Vision for Leadership

Here it is, my first ever blog post.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.  But, similar to removing a band-aid, I just needed to rip it off.

I am an educator inside and out. Two years ago an opportunity to leave the comfort of the four walls of a classroom to become a curriculum coordinator for the district presented itself. This opportunity has opened my eyes to experiences, pathways and strengths that had not exhibited themselves while teaching math for nine years. I never thought I would be interested in leadership outside of my classroom. The principalship never seemed interesting enough too me as I worried that the role entailed to much of the nitty gritty and not enough of the pedagogy that I have grown to love. You see, as a teacher, I never stopped moving forward. I am the type of person that refuses to stay still for too long. I need a challenge in order to enjoy what I am doing. I love that you can always get better as a teacher; it never ends, in a good way. There is no ceiling on becoming a great teacher.

What I've found over the last 18 months in this role is that not only do I love teaching children math, but I also love supporting teachers to do great work as well. The bottom line is: I love people.

This brings me to my recent assignment for my principal internship class. A Vision for Leadership. The prompt was: In no more than 2-3 sentences write what your vision for  leadership is in a school or system that you will lead. I really (really) liked this assignment. We've all encountered leaders who have defined our path, for better and for worse. With this perspective in mind. Here's my vision. For now. It's bound to change. I'm just getting started after all.

Vision for Leadership All people can and will succeed at high levels. I believe in people and their ability to continuously improve, to be better and to do better. As a leader it is my vision to provide the necessary supports, direction and challenge for people to succeed and continuously improve.

That's all I have for this first entry.  My hope is to share my work and experience and reflect on what educators and leaders do to bring out the best in people.