MS Principal interview

Question 1

What Instructional Innovations are responsive to young adolescent characteristics?

Answer 1

Integrated Curriculum
Hands on Activities
Projects
Planning with Students
Cooperative Learning
Less Dependence on Textbooks

Question 2

How would you, in one sentence, describe the vision for your school? How do you currently support that vision as a leader? What would be your process for developing the vision of your new school? Who would you involve and how?
How would you describe an ideal [elementary] school? What steps would you take to move the staff in that direction?

Answer 2

A school that strives to implement school structures harmonious with the developmental characteristics of young adolescents, has a shared leadership team steering the school, a shared vision of learning that they work to implement in the classroom.

Plan: Identify successes and challenges. Start to address some challenges. Do a book study around The Successful Middle School: This We Believe, have a community event to build a shared vision for learning, develop a prioritized action plan

Question 3

How have you dealt with challenges, and what are some ways you have resolved them?

Answer 3

Listening, getting input,
try to establish “root cause,”
set standards or work with existing standards,
remaining calm,
reflecting
Head of school issues
Involving critic with the design team

Question 4

How do you build effective relationships with families and the community?

Answer 4

ABCs

Address concerns
Be visible and accessible
Build trust
Build buy-in through Shared leadership
Communicate regularly
Celebrate accomplishments
Seek input

Question 5

On what criteria do you judge your success as a principal?

Answer 5

That staff and students believe I listen, that I care, that I’m fair and consistent, that I’m sincere, that I’m competent, and that I’m supportive

Question 6

How do you handle working with a teacher whose instruction is weak?

Answer 6

Need to know what success looks like
Positive Pressure and Support
Set expectations: Create with staff a set of shared standards (MS book study and shard vision for learning/teaching expectations).
Supervise for those expectations
Provide support for meeting those expectations
Coach mode instead of eval mode - Coaching cycle - what does the teacher want to work on?
Reflect on successes and challenges around meeting the shared teaching expectations

Question 7

What questions do you have for us?

Answer 7

What’s the biggest struggle this school is facing, and how could the new principal help solve it?

What do staff and families see as points of pride in the school

How would you describe the current school culture, and are there any specific areas where you’d like to see improvement?

Can I clarify any of my answers or give additional insight to anything I’ve said so far?

Question 8

What would you do if a parent was angry about their child’s grade?

Answer 8

Start by listening. Try to determine what action they’d like. Talk with teacher and student. Review grading policy and the grades or piece of work. Bring my decision to the family (if they are looking for anything more than to be listened to.)

Question 9

What is your approach to student discipline?

Answer 9

Focus first on proactive approaches
Creating trust and positive student/teacher relationships
Setting clear positive behavior expectations and teaching and reteaching those expectations
Engaging and meaningful learning activities

Then focus on reactive approaches
Focus on positive behavior
Provide clear guidelines
Consistently enforce consequences
Restorative practices
Involve parents

Question 10

Tell us something about you that is not on your resume.

Answer 10

I’m married to the 2017 Maine Teacher of the Year

Question 11

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
What has been your greatest contribution to the schools you have worked in?

Answer 11

Could be:
Being part of MLTI
Helping lead the first 1to1 iPads in primary grades
Bringing shared leadership teams to our work in Auburn
Being president of AMLE
My book on leadership for school change

But this is the one: The partial success of the Buffalo school

Question 12

What are the three most critical things you would do in a school to accelerate school growth and ensure that every child is learning?

Answer 12

Have us explore the instructional innovations that are responsive the developmental characteristics of young adolescents.

Shared vision for learning

Have us think deeply about the differences between student motivation and student compliance and implications for our classrooms.

Work on student/teacher trust and relationships

Question 13

How would you go about supporting curriculum and staff development with a small building budget and little monetary support from the district level?

Answer 13

Create a shared vision for learning - from which we could create a set of teaching expectations.
Leverage our workshop days and staff meetings to focus on improving our implementation of those teaching expectations.
Leverage our in-house expertise and experimentation and learn from each other. (Describe Auburn’s workshop days).

Question 14

How do you set about building good relationships with staff and parents?

Answer 14

ABCs

Address concerns
Build Trust
Be visible and accessible
Build By-in with Shared Leadership
Communicate regularly
Celebrate accomplishments
Seek input

Question 15

How do you hold teachers to high expectations, while also allowing room for ​growth and educated risks?
How do you motivate and encourage staff?

Answer 15

Start by building trust - show that I care, am consistent and fair, sincere and competent.

Work to build shared set of standards (MS book study, shared vision for learning)

Positive Pressure and Support

Celebrate Successes

Question 16

Outline the role that parents should play in the school?

Answer 16

Communicate with teachers and staff
Advocate for their child
Support homework and academic progress
Foster a love of learning
Be involved in school activities
Provide emotional support

Question 17

If you were to be selected as the principal, what are 3 specific areas where you will need support as a new principal in order to be successful and effective?

Answer 17

Refresher on Marzano and iObservation - used in Auburn, but was a while ago

Some professional learning around Restorative Justice Practices - done reading and workshops, but haven’t put it into practice

Mentoring and Emotional Support (inc Orientation & Onboarding)- principal role is new to me even though many of the leadership pieces are not, Clarity around school and district norms, routines, and expectations

Question 18

Think about the concerns about what books are in the library and the incidents of racist comments in the fall, or gender affirming issue

Answer 18

Books, etc. - what does the learning resource challenge policy say
When it comes to kids, though, it has to be about ensuring that they feel safe. Feeling safe is one of the most important precursors to learning. Have we created an environment where all our students feel safe, so they can learn.

Question 19

There are many pretty good schools at all levels. ​What makes a school excellent? What makes a middle school excellent?

Answer 19

Teachers are familiar with the developmental characteristics of young adolescents and strive to have positive professional relationships with students, create engaging and meaningful learning experiences for students and strive to implement structures that are harmonious with those developmental needs, such as teaming, interdisciplinary learning, common planning time, advisory, block schedule, teachers looking, exploratory learning, etc.

Question 20

We want XX MS to feel safe and inclusive for ALL students. What factors and/or strategies should we consider to make that happen?

Answer 20

Encourage positive behavior

Foster a culture of respect - Resources at the National Center for Safe Supportive Learning Environments

Provide support

Create a welcoming environment

Listen to student concerns

Question 21

What are your strengths/passions? In what areas are you ready to lead?
What are the most critical inputs you can bring to this school?
What are your major strengths as a principal?

Answer 21

A quality middle grades program, meaningful engaged learning, shared leadership

My strengths and passions lie in creating learning experiences that work for all kinds of students, middle grades education, and shared leadership. I have lots of experience in leading in all three of these areas, and I’m ready to bring them to your school.

Question 22

What experience have you had with budget allocations and expenditures for the building?

Answer 22

Managed PT3 and MLTI,
MeANS developed budgets,
SAD44 - 3 budget lines, one of which supports multiple items - created spreadsheet

Question 23

What school organizational structures are responsive to young adolescent characteristics?

Answer 23

Teaming
Common Planning Time
Teachers Looping
Advisory
Exploratory
Block Scheduling

Question 24

Describe a time when you made a decision that upset many people. How did it turn out?

Answer 24

Buffalo program

Question 25

What qualities (both academic and personal) do you look for in a good teacher?

Answer 25

Teacher self efficacy - the belief that they can do things that impact student outcomes
Reflection - think back on continuous improvement on what things to do to impact student outcomes
Positive student teacher relationships
Positive classroom management
Looks to create engaging learning experiences

Question 26

Why do you want to be a school principal? Why middle school in general, and specifically why XXX Middle School?

Answer 26

I have a long-standing commitment to middle level education. Focus of my doctoral work. Served on MAMLE board (president). Served on AMLE Research Advisory Board, Board, President. Worked with school across Maine and the country to implement strong middle level practices - Calcasieu Parish for 15 years, shared vision of learning in Cheyanne WY and Leonard Middle school, Keynote MAMLE this past year. Want to serve the students and staff of a school I’m affiliated with, rather that other people’s schools.

Why Spruce Mountain - I’d like to be able to bring my skills at MLE and shared leadership to a school I’m affiliated with. Carrie did a lot to bring good middle level practices to SMMS (don’t know about Kris). SMMS has a reputation of having good student-teacher relationships and ML teaming structures, so think I can help the school continue to improve how it reaches middle grades students. Of course being my local middle school would be a bonus.

Question 27

Please describe the decision making process we might see in your school and who would be involved in decision making?

Answer 27

Right off the bat, let me start by saying that decisions for which would be defined by policy, law, or safety issues will be decided swiftly and decisively.

Aside from that, for the most part, I believe in shared decision making. Involving students, teachers, and others in either voice, vote, or veto, depending on the type of decision to be made.

For ongoing operational decisions, I’d like to have a school leadership team, with representation from all the academic teams to help review key issues as they arrive and make collaborative decisions around how to proceed.

For specific initiatives, I’d like to have a design team of diverse stakeholders who will roll up their sleeves and on the design and implementation of the initiative. (Where I’ve done this)

In general, I’d like to have a set of shared standards by which we could all make decisions and judge our work based on both shared vision for the middle school based on a staff book study of The Successful Middle School - This we Believe, and a shared vision for learning developed collaboratively with families and the community (describe process and where I’ve done this). We’d use these to shape decisions we make individually or as a group.

Question 28

What would I do about a special education student who….?

Answer 28

Prioritize safety
Understand the student’s disability
Create a behavior plan
Implement accommodations
Communicate with parents
Seek outside resources

Question 29

What is an emerging issue in education that will impact your role as a building leader? How will you prepare yourself to meet this issue?

Answer 29

The first is student discipline because of being isolated and independent during the pandemic. But I really believe that that will take care of itself as student return to structured learning environments for the next couple years.

I think the larger long-term issue to address is finding out how to better reach, engage and motivate all learners,

especially those with diverse aspirations, or those with great challenges like housing insecurity, food insecurity, economic insecurity, or those simply seemingly unmotivated and hard to teach.

We have to start by spending some time thinking deeply about the difference between student motivation and student compliance.

Question 30

How do you build a positive school culture or climate? What would you implement at this campus to continue success?

Answer 30

Assess where the culture is - USDE has pretty good culture surveys with normed results data

Build trust - I care, that I’m consistent and fair, that I’m sincere and I’m competent.

Build buy-in - shared leadership and decision making helps build buy-in from diverse stakeholders.

Focus on emotional and physical safety and respect - this is a safe and caring place for everyone - Resources at the National Center for Safe Supportive Learning Environments

Seek input and address concerns

Question 31

What would you do if there were racist comments made in the community that impacted the student body?

Answer 31

Speak out against racism
Educate the community
Provide support to affected students
Enforce disciplinary action
Create a diversity committee
National Center for Safe and Supportive Learning Environments

Question 32

What do you think is most important to campus safety?

Answer 32

School culture - Student/teacher relationships - building trust and respect - welcoming environment = National Center for Safe Supportive Learning Environments

A strong safety plan that gets regularly reviewed and updated and is implemented with fidelity.

Practice and drills for emergency procedures

Question 33

How would you deal with conflict between two staff members or staff member and parent?

Answer 33

Listen to both parties
Work to remain neutral
Gather information
Identify common ground
Encourage communication
Take action

For example: HoS and Director of founding organization
Talked with both about perceived issues
Discrepancies between actions and statements from HoS
Started having regular meeting between both board chairs, the director, and HoS on neutral ground
Worked to find common ground and collaboratively decided on actions
Made some progress, but HoS behavior (and deception) spiraled and HoS moved on

Question 34

Can you explain a mistake you have made in the past and how you addressed it?

Answer 34

“Mistakes are proof that you’re trying” - when did I try, but made a mistake, then improved everything…

Definition of an Expert - someone who has made all possible mistakes

Lunch on a workshop day
We were an outside educational management group with a contract to create a school for overaged underachievers in Buffalo.
The context is that the environment was a bit hostile with lots of folks, in the school and in the district wanting to go back to the old “warehouse” approach where they don’t have to worry about much other than warehousing the kids and teachers the other schools didn’t want.
Sent out schedule for workshop day with professional learning in the project-based, career academy program we were striving to implement - we had included providing lunch to the staff
Union leaders got quite angry and told us we can’t require them to come to lunch.
I went around and talked with each of the building union leaders (Buffalo has many unions) - got their perspective, but was able to share that our intention was to do something nice.
We sent out an apology to the staff explaining that we were trying to be nice by providing lunch, but now understand that staff can and should choose for themselves if they come or not.
In the end, most everyone joined us for lunch that day.

Question 35

What is the role of the Principal in Restorative Practices?

Answer 35

• Create a Vision for the Work
• The “Why?”
• Changing mindsets
• Provide ongoing and sustained professional learning
• Initial training
• Model restorative practices

Question 36

What are Restorative Practices Goals?

Answer 36

• Foster understanding of the impact of behavior
• Repair harm
• Attending to needs (of those around you when you messed up)
• Resolve conflict, hold individuals and groups accountable - consequences - avoiding shaming & embarrassment & discomfort (focus on “what’s next?”)
• Active involvement

Question 37

What are some Affective Questions to Help Those Affected?

Answer 37

• What did you think when you realized what had happened?
• What impact has this had on you and others?
• What has been the hardest thing for you
• What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

Question 38

What are some Affective Questions when Challenging Behavior?

Answer 38

• What happened? (Not - what did you do - take deed away from the doer)
• What were you thinking at the time?
• What have you thought about since?
• Who has been affected by what you have done?
• In what way have they been affected?
• What do you think you need to do to make things right?

Question 39

National Board 5 Core practices

Answer 39

1. TEACHERS ARE COMMITTED TO STUDENTS AND THEIR LEARNING.
2. TEACHERS KNOW THE SUBJECTS THEY TEACH AND HOW TO TEACH THOSE SUBJECTS TO STUDENTS.
3. TEACHERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING AND MONITORING STUDENT LEARNING.
4. TEACHERS THINK SYSTEMATICALLY ABOUT THEIR PRACTICE AND LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE.
5. TEACHERS ARE MEMBERS OF LEARNING COMMUNITIES.

Question 40

What would you do to help us with out attendance problems?

Answer 40

I would start by finding out what we are already doing about attendance (and possibly what other Schs in district are doing).

I’d examine our data to better understand our situation and to learn more about our data tools

I’d become familiar with (or implement) automatic family communications around absence and potentially chronic absence

Depending on what we’re already doing, I’d see what programs/resources are available - like MDOE, Attendance Works, Every Student Present, Ect.

When I can confirm that immediate interventions in place, I’d focus on systemic issues, like safe/caring environment, bullying, engaging learning activities, family engagement, etc.