Thursday, October 17, 2013

Leadership Community

I am participating in a Leadership Learning Community as facilitated by the Ounce of Prevention & Chicago Public Schools' Prevention Initiative program.  This is one of 6 learning communities being facilitated this year and I am excited about this opportunity.  For me, this is a safe place to share ideas, worries, achievements, etc.  Today was our first meeting and we spoke about the goals of the community and set ground rules before creating a list of topics we might like to discuss.

The question posed today was how we came to understand & value quality....

I have had an interesting journey to get to where I stand & to become who I am, writing this post to share with you.  

A friend of mine recently asked, "How did you know what to do when you got this job."  Honestly?  I didn't. But I did know what I didn't like in a supervisor when I was a teacher.  So I did the opposite of that.  Much of my work has been based on this type of reflection.  Of course, some of what I do I have learned from mentors in the field.  I am so thankful that I made the leap to Chicago as it dramatically changed my philosophy of education -- in a 180 motion.

I am so excited to see what this group will bring to each other; I think it's a great opportunity to step outside of our centers and share hardships, problems, and also our triumphs in a reflective & supportive environment.  I'm pumped.

I needed this kind of boost :)

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Don't you shrug your should--- okay, yes, shrug your shoulders.

For a split second this morning, I was upset with a teacher.  And then just as quickly as I had gotten upset, I was so over-the-moon pleased with that very same teacher for the very same reason I had originally been upset!  Our DCFS licensing representative came this morning for our annual review.  I went into the classroom just to let the teachers know that she was here and would likely be coming into the classrooms to see them and this teacher just stared at me and shrugged.  I don't know what I was expecting, but realistically, her response is exactly what I want.

Who cares?

It doesn't matter who walks into our center, we are providing the highest-quality care possible.  We don't put on a show to please a visitor.  We do our best for the children and their families. This is so important to me as a director, I cannot express it enough.  If we're only putting on a good show for visitors, we aren't making the children our priority.

I love my team.