Luke Rapley
EDAP 7802 (2nd hour – Saturday)
Dr. Bill Kruskamp
Participant Performance Summary
Throughout all of my leadership experiences over the last year (since beginning this program), I have been given the opportunity to participate in activities that have afforded me opportunities to experience all seven of the ELCC standards. Shadowing my principle last semester opened my eyes to the daily grind a principal faces each and every day. If anyone ever wonders what a principal does each day, I suggest they take a personal day and shadow the principal to find out first hand. The non-stop action of a principal cannot be explained in words, one must witness this first hand to gain a true appreciation for the work a principal endures every day. While shadowing my principle this semester, the schedule was much less hectic because we were on a strict schedule of interviews. Seeing the interview process first-hand was a great experience. I learned a lot from the interviews I participated in. Now, I have a few standard questions that should be asked of every candidate that I can take with me into a leadership position. Once again, the GPS training was a very informative and important as I move towards administration in the next couple of years. I will more than likely begin as an AP in charge of a math department and the knowledge I have gained and passed on to my colleagues will be very beneficial to me in helping teachers be more successful with the new curriculum. The REI program has been a very successful program in only its first year of use. Every subsequent year, this program will mold into a better tool to assist students in becoming successful. REI is one program I will definitely try to implement once I move into the ranks of leadership (if the program is not already in use). Participating in the mentoring program has shown me the benefits new teachers reap from having a mentor to look up too while they are beginning their careers. A mentoring program is an essential part of maintaining new teachers beyond the first couple of years of teaching. I found that many new teachers do not want a lot of help with the curriculum; they want help with all of the paperwork, procedures and classroom management issues. They understand the curriculum but struggle to keep up with all of the little things teachers must accomplish along with teaching the curriculum. The creation of the testing committee greatly increased the efficiency of the testing program at my school. The recognition by the administration that there were problems with the testing process greatly influenced the success of the testing process this school year. The testing AP wanted staff to offer opinions and suggestions to make the process better. The changes that took place this year were widely accepted by the faculty because they knew they had a voice in how things should be run. The creation of the all-star game for senior basketball players was a great event for the entire county. Leaders are always looking for ways to get the community involved in the school system. This game brought the entire county together as one community for the night to celebrate the outstanding athletes many in the community have been watching play basketball since they were little children. The opportunity to be a part of creating this great event was very beneficial. I was able to experience first hand how to start a program from scratch and acquire community support for the program. This will be important when I become an administrator. The opportunities I have participated in over the last two semesters have been greatly appreciated as I move towards a leadership position. There is no replacement for experiencing all of these opportunities first-hand. With all of this hands-on experience behind me, I could not imagine having moved into a leadership position without all of the experiences I have had the last two semesters. After all of my experiences, I know that I have a lot more to learn in order to become a great leader. I will continue to seek opportunities to experience leadership tasks. With every new opportunity, I gain more knowledge that will be of great benefit to me when the time comes for me to be moved into a leadership position.