I was asked recently to share my thoughts on what student achievement meant to me and how an elementary principal contributes to student achievement. What interesting and powerful questions. These questions are both huge and could be the topic of a thesis! I had about 10 minutes to present my thoughts.
So, I thought I would share my thoughts here.
The position of elementary principal can be a powerful one – both positive or negative. A principal really shapes the culture of learning in a school. Go into any school that is thriving and full of excitement around learning, and I believe you will find a principal with that same enthusiasm and excitement. Likewise can be said for the opposite school as well. Being a principal is a very important role and must been seen as such and not taken on lightly.
Here is my powerpoint (and, as funny as it might seem, this is the first powerpoint I have ever created! – Although, I did create my first Keynote presentation on my iPad here):
Next, I was asked to talk about what constitutes student achievement to me. Wow! That’s a big question that, again, could take a thesis to answer. For me, student achievement isn’t about the “test”, it isn’t about “scores”, and it isn’t about “grades”. To me, student achievement is about the whole child learning. It’s about each child moving forward in some way, challenging themselves to achieve their potential (or, better yet, beyond). In an effort to mix it up a bit and truly demonstrate who I am, I created a video to answer the question about what constitutes student achievement to me. Take a look:
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I’d love to hear your views on student achievement: the role of the principal and what constitutes student achievement to you.
It's All About Learning 