Goal #1:
Strengthen my leadership skills by shadowing my leadership team

As an aspiring leader who is deeply committed to serving others with authenticity and purpose, I believe that my first responsibility is to learn from the leaders before me. In my Leadership and Organizational Development Course (EAD 801), I learned that to fully understand forces that comply with authoritative power, I must first understand my position. Therefore, I plan to begin my transformative leadership journey by shadowing my leadership team in order to gain insight on how they are fulfilling their mission to serve the educational interests of our students. As Dugan (2017) proposes, tools for deconstructing leadership theory include revealing inequality and oppression that lurks beneath normative leadership, understanding how capitalism creates forms of domination, questioning willfull blindness, and acknowledging flows of power. This requires a deep dive into current leadership methods and using the Applied Critical Leadership theoretical model to understand how one can develop a strength-based perspective centered around transformational leadership, critical pedagogy and critical race theory. I plan to observe different leadership styles and make connections on effective and ineffective practice so that I can discover the type of leader I will want to be for others.

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Goal #2:
Speak with students and families from low-income communities to discover the type of resources needed

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Speaking with the community is crucial to gaining perspective of family priorities and the type of help desired. After reading through Jay Macleod's book, Ain't No Makin It in my Concepts of Inquiry course, I grew aware of the detrimental effects of social reproduction and the way it deprives opportunity to lower-income families.  As I've learned more about culturally diverse perspectives, I've realized that a standard expectation to what students 'need' is not ideal when students come from diverse and complex backgrounds and have different sets of priorities. This made me reflect on the concept of Out of School Learning and the need for further discovery through sharing of ideas and meaningful questions outside of regular school hours. In my Museum Guide Book , which was composed for my (CEP 800) Psychology in Learning in Schools and Other Settings course,  I examine how informal learning helps us make meaning without social construct.  This type of self-directed learning not only drives curiosity but leads to higher-level awareness.  By speaking with families and discovering the type of resources they need, I can shape my efforts  towards providing support in areas which they find most meaningful and which will make a difference.

Goal #3:
Strengthen rapport with students as I help them map out their individual academic and career goals.
 

After gathering  supplemental information to help prioritize the needs of students and their families, I will center my efforts in establishing rapport with students as I help them construct high-order objectives that fit their individual academic and career goals. As Silberman (2015) describes, building trust with my targeted audience is critical before proposing any solutions for 'best fit' programs. Additionally, according to Branch (2009), it is essential to use a holistic approach that is relevant to what students want to learn about to  not only enhance individual engagement, but to stimulate ideas that will help students take charge of their own learning process. Furthermore, in order to foster effective and continuous growth, I will ensure that I create a safe space where students can feel confident and supported. I will listen and uplift every student's voice so that they know that they are heard and so that they develop the motivation to go after their true potential.

Conclusion:

In summary, my commitment to serving vulnerable communities drives my entire passion. I plan to be authentic and always eager to learn as I discover the needs of the community I am looking to serve. By learning from current leaders and working closely with students and their families, I am confident that I will gain understanding of the obstacles and challenges along my students' path. I will create actionable objectives will promote an inclusive environment where students feel respected and are free to voice their opinions, concerns and their aspirations. In this process, I will lead with tenacity and resilience and make it my goal to uplift students' voices as I make their success the heart of my mission.

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References:

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Branch, R. M. (2009). Instructional design: The ADDIE approach. New York: Springer 

 

(online). ​

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Dugan, J. P. (2017). Leadership Theory: Cultivating Critical Perspectives. Jossey-Bass. 

 

Santamaria, L. J., & Santamaria, A. P. (2011). Applied Critical Leadership in Education: 

 

Choosing Change. Routledge. ​​

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Silberman, M. (2015). Active training: A handbook of techniques, designs, case examples and tips

 

(4th ed). San Francisco: Pfeiffer (online).