Who tapped you on the shoulder and encouraged you to lead? That’s a great question and one we constantly remind ourselves and our members. We all landed in this incredibly important and crucial role in the system because of the gentle or not-so-gentle nudge of someone in our lives. Inspiration might also have come from a great example or not-so-great example.
When I look back at my career path, I see a wide variety of faces who both inspired and encouraged me to lead. From people in my inner circle of family and friends, to school leaders in my early days of teaching, to inspirational superintendents, the influences are far and wide. It’s hard for me to pinpoint one person in particular because everyone played a role in pushing me to take that next impactful step.
However, there is one clear group that probably had the most significant influence on my decision to pursue school leadership - the often unseen and unheard. This is the group of students who I observed in my classroom as a teacher, and in the hallways as an intern and young assistant principal. Students who came to school when they wanted to or could, but went through the motions within our daily design without hope in their steps and hope on their faces.
The often unseen and unheard students lacked belonging, relationships, and hope. They quietly sat in classes, carefully walked the hallways, and existed undetected by their peers and adults. They were guarded, cautious, yet yearning for someone to notice and care for them. They had so much happening in their personal lives that school was often their last place of hope, but because of a large chaotic system, even that space was proving to be yet another disappointment.
This is what and who inspired me to lead. How can a single student go through an entire PK12 system and lack relationships and hope? How is that possible? What have we missed as a school or a system where this is even a reality for our kids? I was inspired to lead because I wanted to change the system. I wanted to lead to close the gaps of relationships and hope. I wanted to lead to erase horrific adult-centered systems that served as hope crushers for kids. I wanted to lead because I couldn’t handle the negative consequences of allowing the unseen and unheard to suffer through another day without hope.
I personally thank every single person who pushed or influenced me into school leadership. Whether those examples of leadership were inspiring or harmful to kids, they played a key role in moving me to the ultimate dream of making a difference in the lives of students. From one student, to a classroom, to a grade level, to an entire school, to a district, to a larger context, our leadership matters and we should always be looking for who is still absent of hope and then not rest until that is resolved. That’s why I’m still leading now and for whom.