My+Leadership+Journey

The following was originally published August 30, 2011 at []

My explanation of transfer theory is being able to take experiences from one area and effectively use them in another area. This would include positive and negative experiences. You would continue to use positive experiences, but it is even more important to make adjustments on poor decisions or experiences and not make the same mistakes twice. I definitely agree with the program requirement of having at least one year of leadership experience before beginning the superintendent certification program. A leadership role at the campus level begins to prepare you on a very small level for what lies ahead as a superintendent. Without a prior leadership role, you would have no frame of reference of the scenarios that we will be discussing throughout this program. I would like to give a few examples of how I have used transfer theory throughout my educational career. As a head baseball coach for 7 years, I was able to use my experiences dealing with a budget, booster club, and organizational skills to effectively transition into my administrative position. Without my experiences, I would have really struggled at the beginning of my administrative career. My first administrative position was an assistant principal at a large 5A high school. I had a few areas where I held a leadership position. I was the ISS Coordinator, administrator in charge of drug testing, and administrator in charge of security at athletic events. I just thought I was busy during that two year span! When I became a principal the next year, I was able to effectively run an entire campus because of my experiences as an assistant principal and being in charge of a few areas. Without that prior knowledge or experience, I would have had nothing to transfer forward, and I would have been in a ton of trouble.

The following was originally published August 24, 2011 at []

I think educational leaders can use blogs in several different ways. One that jumps out at me is a communication tool with my parents. Just a weekly entry of upcoming events would be beneficial. You could also use a blog for staff communication. We obviously send emails daily, but the blog would allow all of the information that you send out to your staff to be stored in one place. How many times have you resent information to a teacher who couldn't find the email? Blogging makes it simple and convenient for everyone.