Dr. Victoria Pettis

Summer Cohort 2006

EOCS 7450

Practicum in Leadership 

Shadowing Field Notes, Part 2

 

Pamela Teep, CHS Associate Principal

 

Date: April 9, 2007           Time: 12:00 Noon To 3:25 p.m.    Duration: 3 Hrs. 25  Min.

 

                             

Notes

(Descriptive, non-evaluative)

 

12 Noon – I arrive in T’s office by I am told by Scheduler B that she is still in an administrators’ meeting. I talk with B for a few minutes and then ask if waiting in T’s office is permissible.

 

12:15 T enters and apologizes for being late and explains that her administrators’ meeting ran late.

 

A big part of their meeting: Administrators are looking for a program for its juniors and seniors. Looking at showing video of Summer Hill High School to possibly 600 students. Would have to divide students into small groups and have teacher facilitate. Each teacher would have to preview video. Thinking about showing this through social studies. Problem: She and other assistant principals might be at hearings on that day.

 

T asks me about my shadowing experience with R. I tell her about kid with possible dislocated shoulder who we took to the hospital. She reacts with her mouth open.

 

12:22 She tells me my shadowing experience today might include a pregnant student who has been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. She has had these false labor pains twice before – one time was outside her office; the other time was in the food court. Both times occurred within the last two weeks. She feels the girl needs counseling. She does have a DFACS casework. This is a very sad case.

 

We continue our discussion of D, the child with the dislocated. She expresses her concern about the liability of transporting the child in R’s car. We talk about the liabilities when children are hurt at school. We also talk about dealing with irate parents.

 

12:35 The telephone interrupts our conversation.

 

T mentions something about a “disturbing email” and that “He isn’t in our 5th period.” Finally, she says, “He’s going to go off.”

 

12:36 – Scheduler B enters doorway. Tells T she has some course registration questions. Asks her advice on registering for Spanish and her suspicions on the thinking of 8th graders when they registered the way they did.

 

T: It’s worth a phone call (to middle school counselor).

 

B: That’s a great idea.

 

12:40 B gets ready to leave but comes back to get forms. Sits down with T.

 

B proposes an idea to T: Rather than call all students down, call them to M*** Auditorium and tell them it’s their last chance or we’ll make your schedule for you. What do you think?

 

T: Too many kids. Let’s do a run-on.

 

T and B tell me: All of CMS’s 9th grade course registration forms came out perfectly except for two. With those two, they registered for classes we don’t offer.

 

I suggest perhaps its students who plan on attending the other high school.

 

12:44 B leaves. T is listening to a voice-mail.

 

12:45 B comes in and leaves. She comes in with course registration forms and reads out the names of the two students. Asks me if I know them. I tell her no.

 

The bell rings. Classes are changing. T is typing.

 

I ask T: Do you have lunch duty?

 

T: I do. We have to go up in just a minute.

She continues reading emails. Keeps saying repeatedly as she is reading one email, “Oh, no.”

 

Walkie-talkie is on low. Talking is unintelligible.

 

T: Oh! (Then she sighs.)

 

12:48 T says to me: DH sent me information on a student I just withdrew. He’s being booked on multiple charges. I’m not surprised.

 

Walkie-talkie: Mrs. Teep, are you able to see **?

 

T; Yes. Is he in P.E.?

 

No answer.

 

T answers telephone: I do.

 

12:51 T on telephone: I wouldn’t give him that benefit. (She laughs.) Is he supposed to be out of the weight room? (Waits for an answer.)

 

12:52 T: Hmm. All right, thanks. Bye.

 

Visibly angry student enters and sits. B enters.

 

School Resource Office M enters. She comes over and greets and hugs me.

 

12:53 B leaves. SRO M leaves.

 

Student G attempts to explain the circumstances that led to a coach writing him up. Says he was pushed into the bleachers and has a cut on his back.

 

12:55 T asks him to show her where he is cut on his back. He comes behind her desk and lifts up his shirt. T puts a band-aid on the cut. T asks G why was he in an unauthorized area. G explains.

 

T is writing something on the discipline referral. Asks G: What did I tell you last time about chronic misbehavior? She defines it as significant incident.

 

G asks: Do you think it’s just me?

 

T: I don’t know other students. The coach is concerned that you or other students will get hurt because you play around too much. He’s (been) trying to work with you.

 

T tells G that it could be dangerous in the weight room.

 

G: Yes, m’am.

 

T advises G to stay focused and take care of business. She says she hardly ever gets a write-up from Coach S because he tries to work with students.

 

G is still trying to explain situation. Says this time he got water without permission but he’s done it before.

 

T makes a diagram of gym, water fountain, and weight room and explains there’s a flaw in G’s story: He is not where he is supposed to be. Says he will spend one day in in-school suspension.

 

G responds angrily to write-up: That’s bull crap! I’ve already missed 8 days in Ms. M’s class!

 

T: I don’t want to hear that kind of language. I’ll send you to Ms. G to clean off the wound.

 

1:03—1:05 G leaves. T calls Ms. G to clean off the wound. Said she already placed a band-aid on the area. Instructs Ms. G not to send him back to class. Send him to cafeteria where she will be on duty. He can sit with her.

 

1:05 She locks up her office and we walk to food court (cafeteria).

 

1:12 T is getting her plate. I sit at the “supervision table” with several teachers, School Resource Office B, and office support staff. There are a lot of hugs and kisses. People ask me: When are you returning to us? I explain not now. Several have finished their lunches and leave to make room for T and me.

 

1:13 T sits down beside me with her plate of fries, butter beans, and chocolate pudding. G arrives and pulls up a chair next to T.

 

1:15 T asks me have I started interviewing for jobs yet. I answer, yes.

 

1:16 G and T start a conversation about about G’s brother as T eats her lunch.

 

1:24 G asks me if I know R and P. I tell him R is my husband and P is like part of our family. We discuss fish and what type of seafood he likes to eat.

 

I ask T about division of lunch duties among administrators.

 

T reveals that she supervises this lunch, which is second lunch. J supervises 1st; C does 3rd. She explains it is not unusual for the administrators to have attachments (students) with them during their lunch duty.

 

I say to G: You’ll be sore today.

 

G: I’ll be alright.

 

1:28 – Kids are leaving to go to next class.

 

G tells me how church really saved his life. He was a drug dealer. He would have been in jail or dead.

 

1:30 Students start to come into the food court. Several male students make comments to G about him snitching. G jokes with them.

 

1:32 R remarks that she is hanging around because she hasn’t seen any security yet. She tells me that 3rd lunch – the one that is about to begin – is the most challenging. Administrators have had weeks where all of them had to be in here on duty.

 

1:33 T beckons girl to come over to table. Asks her a question.

 

T says to girl who is passing by: Stop glaring. Girl smiles and walks off.

 

We talk about dress crazes such as: students bringing to school blankets, wearing pajamas, leggings with too short skirts, etc. One student even wore a white body suit to school. T told her she had to call home to get some clothes.

 

1:37 T takes purse off table and says since nobody’s claimed it, she’ll have to look inside it so she find out the owner and return it.

 

1:39 As we get up to leave, we greet J, an administrator I worked with when I was here. T tells him I am shadowing her. School Resource Officer D greets us all and tell me he knows my husband and his wife works for us

 

1:42 We walk out of the food court and I greet Teacher J in the hallway that I know. He asks if I am returning. I say no. T informs me he is retiring.

 

I greet Secretary W and hug her. She makes a joke about hearing some news about me.

 

We keep walking.

 

1:45 We stop at a classroom where T returns the purse to the owner.

 

I ask T if she regrets that her office is in the basement.

 

T responds: Yes and no. No, because she is away from the craziness of the main floor. Yes, because she doesn’t have enough space to house students who come to see her.

 

1:48 We return to T’s office.

 

1:49 B stands in the doorway. She says her suspicions about course registration for Spanish are confirmed.

 

1:50 T is typing on her computer.

 

Walkie-talkie: Trying to locate a student.

 

T asks me: Can you believe the amount of traffic on the radio. She suggests giving everyone a radio just to see what administrators have to listen to.

 

1:53 Walkie-talkie: What’s your 20?

 

T: I’m in my office, 10-4.

 

T answers phone. Tells caller she brought purse to owner and stood in classroom doorway for a proper “thank-you” from the owner.

 

I ask her if there is etiquette I need to be aware of in using a walkie-talkie.

 

T responds: Be careful about using names and context. Be aware of the loudness of radio. It disrupts classes and annoys teachers. Be careful not to talk over each other. You must talk in pieces.

 

1:55 Phone rings. She gives name to caller.

 

T continues: Sometimes we get silly on the radio. We’ve had a few occasions where administrators were in the restroom.

 

T tells me that the following people carry walkie-talkies: administrators, security, custodians, PE teachers and instructional lead teacher. Counselors and cafeteria staff do not have them, which has been problematic at times.

 

T informs me that there are some codes on the walkie-talkies that she has had to learn: 10-10 means a fight; What’s your 20 means Where are you?; and I need to 25 with you means I need to meet with you face-to-face.

 

I ask T about the use of the radio when she’s talking with parents. What do you do?

 

T tells me when she is part of a parent/teacher conference, she turns the radio down.

 

T: Radios are great but not 100%.

 

T says she has had some situations when all administrators had to have their radios off, such as today during their meeting. They had to watch a video.

 

2:05 T is talking to herself as she answers emails. Students are dismissed to go to their next class.

 

T on phone: Dr. R, do you have PO? Send her to my office.

 

2:07 T says to me: I didn’t realize classes had changed.

 

2:08 Student C enters and talks to T about she is checking out. C says she is sick but doesn’t want to get in trouble about the number of days missed.  T asks her name and teacher’s name and promises her she will contact teacher. Student leaves.

 

T resumes typing.

 

2:10 T calls another teacher’s room and asks for PO. Asks that PO be sent to her office.

 

T tells me: PO is not in trouble. PO left T a note asking her for an appointment.

 

I mention to T that I know PO’s mother, who is a teacher at a local middle school.

 

T walks from her office into office next door occupied by Scheduler B and ILT B.

 

Two colleagues wave at me through the blinds of T’s office. I step out of office to speak with them.

 

2:16 – I return to T’s office. She is back at her computer. She is talking with PO about her course registration form.

 

2:19 PO leaves. ILT B stands in the doorway. Asks T who MR is.

 

T is on phone: Tells caller she needs to talk to student so send him to her office.

 

ILT B repeats question: Do you know who MR is?

 

ILT B asks me same question.

 

I answer: No.

 

2:22 ILT B leaves. Female student enters T’s office and sits down.

 

T proposed to student a plan of how she can earn credit for a course. Repeats plan. Student agrees to it.

 

T is on her computer.

 

2:25 T prints out something for the student. Writes on it and gives it to student, who then leaves.

 

2:26 PO returns and tells T information to put on course registration form. T informs her she cannot register her for Youth Apprenticeship without Mrs. S’s signature and that she will have to talk to Mrs. S.

 

T talks to me about several things she is dealing with: Algebra III teacher who has too many students failing; writing test scores; and 1st semester failures.

 

2:31 T is on the phone: Talking to caller about vacation caller took to Disney World. Talks to caller about not having access to certain pieces of information in Campus.

 

Caller talks T through finding attendance. The find out attendance is wrong and that it needs to be fixed.

 

2:38 End of conversation

 

T talks about how administrators have restrictions in Campus. They cannot change attendance.

 

T tells me all of things she has worked on since 7:30 this morning: incompletes, registration, discipline, zero and 5th period, administrative team meeting, reset a hearing, and failing seniors.

 

T vents her frustration of placing students from foreign countries (especially those who speak no English) into high school classes. Transcripts make it hard to find equivalents to American courses. Tells story of a 21-year-old student from a country in Africa who transcript included such courses as basket weaving. T believes Georgia Department of Education should set up centers around the state to take care of such students. Regular high schools are ill-equipped to take care of such matters. As the situation is now, she has to treat them like 9th graders.

 

2:49 T is reading message. Talk to me about a parent we know whose child is at my school.

 

2:55 T returns to work on the computer. She informs me her adult son, who is a teacher, is moving from 7th grade math to 6th. Talks about her other son, who does not make good life decisions.

 

3:07 T walks to B’s office. She is talking to someone on the speaker phone. Reports situation about registration and technology glitch.

 

The caller and T are talking back and forth. Caller is telling T how to solve problem and apologizes. Caller tells T that she’ll call her as soon as she finds the answer.

 

T is talking to B.

 

As T returns to her desk, she tells me: 9th grade’s done. We’ll get through. We’ll have to pull another all-nighter.

 

T tells me: In another week or so, she’ll put a report and plug in core courses.

 

3:15 T gets up and goes back to B’s office

 

Returns and chitchats.

 

3:35 I leave.

 

***End of shadow experience*****

 

 

Reflections

(Insights, questions)

 

Administrators’ schedules are subject to change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not so sure this was the right thing to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder: Does she normally talk to herself this much or is she posturing for me?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listen.

 

 

 

 

Ask questions.

 

 

 

 

 

You must follow through on promises made.

 

 

 

 

 

Most students respond to rationale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Educators must be consistent in their expectations and consequences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hold students accountable.

 

 

 

 

Compassion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Administrators must eat healthy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You never know how students know you.

 

 

 

 

Lunch duty is a part of administration. You can’t escape it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We CAN save some kids from danger. Sometimes we need help from other sources. It takes a village to raise a child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be conscious of your surroundings. Pay attention!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is referring to my acceptance of an assistant principal. I pretend I am ignorant and don’t answer her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder: What my office looks like?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is incredible in my observation of all three administrators.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great mini-lesson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know they expect you not to answer in this case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common sense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students respond to reason and kindness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t know this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This parent can be overbearing, but I can understand where she’s coming from since I am a parent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know who had a busier day: T or R?