Starting a New Journey

I have been anxiously awaiting the day that I would start a new professional journey as a building principal. That day has finally arrived, and I am thrilled to begin working with the teachers and community of an amazing elementary school in Michigan. As I prepare to embark upon this new chapter in my professional life, there are three things that I will keep at the forefront of all of my work.

1. The main focus is teaching children

When I started my teaching career 12 years ago, I was so excited to be able to work with a group of children every day. I loved helping open their eyes and their minds to new content and discoveries through learning. As the years have passed, and I have matured as a person and an educator, I realized that sometimes the most important "learnings" a child has during a school year are those that help them mature and grow emotionally or personally. As I begin my journey as a school leader, I will work diligently to stay in touch with the reason that drew me into education from the beginning, seeking to affect children and their emotional and intellectual learning in a positive way each and every day.  I look forward to doing this by being present and visible in the hallways, classrooms, lunch rooms, playground, and at community events.

2. Listen, listen, and listen some more

I am very lucky to be joining a school community that is already very well-established and successful. My intent as I begin my work with them is not to come in and establish sweeping changes or to "make my mark". I fully recognize that there are amazing things already occurring at the school, and my main goal will be to work to truly understand the school culture and begin to develop trust among all stakeholders. This practice will aid in a more seamless transition into the role of school leader. As a trusted colleague (thanks @mrbernia) told me, I should strive to listen, listen, and listen some more. I completely agree with that advice and look forward to heeding it as I seek to truly get to know all of the teachers, staff, and community members in the building.

3. Take time to "sharpen the saw"

When I went through the "7 Habits" training a few years ago, one of the pieces that stuck with me was the importance of taking time for yourself to "sharpen the saw".  This practice is important as it allows you to stay fresh and focused in the work environment.  I will be 110% committed to my new job and role as a principal.  However, I also will be sure to plan time to do the things that help me reenergize and preserve the main asset I have: me.  I enjoy spending time with family, reading for pleasure, running, and yoga.  It is important to come to work energized and ready to interact in a positive manner with the teachers, students, and community.  This is a value I hold true for myself, but also a value I will emphasize to the teachers and staff with whom I am working.  If we all come to work energized and invigorated, the school culture will be a better place for all.

I realize that there will be MANY more areas of focus throughout the beginning of my journey as a school principal, but these are three of the areas that I will keep in mind as I begin to collaborate with the new school community.  To say that I am excited to begin this journey would be an understatement. I am beyond thrilled, and look forward to beginning my work as a school principal.

Courage + Supportive School Leaders = Opportunities for Teacher Leadership

The majority of teachers would not argue with the fact that it is important to instill a sense of leadership in their students. Moreover, encouraging students to take risks and challenge their thinking is another key component of most classrooms. Why then would the practice be any different for teacher leadership?

Although teachers strive to promote leadership among their students, often those same principles are difficult to embrace in their own practice. For this reason, it is increasingly important for teacher leaders to step forward, providing a positive example in order to remove the stigma from leadership, perhaps encouraging their colleagues to follow suit. Additionally, encouragement from building leaders to seek out leadership opportunities that align with a teacher's passions is a great first step in growing the level of teacher leadership and engagement within a school building.

However, in order for teachers to feel comfortable stepping up to a leadership role, there is one essential element that must be present throughout a school building, trust. Just as students in a classroom are not willing to take risks if there is a fear of ridicule and mockery, teachers often pass on opportunities to take on leadership roles when high levels of trust are not present in the school building. In these instances, positive examples by strong teacher leaders and support from administrators can help to break down the wall of mistrust and encourage other colleagues to seek out opportunities to lead.

           

Promoting teacher leadership is even easier when it is supported by upper level administrators.  One major change that our Directors of K-12 education (@maureenbur1 and @i_sing_america) initiated is to put professional development opportunities into the hands of the teachers.  This has been extremely empowering as well as eye-opening.   During the first sessions, there were several innovative and meaningful opportunities offered.  They were well attended; and the feedback was phenomenal.  Teachers enjoyed learning new instructional methods from practicing colleagues. They also felt a sense of camaraderie when collaborating about ideas that had worked and those that hadn't.  As a result, even more teacher leaders have emerged to provide learning opportunities for their colleagues. As school leaders, we should strive to provide similar opportunities for teachers to discover leadership opportunities within their own practice. Kudos to our curriculum directors for empowering their teachers and putting the PD in the hands of the practitioners!

In conclusion, as mentioned by Carol Dweck in the book Mindset, taking risks and learning valuable lessons from mistakes is an integral part of the learning experience.  Just as educators encourage their students to experiment with new strategies, teacher leaders should follow suit.  You do not have to be in a leadership role to be a leader, and teacher leaders can help to transform a school culture and develop trust while encouraging colleagues follow their example.

This blog post was adapted from an article I wrote for Oakland University's Publication "Teacher Leader" from January, 2013.

Storytelling to Build Relationships

Every year at parent conferences, a handful of families comment that their children love how I tell stories about my husband and kids during class. They comment that often they feel like they know my family well since stories about them often come up at their dinner tables when my students recount something I told them during class. It is something that I do naturally because I love talking about my family.

When reading the article Leading From Within by Parker J. Palmer,  it reminded me of the fact that storytelling is a great way to create and build relational trust. As Palmer (2000) stated, the more we know about a person, the more connected we feel to them.   As a school leader, the practice of starting each staff meeting with updates and celebrations about people’s personal and professional lives is a great way to start building and developing the foundation of trust and storytelling in the work place. It also sets a good example that people could take back and use in their own classrooms.

As I reflect back on my teaching career, I now understand that the realization of the importance of building relationships is something that has developed as I have matured as a person. I cringe as I remember myself defiantly telling a seventh grader in Philadelphia “You do NOT have to like me, but you DO have to respect me!!!” As a young 22 year old, this seemed like the best way to get respect from a defiant teenager, demand it. However, 12 years later, I realize that if I had approached my relationship with that child differently from the start and worked on building a relationship through storytelling and understanding of his position, I might have had a different end of the year conversation with him than the one I recounted above.

The same is true about relationships between school leaders and building faculty and staff.  Teachers will work harder for a building principal that they like.  It is important to continuously work on establishing relational trust and building relationships throughout the school year using activities such as storytelling, celebrations, and connecting at a level that goes beyond the day-to-day classroom instruction.

In summary, one of the overarching themes that has woven through all of my courses in school leadership is the importance of building relationships and establishing trust in the work place. To me, the fact that this theme appeared in all of my class work, whether it was philosophy of leadership, human resources management, school finance or school law, only serves to further highlight its importance and necessity in the development of a successful and functional school building.

References

Palmer, Parker J. (2000). Leading from within. Let your life speak. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Is Universal Pre-K Really the Answer?

In October of 2013, The New York Times published an article entitled “Language Gap Study Bolsters the Push for Pre-K.” The study cited a large inequity in the vocabulary of 2-year-olds from higher versus lower socioeconomic status groups. Subsequently, the study indicated that universal pre-k for all preschool-aged students in New York City could help to close the gap (as cited in Hymowitz, 2013).

Incidentally, Bill de Blasio, the recently elected governor of New York ran his campaign with the promise of implementing universal pre-k for all children in the state. Since all families cannot afford private preschool in New York, which can run upwards of $20,000 in New York City, de Blasio promised to find a way to fund affordable or free preschool for all children in the state (Hymowitz, 2013).

However, a contrary article in The New York Times the following week entitled “Universal Pre-K Won’t Solve Vocabulary Gap (Or Inequality)” stated that pre-k for disadvantaged kids has been shown to bolster math and reading scores; however, it is usually a temporary fix. In fact, Hymowitz (2013) asserted that these gains normally “fade-out” by third grade. Hymowitz suggested that unsupportive home environments are usually not able to support the gains made by the preschools.

Hymowitz (2013) stated that supporters of universal pre-school have been able to prove that children’s “soft skills” are often strengthened through early education and they are able to develop a stronger sense of self, which in turn helps them to stay out of trouble later in life. However, Hymowitz is again doubtful of these findings, citing that there were very few studies, which included a small sample size of students that were able to substantiate these claims.

Although many remain hopeful that more equality in the access to preschool education can help to level the playing field for disadvantaged children later in life, Hymowitz remains doubtful, citing that the home and the family plays a much more significant role in determining long-term success of children, academically and socially.

 References 

Hymowitz, K. (2013). Universal pre-k won’t solve vocabulary gap (or inequality). The New York Times. Retrieved from: ideas.times.org

Reconstructionism in Pre-K Education

According to Ozmon (2012) many educators see themselves as reconstructionists.  In fact, reconstructionists might argue that in order to stay up-to-date with current educational trends, teachers should seek to view education as being in a constant state of change.  Educators who seek to preserve society or maintain the current state with very little change could prove to be detrimental to the future of our society as a whole.

Obviously that is a very dramatic interpretation of reconstructionism in education; however, it can be argued that in order to personalize education for each student, as educators are asked to do, teachers must adopt a sense of reconstructionism within their classrooms, viewing each child’s situation as an opportunity to make that child’s life better.  In fact, many would argue that education’s purpose is to create change, and that unfortunately, in today’s society, education in utilized merely to maintain status quo, not to perpetuate change.

According to Barnett (2013) President Obama’s most recent State of the Union address identified the dire need for stabilizing access to quality pre-k education in the United States.  Barnett cited that “It is well established that the first five years are a time of rapid development that is especially sensitive to a child’s experiences” (p. 3).  Therefore, the need to reform and identify ways to provide information and access to all children, especially disadvantaged children, is key in this reform effort.  

When examining the state of pre-K education in the United States, the previous reconstructionist argument that education tends to maintain status-quo seems to be very valid.  Currently, parents who are “in-the-know” or have the financial capabilities are able to provide adequate pre-k opportunities for their children.  However, parents who struggle financially, or do not have equal access to information, may or may not provide publicly (state of federally) funded pre-k opportunities such as “Head Start” to their children.  While this and other programs provide wonderful opportunities for disadvantaged families, many families are not able to take advantage of them due to lack of knowledge of their existence, or inability to transport their children to and from the program.  This creates a system of inequality within pre-k education in our country that is in dire need of change.  

Reconstructionists would argue that this is an area in need of social justice, and educators and policy makers should dedicate themselves to reforming efforts in order to emancipate the underprivileged to provide equal access and opportunity to pre-k education opportunities.  The reconstructionist viewpoint emphasizes the fact that there may not be a specific endpoint in mind; however, the fact that change is necessary is obvious and key to the reform effort.

Therefore, due to the obvious evidence that a strong pre-k educational environment predicts future success in school, as well as the evidence that the current system is not working to ensure that all children receive these opportunities, reconstructionists would argue that it is the duty of educators and policy makes to be socially and politically aware.  Additionally, reconstructionists would argue that in order to influence our country’s future, school and governmental leaders must maintain current in the programs being developed by President Obama’s “Strong Start for America’s Children Act”.  Maintaining political activism and continually searching for social justice for ALL children, will ultimately lead to a better educational system and future for all.

References

Ozmon, H. A. (2012). Philosophical foundations of education (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Barnett, W. S. (2013). Expanding access to quality pre-k is sound public policy. National Institute for Early Education Research, 1-18.