Franklin Crowder
Educator/Aspiring Administrator
CONTINUOUS GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
An education leader works to develop ongoing cycles of continuous growth and development. To carry out these responsibilities, leaders must approach their day-to-day work in terms of continuous improvement. Continuous improvement is achieved by employing a strategic cycle of actions. First, leaders must study and analyze data and evidence to understand a situation and identify its strengths and weaknesses. Then, they must develop the rationale and associated plan for addressing the weaknesses and building on strengths. They then enact the plan and evaluate the outcome. The cycle then repeats itself, allowing problems that were once invisible to emerge and be addressed. Through such an iterative process, approaches get revised, refined, and yield progressively better results.
SUMMER SCHOOL ADMINITRATIVE INTERN
This experience was by far one of the most valuable experiences that I was involved in during the Internship program. During this time, I had the opportunity to participate in the many duties that an administrator would become involved in on a daily basis. Some of the different roles that I was involved with included discipline, data desegregation, budget officer, and planning coordinator to name a few. It really made me appreciate the many things that our administrators do on a daily basis. In addition, it also allowed me to have a better understanding of how the day of an administrator may not be as "cut and dry" as other occupations. This on-the-job experience allowed for me to become actively involved in many different scenarios that our coursework presented. I appreciated how our Jayhawkville interacive school district helped to reinforce our beliefs in realistic scenarios and how I could recollect this information and apply it to everyday situations.
SUMMER SCHOOL SCHEDULE
SUMMER SCHOOL S.T.E.M. SCHEDULE
SUMMER SCHOOL TEACHER ROSTER
ABCA BASEBALL COACHING CONVENTION
The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) hosts the largest coaching convention in the world each January. Additionally, as part of the Baseball ACE program with USA Baseball, the ABCA is actively involved in numerous Community Coaching Clinics .
The annual ABCA Convention, held each January, includes the world-renowned clinics, the ABCA Trade Show, award celebrations, meetings, an Expo Theater, Youth Coaches Session, networking and more. The 2019 ABCA Convention was held Jan. 3-6, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. I was fortunate to attend and make many connections in the coaching realm with individuals that sacrifice many hours every day to ensure the success of their athletes both on and off of the field.
I was fortunate to get together with fellow alumni from Mississippi State University. Also, I got the opprotunity to meet and speak with Tim Corbin. He is the current head coach of the 2019 Division I National Champion Vanderbilt Commodores.
IDCPS CONFERENCE
Our school system recently changed the format of teacher back to school in-service sessions for the entire county. Instead of listening to a speaker and reporting back to our home schools, these sessions have become more interactive and allows for more pertinent information to be shared between teachers who teach in specific domains. Because of this change, I feel that it has been a huge breath of frsh air for all teachers as the sharing of ideas and implementation of strategies has multiplied exponentially. I have also learned that making such in-services more teacher friendly can really help in overall teaching morale. This is crucial in ensuring student success for the enite school system if implemented in such a way. Feedback is also important to allow new ideas to be generated and gain a better understanding of the "glows ans grows" of the conference as a whole. One of the biggest ideas that was generated was the "20 To Watch" List. This recognizes 20 of the most influential leaders in Dinwiddie County as voted on by our peers. I was nominated as the first Physical Education teacher for this honor.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
I have had many opportunities to find professional development experiences to keep current on best practices of education through different platforms. Some of these include telephone, Google Meet, Zoom, various podcasts and Twitter. I have found myself engaging in these useful conversations and demonstrations gaining a better understanding on being a building leader and how others around the world are handling challenging situations. These always give a greater perspective on leadership on multiple levels of the educational field.
