What happens when you pull together 15 principal from Arkansas, Indiana, New York, Montana, California, Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Tennessee, Kansas, and Idaho together for a meeting? One united voice begins to emerge working to improve the quality of education for children in America.
I was recently invited to Washington DC to participate in a round table discussion at the US Department of Education. We were privileged to meet with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Assistant Secretary of Education Deb Delisle, and senior staff members from the department. We visited about the reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act, Early Childhood, English Language Learners, the importance of an effective principal, accountability systems, and equity among high poverty schools.
Prior to attending the meeting, I was very reluctant to voice my opinion at the state or the national level. I had a preconceived notion that my opinion didn't matter and no one cared what a principal from Arkansas thought. I even told my assistant superintendent to permanently mark me basic in political advocacy on my principal evaluation. I never saw myself talking to political leaders.
When I received the invitation to attend Principal's at ED, I felt many emotions. I felt humbled and honored to be selected to be part of a prestigious group. I felt scared because I was traveling far away to a place where I didn't know anyone. I felt intimidated because I had never been placed in the political spotlight. I felt inadequate to speak to such important people.
My fears and insecurities began to melt away the first evening in DC. We had an informal dinner to meet our colleagues. My walls started coming down as we visited about our schools, our communities, and our personal lives. It became apparent that although we came from different backgrounds, served in different communities, led diverse staffs, taught children from all ethnic backgrounds and social statuses, we had many similar ideas on best educational practices.
The next morning, we gathered in the lobby of the US Department of Education. After clearing our security checks, we were ushered to the Secretary of Education's Conference Room. We had a packed agenda and it seemed overwhelming.
As the meetings started, I began to feel more comfortable. It was apparent by each and every employee of the US Dept of Ed how much they wanted to learn from us. Each person shared a little about what they did, but had questions for us. They fervishly took notes and engaged in dialogue to gather our thoughts and opinions on different topics. The day was spent with reciprocal learning happening around us...us learning from them...them learning from us.
The tight bond that was formed between the administrators came quickly. I was amazed that a principal from an Indian Reservation in the middle of Montana had the same beliefs about best practices that a principal from New York had. The perspective that each principal brought to the table was invaluable. The wealth of knowledge in the room that day was priceless; I learned so much from them. As the bond quickly formed, our voice became united and it grew stronger.
The time we spent with the US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, felt very natural. He entered into the room with his sleeves rolled up and was eager to learn from us. All of us had an opportunity to give feedback into what we wanted to happen with the reauthorization of ESEA. He gave us some insight and justification into his thoughts on ESEA and allowed all of us to give our opinions about what would make ESEA better for our students.
If I had to sum up my experience with the Principals at ED with one word, I would say it was empowering. I entered the situation feeling like my voice was not worthy of being heard, but left feeling my voice was important and mattered.
The experience in Washington DC has opened my world. I am now serving on several state level committees to improve education for Arkansas students. I have also begun to contact my state legislators and representatives to encourage policy makers to make decisions in the best interest of students. I've also been given the opportunity to address the Arkansas State Board of Education to discuss best teaching and leadership practices.
Although these experiences have taken me completely out of my comfort zone, I have been empowered to be the voice for children everywhere. I take comfort in knowing the other 14 administrators I became fast friends with are fighting the courageous battle with me...although we are miles apart. It was a great experience and one I would highly recommend to anyone.
