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Field Experience A: District-Level Official Interview

Kirk Summers

Grand Canyon University

EAD-505-0500: Education Law

Scot Beckerman

July 7, 2021,
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Field Experience A: District-Level Official Interview

Kirk Summers

I have to say that I completely enjoyed this field experience. I was able to sit down with

my mentor and observe new policies being drafted for presentation to the board of trustees. This

observation allowed me to begin wrapping my brain around the interview questions and to the

policies that are already in place.

The interview was conducted with Dr. Blair Wilding, Clark County School District

Superintendent. I am going to do my best to cover everything that we discussed during the

interview, but so that it is known, he touched on every point involved in PSEL Standard 9. Dr.

Wilding began with how a policy is first created and then how other policies can be changed or

adjusted. The first thing that has to be considered are the changes at the Federal Level, then it

depends upon the Legislature. This continues to the State Department of Education and then

down to the individual districts board of trustees.

Now the proposed policies are written and presented to the board of trustees, this is

known as the first reading. If anything was changed during this reading, it takes 30 days to make

the adjustments and then it is presented again as the first reading. If no changes were made, after

30 days, it goes before the board as a second reading. At the second reading, the board can vote

to implement it and make it policy, if changes need to be made at that time, it starts all over at

the first reading. The same is true for changing or adjusting an existing policy.

This led us to the next part of the interview dealing with the duties of a principal. When I

had finished the interview, I compared it to the PSEL Standard 9. I was very excited to see that

Dr. Wilding had touched on every aspect of the standard. We discussed that the day started with
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transportation. This starts the students’ day and thus must start our day. Every day a principal has

to keep track of buses, food services, subs, teacher duties, students, and just make sure the school

is ready every day. Dr. Wilding also stated that student and staff morale is huge. The principal

must be ready to understand and help with any parent, student, and teacher issues.

The last thing few items that he talked about were dealing with the reports that will need

to be turned in and that a schedule must be developed to stay on top of those. He also stated that

a principal must keep up on all the emails from the State Department of Education. Dr. Wilding

ended the interview with one last final piece of advice, he stated that “As a principal, you must

always remember that what we do must be done in the manner of what is best for the students”.

This, he stressed, is the most important thing to remember and keep in mind every day.

As I reflected upon this interview and standard 9, I came to the realization that, as a

principal, I must be flexible and a servant to those that depend on me. Making that mental

commitment to always serve those in my charge and focusing on their needs as well as be within

the laws of education is going to be difficult. I know that as I do this, and do it with my religious

beliefs as my foundation, there is nothing that I cannot achieve.

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References

National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015). Professional Standards for
Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author.