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Running head: DIRECT LOG WEEK TWO

Lindsay Gigous
DIRECT Log Week Two
Drexel University
EDUC 830: Superintendent Internship: Human Resource Development
April 10, 2016

Describe
Over the past two weeks, I have had the opportunity to focus on finding the gaps that
exist in my professional experience. At the end of last quarter, my mentor and I sat down and had
a conversation about where I feel I currently am in my development and how she could assist me
in reaching my goals through the next three phases of the internship while we completed the
evaluation. I identified strengths but focused on the gaps, meaning the areas in which I do not
currently experience in my day-to-day as an instructor and advisor at a community college. Since
both my mentor and I were on Spring Break for the beginning of the Drexel quarter, we did not
have the opportunity to meet as usual, so in preparation for the meeting we had this week, I have
been researching and viewing webinars that will help me fill in the gaps in my professional
experience. I viewed a webinar about branding in school districts, as marketing and public
profiles of a school is something that is new to me. I also viewed a webinar about human
resources related to employee benefits, which I am eager to discuss with the Human Resources
Director at the school district I am interning at in the next few weeks when I schedule to meet
with him. Each of these webinars helped me to strengthen my skill set and knowledge about
aspects of managing a district that I have not had the chance to work with yet.
Identify
The ISLLC standard that I feel is most relevant to this situation is Standard 3: A school
administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring
management of the organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective
learning environment. This situation allowed me to gain my own professional growth in a subject
in which I am not too familiar, which sets an example for my staff and faculty to do the same

when they are not familiar with or want more knowledge about a subject related to their job. The
Drexel competency that this opportunity allowed me to develop was personal motivation.
Reflect
I have continually felt as though there is so much that I do not know, but making a plan
with my mentor at the end of last term really helped me to put into perspective what I still need
to gain experience in. I have been getting the impression from Dr. Gehrt that my anxiety over not
knowing how to do certain things and over not having administrative experience is not
something I should be worried about. She has reassured me that my past positions and education
have given me the chance to really get an idea of these types of situations as well, but I still have
some things to learn about all of the aspects of the district operations. Building up my own
personal knowledge can only help me to become a better leader, as it sets a positive example for
the staff and faculty members that I have that they too should also be developing that type of
mindset when it comes to professional development. I feel as though my personal relationship
with my mentor is growing immensely, and she is very willing to help me bridge the gap
between what I have not had experiences with and what I still want to and need to learn to be an
effective superintendent by helping me make connections with people in the district who know
better than she. She has a working knowledge of each of these aspects but leaves the minute
details to the people who are assigned to do these jobs. Much of what I have been viewing in the
webinars will be something to discuss with Gerald Allen, the districts human resources and
operations manager. Standard 3 stresses an environment in which the school leader monitors and
evaluates operational systems, and I really think I am starting to be able to build my own
professional development in this area, which will in turn help me lead and improve the school.

Evaluate & Connect

In looking at the felt need that existed of my lack of knowledge about operations
management, I really took the steps necessary in order to gain the knowledge, utilizing my
resources effectively within this internship situation. This is something that a leader needs to
make sure that they are doing for a variety of reasons. First of all, they need to make sure that
they are setting a good example for staff members as to how to expand your professional
development. Administrators also need to make sure that they are referring to the experts when it
comes to finding information that they need assistance with. In this case, I did not have the
expertise about employee benefits, and the new healthcare regulations go over my head, so I
sought out outside professional development that would help me with this in order to be able to
advance my knowledge. It was great practice for me to attend workshops and webinars about
topics I need more information on because this allows me to explore these topics in greater detail
from experts, as a superintendent should do.
Toward New Actions
My next steps in this situation include meeting with the districts human resource and
operations manager to discuss the general operations of the district in more detail. I know that I
will have questions about staffing for him, but I plan to take some questions that I developed
based off of the webinars I attended so that I can discuss in greater detail as well. Additionally, I
plan to ask him what he would like his superintendent to know more about, not as a way to find
gaps in Dr. Gehrts knowledge, but as a way for me to understand the desires of my future staf. I
have been finding in my own position that at times my department chair seems out of touch with
the instructors because she has not taught classes in a few years, so sometimes the demands she

puts on us seem very overwhelming to us, but she does not realize this. To me, this has been an
eye-opener in my professional life, as I want to be a leader who is still in touch with my staff in
all departments. I am fortunate to be able to be in this internship at the district where I am as my
superintendent has been nothing but hospitable. This semester, I look forward to meeting with
building principals to ask them about the operations of their buildings as well as meeting with the
human resources and operations director because my superintendent has already reached out to
all five individuals on my behalf. Additionally, I will also continue to attend board meetings,
another major piece of the operations puzzle, so this will help me to really know what goes on
during the entire process of a school year.
Hours Log
Week 1:
3/28/16 (2 hours)
Completed discussion board and class readings
3/30/16 (1 hour)
School District Branding Webinar: The Power of Branding- The Importance of
Promoting Your District in the Community
Total Hours Completed: 3 /100
Week 2:
4/4/16 (2 hours)
Completed goal sheet
Completed ELCC Needs Assessment
Read district strategic plan
4/5/16 (2 hours)
Completed discussion board and class readings
4/6/16 (2 hours)

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Weekly meeting with mentor
School District Employee Benefits Webinar: Curing Employee Benefits Blues-Finding
Solutions That Work
4/8/16 (1 hour)
Tap, Click, Read Webinar
4/9/16 (2 hours)
Completed DIRECT log
Total Hours Completed This Week: 9
Total Hours Completed This Semester: 12/100
Total Hours For Internships: 114.5