Principles+of+EAT+Feb+15+-+26

= Bulletin Board =

= //Monday, February 17// =

Salaries for Administrators
Finish researching and reporting the salaries of elementary, middle and high school principals across the state of Texas. Record your findings on the posted table. What patterns are emerging on the data chart? Discuss with your partner.

May I Ask a Question?
Submit three questions that require more than a "yes" or "no" answer about the role of a principal. These questions will be asked to the panel of principals who visit our classroom. You may ask anything that you are wondering about related to their jobs - hiring teachers, disciplining students, making a campus action plan, involving the community, planning curriculum, continuous improvement, how did they get to be a principal, favorite duties, worst duties, etc.

Use individual index cards to submit your questions. Be sure your name is on the top of each one.

= Merit Pay Should Be Tied to Student Growth? = In pairs, read an interview  with the country's  top education administrator as he discusses what must be done to improve education in this country. Do you agree with him? What does he expect principals to do? Teachers?

= //Tuesday, February 18// =

[[image:Principals.jpeg align="left"]]Principals Must Act Like CEOs
According to Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, principals must use similar skills as the chief executive officers of major corporations. Is he right? With a partner, obtain and read one of the articles related to skills needed to manage a corporation or a school. As you read, identify the skills necessary to be successful. Record them on the strips of paper provided. In a class discussion, report your findings and categorize your skills in the large Venn diagram at the front of the room. Which skills are held in common by the leaders of both business and education institutions?

= //Wednesday, February 19// =

Let's Prepare for our Panel
Prepare your discussion guides for tomorrow's panel discussion. Then, volunteer to be a discussion leader for one or more of the questions that will be asked during the discussion.

Complete the discussion of Principals Must Act Like CEOs.

= //Thursday, February 20// = = Panel of Principals = Question your favorite principals as they share what it is like to be the leader of a campus.

This will be a student led activity with YOU acting as the discussion leaders.

Record your answers to the discussion on the form provided. You will use this information for an upcoming assignment.



= //Friday, February 21// = **Thank You Very Much** Review the panel discussion of yesterday as a group. Discuss the following questions:
 * Which administrator's position was the most interesting to you? Why?
 * Was there anything that surprised you about their roles and responsibilities?
 * Which principal's responsibility was least interesting to you? Why?
 * Are there any questions you still have about a principal's duties?

Let's say thank you to our panel of guests who took time out of their busy days to share information about their jobs.

Each table will be assigned one of the guest principals to thank. Each student will compose a thank you letter using the format provided below. You will have to research some of the information needed by visiting the school website of your principal's campus.

Open the document below. Anything that is highlighted in yellow must be changed. Be sure to save your letter in your Dropbox account so that you can work on it at home.

=//Monday, February 24// = Complete your thank you letter to the principal you were assigned. Be sure to follow the format for a proper thank you letter. Check your letter for spelling and grammar errors before you print. Your letter will make an impression - good or bad - on the principal who receives it. Print, and sign in blue or black ink.


 * Notebook Check - It's that time again. Score your notebook and turn it in for evaluation. The last day for scoring is Thursday. **

= //Tuesday, February 25// =

What is the culture of a School[[image:school culture.jpeg align="right"]]? How do principals influence it?
With your table team, read "What is the Culture of a School?", pp. 124 - 125 in __ Putting It All Together: Education and Training. __



Open the word document above. Discuss the following questions and record your answers on the table.


 * What is meant by the term "school culture"?
 * Why is it important for administrators and teachers to know their own school culture?
 * What are examples of ways that a school's culture can be a positive force for learning?
 * How do administrators work to build a positive school culture?
 * What are examples of ways that a school's culture can be a negative force that interferes with learning? Give examples of incidents that occur at schools nationwide.
 * What responsibilities do school administrators have in addressing negative forces in school culture?
 * What do you consider positive about your own school's culture?
 * What about your school's culture would you like to see improved?

= //Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, February 26, 27, and 28// =
 * Notebook Check - It's that time again. Score your notebook and turn it in for evaluation. The last day for scoring is Thursday. **

If I Were the Principal -
Imagine that you have just been named principal of your high school. How would you run your campus?Write an essay that discusses what you would do as the lead administrator at your campus. You might include some of the following elements:
 * What type of leader would you be?
 * What would would you focus on?
 * What positive mark would you leave on the school?
 * How could you make your campus a successful learning environment for the students?
 * How would you motivate your faculty?
 * How would you involve the community?

Rules for your essay:Title your essay, If I Were the Principal. Place your by line underneath.
 * Follow essay format with an introductory paragraph, a body, and a formal conclusion.
 * Clarify your ideas for the reader by offering examples, testimonials, and anecdotes.
 * Avoid unrealistic ideas (I'd have free ice cream in the cafeteria daily) and degrading your school (Our campus is like a prison, so I would allow all students to go off campus for lunch.)
 * Check the writing mechanics in your essay: spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization.
 * Be consistent in the use of verb tense and person (1st, 2nd, or 3rd).

You will have a completed assignment by the end of the period on Friday, February 28. Do not print until Thursday. You are allowed to work on your essay outside of class, so save your work to Dropbox or a USB drive to access it away from the classroom.


 * Notebook Check - It's that time again. Score your notebook and turn it in for evaluation. The last day for scoring is Thursday. **

= Today is the end of the 4th six weeks grading period! =