Freedom Practices in Educational Leadership

There are so many things to be grateful for on a snowy Sunday morning. A warm cup of tea. A delicious gluten free dessert. A bright red bird in the tree. A beautiful window to watch the snow. A dog to warm your feet. A partner that says you should blog about your presentation this week. Then I take a look at my old friend my blog and realize it has been 5 years since I last shared my writing and I realize that a lot has happened in the last five years.

I am currently preparing to present at the MASSP Winter Conference and share some of my learnings around what freedom and liberation look like in educational leadership. It feels like a very long time ago, a really good friend and mentor suggested that I submit a proposal for the Winter Conference. I thought about it and considered what I might have to share with my colleagues. I submitted what I thought my younger self would have wanted to attend: This presentation will share practical leadership practices that positively impact student achievement and take action at creating anti-racist school cultures as an educational leader, whatever your title. We will discuss the importance of taking care of yourself, how to schedule for justice, how to create a flexible schedule for interventions, how we are impacting students through our PLCs and what we are doing to improve grading practices.

What I envision for this time is that we make connections, critically think about our own practices and dream about what the future of educational leadership might be if we dare to redefine our responsibilities, liberate authenticity, allow for autonomy, consider how we support each other, and collaborate on practical ways to make our schools anti-racist spaces that are inclusive and safe enough for everyone. I believe that leadership matters and I hope for our collective future in leadership.