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| Photo by Vicki Mokuria |
In the second week of our Distinguished Speakers Series, we received a visit from the 2015 National Principal of the Year of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), Jayne Ellspermann. I had the opportunity to welcome Jayne at the airport before having dinner with her at Laguna Beach. At our dinner, Jayne was eager to share that she loved data. Over the next two days, I could see that this love fueled the transformations she enacted at West Port High School.
Jayne first started her workshop by sharing, “I love my job.” She explained how she first began in law enforcement and that by chance and through a friend at a party, she entered into the teaching field. When Jayne first entered West Port, it had an average 100 student referrals a day and 65% of the teachers reported feeling unsafe on campus. Today, there is a 14-day lapse per student referral and 100% of the teacher report feeling safe on campus. Looking at those numbers, one many wonder how did Jayne transform her school? It goes back to what she believes in: “to enable others to exceed their own perceived potential.” She started looking for folks who would help others grow; she started cultivating other principals. The district she works in has had 19 principals that were all Jayne's former assistant principals. Jayne shared about taking numbers seriously. For example, she transformed the school schedule so that all teachers' planning period was at zero period. She then added a few minutes before and after the school day that freed up an hour in the middle of the day. This hour became part of Jayne's creative lunch program called PowerHour. It is one hour where students can take their lunch to any place on campus and simultaneously do anything from tutoring to club activities to mentoring other students. The program has a double benefit it that it also allows teachers to have extra time with struggling students.
Transforming the school calendar was just the start. Jayne implemented a variety of professional development routines that helped to transform teacher attitudes and quality of teaching. She started a thirty minute Friday Faculty Focus meeting that always begins with five positive things that happened that week. She also started CrateWalks, a weekly walk through of the school where students work is collected in a crate. Teachers then go through the work and label the grade, subject, and standards associated with each work. They chart their labels and align it with the actual grade level and required standards. The activity helped teachers to see how their work was initially far behind what was required of their students and strive to raise their quality of instruction.
Jayne’s Take Home Points:
- “If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow” John Dewey
- “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure” Marianne Williamson
- As a leader, you have to be cognizant of what you’re emitting
- “You need PhD to be a principal: Passion, Humility, Determination” Ronnie Rowell
- “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future” Franklin D. Roosevelt
- It’s not about splitting up time, but about making the best use of the time we have
- “We need to redefine leadership as being about lollypop moments” Drew Dudley
- Leading is about letting go
- You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with
- Presumed Competence
The most important number Jayne stressed was the number five. She explained, "you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with." In looking back, Jayne gave us so much more than we anticipated in those forty-eight hours. She had built in hours and hours of planning and preparation for us. She had built in inspiration and shining examples. I could tell from the incredible amount of energy she put forth in our two days together that part of West Port High School’s transformation was her own enthusiasm.
Before leaving SUA, Jayne left us with the words of John Quincy Adams: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
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| Photo by Vicki Mokuria |
To start of the new year in the Master's of Arts program in Educational Leadership and Societal Change at Soka University of America, I and five other students are participating in a four-week-course featuring inspiring educational practitioners around the nation. In this course, we are fully immersed with each guest practitioner as they share their stories and leadership philosophy with us. At the same time, these practitioners receive a full immersion experience themselves of the M.A program and the educational ideals of Soka or value-creating pedagogy.
In the first week of this distinguished speakers' course, our class met and participated in a two-day
leadership workshop with the former Columbine High School Principal, FrankDeAngelis. The workshop took us through
the spiritual and psychological journey of Frank during and after the 1999
Columbine shooting. He shared about his decision for staying at Columbine and
how he transformed the 1999 Columbine, a school of tragedy, into the current
Columbine, a school of hope.
His down to earth character and his
philosophy of love showcased Frank's unique ability to touch people's lives. I viewed him as a type of leader that is becoming rarer to
find in today’s school administrative culture. His
philosophy about loving kids aligned with the philosophy of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the founder of Soka pedagogy.
At the core of both are students' happiness. Even in his consideration for our class’s
different perspectives, Frank modeled this tenet. One of the highlights of the workshop was our final activity. We each wrote down our dream on a piece of paper and carried them to the beach where we shared them out loud. This exchange was a genuine moment where I could feel and appreciate the heart-led leadership.
There
were many sayings that I learned from Frank that concisely and
eloquently captured his educational leadership. These saying are key and ones I am likely
to remember:
- I’m not a victim, I’m a victor
- Your job title might change but you won’t change
- It’s all about people, not about test-scores
- Don’t underestimate the power of community,
caring, and community service
- Are you popular or are you respected?
- Lead from the heart
- Whatever you decide, prioritize it!
- Parents need to be parents
- The door is always open
- Passion is not an issue for you guys
The last one is more for us but they all reflect
Frank’s lofty journey throughout his life and career as an educational leader
of more than twenty years. One thing Frank kept repeating was that each person has leadership skills. I remember, to instill this point, he asked each of us what
opportunities we had to develop our leadership skills? Through sharing, we came to the realization that just by being
on this earth, we had opportunities to develop our leadership skills as a mother,
daughter, friend, student, Buddhist, Christian, and so forth. Moreover, we not only can develop our own inner leader, but we can contribute to helping those around us see their own leadership potential.
If you are a leader, as everyone is, I feel it is
crucial we start perceiving and nurturing the potential of those right in front of us. While our society today sees
power, fame, and money as the most desirable traits of a leader, we can be a different example.
We can lead by our heart, with love and compassion. We can engage with others on an equal level
and raise capable youth as they explore and find their own voice in this
world. From Frank, I learned that wearing your heart on your sleeve is the
greatest badge of honor you could wear.
