Dr. Stacey Perez-Carrasco

Organizational and Instructional Leadership (CAPE 16, 17, 18)

 

As a school site leader, it is important to guide teachers through self-improvement, classroom management, data collection, and intentional communication strategies. A leader must be possess the knowledge and be able to implement best practices. Theories of education and improvement efforts take time, data, and the strength of leading others. Collecting community data is one aspect of leadership that is often done behind the scenes, to identify groups and subgroups, that are used in the Local Control Accountability Plan.

 

In Administration 530: Leadership III: School Improvement and Professional Learning this evidence was collected for Classical Academy High School. As the organizational leader for three charter LCAP reports, I have attended many trainings, trained site leaders, and submitted the past three years to the Board of Directors. The coursework in multiple classes directly aligned and supported my growth and ability to analyze the State Dashboard, LCAP funding and goals, as well as overall organizational leadership. Training other leaders and overseeing implementation of a state mandated process is invaluable for myself, as well as the organization. The funding and goal setting that is part of the LCAP will help underserved students with additional resources and progress towards college and career readiness.

 

In order to gain understanding of the school’s systems, Administration 520 opened up the opportunity to assess the needs of the school. It is important to gather data, identify diversity, and evaluate the vision and goals of the school systems. Interviewing site leaders is a great method of obtaining information, such as the governing board, staffing, population of students, and the community around the school. These are tools that can be valuable to help manage the variety of systems that help promote teaching and learning. This information can also help discover who is involved in the operational side of each school site and how the departments are led and supported. The school needs assessment is an ongoing process that helps identify who we are serving and the multiple roles that mesh to aid in student achievement.

 

Another integral part of leadership is developing, implementing, and monitoring the schools budget. In Administration 521, a school budget development assignment helped inform and guide the site leadership task of financial responsibility. Starting with the revenue, state funding, and grants, a leader must propose enrollment numbers to start the process of the annual budget. Currently, Classical Academy Online has reached capacity with student enrollment due to the size of the building. Upon inception, four years ago, a 12,000 square foot building appeared to be more than enough space to expand. However, the capacity to serve students has evolved into more collaborative and shared space in the current building. Expenses, including staffing and instructional materials, are highly important factors to consider for the budget process. As an online program, there are limited funds necessary for purchasing textbooks and supplies. Therefore, budgeting for instruction deviates from a traditional school. In addition, Classical Academy Online has been accepted as a Summit Learning School and all content and online access is fully funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation. Fiscal updates and constant revisions are necessary to maintain a balanced budget and control rising costs that impact education. School budget and funding are necessary to maintain and operate a safe and successful place for students to get an education and support.

 

Implementation of California School Law was the most interesting part of the Masters of Administration program because it provided me insight into many facets of leadership decision making. In Administration 522, the comprehensive school safety plan gave me the opportunity to work with the Director of School Safety and Security to ensure that we have an up to date and accurate plan for emergencies.

 

Organizational and Systems Leadership (CAPE 16,17,18)

 

CAPE 16: Understanding and Managing the Complex Interaction of All of the

School’s Systems to Promote Teaching and Learning

ADMIN 520

Evidence: Assessing the needs of the school

 

CAPE 17: Developing, Implementing, and Monitoring and Monitoring the School’s

Budget

ADMIN 521

Evidence: School Budget Development Paper

 

CAPE 18: Implementing California School Laws, Guidelines, and Other Relevant

Federal, State, and Local Requirements and Regulations

ADMIN 522

Evidence: Comprehensive Safety School Plan