EDLD5333 Reflection

As I approached this course, I was hoping to glean practical applications that I could use as a student support services administrator at a community college. Unfortunately, the course was geared toward K-12 prospective principals; however, I have become more familiar with the procedures, processes, and practices of my K-12 colleagues. This new knowledge will facilitate discussions and solutions for K-12 partnerships that include dual credit, at-risk recovery and remediation, as well as college bound programming. I feel more confident in reviewing the K-12 data and providing college oriented programming to help K-12 achieve goals and objectives included in their campus improvement plans.

Like K-12, community colleges are undergoing a cycle of continuous improvement. We also face unprecedented challenges in preparing students for the demands of the future workplace (Wiliam, 2007, p. 36). As a student affairs administrator, I need to ensure that students are challenged in the classroom and not our processes. Together, my staff and I need to identify student barriers in our processes and develop solutions that facilitate the successful navigation of those barriers while complying with state and federal standards and benchmarks. By allowing frontline personnel to be involved in the continuous improvement cycle, college administrators can harness the talent of all stakeholders and their unique perspectives (Marino, 2007, p. 10).

While I do not have the platform to implement the action plan developed in week four (4), I will leverage the strategies, tools, and resources gleaned from this course to lead faculty and staff, as well as students and parents in the school improvement process.

References

Marino, J. (2007). A new paradigm for organizational chane: Infovlving Customers and stakeholders in the improvement process. The Journal for Quality & Participation, 30(1), 10-12.

William, D. (2007-2008). Changing classroom practice. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 36-41.

Heritage, M. (2007). Formative assessment: What do teachers need to know and do? Phi Delta Kappan, 89, 140-145.