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Leadership Philosophy

Public education is the foundation of a well-informed, democratic society. However, even as the 21st century brings new opportunities, it also brings new challenges to those devoted to education. From staff shortages, technology integrations, discussions about equity, and distrust of institutions, the modern educational leader will face a great number of these challenges from the front line. Yet, through the core values of love, integrity, and hope, I know I will be a strong leader for the communities I serve.

Servant Leadership

Communities throughout history have organized themselves around schools. Many Nebraska settlements grew up around a post office—the connection to the outside world—and a school. Today, many communities are now organized online with less intentional attention paid to the physical community. This has created a challenge for many schools, especially more urban areas where there is open attendance and not all students come from the surrounding neighborhoods. 21st-century educational leaders must meet the challenge of creating a school culture and climate of community. The Professional Standards for Educational Leaders devotes standard eight to describing how “effective educational leaders engage families and the community in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways to promote each student’s academic success and well-being” (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2015).

A modern educational leader must overcome the challenges of society’s skepticism of public education and engage all families and the community in conversations about what is best for each student. I believe, at the core, educators are in the service of our communities, and by building bridges through relationships to families and communities and utilizing a servant leadership style, I believe I can bridge some of those divides. I was raised in a small Nebraska farm town where I graduated from the same school as my grandfather; I was taught to treat everyone with respect, to love and care for your neighbor. These small-town values are essential pieces of who I am and how I strive to interact with the world.

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To build a culture of community, a leader must begin with the climate—the day-to-day tone of the school, which evolves from how leaders’ model and reinforce positive interactions with students, their families, and the community. According to Todd Whitaker, “if we do something today, we change the climate. If we never stop doing it, we change the culture” (2020). By modeling and reinforcing loving kindness as a leader and doing it daily with integrity, I positively influence the culture of my school community.

Instructional Leadership

Educational leaders can only meet these challenges of the 21st century with highly effective teachers on their staff. As a teacher and teacher leader for the first two decades of my career, I have proven to be a strong teacher and leader of teachers. As an educational leader, I will never lose that connection to the importance of the work of teachers in the classroom.

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Modern educational leaders must “establish strong lines of communication, foster shared beliefs about schooling, build a sense of community, and establish a standard of excellence to govern operational procedures and normal routines in the schoolhouse” (Green, 2017). Strong leaders motivate and empower those they lead by providing them with the tools and skills they need to be successful. As a teacher, I have stepped into leadership roles that have allowed me to develop skills in professional development, as well as leading and mentoring teachers. When effective leaders “develop the professional capacity and practice of school personnel” and “foster professional community of teachers and other professional staff” they can increase student success and well-being (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2015).

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As a leader, I am prepared to be a lead learner. I am current in curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. I have lead faculty in aligning assessments with standards and have led professional development on strategies that can address the needs of learners (Green, 2017).

I have experience with developing and leading Professional Learning Communities where teachers learn to lead and collaborate with one another to improve student academic performance. I have mentored teachers, formally and informally, and always strive to help staff in every aspect of the school community to support and encourage the growth of each and every student.

Lasting Impact

As a leader, my hope is to build positive learning communities, bringing together the student, the family, and the school community. Additionally, I hope to deliver exceptional employment experiences for the staff I serve. Overall, the challenges facing modern educational leaders can seem daunting. Utilizing the servant leadership and instructional leadership styles, which coincide with my values of love, hope and integrity, I will continue to be the leader we need in our schools today, benefiting not just each individual who enrolls in our schools, but society as a whole.

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Resources

Green, R. L. (2017). Practicing the art of leadership: A problem-based approach to implementing the professional standards for educational leaders. Pearson.

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National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015). Professional Standards for Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author.

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Whitaker, T. (2020). What great principals do differently: Twenty things that matter most. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

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