Liaison Between Home School and After School Program
My Changing Identity as a Leader for Justice 
Under the realm of this project, being in the PLI opened my eyes to the needs of our marginalized students beyond the school day. The needs that students with disabilities and all marginalized students have, certainly do not go away when the bell rings at 2:30pm. From there, many of these students go into the the after school program which at my school is World Fit for Kids. As a leader, I have realized that we need to create a bridge for our students, especially at the beginning of the year as they begin the program again with a new coach and a new set of peers. Nevertheless, this bridge needs to continue to be built as new students enter the program and/or students' needs change as they progress throughout the year.
I learned that I need to be consistent with checking in with the director 
to see if there are any concerns or accommodations that we need to make for the students. I learned that if I go longer than a week without "checking in" situations with students can escalate and it will take longer to make adjustments than if we caught the problem right away. Sometimes students just need an individualized behavior contract, behavior incentives, or more one-to-one help with homework, but if we don't catch it soon enough, then the behavior of concern becomes a mechanism for negative attention and then it takes longer for the coach and the student to break that cycle. In addition, sometimes the student and the family requires extended services such as medical or counseling and it goes unnoticed by the classroom teacher but the coach observes a need, and with this information, as a school we can act.
In order to make collaboration and consultation more consistent, I will need to create a form for next year that the director can fill out with the coach and then place in my mailbox. From there, I can investigate and align the student and/or the coach with the appropriate accommodations or interventions.
What contributed to my growth as a leader?
Having had my own children as well as my students in World Fit for Kids for many years, I have learned to appreciate everything they do for our students. They become like a family to the students as they help with homework, teach important nutritional habits, and take accountability for the students' physical growth, artistic growth, and emotional growth; but they need support from the school leaders in order to do their jobs. I learned that as long as the children are on the campus, no matter what program that they are in, it is the responsibilty of the school leader to remain in communication with the staff and use collaboration to meet the needs of marginalized students and all students.
My PLI leadership project opened my eyes to the social emotional needs of students with disabilities, other marginalized students, and all students. As I learned to look deeper through a social emotional lens, I couldn't turn that off once the bell rang. The journey led me into doing the consultive and collaborative work that was needed to help make the after school program fit the student.
What are my next steps in my leadership journey?
I will make the process of identifying a need, consulting, collaborating, and implementing interventions and/or accommodations more timely and cohesive by establishing that process with the director and giving her a form that outlines and documents those action steps. I also believe that coaches would benefit from further knowledge regarding working with students with special needs so I will work with the director and my school's psychiatric social worker to come up with a plan to address that need.
CSPEL Standards
This project addressed the following California Professional Standard for Educational Leaders: 4:3
For specific standards and how they have been addressed through this project click on the link below.
