VIDEO REFLECTIONS
Reflection, Summer 2018
Reflection, Fall 2018
Mid-Year PDLP Reflection, Winter 2019-2020
Final Reflection, Spring 2020
(video and written reflection)
(video and written reflection)
This is my final reflection. Not just for the spring 2020 semester but for the Wake Principal Leadership Program.
First, I want to say thank you to Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli for developing a renowned principal preparation program at NC State University. From learning about NELA in my second year of teaching, I knew I wanted to be a part of the NELA family. I am grateful for the numerous grants this program has received since I first learned about it. Thank you to the NELA professors for developing rich and applicable courses to hone my leadership skills and deepen my knowledge and abilities around school leadership. I appreciate you, Dr. Lance Fusarelli, Dr. Champion, Dr. Wirt, Dr. Harrison, Dr. Hicks, Dr. Drake, Dr. Bass, Dr. Riddick, Dr. Price, Mrs. Seaton, and Mrs. Anderson, as well as Mrs. Griffiths and the numerous graduate assistants that without you, NELA would not be able to transpire. Every training, retreat, and conference I have been able to attend because of NELA I will be forever changed and forever grateful because of it. I relearned my why as an educator and developed my purpose as a school leader through the digital storytelling retreat and the John Maxwell leadership trainings. I was able to meet extraordinary trailblazers in educational policy at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C. And I was able to participate and reflect in numerous equity retreats and gain the skills needed to apply an equity lens to decisions I make as an individual and as a school leader.
Thank you to Superintendent Cathy Moore, Dr. Lloyd Gardner, and Mrs. Cheryl Stidham at Wake County Public School System for your willingness to collaborate with NC State in creating the first cohort of the Wake Principal Leadership Program. This made all the difference in being able to attend an amazing principal preparation program tied specifically to the district. This made assignments, projects, trainings, and the yearlong internship much more meaningful and effective in building my school leadership skills.
Thank you, Mrs. Karen Anderson, for being a supportive cohort director and developing additional activities to push us and help us foster our potential. Thank you for believing in me and for helping me overcome challenges. I am a better public speaker because of you, and I do now believe I am confident, capable, and courageous. I appreciate working and learning with 13 other amazing school leaders in the Wake Principal Leadership Program. Being able to continuously collaborate and communicate with others gave this program an additional benefit that has bolstered my teamwork skills and how to work with others under pressure and with time constraints. Definitely an essential skill to have working in school leadership.
Thank you, Mr. Windell Harris, for being a great executive coach. I appreciate your support and advice throughout this school year. Thank you for being a listening ear and being honest in how I can improve. I look forward to sharing my accomplishments with you as I continue my leadership journey.
Lastly, but certainly not least, thank you to Mrs. Stacey Weddle, Mrs. Sheree Smalls, and the remaining administrative team for being the best mentors I could have ever hoped for. Completing my principal residency at River Bend Middle School has been a joy! From the start, I felt like family and could not imagine learning how to be a school administrator at any other school. Thank you, Mrs. Weddle for providing me with a variety of opportunities to gain experience in all areas of leadership. And thank you Mrs. Smalls for allowing me to be your right-hand woman on the sixth-grade floor. I do not have enough words to describe my gratitude in all the learning opportunities I had working with staff, students, and parents. I have been able to gain so much experience having a full-time, yearlong internship. I am grateful that NC State provides such an opportunity for its graduate students. Being able to streamline my focus and coursework to all come together around an internship is invaluable. I was able to grow and learn in an authentic learning environment and from real world experiences. Every opportunity is something I can take into a future school administration role.
Having my principal residency and this graduate program conclude with a pandemic has made this experience more unique that I could have ever imagined. I gained additional experience in how to handle a real-life worst-case scenario. Although I hope our society will never have to endure a pandemic again, this unique circumstance has provided me with new opportunities and situations to reinforce the importance of developing relationships. I have been able to learn more about the teachers I work with and have demonstrated to them more ways I can support them. I am appreciative of them, and this experience has concretely showed me that we have to build trusting relationships to support each other. Even though we are apart, I feel more connected with the sixth-grade staff, and I hope we will be able to celebrate our accomplishments in person at the end of the school year.
Thank you again to NC State University, the Wallace Foundation, and the Wake County Public School System for establishing the Wake Principal Leadership Program and providing me with a learning opportunity that will impact the rest of my life. Go Wolfpack!
First, I want to say thank you to Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli for developing a renowned principal preparation program at NC State University. From learning about NELA in my second year of teaching, I knew I wanted to be a part of the NELA family. I am grateful for the numerous grants this program has received since I first learned about it. Thank you to the NELA professors for developing rich and applicable courses to hone my leadership skills and deepen my knowledge and abilities around school leadership. I appreciate you, Dr. Lance Fusarelli, Dr. Champion, Dr. Wirt, Dr. Harrison, Dr. Hicks, Dr. Drake, Dr. Bass, Dr. Riddick, Dr. Price, Mrs. Seaton, and Mrs. Anderson, as well as Mrs. Griffiths and the numerous graduate assistants that without you, NELA would not be able to transpire. Every training, retreat, and conference I have been able to attend because of NELA I will be forever changed and forever grateful because of it. I relearned my why as an educator and developed my purpose as a school leader through the digital storytelling retreat and the John Maxwell leadership trainings. I was able to meet extraordinary trailblazers in educational policy at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C. And I was able to participate and reflect in numerous equity retreats and gain the skills needed to apply an equity lens to decisions I make as an individual and as a school leader.
Thank you to Superintendent Cathy Moore, Dr. Lloyd Gardner, and Mrs. Cheryl Stidham at Wake County Public School System for your willingness to collaborate with NC State in creating the first cohort of the Wake Principal Leadership Program. This made all the difference in being able to attend an amazing principal preparation program tied specifically to the district. This made assignments, projects, trainings, and the yearlong internship much more meaningful and effective in building my school leadership skills.
Thank you, Mrs. Karen Anderson, for being a supportive cohort director and developing additional activities to push us and help us foster our potential. Thank you for believing in me and for helping me overcome challenges. I am a better public speaker because of you, and I do now believe I am confident, capable, and courageous. I appreciate working and learning with 13 other amazing school leaders in the Wake Principal Leadership Program. Being able to continuously collaborate and communicate with others gave this program an additional benefit that has bolstered my teamwork skills and how to work with others under pressure and with time constraints. Definitely an essential skill to have working in school leadership.
Thank you, Mr. Windell Harris, for being a great executive coach. I appreciate your support and advice throughout this school year. Thank you for being a listening ear and being honest in how I can improve. I look forward to sharing my accomplishments with you as I continue my leadership journey.
Lastly, but certainly not least, thank you to Mrs. Stacey Weddle, Mrs. Sheree Smalls, and the remaining administrative team for being the best mentors I could have ever hoped for. Completing my principal residency at River Bend Middle School has been a joy! From the start, I felt like family and could not imagine learning how to be a school administrator at any other school. Thank you, Mrs. Weddle for providing me with a variety of opportunities to gain experience in all areas of leadership. And thank you Mrs. Smalls for allowing me to be your right-hand woman on the sixth-grade floor. I do not have enough words to describe my gratitude in all the learning opportunities I had working with staff, students, and parents. I have been able to gain so much experience having a full-time, yearlong internship. I am grateful that NC State provides such an opportunity for its graduate students. Being able to streamline my focus and coursework to all come together around an internship is invaluable. I was able to grow and learn in an authentic learning environment and from real world experiences. Every opportunity is something I can take into a future school administration role.
Having my principal residency and this graduate program conclude with a pandemic has made this experience more unique that I could have ever imagined. I gained additional experience in how to handle a real-life worst-case scenario. Although I hope our society will never have to endure a pandemic again, this unique circumstance has provided me with new opportunities and situations to reinforce the importance of developing relationships. I have been able to learn more about the teachers I work with and have demonstrated to them more ways I can support them. I am appreciative of them, and this experience has concretely showed me that we have to build trusting relationships to support each other. Even though we are apart, I feel more connected with the sixth-grade staff, and I hope we will be able to celebrate our accomplishments in person at the end of the school year.
Thank you again to NC State University, the Wallace Foundation, and the Wake County Public School System for establishing the Wake Principal Leadership Program and providing me with a learning opportunity that will impact the rest of my life. Go Wolfpack!