Teacher Leadership and Future Goals

Lauren C. Williams-Hackman
EDEL 502H
Spring 2020

Leadership Experience--California Connections Academy

Conducts biweekly meetings with freshman (9th grade)

English teachers to review assessment data, collaborate
English 9 PLC Lead 2018-Current on upcoming lessons/team-teaching meetings, and
brainstorm how best to meet the needs of our students
and their families.

Collaborates with other high school English teachers to

English Department
2019- Current discuss concerns, share ideas, and hold monthly
Leadership Team department meetings.

ACE (Advocate for Attends monthly meetings with Senior Organizational

Effectiveness Specialist from parent company (Pearson
Culture and
2019-Current Online & Blended Learning) and other ACE reps from
Engagement) schools across the country to discuss ways to engage
Representative teachers/employees in an online environment.

Works with new hires to help onboard them with our

school’s online program. Facilitates discussions in “Here 2
New Teacher Mentor 2019-Current
Help” chat and presents mini-training sessions at new
teacher “Lunch Bunch” meetings.

Assist coworker in creating and publishing monthly high

school staff newsletter to promote staff morale and
High School Staff collaboration. Gathers information from Google surveys
2018-Current
Newsletter Assistant to write feature articles about employees and their pets,
entertainment articles, and tips for events like state
testing.
 Future Goals

I will develop my leadership in advocating for representation for all students.

○ GOAL: Redesign current curriculum for projected release in 2021-2022

schoolyear to ensure that students, especially at-risk LGBTQIA+ students are
representing within the materials, including literature and grammar exercises.
○ OBJECTIVE: One example is our grammar lessons on pronoun usage. The lessons

are outdated and very gendered, neglecting to consider trans or non-binary

students and the importance of the usage of the singular “they.”
○ RATIONALE: Schools in Transition (a guide by the Human Rights Campaign)

discusses providing support for LGBTQIA+ youth, acknowledging a child’s right to

feel safe and welcomed within their school community. Students whose gender
identities are affirmed within the educational setting are more likely to succeed
and less likely to have risk factors such as depression or suicidal thoughts.
○ NBPTS: Proposition 1—Teachers are committed to students and their learning.

○ TLMD: Domain 6—Improves outreach and collaboration with families and

community.
○ TEACHER INQUIRY: My teacher inquiry focus will be on our pronoun lessons in
Unit 1. My goals focus on students understanding gendered vs. nongendered
pronouns and correct usage of the singular “they” in sample sentences.

I will develop my leadership in my Professional Learning Community as my grade-level

representative.

○ GOAL: As the English 9 PLC lead, I will facilitate collaboration and help to develop
a safe and effective work environment for English 9 teachers, as well as all
teachers in the English department.
 ○ OBJECTIVE: We will collaborate to successfully meet our 3rd quarter PLC SMART

goal of 70% of English 9 students earning a 70% or higher on their Romeo and
Juliet persuasive essays.
○ RATIONALE: Team Leaders in a Professional Learning Community must take on

different roles but are ultimately held accountable by their school’s

administration. Educators who choose to lead must not only be effective but
must also have the recognition and respect of their team members. Setting
realistic and attainable goals and identifying appropriate benchmarks is part of
being an effective leader.
○ NBPTS: Proposition 5—Teachers are members of professional communities.

○ TLMD: Domain 1—Fosters a collaborative culture to support educator

development and student learning.

I will develop my leadership in my capacity as a new teacher/new hire mentor.

○ GOAL: Use clear and concise language to provide mentees with easy-to-

understand instructions on how to navigate our online school program

(Connexus/PCX) in a way where they are comfortable reaching out for help and
feel safe approaching me with questions.
○ OBJECTIVE: While meeting with mentees at the beginning of the schoolyear (or

when they are first hired if they are a mid-year addition to the team) I will assess
their current technological comfort level to best address how to teach them our
online program, how to prioritize tasks, and work on setting up
semester/yearlong expectations/goals as a mentor and mentee.
○ RATIONALE: Building trust and a meaningful professional relationship with new
teachers/new hires is vital to making them feel like a valued employee and
letting them use their unique skills and experiences to serve our school’s
students and their families.
○ NBPTS: Proposition 5—Teachers are members of professional communities.
○ TLMD: Domain 3—Promotes professional learning for continuous improvement.