The Answer - A blog about Education, Preparation, and Commitment.

YES Prep’s Leading Excellence Day for aspiring school leaders

December 20, 2009 by Jeremy Jones

By the end of the day, I had presented a staff meeting to YES Prep Founder, Chris Barbic and School Director Tarrieck Rideaux, held a parent conference with School Director Chris Claflin (playing the role of Juan’s incredibly discontent father, no holds bars), and run a mid-year meeting with “first year teacher Jenny” (bearing a striking resemblance to our own Chief Program Officer Jen Hines). I was exhausted. And yet, I was equally motivated and inspired by the first-hand insights I had gained from our very own YES leaders.

If you want to grow, if you hope to develop, if you thrive on constantly improving yourself, Leading Excellence is a hands-on opportunity to reach these goals. Admittedly, I hesitated when I first considered doing Leading Excellence because I assumed that these opportunities were reserved solely for future school directors. For me, as a third year teacher, a first year Grade Level Chair, and a ‘newbie’ to management, I still cannot say with any certainty whether or not I want to become a school director. I quickly learned that Leading Excellence is for any leader within our system, anyone who desires to improve his or her ability to lead. Leading Excellence has become a professional development not reserved for any one ‘track’; once I realized this, I jumped at the opportunity to further my own growth.

In the days leading up to the experience, we were asked to make preparations. The resume, letter of intent, and meeting preparations allowed us to throw some of our own personality into the experience. As with most meaningful experiences, the more you invest in it ahead of time, the more you’re going to get out of it in the long run. Ultimately, taking time beforehand allowed us to better reflect on our effectiveness as leaders.

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself surrounded by others with whom I had already shared common experiences—Lanny Bose, who I worked with at East End and who had taught me much of what I know about being a Grade Level Chair; Eric Newcomer, with whom I had attended an IDEA training in southern Texas; Sally Houston, with whom I started as a Teach for America corps member and continue to utilize as a collaboration partner; and others—GLCs, operations managers, deans—whose successes constantly motivate me. Seeing their faces, knowing their stories, and listening to their insights reminded me again that it is up to us to continue fighting against educational inequality in this city.

I don’t think it would be fair to give you too much information about the day; you have to learn that on your own, and I can say with certainty that you’ll be better for it. Here’s what you need to know: you’ll put in some time before, you’ll go in and be surrounded by amazing leaders in education, those same leaders will push you to limits that you might be hesitant to reach for, and you will learn an incredible amount about yourself as a leader. You’ll grow. In one day, you’ll have the chance to open up the tool box that you’ve developed over your two, three, four, ten, or twenty years, sharpen some of those tools, attain some new ones, and see new goals that you’re going to work toward. What did I learn? Well, a ton, but here were my two big takeaways: “Explain the why, leave open the how” and “Be yourself. You’re the only one who can be the leader you’re going to be.” What will you learn? That depends on what you need, on what will help you grow. Leading Excellence gives you an extraordinary opportunity to learn, grow, and ultimately take strides that continue to help our children get the education that they deserve.

For more information on Leading Excellence, please email Bill, Head of Schools and Director of Leading Excellence, at mailto:bill.durbin@yesprep.org?subject=Information%20on%20Leading%20Excellence or apply online at http://www.yesprep.org/work.

Victor Cota is a 2007 Teach For America Corps member and has taught middle school math at YES Prep East End for three years.  He is currently a Grade Level Chair at the East End campus.  Originally from Irvine, California, Victor graduated from the University of Southern California in 2007 with degrees in Pyschology and Religion. 

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