"The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the world of school finance and to engage them in developing strategies for how to use school resources to leverage the success of the academic program, in particular how resources can be used to achieve equitable outcomes for traditionally disadvantaged students. Students will gain the understanding needed to analyze monthly budget reports, design annual school budget plans and best allocate resources to maximize equitable student learning outcomes" (from GSE course handout)
What were some highlights? One of the highlights was participating in a simulated board meeting, where we shared recommendations to a board of education within the context of an assigned perspective. The perspectives (groups) were (a) site leader; (b) labor/union leader or; (c ) parent advisory group. I was a part of (c) parent advisory group and advocated that "PTAs are more than bake sales." We advocated for quality education and quality teachers for our children.
Another highlight was that this course made me be curious about what finance equity is like in schools in Japan. This curiosity led me take a look at resources like UNESCO's "Financing for Equity" and "Who pays for what in education?" Who pays for what in education is such a fundamental question that we as educators should all be paying attention to.
A topic around resources and funding is often controversial because of how inequitable it is. But in the midst of inequity, how can we still use resources as a leverage to create equitable outcomes? How can we creatively do that? That's the kind of questions that I as a leader want to sustain my focus on, and I'm thankful that our instructors kept encouraging us to see the bigger picture.
Leading Innovative Schools
Who are you as a leader? How do you leverage your strengths to lead? What is your call to action? How will your call to action be determined?
What makes a great leader? Why does leadership matter?
How do leaders effectively manage change?
What structures are critical to growing talent and nurturing innovation and creativity?
What are some examples of transformational leadership in education?
How do you define transformational leadership?
Leadership is a complex process by which the leader has the capacity to influence others to perform and achieve. The objective of this course is to focus on the basic principles of educational leadership and how it unfolds in school systems, influences decision-making processes, and impacts teaching and learning. We will explore variables that affect innovation, effectiveness, and efficiency in leadership. Emphasis will be placed on vision, goals & objectives, motivation, decision-making, time management, team building, dealing with change, communication skills, and diversity issues (from the syllabus).
Here are some discussion prompts and responses.
Q1. Why might it be important to understand and leverage your strengths and the strengths of others?
It is important to understand and leverage your strengths and the strengths of others because knowing your strengths will help you lead as a leader. It will help you...1) how to utilize the strengths where they are needed, 2) gain confidence and build confidence in others, 3) make a good condition for collaboration. And most importantly,4) it will help you understand and appreciate more about yourself and others. It is important to leverage your strengths and the strengths of others because not only strengths are assets to the community, strengths define who we are. Strengths are talent, gift, skills that have been developed over time. Strengths are developed not only by one's own hard work, but by others patience and love and their unique background.
Q2. What makes a great leader? Why does it matter?
I think a great leader is someone who leads the community with care and makes decisions for the benefit of the community. A great leader values diversity and inclusiveness and cares that their work is liberatory. A great leader recognizes that inequity in the system, history, and present, and when they see it, they name it and they decide to act upon it. A great leader tries to align their belief, vision, and action. A great leader is also a reflective learner that makes them stay humble and be forgiving. It matters because the quality of leadership shapes the community. Leadership affects the members of the community and impacts the wider community as well.
Q3. How might leaders effectively manage and lead change?
For leaders to effectively manage and lead change, leaders need a 1) vision, 2) team, 3) system & environment, and 4) love. (1) Vision...Leaders need to see and co-create an authentic vision that is good for the future of the organization and the wider community that they are serving, and that is inspiring to the members of the organization. (2) Team...Leaders need a team who are their thought and action taking partners. (3) System & Environment...Leaders need to create a human-centered system and environment that makes change sustainable. It has to create a space for continuous improvements that leads to liberatory system. (4) Love..Leaders need to love their organization and its people that they are working with and for. Ethic of love will drive leaders manage and lead change. And yes, self-love! Leaders have to take care of themselves in order to lead others. So important for sustainability and authenticity.
Q4. How can we collectively create a learning organization?
The most significant piece of advice or strategy I would recommend to a colleague about creating a learning organization for a team is... (1) Create a safe environment: As mentioned in class and on this forum, I also believe that coming up with ideas for safe-to-fail experiments and putting those ideas into action are only possible by having a safe environment, where everybody is seen and heard and open to change. *IDEA*
Discuss with your team, "What does a safe environment look like, sound like, feel like to you?" "In what way, do you see we have that?" "How can we make our environment more safe to all?"
(2) Invest in professional learning: Make professional learning a priority. In order to do so, reflect what's working well and what's not working so well. *IDEA*
Do empathy interviews with your team members. Ask them about professional learning (wants/hopes/pains/wonderings).
Look at the budget and resources (time, money, things) that your team had invested in professional learning in the last couple of years. Reflect what was being done and the impact of it. Then think creatively what to stop, what to continue, and what to try out new.
With your team, identify bottlenecks to making professional learning priority. Generate ideas.
Q5. What are some examples of transformative leadership in education?
One example is transformative teaching that guides transformative, deeper learning. I remember that a lot of my transformative learning moments happened in college. Through my professors, I aspired to become an EFL teacher that I had not wanted to become. Their teaching made me find joy in learning and teaching English that transformed me to become an English teacher. I also experienced transformative, deeper learning through GSE this year. "Relationship is deepest learning," sam seidel said at Deeper Learning Conference 2022. The program put relationships at its core and its instructional design helped build relationships and helped learning happen in dialogue. Designing and cultivating conditions for transformative learning is one attribute of transformational leadership.