Wednesday, February 22, 2012
February 16-29, 2012: Engaging and Supervising people (running a department while leading change) Hosted By: Doug Handy
Douglas Handy will be hosting a discussion on Engaging and Supervising People (running a department while leading change). Douglas is the Technology and Engineering Education Supervisor for Baltimore County Public Schools in the state of Maryland. Please join Douglas from February 16-29, 2012.
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The most challenging aspects of supervision and leadership is the balance of time. Was lucky in my progression that there were good role models who were able to pay attention to the details, yet empower the ability to lead. Too often I've seen supervisors become effective managers, but they forget that leadership component. Managing multiple priorities (your own supervisor as well as the community, as well as your department) often comes down to working with people and empowering them. Of course then there are the elements of "dealing" with people that can take on many new avenues - some of which are not pretty.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Barry, the balance of time and priorities are probably the largest obstacles in today's changing environment. As we have determined our Engineering Technology Education direction here in Idaho, it has required a number of planned and unplanned incidents along the way. Staying the course of change while ensuring the walls don't tumble down around you in the rest of your responsibilities is a great challenge. I manage ETE along with all of the Information Systems Technology programs in Idaho and of course those are everchanging. Encouraging buy-in for the changes being administered in the ETE programs has consumed a vast amount of time and energy over the past 2 years and we still have 3 more to go to reach the end of the program transition.
ReplyDeleteAn overview of Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS): The 26th largest school system in the U.S. and the 3rd largest in Maryland. There are 105,315 students enrolled: 54.8% minority enrollment, 3.8% English Language Learner enrollment, 44.8% eligible for free/reduced price meals. BCPS has 173 schools and centers.
ReplyDeleteI supervise technology education programs in 26 high schools, where the technology education is delivered as a state graduation requirement (one credit). Some schools also offer advanced technology education courses (EbD) as a two-credit graduation pathway.
BCPS middle school programs were an endangered species, but I have been working with the BCPS Executive Director of STEM to revitalize these programs through implementation of middle school EbD curricula.
I also supervise five PLTW Engineering programs, seven PLTW-GTT middle school programs, and three locally developed CTE programs of study: Engineering Careers, CAD, and Engineering Technician. Total teachers for these programs: approximately 125.
When I joined BCPS in June 2008, my goal was to engage the teachers, so that I could develop effective working relationships with them. Once the relationships were establish, I could supervise them and help them to improve their programs.
ReplyDeleteAfter meeting with one of my department chairs and a retired teacher who works part-time as a consultant for the programs that I supervise, I decided to announce a VEX Robotics initiative at the August 2008 Professional Study Day for all technology and engineering teachers.
We used funds from the CTE baseline operating budget to provide one robotics kit to each interested school. We also planned two competitions, and covered the registration fee for each team. In 2008-09, we had 24 teams representing 12 high schools and one middle schools. The BCPS VEX program currently consists of 54 teams, representing 23 schools. This total is comprised of 36 teams representing 17 high schools and 18 teams representing six middle schools.
The initiative has created excitement amongst teachers and students. This school year, we hosted our first open competition with 92 BCPS and non-BCPS teams participating: http://www.bcps.org/news/articles/article2731.html Our next competition will be on February 25 as part of the BCPS Secondary STEM Fair.
During my first summer on the job, I also sought teachers and programs that I could nominate for the Technology and Engineering Educators Association of Maryland’s (TEEAM) Awards of Excellence. I have continued to nominate teachers and programs each year, and BCPS has had at least one TEEAM award winner every year since 2008-09. Recognizing and awarding exemplary teachers and programs is effective in engaging teachers that you supervise. On February 23, 2012, TEEAM awards were presented to a BCPS middle school program and a middle school teacher: http://www.bcps.org/news/articles/article2788.html.
ReplyDeleteLeadership is influence. We need to remember that we are influencing people. People are best influenced by providing a supportive environment and modeling behavior. If we want to "engage" people and "lead change," we must also be a strong proponant of the people (teachers) All the professional development and in-services will mean nothing if the people (teachers) don't feel as if they are being heard and someone is attempting to address their needs. Woodie Flowers, Professor Emeritus of MIT, once said, "...take care of the people and the machines will take care of themselves."
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