Trynne Fleming

Competency Reflections

Administrative Internship II

Each of the competencies listed were taken from Elaine Wilmore's Passing the Principal TExES Exam
(2013).
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.

My experiences have shown me that a clear vision is necessary in order to shape the campus' culture.
This vision must not be the principal's alone, but communication among stakeholders is required to see
the vision to fruition. Collaboration and delegation allows the principal to gain buy-in by others.
Seeking input of others can help to clarify, improve, and increase the development of the desired goals,
missions, and vision.

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.

Coordinating the French Spelling Bee provided opportunities to engage with community members to
acquire the resources need to host the event. I was able to communicate with members of the French
government in order to coordinate judges, vocabulary, and support to host subsequent Spelling Bees.
The French Embassy is eager to promote the study of French language and culture. The Spelling Bee
was only successful because I had support of other faculty members and administrators on campus.
My role as the coordinator shed light on how important it is for a principal to reach out to others for
support, otherwise it is easy to become overwhelmed. Students admitted that by participating in the
Spelling Bee they feel more confident about their ability to master the language. Listening, writing,
and speaking of the language improved, as did vocabulary. Obtaining the needed resources was a team
effort, all to the benefit of not only the contestants, but to other students who were present to observe.
Competency 3: The principal knows how to act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical and legal
manner.

There were several instances of in which I was able to observe the significance of the principal acting
within the law and with integrity. As there has been much press pertaining to students not receiving
proper credits needed for graduation, sitting in meetings hearing the details of how our school
maintains student records was revealing. Another example which stands out is when an emergency
situation occurred near the school's campus, although I was scheduled to shadow an administrator, due
to the severity of the situation, I was able to ascertain the processes when dealing with legal matters. As
the judge of the French Spelling Bee I had to ensure I was fair when dealing with contestant's
pronunciations, and understanding of the rules. Making the right decision may not always be the most
popular, but is necessary in order to maintain a sense of fairness and to remain ethical. The principal is
a leader and a role model. Actions taken by the principal or any other leader must be aligned with high
moral standards.

Trynne Fleming

Competency Reflections

Administrative Internship II

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

As a member of the district's vertical alignment team, I have had opportunity to write the curriculum
for French, as well as to help with the revision of the Spanish language curriculum. The French
Spelling Bee is a great example of how a principal would align the curriculum with instruction,
resources, and assessment. The vocabulary students learned and used in the Bee was taken from what
is taught in the classroom. The Spelling Bee serves as a form of assessment as well.
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.

As the coordinator of the first ever French Spelling Bee in the school district, I was the chief at
championing the cause. The event underwrites the campus plan for preparing students for higher
education as per the requirements of House Bill 5s college readiness aspect. Not only did the event
have in its structure the intellectual growth of students but, prepared students by giving a platform to
practice speaking in public. Hosting the event introduced me to some aspects of event planning and
staff coordination previously unknown to me. Seeing the project through from an idea to completion
brought a sense of personal accomplishment as well.
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

I was invited to observe campus meetings of the principal with his administrative team. In one such
meeting, the topic of TINAs was discussed. Being present in the meeting afforded me the opportunity
to observe how principals work to support and improves staff performance. Since student achievement
is a priority, principals must complete teacher observations regularly in order to gauge how both
instruction and student performance. If there no alignment, then steps must be taken to assist the
teacher, usually through staff development, peer-support, etc. Protocol must be followed when a
faculty member has instruction not aligned to goals for student achievement prior to any negative
consequences.
Competency 7: The principal knows how to apply organizational, decision-making, and problemsolving skills to ensure an effective learning environment.

A principal is a constant decision maker. During this internship this semester, I consistently saw the
administrative team resolving problems relating to varying aspects of the learning environment.
Whether it was determining attendance incentives to try to improve attendance rate, or managing
student conflicts, it was as if every moment of the day, decisions relating the schools operation were
constant. Even small things like when to have a fire drill, based on the campus scheduled events
cannot be overlooked.

Trynne Fleming

Competency Reflections

Administrative Internship II

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 the sponsor of the French Club and French Symposium, I am responsible for maintaining the
budget for those student organizations. Fundraisers are developed which requires ensuring deposits
are made in a timely basis with the proper paperwork. In addition to the student organizations, this
semester I was able to see how after school hour deposits are handled as well. Strict guidelines
dictate the collection of monies on campus. Also when it came to ordering supplies for the Spelling
Bee, I had to ensure the vendors were on the districts approved vendor list, request invoices and
purchase orders to ensure the resources were available when needed.
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.

Student safety and effective learning are priority in any school campus. Again hosting the Spelling Bee
was a perfect project for me as it allowed me to see so much of what a principal may face. Airconditioning, school security personnel, etc.; the principal is responsible for the coordination and
management of the school facility. Custodial staff availability, the school nurse, is the personnel who
assist with schools safety. A principal must know events occurring on campus, and know who to
contact when needed; be for a broken window pane, door, a spill etc. A principal must ensure a wellfunctioning school, both academically and facility-wise.