You may be wondering why I decided to become an educational consultant. It really boils down to one thing…passion. I have a passion for improving education in my city, my state and our country. The system is broken. Teachers are leaving education in droves, students are being done a disservice, parents are frustrated by the bureaucracy. I want to be a change agent. I want to be part of the solution.
I spent my entire career building up an urban school in Indianapolis. As a teacher, I didn’t have effective administrators. In fact, the school was on the brink of being closed due to financial instability. I watched teachers and students (understandably) walk away for better school environments elsewhere. I stayed, though, as did a few others, and what we worked so hard to build was pretty incredible.
I am so proud of that school community and what it has become. We were doing education the right way. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t always fun, but we did what we had to do to ensure those students were given a top-notch education in a safe, caring environment. We ensured our teachers were taken care of, physically, mentally and emotionally. We supported them, gave them feedback and got them the things they needed. Why? Because you can’t keep great teachers without doing these things, and that school has GREAT teachers. We addressed our students’ basic, as well as emotional, needs. We showed our students, first and foremost, that we cared for them as individuals. Why? Because students cannot succeed academically if these needs aren’t met or they don’t feel loved in their school community.
Walking away from that school was bittersweet. They were my family, and I truly loved going to work there each day. But I had something bigger in mind and was given the opportunity to turn it into a reality. That opportunity is having the chance to share my experiences and knowledge with other schools so that the success we found can be replicated.
Can you imagine if those schools we read about that seem to be a diamond in the rough actually became the norm? Can you imagine teaching at a school where your well-being was important and your expertise was valued? Can you imagine leading a school where your teachers are happy and eager to go above and beyond, your students are engaged in authentic learning and parents are committed to the success of the school? These things are possible, and I know this because I’ve experienced it.
So, if you’re wondering why I decided to become an educational consultant, I would argue that that is exactly what I’ve always been. I just want to do it on a larger scale to help more students, more teachers and more school leaders. Our educational system is broken, but we can fix it, one school at a time. And the time is now.
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