Hi nola!
If this school is into the Covey method of doing thing, then the main
thing to remember is that all of your planning has to "BEGIN WITH THE
END IN MIND."
Here on the Covey site (scroll way down the page) are the 7-Habits
laid out for you.
http://www.franklincovey.com/training/business/7h_workshop.html
As you can see, it's a global planning method that takes a more
long-range vision of planning than the usual method of putting things
on a calendar as they arise. I would recommend, if you don't have
time to go out and get the Covey book, at least read through their
website. (Just so you are aware, I have read it)
The key to strategic planning on this level (and I'm speaking as a
project manager here), is to start at the end. What these folks are
looking for (I'm inferring from your question) is reassurance that you
understand their vision (long-term goals) and that you can lay out a
plan, both in the long-term and in the immediate, keep your priorities
straight, and work toward that vision while maintaining your daily
duties.
The 4 levels are:
-- VISION
-- STRATEGIC PLAN
-- WORK PLAN
-- DAY-TO-DAY TIME MANAGEMENT
Your personal work calendar would have to reflect management of all of
these in a prioritizing manner.
So here's an example --
VISION: To establish a comprehensive safety plan for the school
Set an end-goal and Time frame: say 6 months
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Calendar would reflect time-frames to achieve key milestones -
example:
By 30 days have an Office Check-in System in place
By 90 days have a Student ID program in place
WORK PLAN:
All of the specific steps to achieve those milestones - example
Set up Safety Committee to develop list of safety measures
Identify vendors for Student ID's
DAY-TO-DAY TIME MANAGEMENT
Here it is critical to show that, along with the day-to-day
fire-fighting that every principal has to contend with, that you are
allowing space in your schedule to keep on top of these long-range
projects. Items like "Meet with Safety Committee" would be put into
the calendar in advance and other things that come up would be planned
around them.
Of course, any commercial day-planner system, such as Franklin / Covey
could be used to do all of this. Unfortunately, these proprietary
systems are tightly controlled so you can't just bring up a copy on
the internet without paying. There online version is here, but appears
to be off-the air temporarily:
http://www.franklinplanner.com/
Of course you can buy them at any office supply store, but that
shouldn't be necessary for a job interview.
If you use Microsoft Outlook, you can use their calendar. It's
comprehensive and would allow you to lay out a sample for your
interview. I have looked over a number of free online day-planners,
but nothing looks all that useful.
I don't use a day-planner system myself, but maybe another researcher
wouldn't mind commenting on any they might have experience with.
*********************
OTHER USEFUL LINKS
Professional Assistance
Personal Support: Our "Hot Line" service is an indispensable aide to
today's harried educational leaders. We provide one-to-one support for
senior leaders who need help and need it now."
http://www.makingstandardswork.com/leader_strat.htm
Improvement plans should include short- and long-term improvement
strategies, how and when changes will be made, who is responsible for
implementation, the criteria by which progress will be monitored and
evaluated, and how progress will be reported to parents and to the
public.
http://www.eqao.com/eqao/home_page/09e/9_6e.html
"School-Based Management: Changing Roles for Principals
As more and more school districts across the United States implement
school-based management, principals increasingly are finding
themselves in schools that have the power to make decisions about how
money should be spent at the school site, what the staff mix should be
and what should be taught in classrooms and how.
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/SER/SchBasedMgmt/roles.html
Useful Chart on the multi-roles of a principal
://www.google.ca/search?q=cache:yefwQ2sUdxEC:www.uis.edu/teachereducation/accredit/Files/Principal.doc+School+Strategies+Plans+for+Principals&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Sample Safety Plan
http://ideanet.doe.state.in.us/publications/schsafetyplan.html
Misc:
http://www.lofti.sdbor.edu/workplans_index.cfm
http://www.nsdc.org/library/tools/tools12-00rich.html
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CPRE/fb2sbm.html
************************
The Covey method (and other similar global planning strategies)
emphasizes that any long-term commitment you involve your school in,
must become internalized as part of your day-to-day life. (For
example, Safety is not addressed only during Safety Week but every
minute of every day). This commitment to vision should be reflected in
your calendar.
In closing, I want to reiterate, that the critical issue in developing
a calendar is that you can show how you would schedule yourself to
continuously be working towards long-term (big-picture) goals while
still maintaining your day-to-day commitments.
I hope what I've said; along with the links I've provided has helped
you to prepare for your interview.
Please let me know if anything I've said isn't clear. Good luck in
your interview!
-- K~
Search Terms:
Covey "seven habits"
"day-planner" online
And variations on:
"School administrator" work plans
"School administrator" strategic plan
"school principal" calendar
Education "work plan" |
