Ashley Lovett Rosenberg

Shadowing Experience

For many years, I was a teacher. I taught English as a New Language (ENL) to primary

students. My students hailed from all over the globe and spoke upwards of 25 languages; they

were fascinating and sensational. I put in innumerable hours and a seemingly immeasurable

amount of effort to help my students succeed. However, I wanted to do more. Last July, my

opportunity to do more and make change came; I am now the District Administrator for ENL and

World Languages. Administrators and the district put their faith in my work ethic and hired me

with my administrative certification pending. The past few months have been a colossal period

of growth, progress, and learning for me, and I’m so privileged to have had the opportunity to

learn from those around me.

I am officially shadowing the District Administrator for Secondary Instruction and

Curriculum, Mrs. Jeanne Kozlowsky. I chose to shadow Jeanne as my new role has me in five

buildings, across all grade levels. My teaching experience was elementary; I needed guidance

and direction in secondary curriculum and protocols. Jeanne has been so accommodating and

supportive in helping me learn the role of an administrator at the secondary level. For example,

she has met with me to review the expectations for scheduling midterms and proctoring

protocols, something with which I’ve have no experience. Jeanne has been my go-to

administrator for secondary matters. With this being said, I have been asking for help from

virtually every administrator in the district; it is my belief that collaboration is the key to

effective communication and optimum productivity within the district.

 Jeanne and I began co-observing teachers within my departments together. As I received

evaluative training through the district in September, many of our ratings were the same. Where

Jeanne helped me the most was in my pre- and post-observation conferences. Our district has a

set of standard questions for each of these meetings, but I didn’t want to merely rattle of

questions from a list. Jeanne advised me to use teachers’ goals and observations from last year to

guide my questioning. For example, if a teacher received a “Developing” rating in one of the

Danielson domains, I may ask how he/she will strive to be effective in this area for our

observation. Teachers responded very well to the individualized questioning, and I began to hold

pre- and post-conferences in this way even at the elementary level.

Jeanne advised me to collaborate with other administrators as well, as ENL students, for

whom I’m responsible, are in each department. I attended many meetings and collaborated often.

To date, I have attended districtwide data meetings to ensure appropriate state reporting to Title

III, met with registration teams to help screen and place new entrants within the district, co-

observed lessons with curriculum directors, and collaborated with Special Education

administrators to ensure best practices for ELLs with Disabilities. I maintain my belief that

collaboration is the key to success and growth, however I’ve found it very difficult to break into

the “clique” of administrators, specifically at the secondary level. Between the high school and

the middle school, we have two principals, five associate principals, four district administrators,

and six curriculum associates. Of these seventeen professionals, eleven are men. Many times,

when committees are formed or impromptu decisions are made, the male administrators confer

with one another; very rarely am I, or my female counterparts, called to offer our opinion. I’ve

heard in the past that administration can be a “boys’ club,” however I don’t think I was prepared
for the verity of that claim. However, I try my best to voice my opinion as often as I can;

additionally, I often work independently, making changes within my own departments.

Jeanne and I have met often regarding the independent administrative activities I’ve

completed. I plan and run three separate monthly department meetings: one for elementary ENL,

one for secondary ENL, and one for World Languages. I’ve chaired a collegial circle for ENL

teachers, “Creating Culturally Empathetic and Globally Relevant Lessons.” I’ve compiled

necessary resources onto an online shared drive for all ENL and World Languages teachers. I’ve

met with consultants and colleagues to better the programs within my departments. I feel better

once I rehash what I’ve done with Jeanne, however I find working independently and learning by

making mistakes is what’s most meaningful about taking on a new position. I am happy to put in

effort to plan something exciting for a department meeting, only to have it fail; it allows me to

hone my administrative practices for years to come. Additionally, once I review these “hiccups”

with Jeanne, she is able to provide me with suggestions for improving.

Overall, the shadowing process has been teaching me so much. Whether I learn from my

cooperating administrator, other administrators, or from my own mistakes, I feel confident that

I’m growing in my new position. I look forward to continuing to learn after this internship is

over. I have always valued my positions in education, whether I’ve acted as a teacher or as an

administrator. However I think the best position in education is to be a learner, and I plan to

continue to learn for the remainder of my administrative career.