Why I Chose to Pursue a Master’s Degree in Leadership
I am currently serving in my twenty-first year as an educator. As I reflect on my career, it is with fondness that I recall several teacher leaders and administrators that had a positive impact on my decision to pursue my master’s degree in leadership. As an educator, we wear many hats, but our most important one is teaching students academic content.
To be an effective teacher, you must first build relationships with your students and show them that you care about them. Great administrators build relationships with their teachers and support them so that they can be the best version of a teacher they can. Along my path I was influenced by strong teachers that helped me to grow my leadership abilities. I have also worked for school principals which encouraged me to think about becoming an administrator.
One who believed in me and gave me my first opportunity to step into a leadership role as an instructional math coach unlocked the door for me to seriously consider returning to school to get my master’s degree.
This opportunity provided me chances to work with teachers on:
- Curriculum
- Assessments
- Student engagement
- Analyzing data
- Presenting professional development
Doing all of these things helped me to realize that I enjoyed them and wanted to pursue even more. The only way to be able to do that was to go back to school and earn my graduate degree.
How a Master’s Degree in Leadership Helped My Overall Career
A master’s degree opened the door for me to be able to apply for administrator positions. I was confident in my ability to discuss the leadership roles that I took on as an instructional coach and ideas that I wanted to implement as an assistant principal. The knowledge I gained while doing the coursework for my master’s degree prepared me for the next step in my career and gave me the credentials I needed to get the job.
I was blessed to work as an assistant principal for four wonderful years with an amazing principal willing to mentor and encourage me to consider becoming a principal. During my time as an assistant principal, I also learned from other assistant school principals and networked with other administrators at the state level. I would never have been able to make these connections without my master’s degree.
Through my experiences as an assistant principal and the relationships I built, I could apply, interview, and earn my first principalship. I am currently serving in my sixth year as a principal at an excellent school that has amazing teachers, students, and parents. I do not know if I will retire as a principal or consider moving to a district office position; however, I feel that my master’s degree and experiences would allow me to do so if I decide to pursue that avenue during my career.
What I Learned Through the Degree that I Still Use
The following topics and skills are all things that I learned through my executive leadership degree that I still use in my daily work as a principal.
Build Relationships
This is such an important aspect of being a leader. When you become an assistant principal or principal, before you do anything major or make big changes, you must get to know the people you serve. There may be some traditions or things that happen in the school that are important to the community.
In addition to this, you should always consider the thoughts and opinions of all stakeholders. As a leader, you cannot just cater to one group you have to listen to them all and make decisions that are best for everyone. Teachers, students, and parents all have different ways of thinking about things, and it is best practice to take input from all three. Yearly surveys are a good source of data and working with your parent-teacher organization a school improvement council, a teacher leader group or committee, and a selection of students such as student council.
Analyze Data
Data is essential to gather, analyze, and plan from as a leader. There are so many types of data, start with state testing data so that you can make the best plan to serve your students and their needs. You should also gather some social-emotional data on your students so that you can support their mental health and teach them coping skills and mindfulness. Data from parent, teacher, and student surveys are also important to analyze so you can keep a pulse on the school environment, morale, safety, and needs.
Budget
This is quite a task as a leader because you have so many items you have to purchase and so many accounts to keep up with. There are many financial decisions to make and you want to be a good steward of the money as well as be economical.
School Law
School laws span topics from special education to knowing how many hours someone with encumbered and unencumbered lunch can work. Including FERPA, IDEA, FOIA, and the list goes on. It is imperative to keep up with changes in the law and utilize your district lawyers, when needed, for advice and yearly conferences for updates. Your human resources director is also a great support for faculty and staff legal advice.
Management
In addition to being an instructional leader, you also have to manage a building. This includes custodial staff, knowing how to activate and deactivate the fire alarm, scheduling grass cuttings, order new playground equipment, etc.
Hiring
This is your human capital and to have a great school: you must hire great people. The most important thing I learned was that you should hire integrity above all else because you can always train skills.
My master’s degree in leadership has opened many doors for me, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to further their career in education. It has been a priceless investment for me. I wish you the best of luck as you pursue yours!
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