Competency 1: The principal knows how to shape campus

culture by facilitating the development, articulation,

implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is
shared and supported by the school community.
For this competency, I had the unique opportunity to see my
principal trying to move our school in a new direction; after taking
a leadership course, she thinks that our staff is ready to assume
new risks and is trying to write a proposal that potentially would
allow our school to have more freedom in terms of students
evaluations, enriched curriculum with lessons focused on problem-
based learning, and character development.
I took an on-line course about character education and I have
learned that in order to achieve this goal, the school must share a
common vision and buy in of all stakeholders. It is still too early to
know if this project will come to fruition, but the process has been
a great learning experience. I understand now that in order to
evolve a shared vision, recognizing human talents and finding the
correct placement (either grade level or position) is a critical
component for students success.
Competency 2: The principal knows how to communicate
and collaborate with all members of the school community,
respond to diverse interests and needs, and mobilize
resources to promote student success.
For this competency I was able to reach out to the
community by getting grants and donations in order to
support the school goal of college awareness. With the
money we were able to take 40 girls to Austin where they
learned about Engineering careers.
I have also seen my principal managing conflict in various
ways. I believe thats one of hers leadership strengths as
she has a great rapport with parents, district, community
and of course her staff. Being a principal is a juggling
act, I see the importance of never assume words and/or
actions and always take the time to communicate.
Competency 3: The principal knows how to act with
integrity, fairness, and in an ethical and legal manner.
For this competency I got to see determination meeting
action; we had an RTI case which was being painfully
slow causing stress and frustration to the teachers, the
diagnostician, Special Ed teacher, and Assistant principal.
The AP voiced her concerned and explained with facts
and evidence why waiting wasnt the best for that
particular student and that the district needed to make a
change. This was a good example of a school leader being
a great advocate for teachers and students.

Competency 4: The principal knows how to facilitate the
design and implementation of curricula and strategic plans
that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment of
curriculum, instruction, resources, and assessment; and
promote the use of varied assessments to measure student
performance.
Given the nature of my role (interdisciplinary coach) this
competency is my strongest one. I think that knowing
how to implement curricula is a critical asset to have as a
leader of learning. School administrators need to
recognize good instruction and good planning when they
see it and how to help teachers and teams to
continuously grow in their practice.
My experience in this competency was the creation and
implementation of the reading intervention plan for 5
th

grade needed for the Student Success Initiative (SSI) for
the students not meeting the passing standard on the
STAAR test. Data was an important component to
differentiate instruction and make small groups according
to students needs. The second administration of STAAR
will be in mid May and I feel confident that more
students will pass the test.
Competency 5: The principal knows how to advocate,
nurture, and sustain an instructional program and a campus
culture that are conducive to student learning and staff
professional growth.
My school is an early adopter campus for a district
initiative that seeks to flip the conventional classroom by
making the students the owners of their own learning.
This was a great experience and also a hard one, as it
required for teachers to get out of their comfort zone
and look for opportunities of intentional and specific
changes.
I also implemented the Seed to Plate program to
promote better eating habits and help our students to
make better choices at home and school.
Competency 6: The principal knows how to implement a
staff evaluation and development system to improve the
performance of all staff members, select and implement
appropriate models for supervision and staff development,
and apply the legal requirements for personnel
management.
This year I took several coaching trainings and the tools I
got have allowed me to work with teachers not only on
areas of need, but also how generate more bright
spots. I have learned that we all have a different
approach when it comes to completing projects and the
importance of understanding how to work with different
collaboration styles.
Competency 7: The principal knows how to apply
organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills
to ensure an effective learning environment.
For this competency I had to coordinate several events:
science/math night, special presentations, field trips and
Saturday camps, and help with testing. I learned the
importance of delegation, communication and never to
assume anything.
For science night, each team had the freedom to choose
an activity to present and I was in charge of providing
materials and working area. I also had to coordinate
vendors, payments and schedules. An evaluation of this
event was the great turnout we had.
Competency 8: The principal knows how to apply principles
of effective leadership and management in relation to
campus budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial
management, and technology use.
As a member of the CIT, I have been part of the budget
planning and deciding how to allocate funds according to
our campus needs. Also as a recipient of several grants I
have been learning how to manage activity funds. Even
though this money is not coming form the school budget,
there are a set of strict guidelines.
Competency 9: The principal knows how to apply principles
of leadership and management to the campus physical plant
and support systems to ensure a safe and effective learning
environment.
For this competency I have had the experience of
managing the science lab and all the safety involved
around it; I need to make sure to keep an up-to-date
inventory of all the substances in the lab, I also have
potentially hazardous materials locked away. The
cabinets have labels for easy identification of contents.
For the Seed to Plate materials (cooking and gardening
class) I also keep the sharp objects locked away.
I also work with administration applying the crisis
management plan currently in place.