Doing What’s Important

Outcomes

Department Chairs will be able to:

list and prioritize the duties involved in their job, and

evaluate strategies for fulfilling these job duties.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

being Department Chair

Categorizing Duties

Setting the

budget

Tracking the budget

Scheduling

teaching

loadsScheduling students

Ordering textbooks

Ordering

supplies

Assigning year-end awards

Attending Academic Council meetings

Conducting Department meetings

Mediating

internal

relationship

s

Monitoring faculty

Advocating internally

External liaison

Serving as

role model

Being curriculum

leader

Mediating

CounselingCoaching

Observing classroom teaching

Interviewing for new hires

Representing Department for tenure

Managing departmental policies

and procedures

Integrating on-

going

professional

development

Graham and Benoit, 2004

Improvingteaching &

learning

Administrative

rolesLeadership

roles

Interperson

al roles

Resource development

Administrative Roles

Setting the budget

Tracking the budget

Scheduling teaching loads

Scheduling student tracks (honors, AP, remedial)

Ordering textbooks

Ordering or buying supplies

Year-end awards

Academic Council meetings

Leadership RolesConducting regular departmental meetings

Internal intermediary (faculty to principal & back; secretarial issues such as publishing Summer Reading or course descriptions annually)

Faculty monitoring (dress code, web presence, etc)

Internal advocate (defending the role of your Department/ competing for resources)

External liaison (calls from textbook publishers, other high schools, colleges, parents)

Role model

Curriculum leader

Interpersonal Roles

Mediator

Counselor

Coaching

Resource Development

Formal class observations (pre- and post -observation meetings plus write-ups)

Interviews

Tenure board duties

Managing Departmental policies/ handbook

Integrating on-going professional development

Prioritizing Duties

Urgent but not important

Urgent andimportant

Not urgent andnot important

Not urgent butimportant

Covey, 1990

Strategies

Better time management

Macro: keeping track of deadlines

Multiple calendars for multiple deadlines

School

Department

Personal

Micro: managing information and tasks as they come in.

Actionable?2-minute ruleNot responsible? Forward or delegate!If it’s a multi-step process,

Figure out the end productMap out intermediate stepsStart with the “Next Step”

Not actionable?Delete itArchive it

Allen, 2003

Karagos, 2006.

Better data management

Filing systems that work

Using the best tools for the task

Phone vs. email vs. personal meeting

Excel is under-utilized for lack of familiarity

Good for tracking budgets

Good for scheduling teachers

Good for scheduling students

Works CitedGraham, Steven and Benoit, Pam. “Constructing the Role of Department Chair.” Department Chair Services – Online Resource Center. 19 November 2004. American Council on Education. 26 May 2007. http://www.acenet.edu/resources/chairs/docs/Graham_Constructing.pdf

Covey, Stephen R. The seven habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change. New York, NY: Fireside, 1990.

Allen, David. Getting things done: The art of stress-free productivity. New York, NY: Penguin, 2003.

Karagos, Stefanos. “GTD Wallpaper” Anabubula.com. November 29, 2006. http://anabubula.com/node/22

Contact Information

Eric E CastroSaint Ignatius College PreparatorySan Francisco, CAecastro@siprep.orghttp://www.siprep.org/faculty/ecastro

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