Over the course of this past year at Menchaca, I have taken on various leadership roles and
responsibilities. They have spanned the different principal competencies and have been approached as
learning experiences for future campus leadership roles. Through determination, communication,
collaboration, and problem solving, these experiences have been extremely meaningful.
Instructional
Instructionally, I have created and presented professional development over differentiated reading
instruction, particularly in the area of Guided Reading and small groups strategies for grades K-5. This
was chosen as a campus instructional goal due to various classroom visits, campus surveys, and
conversations with teachers. This also sparked my motivation to create a “Peer Observation” sign up
board in the teachers lounge where teachers can write times they would like their fellow educators to
come observe something amazing they are doing in their classrooms. It is flexible, voluntary, and has
been very rewarding to see teachers embrace the idea.
I have also performed informal classroom observations alongside the administration team to learn
the process of TTESS through the lens of a campus leader. Stemming from these walkthroughs, I have
created and started to implement an instructional plan for a specific student who has been struggling most
of his academic career. This plan has included observations of the student in academic and social
contexts, conversations with him, his parents, his teachers, as well as data driven decisions through
district testing cycles and grades to create a more responsive instructional environment for him.
During the summer I guided and helped execute a campus master schedule that includes block
instructional times for classrooms. Due to our campus philosophy of inclusion and high number of
Special Education students enrolled, this is necessary to serve the varying level of need on the campus.
Alongside the campus schedule, I also help daily manage the SPED schedule of teachers and teaching
assistants, while having to keep abreast of the constant changes that occur due to changing IEP hours and
admittance of new students.
I have served at the campus dyslexia designee, handling all core screeners, service tracking in
ECST with goal recommendations to homeroom teachers, dyslexia re-evaluations, and collaborating with
the campus 504 coordinator to create folders for initial testing.
I also co-chaired the campus Science Fair. Responsibilities included creating viewing schedules,
providing teachers with copies, emails communicating timelines and details, collaborating with local
businesses to get materials and tables, coordinating volunteers for judging, presenting awards, relaying
Regional Science Fair information, and event breakdown. It was a meaningful learning experience in
multi-tasking, problem solving, and communication.
Other instructional leadership roles and responsibilities I have taken on are learning walks to
identify areas of strength and areas in need of improvement on the campus. Participating in the Campus
Advisory Committee meetings has also been a valuable role in order to truly listen, interact with various
stakeholders, and make recommendations for the campus.
Climate and Culture
I have served as the Special Education team leader for the past two years. I have guided and
empowered the team to have a voice for students and create better collaborative practices with the general
education teachers as inclusion becomes our main focus. Consistently as a Special Education teacher I
have advocated for better inclusion and co-teaching practices on the campus. Through differentiated
instruction and modeling, I have led the SPED team, TA’s included, in identifying ways our time in
classrooms can be better utilized. Part of this has also included constant communication and feedback
from the general education teachers. Surveys and co-teaching models have been given and explained to
teachers in order to be more effective for our students.
I have attended Restorative Justice training through Region 13 in order to help facilitate different
components of the philosophy on the campus. Teachers have already begun implementing circles in their
classrooms alongside the practices of Responsive Classrooms.
Through identifying the need for more mentors for our campus, I collaborated with the local
church to recruit members to come and help mentor our students. That relationship has been strengthened
with the church through this need. I also participated in the campus beautification day with community
members to clean up the campus, improve the Pre-K playground, build raised garden beds, and build a
chicken coop.
Various other events that I have led, organized, and/or facilitated are the scheduling of a Bowie
Theater performance for the campus, ballots and voting for Teacher of the Year Award, recruiting of
vendors for the campus Spring carnival, morning assembly, Donuts with a Loved One, Curriculum Night,
and Math and Science night.
Systems and Personnel
I have been trained as a TELPAS verifier and attended the TELPAS CTC training alongside my
AP in order to be her assistant in the process. Verifying writing samples for grades 2-5 and learning the
TELPAS system was extremely beneficial for future leadership roles.
Organizing benchmarks in reading, writing, math, and science for grades 3-5 included creating a
Google spreadsheet to organize small groups for SPED and 504 students, communicating with testing
administrators, teachers, and organizing accommodations for students as needed. The same has also
started to happen this year for STAAR as I will help the CTC with any questions regarding paperwork,
accommodations, or student needs.
Decision Making and Problem Solving
Although every facet of leadership activity requires some level of problem solving, prioritizing,
and multitasking, there a couple of areas I have engaged in that specifically fit within this leadership
competency. One is having participated in interviews for openings in special education. For this, I also
prepared the questions to be asked during the interview and provided them for the panel in the interview.
Although technically part of my current role as a Special Education teacher, facilitating ARDs
requires a lot of leadership skill. By facilitating these meetings, I continuously problem solve paperwork
and concerns from parents, create individualized instructional plans for struggling students, communicate
with various stakeholders (LSSP, related service personnel, parents, advocates, administration, general
education teachers, etc.), hold crucial conversations with the committee, rely on support from the various
members in the SPED department, and build positive relationships with aforementioned constituents.
Campus Safety and Procedures
This year, I have ran bus dismissal after school. This requires efficiency and safety and making
sure all students are accounted for. Many times, there are small issues that arise and must be handled
quickly and competently. This has required fast thinking and problem solving on my part.
I have also assisted in fire drill procedures with checking off classrooms and making sure all
students, teachers, and personnel are accounted for.
As AISD currently works on the major bond they are proposing for modernization and rebuilding
of campus facilities, I have attended FABPAC meetings downtown and relayed the information back to
the administrative team as well as the staff. Part of this was drafting a letter for my Principal to send home
to parents and community constituents about the importance of the process for our specific campus.