Standard Six: EXTERNAL DEVELOPMENT LEADERSHIP
A school executive will design structures and processes that result in community engagement, support, and ownership. Acknowledging that schools no longer reflect but in fact build community, the leader proactively creates with staff opportunities for parents, community and business representatives to participate as "stockholders" in the school such that continued investments of resources and good will are not left to chance.
A. Parent and Community Involvement and Outreach
One of the many things that makes Fuller great is the surrounding community has a true partnership with the school. St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, a located a block from the school, has a community outreach committee that assists and fulfills Fuller's needs whenever possible. I met with Reverend Taylor and the committee members at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year about how to remain connected to the church community as the surrounding neighborhood experiencing crisis from the ongoing pandemic. We settled on a temporary solution, school supply donations for the school, since district policy prohibited visitors. The church allowed the school's Family/Community Engagement Committee to host a materials distribution in their parking lot for families who could not attend the one on the school's campus.
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Fuller's active Parent Teacher Association (PTA) provides a formal structure for families to positively influence the school's success and make significant decisions. The PTA board holds monthly meetings discussing fundraising efforts, upcoming school and PTA-sponsored events, community outreach, assisting classroom teachers, and various ways to celebrate Fuller staff and students. I attended the PTA board meetings to understand the direction the PTA sought to go while ensuring alignment to the school vision and values.
This school year, the PTA partnered with the Family/Community Engagement Committee to host a family night in the Fall focused on preparing students to be successful in a virtual learning environment, and a family night in the Spring preparing fifth-graders and their families for middle school. The PTA also provided classroom grants to teachers and sponsored a paint night for Fuller families that had 100 participants. |
B. Federal, State and District Mandates
As a school leader, I will serve as the Local Educational Authority (LEA) representative during Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings. I participated in a training, provided by the school district, explaining the roles and responsibilities of the LEA. The training also provided compliance and resource information, as well as various steps the LEA should take when tasked to facilitate an IEP meeting. For practical training, I attended various IEP meetings throughout the school year, observing the three different case managers and two school administrators facilitate the meetings. I have practiced taking minutes and learned how to ask specific questions always with the best interest of the student in mind.
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As part of NCSU course requirement, I engaged in a school law course outlining how the law has evolved over time and its impact. I analyzed the 2017 case Endrew (Drew) F. v. Douglas County, which clarifies a "free appropriate public education” (FAPE) provided to eligible children under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). States receive federal funds to assist in educating children with disabilities. States must comply with certain statutory requirements, such as FAPE, and provide every eligible child a uniquely tailored "individualized education program” (IEP).
As a school administrator, I will serve on numerous IEP teams determining appropriate goals and objectives for students to progress toward their grade-level standards. The Endrew ruling outlined the importance for school personnel to seek meaningful parent input when creating an IEP and to continue to collaborate as the child progresses. When facilitating an IEP meeting, I must ensure the IEP team acknowledges the teachers' and parents' goals and assist with identifying appropriate solutions. |
During the 2020-21 school year, I collaborated with Fuller administration to ensure the school's newly created health and safety protocols aligned to the constantly changing district policies. Once created, we socialized all stakeholders to the newly implemented protocols during staff meetings on campus or during Return-to-Campus meetings for families and students. All school staff, students, and families acknowledged receiving and adhering to the new health and safety protocols. School administrators sought feedback from staff on policies created in-house and made changes when necessary.
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