Capacity Building Analysis

University of Phoenix MA/TL Course Overview EDL/500

This course focuses on developing a personal philosophy of leadership. Students engage in self-assessment activities that reveal how individual values and beliefs directly influence personal leadership. Students examine their own organization and stakeholders who may play a role in their journey in school leadership. Aspects of effective communication are addressed. Students explore contemporary leadership theorists and popular beliefs behind organizations and school systems that will help build a foundation for personal growth.

 THIS WEEK:

• 6.1 Examine the personal leadership practice of long-term and short-term goal setting.
• 6.2 Describe effective communication practices for leaders.
• 6.3 Apply personal strengths to improve communication practices.
• 6.4 Explore various pathways of teacher leadership.

Project 1:

Capacity Building Analysis

This video is about empowering leadership. It all begins with you. Are you ready?

Q: What does capacity building mean in the educational setting?

A: “The more leadership is emphasized, the less professionalism flourishes…The more professionalism is thriving, the less need there is for leadership. I think the door is open now to a kind of revolution. We’re beginning to recognize that schools are special places where people care about teaching and learning. They’re not like most organizations; you can’t apply organizational principles to places characterized by sandboxes, books, and children. Schools are more like families and small communities where, if you can develop the right substitutes, you can throw traditional leadership away. There’s no need for it ever again…The more successful we are at establishing substitutes for leadership, the less important it becomes to worry about who are leaders and who aren’t.” (Sergiovanni, 1992, p. xiv).  Rethinking Leadership

The ability to see where personal roles and responsibilities can benefit the majority to the greatest extent requires the ability to think outside of one self. This is a skill that is developed through mindfulness training. A society must first recognize the way that it operates before it is able to reform itself. The same is true of the individual. The reciprocal effect of everyone working diligently toward self-improvement for the greater good could change the world. Setting personal short-term and long-term goals are first steps to building capacity. A support system that is nurturing, respectful, and shares the same vision is paramount to the success of any group or organization. United we stand, with equal opportunity and justice for all.


Q:  What may be done to increase the sense of kinship, neighborliness, and collegiality among the faculty? 
   
A: There are many ways to increase the sense of kinship, neighborliness, and collegiality among faculty. I believe that it all starts with compassion. Compassion training is skillful practice in our awareness in how our actions affect others. Building skills in these areas takes mindfulness. The ability to be present in each moment takes great awareness. This is not the same as cognitive awareness. It isn’t something that is thought about; these skills and abilities need to become immediate. They need to become natural to our functioning if we are to truly increase the state of kinship.

Another way that kinship is built, is for each member of the group to own a genuine sense of purpose. 

Pathways for success must be available to all members. Equal access is granted, but knowing exactly where and how each member will contribute is individually earned. This requires self-reflection and honesty. This means knowing your personal strengths, and your weaknesses. It's important to consider the needs and goals of the group before assuming a new role. Diligent training in areas of new skill development are needed before the coach can put you in the game in the final quarter. Not everyone will be a superstar, but skills can be modeled and fostered. Failure leads to success. That's where the collegiality factor comes into play. When teachers help bring each other's skills up together, everyone wins.

Q:  How might the faculty become more of a professional community in which everyone cares about each other and helps each other to grow, learn, and lead together? 
   
A: The professional community of a school is largely determined by the culture and mindset that the administration directs, and desires. Everything speaks. A caring and nurturing community of professionals is immediately apparent to all who visit a school. One way that this is accomplished is on staff development days. Projects are given, and teams are formed. Roles are self-assigned and agreed upon by the rest of the team with the success of the organization in mind. This gives all participants some practice in trying on other roles while they have a visible support system in place. This sort of gradual release is replicated on campus with purposeful short-term and long-term goals.

Parents are invited to volunteer inside of the classroom. When parents have opportunities to work with many different learners they begin to understand that we each bring something special into our "family". Embracing our differences allows us to become stronger from within. All members, are invited to share in the learning experience. This experiences transcends the classroom. Once every Unit of Study we participate in an All Family field trip. Last Unit we went to Legoland and did STEM activities before riding the roller coasters and eating appfel skivers. Getting to know each other personally builds our bond.

Reciprocally, I am invited to recitals, gallery openings, and birthday parties of my students. We are an extended family. We are there for each other, in good times and in the times when we need to reach out. I am most grateful for my school family.

Q:  What kinds of school and parent relationships must be cultivated to enable parents to be included in this emerging community? 

A: There are multiple ways that parents at my school participate with our learning community daily.
I teach at a charter school. The model is a home-school hybrid, so everything that the teacher of record does is focused on individual student growth, and parent partnership. 



Q: How may teaching and learning settings be arranged so they are more like a family?

A: We encourage parent support inside, and outside of the classroom. There are a variety of events on and off of the campus where parents are vital to the success of the programming. Parent volunteering is what breathes life into our school. 
Our annual events include our fund raising gala, Earth Day Art Show, and musical theatre productions to name only a few. All year long our sports programming unites us. I have developed a school-wide integrated art history program that is dependent on parent volunteers to teach it six times throughout the year. I train and model how to teach it, gradually releasing the parents to teach it independently. This allows parents some time to get some practice teaching inside of the classroom using the latest technical tools. The program is internet based, but includes a hands-on art activity as a culminating activity after the lesson. This program has been very successful, and rewarding to the parent-teachers as well as the students. I began volunteering inside of the classroom in similar ways over a decade ago. I discovered such a sense of purpose and belonging that I was motivated to enter a teaching credential program and make it my life's work. Opportunities like these can change lives, ours included.


Q: What are the shared values and commitments that enable the school to become a community of minds? 
   
A: At my school we have a shared value system in place. Our character-building curriculum is based on Quantum Learning’s 8 Keys of Excellence. They are Integrity, Failure Leads To Success, Speak With Good Purpose, This Is It, Commitment, Flexibility, and Balance. These culture points have become our common language. Everything we do, and everything that we do from the top-down illustrates these ideals. The 8 Keys of Excellence have become the “substitute for leadership”, at school and at home.                                                                                                                                                           

Building capacities in all members of an organization or school requires commitment, and it takes time. Resources are widely available to all, yet resistant team mates still seem to believe that it is the responsibility of formal leadership in place to train them. Remaining current in all developments within the teaching profession is a 24/7 mission. When empowerment is cultivated from within the culture of an organization a silent call to action resonates. Teammates who do not see the value in the vision do not have the foresight to anticipate where they can make the most difference. That's when we need to reach out to each other and lift each other to new heights for the greater good. People helping people is are what cultivates change most. 

                                                                                                                              ~Diana Stein, November 27, 2013