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Heartfelt Lessons From a first-year principal during a pandemic
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BY TIFFANY SELM
don’t really know what I’m doing, but I’m trying and I care deeply.” This statement and feeling was inspired by a friend, former colleague, and Hamilton County Coordinator of Instructional Services, Meghan Lawson. I immediately connected with the statement, as a first-year principal. In fact, early into the pandemic, I expressed this exact statement to my staff. I wanted my people to know that I care with my whole heart and will always be real with them. As I have reflected upon this past school year, I am in awe of how my journey and learnings have led me to where I am today. I have had the privilege to know many inspiring educators who have honored who I am, yet encourage my growth while seeing my heart. From March until now, I have collected many heartfelt lessons. Be Intentional Author Sangram Vajre and recent speaker at the Leadercast Positive Disruption said, “Being intentional is more important than being brilliant.” I recognize that often, I am not the smartest person in the room. I love to learn and grow, and I notice that I have a keen ability to be intentional with my time, words, and actions. Some would say that I’m a quiet leader and yet some notice that when I speak, I strive to speak with an encouraging, and, hopefully, profound message. In order to be intentional, you must actively listen. I listen to details and work to notice moments. When the moment came for schools to close and provide remote learning opportunities to students, I made the decision to continue to be intentional. I promised that I would connect at the beginning of each day with morning announcements via my YouTube channel and dedicated the rest of my day to supporting the educators in my building by checking in, providing communication updates and encouragement, and contacting every family in my school (around 500 students) to say, “I miss you. I care about you. How are you? How can I help?” I am hopeful that my intentions of expressing care and support made a positive difference. Connection Before Content Before remote learning occurred and during, I remembered a valuable lesson that Forest Hills Assistant Superintendent, Greg Sears, taught me: connection before content. When our teams would meet in our various committees, I would always provide a connection activity before we began discussing the content. For instance, we would connect by sharing answers to these questions: If we were to go on a picnic, what would you bring and why? If your personality was a car, what car would you be and why? If you were a holiday movie character, who would you be and why? Relationships matter and before any results can occur, a relationship is the foundation that will carry your team through the good and challenging times.
Work with Passion and Purpose “Don’t seek happiness. Decide to work with passion and purpose and happiness will find you,” is a quote from The Seed by Jon Gordon. A friend, former colleague, and Forest Hills Associate Director, Bob Buck encouraged me to read this book, and I’m beyond thankful that he did. At times, I have felt lost in my career and not sure what my passion or purpose is. I caught myself playing the comparison game with others, when I needed to focus on the work and to fill my work with passion and purpose. Comparison is the thief of joy, indeed. After I refocused my energy, happiness filled my heart. I was able to clearly see and remember why I began working in education years ago: to support growth for the whole child. When feeling doubtful and not happy, do all you can to fill every moment with passion and purpose; happiness will follow shortly after. Embracing Diverse Collaboration If I was asked the question, “Are you collaborative?” years ago, I would have honestly expressed no. I thought that collaboration was inefficient. My answer today is, “I can’t live without collaboration.” My experiences have taught me that this African proverb is true, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I want to go far. I want to make a positive difference in the lives of children by embracing all voices, ideas, opinions, and perspectives. Author Tim Kight tweeted, “Wise people aren’t afraid of different opinions and perspectives. They welcome diversity of thought. They embrace disagreement and respond with respectful discussion, discourse, and debate. They understand the benefit of creative abrasion. They know that iron sharpens the iron.” When people interact with me, I hope they feel safe to express their thoughts and know that I honor what they are saying, in a welcoming and encouraging manner. As we navigate this upcoming fall into a world of education that may look very different from our past, what heartfelt lessons have we learned to improve the student experience? Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I know now with great certainty that being intentional, connecting with others, working with passion, and embracing diverse collaboration is how I show that I care. As a result, students will have better experiences and memories because of this care. Tiffany Selm is the principal at Pattison Elementary in Milford, Ohio. Prior to that, she served as an assistant principal for seven years, district coordinator for one year, and 5th grade teacher for three years. As the leader at Pattison, she is committed to meeting the social, emotional, and academic needs of all students. You can contact the author via Twitter at @mrsselm. fall 2020
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