher took a questionable position.  I was able solve most of these problems through a dialogue with the teacher and show the teacher the correct way of handling the situation. 

 

Because of my reasonable attitude and professional conduct with students parents and the staff, my Principal only rarely had to be involved in any act of discipline for which I was responsible.


Coordinated Substitute Teacher Coverage

 

I was assigned to coordinate the placement of substitute teachers as the instructors would have to be absent from school.  Most of this task centered on diligently arranging for substitute teachers to cover the absences turned in by the teachers in advance or called in during the evening before the absence or morning of the absence.

 

However, there were situations that called for quick and decisive action.  There were surprise absences because once in a while teachers did not notify the school that they would be absent and even substitutes, after they had agreed to take the job, did not showing up.  Last minute calls had to be made, and schedules of substitutes had to be adjusted to provide class by class coverage.  Teachers also were asked to volunteer and had to have their schedules adjusted.

 

The substitute teachers had to be supported in their difficult position of being the temporary teacher and maintaining discipline with a large class of adolescent learners.  This required me to mentor some of the substitutes and guide them in their practice.  Rarely, a substitute was identified as not being capable of the challenge of being the temporary teacher, and it was my decision whether to bring him or her back to the school.  More commonly, it was my task to evaluate the substitutes and write recommendations and commendations on their behalf. 

 

The result was that the procedures that I initiated and the actions for which I was responsible resulted in qualified staff being in place to insure the smooth flow of learning in spite of difficult circumstances.


Set Grade Level Policy

 

I discovered that my decision regarding eligibility for the Stay in School Jam was being met with strong disagreement from a few teachers.  My task was to improve our communication and have a successful rally.

 

I met with the teachers who disagreed with me on an individual basis; we shared points of view in a professional manner.  I listened to their points of view, and the teachers listened to my point of view.  I remained convinced that I was correct and maintained my position.  The result was that all but two members eventually supported me in my decision.  I met with the two teachers who would not support me in my decision.   The teachers stated that they would not be in school the day of the jam as an act of protest.  I maintained my decision.  For the rally, I replaced the two teachers with parent chaperones and two substitutes known to the students. 

 

The final result was that Stay In School Jam was a great success.  The students who were eligible were able to attend and experienced a tremendous motivational meeting.


Organized Field Trips for Large Numbers

 

Westridge sent its Eighth Grade to the countywide Stay In School Jam and to the city of St. Augustine.  This involved in excess of 300 students and their chaperones.   The safety of the students and the success of the trip depended on good planning. To organize trips for up to 300 students was daunting to say the least.   At the Stay In School Jam, our students would join thousands of others from our county.  At St. Augustine, we would be 100 miles away from home, and the different sites had strict rules as to the number of students that each would accept at one time.  The site schedules were a maze of restrictions.  Some wanted 45 students at a time and on the half-hour or hour, while others wanted 15 or 30 students and wanted them on the quarter hour. 

My task was to devise plans well in advance and then communicate them to all those who were going on the rips.  I presented tentative thoughts to teachers and parents and got feedback to help me revise the plans.  When I had the final product, I created informational packets for each group.

 

The result was timely precision that allowed a large number of students to safely attend valuable events.  The students and chaperones had safe and meaningful experiences.


Facilitated Electronic School Meetings

 

Our staff was largely unexposed to the benefits of electronically based concept mapping.  My task was to present to the staff the benefits and the means to use electronically based concept mapping in the form of the software, Inspiration. 

 

I arranged for a nationally known presenter, who was also part of the county administrative staff, to come to our school and present the benefits and use of Inspiration software.  I was part of the presentation.  I also made arrangements for the purchase of the software for any staff member who wanted to use the program in his/her classroom.

 

The result was that ten teachers opted to use the software in their classrooms.  The quality of instruction was improved for those classrooms.

 

I verify that the candidate has demonstrated the Entry Level Competency listed above.