Expectations+for+Fellows

The year-long NELA School Leadership Internship will prepare Fellows to develop strong interpersonal relationships, diagnose student learning and effective teaching, model reflective practice, and master leadership skills and dispositions that support school improvement efforts. The internship is purposefully designed to immerse Fellows in learning opportunities and activities to help them gain proficiency in the North Carolina Standards for School Executives.

The overarching objective of the NELA internship is for Fellows to demonstrate and document both experiences with and proficiency in all NC Standards for School Executives and the NELA Anchors (Relationships, Process/Management, Diagnostic).

Fellows need to learn all functional areas of the school, take initiative for own learning, and make themselves useful to the school. The experience should be reciprocal in that the Fellows will benefit from their own learning and the school will benefit from the Fellow's work in the school.

Fellows should engage in both big picture and "grunt work." They should actively seek feedback about their performance, see things from other's point of view - but push for improvement, and be willing to experiment with new/unfamiliar approaches. Fellows should prepare for meetings with mentors and coaches so they focus on learning goals and objectives the Fellow most needs to address. The Fellow should actively monitor relationships with their mentor and coach and discuss with them any potential problems as soon as they arise.

NC Standards for School Executives with Related Experiences chart, to be completed by Fellows and their Mentors and Coaches, is included in the Appendix. This chart is titled: **//Individual Leadership Learning Plan (ILP) for NELA Fellows.//**

The NELA Internship has eight key components: 1) Daily work in schools; 2) Weekly day-long sessions on Tuesdays and some Saturdays; 3) Specialized training experiences; 4) Complete all phases of internship problem of practice; 5) Participation with NELA Principal Mentors in the Distinguished Leaders in Practice program; 6) Visits to other schools, central office, and schools at different levels (visits to feeder schools for your primary internship site recommended); 7) Continuous contact with NELA Coaches which may include occasional evening sessions; and 8) Documentation of experiences and learning.

The Fellow's daily work in schools will include: a) experience with all functional areas of the school; b) completing the Internship Project that is tied to authentic school improvement efforts; c) teacher evaluation and crucial conversations; d) utilize data to focus on improving student learning.
 * 1). Daily Work in Schools **

//Internship School-Site Attendance Policy // Fellows are expected to be working in their internship school for the entire school-day (and beyond) every district workday. If a Fellow will miss work for any reason (illness or personal), they are required to contact their mentor principal, their coach, and the NELA Project Coordinator (Dr. Lesley Wirt at: lesley_wirt@ncsu.edu) as far in advance as possible. All absences must be documented on the Internship Work Log. Excessive absences (more than 4 per semester) may result in a deduction in wages for each excessive absence and may be grounds for dismissal from the internship and termination from NELA. Please see Appendix A for more information on absences for serious health concerns. If you anticipate an absence, you should contact your mentor principal, coach, and Dr. Wirt at least one week in advance. Following an absence, the Fellow should work with their mentor principal to make arrangements for making up any missed work.

//Outside Responsibilities // During the internship, the Fellow’s first responsibility (outside of their family) is to their school and work with NELA. Fellows should avoid any outside responsibilities that interfere with the NELA internship responsibilities and expectations.

The weekly sessions will focus primarily on new coursework and new learning, but will also include time for structured reflections on practice from internship experiences. Experiences will include Operation NELA's (case-based role playing) to practice leadership skills.
 * 2). Weekly Day-Long NELA Sessions **

//NELA Sessions Attendance Policy // Fellows are expected to be in attendance at the start of each session and attend the full session. The instructor(s) will keep a record of attendance. Fellows who have 2 absences will have their final grade diminished by one letter grade (e.g., A- becomes a B-). Absences include both anticipated absences that are detailed in the University policies on attendance (e.g., official university functions, court dates, military duty, personal emergency, and religious observances), and emergency absences (e.g., illness and injury certified by an attending physician, and death or serious illness of family member when documented appropriately). (NOTE: If you attend only one half or less of a class, you cannot count that as a full class, but only as some percentage of the class.).

If a Fellow will miss a NELA session for any reason (illness or personal), they are required to contact the NELA Project Coordinator (Dr. Lesley Wirt at: lesley_wirt @ncsu.edu) as far in advance as possible. All absences must be documented on your weekly log. Excessive absences (more than 2 per semester) may be grounds for dismissal from the internship and termination from NELA. If you anticipate an absence, you should contact your instructors and Dr. Wirt at least one week in advance.

Following an absence, the Fellow should work with their instructors to make arrangements for making up any missed work. It is the Fellow's responsibility to get the materials, notes, and assignments they may require. We recommend that you contact a classmate in advance of your absence and ask them to gather any handouts and take notes for you. Standards of courtesy require that you notify the instructor in advance of any absence. Notification can be accomplished through e-mail or voice mail.

If you receive prior approval from the professor, you can arrange for someone to videotape the class, watch the videotape, and write a reflection over it (and in most cases do an additional assignment), and count this as an attended session. However, you can only do this for one session and this option can only be used if you receive prior permission from the instructor.

Absence from class for a religious holy day: A Fellow who is absent from a session for the observance of a religious holiday may complete the work missed within a reasonable time after the absence, if proper notice has been given. The deadline for notification of such an absence is fourteen days prior to the class absence or the first class day for religious holy days that fall within the first two weeks of the semester.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">To enhance the NELA curriculum, from time-to-time Fellows will participate in specialized training sessions. NELA Specialized Training Attendance Policy: Fellows are expected to be in attendance at the start of each training session and attend the full session. Fellows who miss a training session will be expected to make arrangements to have the same/similar training provided to them at their own expense and within a reasonable amount of time. Excessive absences from specialized training (more than 1 per semester) and failure to make-up any missed training, may be grounds for dismissal from the internship and termination from NELA.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">3). Specialized Training Experiences **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">4). Complete All Phases of Internship Problem of Practice **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">See assignment descriptions.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">DLP allows participants to critically examine the meaning and application of “Distinguished” school leadership through a problem-based, real-world approach. In DLP, practicing North Carolina principals are provided as models of exemplary school leadership allowing participants to study the behaviors, attitudes and competencies that define a “Distinguished” school leader. The DLP program has customized its curriculum for NELA and will utilize face-to-face, on-line, and small-group sharing sessions. Through DLP, the mentor principal and the Fellow will discuss best practices on how to: use data to identify needs and establish priority goals; align all school improvement efforts to the vision, mission, and goals of the school; maximize teaching and learning; create a student‐focused culture; connect with the external community and lead and manage change.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">5) Participation with NELA Principal Mentors in the Distinguished Leaders in Practice Program **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Site visits to other schools, central office, and schools at different levels (including feeder schools for your primary internship site), and a possible NELA trip to a nationally recognized school are encouraged. As a part of the developmental projects, visits need to be to high-performing schools.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">6) School visits **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Fellows are expected to stay in contact with their coaches via e-mail, phone, in person and/or Skype. Occasional evening sessions may be needed to facilitate this contact. If you have a concern about your coach or mentor, please begin by discussing the concern with the individual involved. If you fail to reach a resolution to the problem, contact Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli, Dr. Matt Militello or Dr. Lesley Wirt.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">7) Continuous contact with NELA Coaches **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">During the internship year, Fellows will be expected to collect and create documentation that assesses the professional growth of the Fellow in their internship setting. This evidence will include the Individual Leadership Learning Plan framed around the NC Standards for School Executives and artifacts and corresponding narrative to demonstrate proficiency. Documentation will include: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> - Weekly Logs <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> - Monthly Logs <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> - Electronic Portfolio (Wiki) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> - Individual Leadership Learning Plan
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">8) Documentation of Experiences and Learning **