Florida Educational Leadership Standard 3: Managing the Learning Environment
Florida Educational Leadership Standards
Standard 3: Managing the Learning Environment
Standard 3: Managing the Learning Environment – High Performing Leaders manage the
organization, facilities, and resources in ways that maximize the use of resources in an
instructional organization and promote a safe, efficient, legal, and effective learning
environment.
Knowledge
I have the knowledge and understanding of:
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Theories and models of organizations and the principles of organizational development
Operational procedures at the school and district level
Principles and issues relating to school safety and security
Human resources management and development
Principles and issues relating to fiscal operations of school management
Principles and issues relating to school facilities and use of space
Legal issues impacting school operations
Current technologies that support management functions
Dispositions
I believe in, value and am committed to:
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Making management decisions to enhance learning and teaching
Taking risks to improve schools
Trusting people and their judgments
Accepting responsibility
High-quality standards, expectations, and performances
Involving stakeholders in management process
A safe environment
Skills
Throughout my internship experience and coursework at FGCU I have learned and evidenced
through integrated essays and artifacts the following list. As an administrator I will facilitate
processes and engage in activities ensuring that:
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Florida Educational Leadership Standard 3: Managing the Learning Environment
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Knowledge of learning, teaching, and student development is used to inform
management decisions
Operational procedures are designed and managed to maximize opportunities for
successful learning
Emerging trends are recognized , studied, and applied as appropriate
Operational plans and procedures to achieve the vision and goals of the school are in
place
Collective bargaining and other contractual agreements related to the school are
effectively managed
The school plant, equipment, and support systems operate safely, efficiently, and
effectively
Time is managed to maximize attainment of organizational goals
Potential problems and opportunities are identified
Problems are confronted and resolved in a timely manner
Financial, human, and material resources are aligned to the goals of schools
The school acts entrepreneurially to support continuous improvement
Organizational systems are regularly monitored and modified as needed
Stakeholders are involved in decisions affecting schools
Responsibility is shared to maximize ownership and accountability
Effective problem-framing and problem-solving skills are used
Effective conflict resolutions kills are used
Effective group-process and consensus-building skills are used
Effective communication skills are used
There is effective use of technology to manage school operations
Fiscal resources of the school are managed responsibly, efficiently, and effectively
A safe, clean, and aesthetically pleasing school environment is created and maintained
Human resource functions support the attainment of school goals
Confidentiality and privacy of school records are maintained
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 3: Managing the Learning Environment
Organizational culture refers to the behavior norms, assumptions and beliefs of an
organization. It’s the “way we do things around here”. At the helm of the organization is the
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school leader. The school leader acts in ways that promote a certain organizational culture, as
well as climate which is how the culture is perceived by those in the organization.
Organizational climate stems from an overlapping and interaction of four key organizational
factors; ecology, organization, culture, and milieu. Everyone involved in the school community
experiences this interaction, which leads to the perceptions of individuals being molded by
these experiences. Each of these components are levers for change that are available to the
school leaders who seek change in school climate. Because of the way these systems interact, a
change in one area will result in a change in the others. Managing the learning environment
becomes a critical component of creating and upholding a positive student focused
organizational climate (Owens & Valesky, 2007).
Theory is systematically organized knowledge thought to explain observed phenomena.
Theory enables us to systematically think about an organization and its nature. We can use
theory to describe what is going on, explain it, predict future events, and come up with ways to
exercise control over events (Owens & Valesky, 2007).
There are two major perspective theories on educational organizations. The classical
view of organizational theory is the bureaucratic perspective, where an organization functions
mechanically with top-down authority enforcing a set of prescribed rules. The alternative
perspective is often referred to as “human resources development”. In human resource
development the individual is considered, and their thinking emphasized as a means of
involving their commitment, their abilities, and their energies in achieving the goals of the
organization. Members have a personal investment in the organization as the values and goals
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 3: Managing the Learning Environment
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of the organization are shared amongst the group. The culture of the organization clearly
depicts the organizations core values, beliefs, and true goals (Owens & Valesky, 2007).
In the course Organizational Development, I was part of a team that developed a
proposition for a school district that was in need of change. The organization was struggling
and had been functioning under bureaucratic principles for some time. Our goal was to write a
plan of action for this school district. Our team utilized the Reinventing Education Change
Toolkit, a website based on the work of Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter created by
IBM to aid education professionals and leading and implementing effective change in their
organizations (IBM, 2002). The principles of implementing change as shared on this website,
led us to develop a Site-based management system for this school district. The problem-based
learning project, leads the school district through the change process.
Artifact 3-1 Change
Proposition for School District.doc
is the
project itself.
In studying the models of organizational theory I learned some things about myself and my
own beliefs as a leader. I believe in the theory of Human Relations, while accepting that some
situations will better call for an alternative approach. I am a proponent of true collaboration.
When people feel valued and respected as contributing members of a team, I believe they
exhibit traits that a Theory Y leader believes in. People will view work as satisfying, exercise
initiative and self direction, accept responsibility and seek it, and will have the ability to make
good decisions. As a leader, this means my behavior toward others in our school will need to
be one which involves high levels of trust and respect. With this I am optimistic that mutual
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respect and trust will develop, opening the door for effective collaboration towards our
mutually shared objectives. With this formed relationship between school community
members and work ethic, a commitment to organizational goals is heightened. This allows for
group members, particularly the leader, to be demanding, explicit, and realistic, without group
resentment, but instead a shared sense of dedication to realizing our organizational goals. To
read more about my beliefs on organizational theory see
Artifact 3-2
Organzational Theory Beliefs.docx
, a reflective activity
from the course Organizational Development.
Making management decisions is a key component of managing the learning environment.
Decisions made by the school administrator must be made on the basis of enhancing learning
and teaching. The school environment is fast-paced, requiring timely responses to change in
the daily events while at the same time managing the greater issues in which outcomes of
possible alternative solutions are not always available. There are many decisions made in the
day to day workings of a school administrator that demand quick attention without needless
discussion. Speed and efficiency in decision making for some choices is useful, as there is
always much to be done in order to meet an organization’s goals. However, healthy
organizations involve the stakeholders in the decision making process. Empowering people to
participate in important decisions is highly motivating, and it also makes available an
opportunity to receive the knowledge and ideas of those who may be best qualified to provide
input. Trusting in the judgment of the members of the school organization increases the
human resources available to the organization as the members are motivated and invested in
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the goals of the organization. This brings the organization up to a level of high-quality
standards, expectations, and performance (Owens & Valesky, 2007).
For the school principal, management is a dimension of leadership. Management
responsibilities are not glorified, the success of a school principal will not be based on how
much business is accomplished. However, these managerial responsibilities are critical to the
school climate as organization (structure) and ecology are two of the four overlapping and
interacting key organizational factors that build school climate (Owens & Valesky, 2007).
The school principal is primarily responsible for the managerial functions of the budget,
physical plant, resources, safety, hiring of teachers, and supervision of instruction. Principals
must keep accurate records, complete forms and coordinate human, material, and space
resources in order to run an effective school (Florida Department of Education, 2006).
To effectively provide resources for teaching and learning the school principal must have an
understanding of school governance, school funding, centralization and decentralization,
district level resourcing, school level resourcing, and providing human resources (FLDOE, 2006).
In Florida public schools are governed by local school boards established in each county,
under general oversight from the State Board of Education. The State Board is identified as the
chief policymaking and coordinating body of public education under Florida Statute. The
Commissioner of education oversees the Florida Department of Education, which is the
administrative agency responsible for providing professional leadership and guidance to school
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 3: Managing the Learning Environment
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boards in carrying out the policies established by the legislature, State Board, and the
Commissioner (Beckham & Raiford, 2003).
The local school board is the governing body for each of Florida’s school districts. General
powers of the local school board include determining policies and programs to efficiently
operate and improve the district school system and to adopt rules, adopt standards, and
perform duties and exercise responsibilities consistent with the powers assigned to the board
by law, by rules of the State Board of Education, and the Commissioner of Education. The
school district superintendent is either elected or appointed by the school board. The general
responsibilities of the superintendent involve exercising general oversight over the district
school system and working with the school board as an advisor and counsel on all educational
matters (Beckham & Raiford, 2003).
As part of my introduction to the study of administration, in the course Principals of
Educational Leadership, I attended a local school board meeting in which I was able to observe
firsthand the dynamics of the education system. The following
Artifact 3-3 School
Board Meeting.docx
is an account
of this observation.
The school principal is the formal leader at the school site and reports to the
superintendent. The principal is the administrative and instructional leader, responsible for the
performance of all school personnel. All Florida principals must ethically and effectively apply
the personnel assessment system approved by the board and also be accountable for all school
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reports being processed accurately and in a timely manner. Florida law also requires principals
to be responsible for proper administration and account of internal funds, school safety, and
other statutory duties. Local district may adopt rules and policies specifying administrative
responsibilities in relation to instructional leadership, authority over personnel, administration
of discipline, and the development of the school improvement plan (Beckham & Raiford, 2003).
All public schools in Florida are also required to have a school advisory council (SAC). SAC
members represent teachers, education support personnel, parents, and students. The SAC
assists in the preparation and evaluation of the school improvement plan as well as in the
preparation of the school’s annual budget (Beckham & Raiford, 2003).
Goals of the school district determine how resources are allocated. When all parties
support the same initiative the best use of resources occurs. Resourcing refers to materials,
equipment, space, time, and access to expertise or staff. Districts allocation formulas vary, but
typically incorporate student criteria such as grade level, special needs type, and program type
(FLDOE, 2006).
A school district budget is a numerical translation of the educational program of a district.
The budget takes the educational needs that a community decides to support, and puts it into a
financial plan. School districts must justify the expenditure of public funds, as the budget it a
legal document once approved by the school board. This provides a means to evaluate the
fiscal performance of a school district (Valesky, 2008).
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 3: Managing the Learning Environment
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There are many methods of budgeting, and when working with a school district and schools
those methods are can be grouped into categories of good vs. bad. High-quality methods of
budgeting include functional, continuous, participatory, and decentralized budgets. Poor
methods of budgeting for school districts include mechanical, yearly, administrator dominated,
and centralized (Valesky, 2008).
There are three main components of school budgets. The educational program is the
foundation of the budget. From there is the expenditures, the amount of finance needed to
care out the educational program. Finally revenues, the raising of a sufficient amount of money
to meet the expenditure needs (Valesky, 2008).
There are four major steps in budget preparation. The first step is the planning of who is
involved, how programs will be determined and approved, guidelines to follow, deadlines,
estimated costs, etc. The second step is development of the budget, determining the
educational programs and cost estimates. Effective organizations will run this as a bottom up
procedure, where school sites submit budget requests which are then put together by the
central office. The budget is modified to insure that expenditures do not exceed revenues by
reducing expenditures or increasing revenues. The superintendent them submits the budget
recommendation to the school board for approval. Implementation of the budget is the third
step. The budget is administered and the expenditures and revenues are monitored through
accounting. Finally, evaluation of the budgeting process is the fourth step. The budget is
analyzed to see that it is meeting the needs of the district (Valesky, 2008).
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As part of my educational leadership practicum, I participated in a budget meeting at
Osceola Elementary School. In this meeting the principal and office manger reviewed the
proposed school budget for 2009-2010 based on the funding allocations from the district.
Included in the report was the projected FTE translated into dollar amounts. The budget is then
broken down into grade level, related arts program, media, custodial, guidance, Positive
Behavior Support, ESE/Speech/Reading Coach, ELL, transportation, and administrative
allocations. This report was paired with a checklist for submitting the 2010 budget plan, from
the school district office of management and budget. This was prepared by the office manager
in which the proper function and object codes were reported. Both reports can be viewed here
Artifact 3-4 Budget
Planning.docx
.
As an assignment for the educational leadership course School Finance, I comprised a
fictional budget for Osceola Elementary School which was based on state base funding
allocations and school FTE counts. This project-based learning activity breaks down the budget
into salaries/benefits, purchased services, materials/supplies, capital outlay, other expenses,
and indirect costs.
Artifact 3-5 PBL
Activity.xls
Florida schools are financed through the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP). The
FEFP is designed to provide equalized funding to guarantee to each student the availability of
programs and services appropriate to his or her educational needs that are substantially equal
to those available to any similar student. The FEFP formula recognizes: (1) varying local
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property tax bases; (2) varying education program costs; (3) varying costs of living; and (4)
varying costs for equivalent educational programs due to sparsity and dispersion of the student
population. The FEFP bases its financial support for education upon the individual student
participating in a particular educational program rather than on the number of teachers or
classrooms. The FEFP is generated by multiplying the number of full time equivalent students
(FTE) in each of the funded education programs by cost factors to obtain weighted FTE
students. That number is then multiplied by a base student allocation and by a district cost
differential to determine the base funding from state and local FEFP funds. Supplemental
Academic Instruction Allocation and Exceptional Student Education Guaranteed Allocation are
two major allocations within the FEFP that are an addition to the base funding allocation
(Florida Department of Education, 2009).
In the course School Finance, I completed a course module in which I took the student FTE
data from my current school of employ and calculated the FEFP funding that would apply. This
can be view as
Artifact 3-6 FEFP
Module.xlsx
.
A final element in operational procedures that is a responsibility of the school administrator
is safety and security. Feeling safe at school is a right of students and staff. In order to support
excellence within the learning environment, students and staff must feel safe as they engage in
their educational responsibilities. Five key safety initiatives that administrators needs to
address in schools are violence prevention and intervention, school standards, site safety
checks, monitoring and supervision of students, and crisis plans. Developing procedures and
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strategies for dealing with various crises may eliminate a great deal of unforeseen effects that
may happen in a crisis. Proper training and execution of such plans is a necessity, as students
and staff must be able to act on the protocols when necessary. Networking with essential
community contacts such as the local law enforcement and fire marshal is also a priority
(FLDOE, 2006).
The organization and ecology subsystems of an organization are dynamically interactive
within the organization. They are key components in the foundation of school climate. An
effective school organization must have the components secure and stable in order to allow for
the ultimate purpose of schooling, student learning.
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 3: Managing the Learning Environment
References
Beckham, J.C. & Raiford, S.A. (2003). The Florida school administrator’s legal guide. Bulverde,
TX: Omni Publishers, Inc.
Florida Department of Education. (2009). 2008-2009 Funding for Florida school districts:
Statistical report. http://www.fldoe.org/fefp/pdf/fefpdist.pdf
Florida Department of Education. (2006). Florida school leaders: The William Cecil Golden
school leadership development program. https://www.floridaschoolleaders.org/
IBM. (2002). Change toolkit. http://www.reinventingeducation.org
Owens, R.G. & Valesky, T.C. (2007). Organizational behavior in education: Adaptive leadership
and school reform (9th ed). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Valesky, T. C. (2008). Budgeting [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
http://elearning.fgcu.edu/section/default.asp?id=200801-10870
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