People often do not believe me when I say that I do not drink coffee, and rarely drink soda, so as a mom of three boys, wife, daughter, and principal to almost 1,000 students and 120 staff members...what keeps me going? Two recent #PLNs (Professional Learning Networks), #MomsAsPrincipals and #PrincipalsInAction have been my morning and evening caffeine and keeping up, or at times, catching up with our daily voxes while in the car have reinvigorated my love for learning and leadership and in doing so, it has made me a better mom, wife and daughter.
So why a blog post after an almost 4-year hiatus? Our #PrincipalsInAction Voxer group with principals all across the country has a weekly challenge. Heading back to the second semester, the question was posed, Who ignited your spark? That jolting question, coupled with our last two weeks of sharing our #OneWord 2017, ignited the itch to dig out my Blogger password and share my thoughts. Moreso, the two words beneath the question - Give Thanks - was the ultimate reason for feeling compelled to share.
My word for this year is HEALTH - physical, emotional, spiritual, financial and relationships. Yes, I want to work on maintaining healthy relationships and so must give thanks to one person who truly ignited my spark. I came into my current district four years ago, having served as a principal for one year in a neighboring district. At the end of that first year as a rookie principal, I knew that I would not be able to stay in a district that did not resonate with my moral compass. That led me to transfer to my current district, and as CRAZY as it sounds, I was elated to take a pay cut and join the district where my children attended school as an assistant principal. After being an assistant principal for 7 years, and a principal for 1 year, here I was a rookie AP in a new district. In life, sometimes it is important to take a step back in order to leap forward. It was in this new rookie role that my spark was ignited.
As cliche as it sounds, some people do indeed come into your life for a reason, season or lifetime. The principal who tapped me on the shoulder and planted the seed for leadership was undoubtedly placed in my life for a reason. I never ever thought I would be a principal...me the first person in my family to complete college in the United States. For that tap on the shoulder, I will forever be grateful.
Who is in my life for a lifetime?
During that rookie AP year, I attended an AP meeting...all the rookies...and listened to APs sharing their first-year AP struggles. I sat there and thought, really, why am I here? This is my 9th year as an administrator! We were split into groups to listen to experienced principals in the district share their words of encouragement, and immediately, the spark was ignited. I listened to every word that Susan Brenz shared with our group and I couldn't help but want to hear more...she was the consummate servant leader...the opposite leadership style that I "grew up" under in my years of being an AP in NY. As I listened to her, I knew I wanted to be the servant leader she described. Fast forward less than 3 months later, I was approached by district leaders, and asked to apply for a principalship. I was not in the district a year, and was quite comfortable getting acquainted with the district's way of doing, in the role of an AP. So that March, I took a leap of faith and accepted the principalship. One week after the announcement was made, I was assigned my mentor principal...Susan Brenz! You could only imagine the jubilee and elation I felt knowing that I would get to work with and learn from her. While we are assigned a mentor principal for a year, it is my 3rd year as a principal in the district, and Susan and I are now friends for life. She is currently my three boys' principal and so we are also connected on a personal level. Our connection wasn't luck, it was faith...this was a master plan long before we even knew it.
This weekend, I had the opportunity to celebrate Susan's 50th birthday with her, and while I will always see her as my mentor principal, she now tells others that the roles are reversed, and I'm mentoring her on innovative ideas to help transform teaching and learning. She recently visited my campus along with a team of principals, and of all the visitors coming by this year as we embark on our Blended Learning initiative, it's Susan's compliments...that here she is visiting to learn from me when our relationship began with me learning from her... that are most heart-warming.
So while there have certainly been many others who have supported me along this journey, and those who will be there for the various seasons as I grow in leadership, I am grateful beyond measure for the one who truly ignited my spark. My #AhaMoment from this experience is that as educators, we never know what seeds we are planting for our students and staff, so with every conversation, we could and should be igniting a spark. I encourage you to be intentional with your torch.
May your 2017 be your best year yet.
I do so truly believe that people come into one's life for a reason, season or lifetime. Your story makes me think of who ignited my spark three years ago and that spark is you!
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