Part 10: Leading in a Time of Crisis – a Conversation with Principal Zaharah Valentine
“For other school leaders I would add, don’t be afraid to manage up. Many of our district leaders are understandably disconnected from what’s occurring at the school-level. Some of the policies or expectations may not quite align to the real work. Speak up with a solution! It’s easy to find an issue, it’s more skillful and solutions-oriented if you see a problem of practice and couple it with a solution. If not, save your criticism.”
Today on Getting Unstuck
Most of us are living in an unprecedented time. Not since World War II, have we experienced something that can literally impact every person on the planet. Getting through the COVID-19 pandemic is taking incredible resources and resourcefulness. It is also forcing us to look at one another and work with one another differently. And one place of work where that is extremely evident is in schools, here in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K..
What follows is one conversation in a series of conversations we’re having with educators across the country on how they are leading their schools in this time of crisis. Because these educators are extremely busy helping their schools and communities to pivot, we’ve intentionally limited these conversations to 15 minutes.
It’s our hope that these conversations will provide nuggets of solid advice and emotional support to other educators on the front lines of change.
A faculty member’s self-care plan has three components.
1. How are you taking care of yourself?
2. How are you taking care of the ones you love?
3. How are you aligning your efforts and your time to support the scholars at Baltimore design school?
— Principal Zaharah Valentine
In this episode we hear from:
Zaharah Valentine:
Principal at the Baltimore Design School
Baltimore, MD
Listen for:
Beyond coordinating the logistics of online instruction, the work is all about
Keeping the conversations focused on meeting student needs.
Encouraging “self-care” on the part of her faculty.
Aligning resources to support the tasks that staff is asked to tackle.
Taking appropriate care of herself and her family.
“I believe that when you don’t ask adults what they need, that often translates to how they support students. So I think it’s really important as a leader, that you model self care with staff so that that translates to when they speak with students.”
Could a book on how to effectively lead change in schools be more timely?
We’re pleased to announce…
…that our book Shifting: How School Leaders Can Create a Culture of Change is now available from Corwin Press or Amazon. If you purchase from Amazon, please consider leaving us a rating and review. Thank you!
From our publisher:
In Shifting, educators and leadership experts Kirsten Richert, Jeff Ikler and Margaret Zacchei empower educational change leaders to proactively and coherently navigate complex change in schools to achieve the desired outcomes. Using a three-part framework—Assess, Ready, Change—this book leads educators to examine a school’s imperatives and readiness for change, identity the tools and abilities required to manifest change, and take action by defining the roles and processes necessary to effectively implement both sweeping change and smaller day-to-day adjustments.