Standard 3 Brief Paper

Clayton S. Cook

NETS-A Standard 3 states that Educational Administrators promote an environment of

professional learning and innovation that empowers educators to enhance student learning
through the infusion of contemporary technologies and digital resources. This standard is one
that my administrator, admittedly, has difficulties with. While she is a staunch supporter of
technology and technology integration in the classroom, she finds it difficult to find time to
integrate it into her own experiences.
She does, however, feel strongly that she does fully cover indicator 1. She feels she
provides adequate time, resources, and access to teachers as they pursue ongoing Professional
Development, whether it be through sessions provided by the school or courses and trainings
from outside sources. In the past, she has been quick to send teachers to trainings and classes in
which they will receive instruction on the latest technologies. One such example is her
willingness to use funds to provide teachers with the resources necessary to fully implement and
sustain the upcoming science initiative, Project Lead The Way (PLTW). PLTW is technology
heavy, using several apps with both iPads and Android devices. Because of this, she has
purchased an iPad cart for the school and is looking for put funds toward the purchase of
Chromebooks.
Another thing she does to help her meet indicator 1 is her regular self-check of her
technology skills. She accepts that she is the not the most technologically advanced person and,
because of this, she is eager to find ways to help her improve. To help her do this she actively
seeks out training to help her refine her skills. This past year she took it upon herself to become
more proficient with MS Word so she could more efficiently conduct her business.
Indicator 2 states that Educational Leaders facilitate and participate in learning
communities. This is very true in my school. It is a common sight to see our principal, and other

members of the administration team, sitting in on technology Professional Development sessions

throughout the school year. This shows that they recognize and accept that they need assistance
in some areas, as well as help develop deeper bonds with the teachers who are also in the
sessions.
She was quick to admit, however, that indicator 3 is not her strongest area. She readily
admits that she has not used technology as much as the possibly could when talking to
stakeholders. She says there are various reasons for that, however, she recognizes the face that
we are in the 21st century and are serving a unique population of both students and parents. She
does, however, make it mandatory that teachers use and explain the technology we use in the
classroom to help their children learn during our Reading and Math curriculum nights. As
equipped as my school is with technology, the area in which we lack the most is the use of
technology with stakeholders during PTO sessions, meetings, and the like. This is an area in
which she has placed high priority on for the upcoming school years.
Indicator 4 is the one which we spent the most time discussing and most of that
discussion revolved around how she uses feedback from students, parents, and teachers. She
said that she closely reviews all feedback given to her and uses that feedback to help guide
decisions for our school. If there is an area that stands out as a common concern then she will
develop a plan to address that concern. An example she shared with me was the feedback she
got from parents a few years ago about not all classes having Interactive Whiteboards. The
parents felt this gave some teachers and students an advantage. To address this concern she did
an evaluation of the technologies we had and created a plan to outfit each classroom with an
IWB. Within two school years, every classroom in our school had an IWB and all teachers had
been trained on how to use it.

It was refreshing to talk to my Mrs. Stuckey about NETS-A Standard 3. She was very
open and honest with me in regards to her comforts and her areas of weakness. She readily
acknowledged any areas in which she did not feel the adequately met the indicators set out in the
standard. When these inadequacies would arise, she would discuss ways in which she could go
about reconciling them.