I encourage us all to take a step back and think about how we can grow our leadership in 2015. For KASA and The Center for Education Leadership, this means expanding our network, providing new supports, and ensuring our leaders are strong enough to lead beyond their schools and districts.
In 2015, we are focusing on three new areas of organizational growth: support for principals, recognizing and fostering diversity in our leadership, and producing premier training and support for our Next Generation Leaders.
In our support for principals, we have made a conscious effort in the latter half of 2014, beginning with our PGES for Principals online community and a multifaceted approach to identifying challenges and providing training. Our vision for 2015 includes work that provides support for principals through roundtables, online community conversations, author series, and experts in the field. We will be collaborating with the Ontario Principals’ Council to strengthen and enrich our work.
Our work with the Multi-Cultural Organization Development (MCOD) recruitment for principals springs from a recognized need to ensure diverse perspectives have a seat at the table and are engaged in every facet of KASA and The Center for Education Leadership. Led by KASA’s MCOD task force, this work began with a cultural survey among the organization’s 3,000 leaders in January 2015. The survey identified members of diverse backgrounds and their specific needs. Through a multicultural network of leaders, a specific plan will be designed to recruit aspiring principals and ensure their preparation. The Kentucky Department of Education, the Kentucky Education Standards Board and universities offering principal preparation programs will partner on this work.
Please join us in making a conscious effort to practice leadership in new ways, identify areas where you can grow, and look for opportunities where you can use your skills to assist others in their work. I call on each of us to exemplify the words crafted by your board of directors - Leadership Focused, Student Centered, and Success Driven.