Question 1:
What personal characteristics define an excellent administrator?
I wrote:
An excellent administrator knows how to build and support a solid team of dedicated educators.
An excellent administrator is one who unites a group of teachers to support a common goal: student learning.
An excellent administrator knows how to collaborate and work with a group of highly diversified parents, faculty, staff, and students.
An excellent administrator builds solid rapport with teachers, thus allowing her to give constructive feedback and engage in formal and informal discussions of teaching and learning without hesitation or resistance.
An excellent administrator has an open-door policy.
An excellent administrator maintains a level-head in heated situations.
An excellent administrator is constantly seeking to learn more about the art and science of teaching and is always looking for ways to improve his craft.
An excellent administrator visits classrooms daily.
An excellent administrator is in classrooms more than his office.
An excellent administrator knows every teacher's professional strengths and weaknesses.
An excellent administrator models the passion and dedication it takes to be an excellent teacher.
An excellent administrator models effective teaching practices.
An excellent administrator has one focus: student success.
Question 2:
From your point of view, how important is technology in education? What technology-related skills can you contribute to a school district?
I wrote:
It is the job of the classroom teacher to model proficient skills in the use of technology. Gone are the days of going to "Computer Class" in elementary school to learn isolated computer skills. The fact is the students we work with are digital natives. They think and talk digitally. Computer illiteracy is unacceptable for our students to be competitive in the 21st century. Effective educators can do nothing but model this, and support the use of technology in their classrooms.
What does this look like for administrators? The easiest way is through technology use during presentations, meetings, faculty and staff development, and during lesson modeling. They can also use websites, online surveys and presentations, and blogs to promote the use of technology in their schools. I consistently use Jing, video technology, and Keynote during team meetings and professional development.
