Leadership Portfolio Brian F. Merrill

I have taken part in strategic goal setting and review at the district level for the past two years. During this process data is reviewed in order to drive the decision making.

I was also able to play a part in the development of the strategic vision of the Technology and Innovation Department. This became the second pillar of the strategic plan.

Being approachable and positive is something that I am very proud of. This attitude and demeanor helps build a collaborative and empowering work environment. This ability to collaborate and empower others is one of my greatest strengths.

A large change from the 2018 - 2019 school year, that has been very impactul in future school years, is our digital transformation. I was at the forefront of this change. Ensuring stakeholders were aware of the coming changes and assisting buildings with their visions on how the change will be implemented. Information was also communicated via a website which I designed and maintained.

I have been involved with curricular changes as well. Piloting Lucy Calkins "Unit of Study" for writing, and being on the curriculum writing teams for Social Studies, Reading, and Mathematics. Additionally I have worked with new curriculum implementations ensuring the vision of the curriculum coordinator is reflected in the technology roll out. Often times bringing that tech capability into the overall vision for implementation

I believe that celebrating accomplishments help drive people to push forward. Recognition is particularly important. It can be small like a note card, which I regularly send in the inter building mail after a visit, an email, or recommendation for an award.

In the 2017 - 2018 school year I nominated one of our support center personnel for an award through PAECT, of which I am a member. She won the award and it became a very meaningful moment for her.

In my current role I have been able to experience managing resources. One large monetary resource I have helped manage is our $35,000 PA Smart Grant. I have worked in conjunction with Lindsey Smith and Brian Loftus to spend these funds so they have the biggest impact on learning. A part of reaching that goal has been leveraging free vendor training when available, and negotiating better vendor pricing when it isn't. All of the elements of the grant spending must be within the proper budget codes for the state.

I have also managed the resource of time and personnel. I have done this while building the special schedule as part of my administrative internship, as well as when planning behind the scenes logistics for trainings and workshops. I have also directed vendors during an unboxing process of 3,500 laptops, planning backwards to ensure there is plenty of time before deployment. In my current position, I have also been in charge of several committees of teachers to complete projects for the district.

One of my current duties is to ensure we comply with Federal and State laws as it relates to COPA and copyright. I work with our vendors to ensure they are handling our student data appropriately prior to utilizing that service with our students.

Another clear way I maintain a safe environment, as well as ensure we comply with State and Federal laws, is by maintaining our internet filter. This keeps students safe as they utilize educational resources. I have worked to keep the internet as open as possible while balancing our COPA responsibilities.

I also have worked with building principals to ensure the way they are handling digital student data complies with FERPA requirements.

I have had many opportunities to communicate with all stake holders as they relate to the district through multiple platforms. I have communicated technology initiatives and updates internally via email, I have sent district blasts as they relate to our Logo contest and new website via Blackboard Messenger, and have even managed our social media presence as a district.

Another form of effective communication has been my work on the district website. While we were without a Communications Director, Matt Murray and myself handled all district communication on the district website, news items, and social media.

I have had the benefit of writing and adapting new curriculum several times over the course of my career. This began in my very first position. While working at Ewa Beach Elementary I was tasked with finding a science curriculum that aligned with our standards. I also planned for the instruction and assessment of that curriculum.

As an employee of Central Bucks I have created new reading assessments for the district to align with new curriculum, wrote new curriculum and assessments for mathematics, and social studies. In mathematics, I also worked on the team to create the sequence of instruction as it tied with state testing timelines.

At the start of the QUEST program, we worked as a team to create the curriculum and assessments for the course as a whole. We developed a first through sixth grade curriculum from the ground up. It was an amazingly rewarding experience. I have had the opportunity to continue that work through helping develop the Integrated Tech courses as recently as working with the group of teachers on the course for ninth grade. This was my first experience working on curriculum development in an administrative role, keeping my eye on the big picture and learning goals.

One of my main focuses in my current role, besides having access to resources, has been how to maximize instructional time. With this aim in mind I have worked to integrate as many curricular systems as possible to a single sign on. This eliminated the need for teachers to make password papers for students as they had in the past, as well as eliminated the need for students to have several different passwords. This has saved classes an estimated 1,000 hours of instructional time per month!

I have also worked with classroom teachers and building administrators to utilize technological tools to stream line some of their work processes. This again saves valuable time that can then be used on the important tasks of helping students.

We live in an amazing community rich with resources. It is part of our responsibility to leverage those resources to help provide relevant experiences for our students and staff. As part of recent curriculum development for the ninth grade integrated technology course, I scheduled a visit for the teachers to the Microsoft store in King of Prussia.

I have also assisted classroom teachers, as well as grade levels as a whole, have Skype sessions with experts, authors, and museums to bring in outside speakers.

Again, we partnered with the community when I ran a contest to design a new logo for Central Bucks. Students were able to meet with a professional graphic designer to have their work critiques and receive feedback. This provided a relevant experience for the students considering a career in graphic design. Community partnerships are an essential elements of an effective school.

I bring a high degree of professionalism in all that I do. In my current role I often work with human resources on sensitive personnel issues. These must be handled with the utmost professionalism. Recently, I was chosen by Microsoft to present on two topics at their stage for the 2019 International Society of Technology in Education. My vision for Teams usage in schools by building administrators is still being used internally in Microsoft to help drive the product.

Much of what I currently do supports professional growth. I teach various workshops for the district on many topics. As a QUEST teacher I provided building based support as well as district level workshops. I have also pushed coworkers to continue their professional growth outside of normal means. While at Bridge Valley I instituted a gamification system to "badge" accomplishments, pushing the staff to try new things. I also encourage and provide instruction to members of my current department to become Microsoft Certified Educators which utilizes 21st century learning design to create instructional materials.

As a classroom teacher my classes were always high achieving, and I have experience parsing data to find trends and plan for improvement. What is really important to me are the life lessons and experiences students walk away with. Our primary job as educators is to foster a love of learning, and a deeply held belief that what they do matters, and that they matter as people.

I also believe in servicing the whole child. If basic needs are not met, the student is going to have a difficult time functioning in the classroom. These needs go beyond the basic. We need to provide our students to opportunities to make real tangible accomplishments that they can be proud of. This is how we push them all the way up Maslow's hierarchy so our student can reach actualization.