Time With a Great Leader

Over break I had the opportunity to spend time with someone I truly trust, respect and admire. Kim Kazmierczak, as always, opened her doors and her arms to me and allowed me to come in on her day off to simply let me listen and ask. With that said, knowing her passion for students I would bet she would have been there regardless. :)

A little background - Kim hired me for my first job in the education world as a para-educator while she was the principal at Carter Lake Elementary. She allowed me to question, ask, make mistakes and learn in a building that had such an incredible climate. It inspired me daily to keep pushing on to finish my undergrad degree even though at times I thought I'd never get there. Most importantly she believed in me enough that when I made mistakes, she allowed me to learn from them.

Back to my recent learning from Kim and some things I'd like to put into writing for future reflection.

1. Nothing is more important than creating a safe and orderly environment; somewhere students feel safe and expect to be treated consistently and fairly. 
2. Leaders fail when they try to go off on their own. 
3. Leaders should become experts at data - finding what the data tells you and fixing it. 

First: When I think of any building I've been in, any classroom I've had the privilege of leading, no true learning happens until the students feel safe and secure. A perfect example is Treynor Schools providing training too all of their teachers in the Capturing Kids Hearts program that works to "develop safe, trusting, self-managing classrooms". When a student feels a part of something bigger, other than just traditional instruction, that's when true student learning takes place. 

Second: "Leaders fail when they try to go off on their own". When I heard Kim share this with me, I felt so in-line with this statement. For the last two years, we have lived this statement through our Doane EDL learnings. I think if you were to ask our Cadre what one thing they would take away from our time together many of them would say that leaders can not possess all of the skills to do it alone. Doing it alone is certain to lead to failure. Through school improvement plans, professional development plans, leadership teams and so on, it's a principal's job to incorporate everyone into doing what's best for students. It reminds me of this picture we've shared in our Cadre many times.

Lastly: "Data". My biggest nugget of knowledge I gained over break was one of those things that always seem so simple, but yet once I heard it worded this way, my understanding was so much clearer. "Leaders need to find what the data tells you and fix it". Kim shared this belief and it's a simple statement that should be one of the core beliefs of helping students, buildings and districts grow to help students. 

With all of this information, what should we take away? For me, it's about continuing to learn from the people around me so that I can help all students be succesful.