Vision for Learning

Leadership is key to guiding student learning and achievement. One of the reasons I became a teacher was the desire to affect the lives of others. My responsibility in their lives is to make sure that my students are getting the best education possible so that they can succeed in whatever they choose later on in life. When I think about my life and where it has taken me and where I would like to go, I recall the journey that has enabled me to choose the current direction in which I am headed and encompass everything that I strive to become and what I want for those surrounding me. It is essential that as a leader, I allow time to reflect upon my own vision, beliefs, and values.

Effective leadership starts with the belief that people in all positions have different responsibilities that are necessary for roles in developing a common vision for a school. Shared leadership is essential for working towards reaching high student achievement. Working together to guide the school toward that common vision is a priority. Improving student learning requires strong, consistent, and lifelong collaboration among parents, teachers, school boards, administrators, and the community. We all must take responsibility for the academic and social well-being of the students in our charge in order for improvement and consistency to occur. We must always be collaborating in order to improve the teaching profession and the education of our students. My personal goal is to embed this belief into my career and maintain a positive atmosphere so that not only I can succeed, but that my teachers and students can as well. In my mind, we are preparing our students for lifelong learning and giving them the tools that they need in order to become college and career ready. I believe that an effective leader leads with the basic premise that when all members of the school community learn together, more learning will occur, and when everyone is engaged in learning, the more effective the school is as a whole. I believe that learning only occurs if there are high expectations. When we set the bar high, students will aim themselves towards this as a goal and therefore, higher levels of achievement can occur.

Effective teachers and administrators are career-long learners. Effective schools and districts are learning communities where leaders are continuously reflecting on and improving their practice. I believe that successful learning thrives when there is structured time for collaboration and data reflection. High levels of student achievement can be seen through multiple sources of data. This data assesses students’ ability to understand. Students can then apply the knowledge and skills that matter most to their readiness for college, careers, and citizenship. We may also use multiple measures of data to determine what levels of improvement needs to occur as well. In other words, continuous growth, data reflection and practice, and professional development is key to student success. As an effective leader, building trust amongst the staff while guiding everyone to move forward towards these goals and meet new challenges is essential. Building relationships is important when creating a positive and trusting learning environment.

The ultimate end goal and vision is student learning. However the path to get there is not completely defined. There is no one path to success. Different districts, schools and districts, principals, and teachers will use different approaches and take different pathways in order to reach their vision of learning. However, the goal remains constant: that every student leaves school prepared for postsecondary studies, a well-informed citizen of our community, ready and prepared to be as independent as they can be, and workplace efficient. I believe that the entire school community needs to be committed to student learning, establishing high expectations, collaboration, and using evidence to show school improvement and a common vision in order for students along with faculty to grow and learn.