Southeast Missouri State University



Southeast Missouri State University

College of Education

Department of Educational Administration and Counseling

SUPERINTENDENT

Internship

EA-760

Internship in PK-12 Educational Administration

(4 hours credit)

In partial fulfillment of the licensing requirements for a Missouri K-12 Superintendent license, candidates must complete an internship. Missouri certification is also based on the possession of knowledge and/or competency in several areas. The student should work closely with his/her internship supervisors (University and School District) to determine the experiences which will be most beneficial for the intern. Also the selection of appropriate electives, where possible, can aid this process significantly.

The intent of this course is to provide students pursuing the Specialist Degree in School Administration with supervised experiences centering on the daily administration and supervisory duties of the PK-12 superintendent. This course complies with most recent administration certification standards adopted by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (Credit/non-credit only.)

(Prerequisites: EA-709, EA-710, EA-756, and Advancement to Candidacy.)

Students who enroll EA-760 will be expected to complete all of the components in section 4.0 (Internship Record) and six (6) components selected from section 5.0 Portfolio Components, Forms, and Questions.

1.0 Introduction: A successful internship requires the professional commitment of three parties: intern, mentoring principal, and university advisor. Signing this Letter of Commitment serves as advance notice regarding common expectations, provides reference points for evaluation along the way and commits each party to the time, energy, and professional effort that is necessary for a successful internship experience. Field Supervisors for the Interns must be certificated in the area in which they are supervising (superintendent).  Field Supervisors are selected by the Intern in collaboration with the University Internship instructor. 

2.0 Purposes: The ultimate goal of the superintendent internship is to enable the intern to make the transition into his or her first position as a superintendent with a high degree of knowledge and confidence, and the probability of immediate success.

2.1 The breadth of learning experiences will give the intern understanding of key aspects of service in the superintendency.

2.2 The hands-on learning experiences will promote skill building in carrying out key functions performed in the superintendency.

2.3 The reflective thought component of the internship experience will bring insight into purposes, practices, politics and power as played out in the school superintendency.

2.4 The internship experience---as a whole--- will help meet licensure requirements as required by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The intern will completed a field experience of at least 160 hours within 12 continuous months in the superintendency as an administrative aide to a licensed and practicing school superintendent or have placement with a licensed educational administrator appropriate for the school superintendency.

EA-760 100 hours in the superintendency/20 hours in building and grounds/20 hours in transportation/20 hours in food service

3.0 General Expectations: Three components are present in a successful internship: observation, practice, and guided reflection.

3.1 The intern should be afforded an opportunity by the mentoring superintendent to shadow him/her while he/she carries out position responsibilities.

3.2 Regular opportunities should be afforded the intern to interact with teachers, students, parents, board of education members, community support services personnel, and district level personnel including the superintendent as well as maintenance, human resources, support services, and community education services staff. The intern should participate as appropriate in administrative team meetings at the district and building levels as well as meetings of the faculty, parent advisory group, student council and other public forums which will provide a realistic and candid view of the superintendency.

3.3 The intern should be exposed to---and become involved in---both the routine functions of the office of superintendent and specific responsibilities in the areas of communications, business operations, employee relations, public relations, curriculum, facilities management, transportation, food service, and human resources management.

3.4 Begin the Internship by the first of July or earlier. The intern should shadow the superintendent prior to the start of the school year to gain a perspective of the tasks which need to be done. The bulk of the internship activities will be during the school year and, if possible, during a K-12 summer school. The intern should concentrate on areas in which he/she have minimal experience of knowledge. Learn how the mentor handles issues and problems. The intern should be familiar with the depth and breadth of the superintendency.

3.5 The Portfolio will be presented to the University Instructor when completed. Also, the student will be required to make an oral presentation of the Portfolio Components during the required exit examination for the Specialist Degree.

Standards:

ISLLC/MoSTEP: 1,2,3,4,5,6

NCATE: 1,2,3,4,5

4.0 Overview of Portfolio Process: The Portfolio is designed to permit educational leaders the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding and application of the ISLLC Standards for school leaders and to begin the process of renewal for the principal/director certificate and the initial superintendent certificate.

4.1 The Portfolio consists of six Components that are designed to enable the student to focus on specific areas of school leadership. Over the duration of the Portfolio assessment, the student will collect a variety of written artifacts (e.g., memos, letters, manuals, data sheets, etc.) that provide evidence of important aspects of school leadership. Then the student will select from this collection a limited number of artifacts that provide the richest evidence of the work described in that Component. The student will use these artifacts to support the Components completed during the internship. Later the student will reflect on the ways in which the responses to the projects and artifacts, taken together, help to document and further define the student’s professional responsibilities and ways in which those responsibilities are addressed.

4.2 The instructions needed to complete the Portfolio will be found in the Internship Policies and Procedures materials and in the Components themselves. It is extremely important that the student read ALL the materials presented in this package before he/she begin the task of collecting documents and assembling the Portfolio. The student will find the following steps are critical for the successful completion of the portfolio.

1. Read all directions before beginning and clarify any questions or concerns that may arise.

2. Develop a time-line and calendar to ensure that all Components are fully completed within the allotted time period.

3. Develop a plan to collect, file, organize, and label all potential documents.

4. Write the commentaries and reflections around the Components and documents available to the student.

5. Assemble the final portfolio projects using the format directions given to the student.

6. Make any necessary corrections or revisions.

4.3 The Portfolio consists of the following six Components, each of which assesses specified criteria from the ISLLC Standards:

A.1 Facilitating the Vision of Learning Within the School Community

The focus of this component is the ability of the candidate to analyze important aspects of his/her school or district in terms of their impact on student learning.

A.2 Sustaining a Culture Conducive to Student Learning

The focus of this component is the candidate’s response to a significant barrier to student learning in his/her school or district.

B.1 Understanding and Responding to the Larger Context

The focus of this component is the candidate’s and his/her staff’s response to a larger (a statewide, regional, or national) political, social, economic, legal, or cultural issue/trend that negatively affects student learning in the candidate’s school or district.

B.2 Collaborating with Families and Community

The focus of this component is the candidate’s collaboration with families and the community in order to advance student learning.

C.1 Supporting Professional Growth and Development

The focus of this component is the candidate’s support of the professional growth and development of staff members directed to the improvement of student learning.

C.2 Organizing Resources for an Effective Learning Environment

The focus of this component is the candidate’s advancement of student learning through the resolution of completing claims by two or more individuals or parties regarding the allocation of resources within his/her school or district.

4.4 Each of the six Portfolio Components has the same basic structure composed of the following common sections:

1. Focus: a short statement of the central idea of the component.

2. Overview: a brief snapshot of the work that the student will be required to do.

3. Standards: the specific indicators from the ISLLC Standards that will guide the work for each component.

4. Confidentiality: a reminder about the constraints that the students must follow in using the names of individuals, schools, and districts.

5. Questions and Documentation: these are the essential elements of the Portfolio Components. These consist of the one commentary question and the reflection question the student will respond to, with a description of the necessary documentation materials.

6. Strategic Decisions: additional suggestions for making important decisions in completing each entry.

1. Evaluation Criteria: a reiteration of the criteria drawn from the Standards that will guide the evaluation of each entry.

2. Feedback: each Portfolio Component the student complete contains a Feedback Form. These are designed to provide the student the opportunity to comment on each Component.

(Note: Each of the items discussed above are thoroughly described in each Component.)

4.5 Directions: The students will complete and submit the following materials for each Component:

1. One short commentary, two pages each, written in response to specific questions. The commentary will be supported by a selection of five pages of documents.

2. A two-page reflection, written in response to a specific question designed to allow the student to evaluate the Component’s process and to turn this knowledge toward the future.

3. The student must return his/her completed Portfolio in a binder. Place the material for each Component behind the appropriate tabbed divider as follows:

Component A.1 Tab A.1

Component A.2 Tab A.2

Component B.1 Tab B.1

Component B.2 Tab B.2

Component C.1 Tab C.1

Component C.2 Tab C.2

4.6 To develop the individual Components of the Portfolio, the student must complete the four steps listed below. For additional details and guidance the student must follow the steps in Section 5 (Components A.1-C.2).

Step 1: Read the QUESTION AND DOCUMENTATION section in the individual Component. This section contains the questions to which the student will respond. The student will be asked to collect documentation materials to support his/her responses to the first question; for the Reflection question, the student will not need to collect documentation.

Step 2: Collect Documentation Materials: Identify sources of data within the student’s school, district, or community at large that he/she can use to support his/her responses to the question. Collect the data and make notes that will enable the student to support the analysis called for in his/her written responses. Following each of the italicized questions in the QUESTIONS AND DOCUMENTATION section, suggestions are offered in non-italicized print for the types of documentation materials that might be useful.

For each set of questions the student is limited to selecting a maximum of five (5) pages of supporting documents or materials. For multi-page documents, select only the page or pages that are most useful in supporting the written responses. Unless written authorization can be obtained, the student must remove from the documents the names of all individuals. Remember: the student will be permitted a maximum of five (5) pages of documents for each question.

` Step 3: Write your responses: Follow all directions when responding to each of the italicized questions. All written commentary and reflection must be written in English and address all parts of all questions.

The student should respond as specifically and clearly as he/she can. The student’s response for each section must be limited to two pages. As a result, the student’s responses should be focused and concise. They will be evaluated on the basis of their content and clarity, not their prose style.

The responses and documents for each Component must stand on their own. When completing a Component, DO NOT use or refer to responses or documents found in other Components. If you must use a document in more than one Component be sure to provide a copy to be included in both.

Step 4: Prepare responses for submission: Collate the written responses and supporting documentation according to the directions in the FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS section. Follow all specifications for formatting and page lengths to ensure that the entire response will be scored.

4.7 Format Specification: All written responses and documentation FOR EACH Portfolio Component must meet the following format specifications.

7. Page 1 of the submitted Component must be Form A.

8. Page 2 of the submitted Component must be Form B.

9. Page 3 of the submitted Component must be the Candidate Feedback Form.

10. Retain Forms C and D in the student’s files.

11. Responses should be organized into two separate sections, based on the titles of the questions found in the Component. Each page should be labeled in the upper left hand corner with the appropriate section title.

12. The documentation used to support each written response should be placed in the Binder directly following that response. All document pages must be labeled in the upper left-hand corner with the appropriate section name. The student’s name should appear in the upper right-hand corner.

13. Each of the two responses may be no longer than two pages. Each section of corresponding documents may be no longer than five pages. Only the first two pages of the student’s written responses and the first five pages of your documentation will be considered in scoring each Component section.

14. Responses must be legible, typed, and double-spaced with one-inch margins on all sides using a font that is not smaller than 10 point.

15. Documentation may be handwritten but must be legible.

16. Responses and documentation must be written in English.

17. The student’s name must be written in the upper right-hand corner of all pages, including documentation. If a word processing program is used, the student might find it saves time to create a header that will print the student’s name in this position on each page.

18. All pages in the entire Component should be sequentially numbered.

Standards:

ISLLC/MoSTEP: 1,2,3,4,5,6

NCATE: 1,2,3,4,5

5.0 ISLLC STANDARDS

STANDARD 1 A School administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.

STANDARD 2 A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

STANDARD 3 A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.

STANDARD 4 A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources.

STANDARD 5 A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.

STANDARD 6 A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.

5.1 Portfolio Components, Forms, and Questions.

Please refer to the ISLLC Portfolio Licensure Assessment: Components A.1 through C.2.

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