Dear High AIMs Districts Community,

As we venture deeper into the heart of the academic year, it's crucial to spotlight the significance of strong leadership in our educational environments. Leadership sets the tone, shapes culture, and empowers individuals within our educational communities to thrive. Special thank you to AASA and their willingness to partner with High AIMs to provide national cohorts to add context to our local cohorts.

Brene Brown, a researcher, storyteller, and author, has delved into the essence of leadership and its profound impact on fostering environments of trust, collaboration, and innovation. Her work emphasizes the importance of vulnerability, courage, and empathy in effective leadership. Brown's teachings echo throughout many successful educational institutions, showcasing how embracing vulnerability and authenticity can create more resilient and connected learning communities.

Dr. Mari Phillips, our advisor and local Cohort lead, brings valuable insights into this month’s discussion on leadership. Dr. Phillips has been exploring the intersection of leadership and educational excellence, emphasizing the significance of empathetic leadership in shaping a nurturing educational environment. See below for reformation on our December Leadership Retreat at the Delta Hotel where AJ Juliani will share his insights on innovation and leading through change.

As educators and administrators, we aim to nurture leaders who not only excel in their roles but also inspire and empower others to unlock their potential. By embodying these principles, we create spaces where students feel seen, heard, and supported, fostering an environment where both personal and academic growth can thrive.

Throughout November, let’s continue to reflect on the lessons of leadership, leveraging Brene Brown’s invaluable teachings and Dr. Phillips' expert guidance. Their wisdom serves as a compass, steering us toward a community founded on trust, empathy, and growth.

Stay tuned for our upcoming events and discussions focusing on these crucial aspects of leadership.

Thank you for your unwavering commitment to our educational mission.

Warm regards,

Tom

A.J. Juliani wrote a powerful message in his blog titled, The Importance of "Doability" In Times of Change. The blog focuses on why Artificial Intelligence is great for teachers right now. He uses this graphic by Bill Ferriter to demonstrate his message. He talks about how teachers and leaders constantly evaluate new initiatives for DOABILITY and IMPORTANCE before deciding how much energy to invest in the project. Leaders know it is tough to get to the Green, top-right corner of the matrix and that the only way we can get there is to focus on Doability.

On the other hand, teachers know that if they have top-right moments, it is generally less than 100 percent of the staff. So how can you make new initiatives doable and important so the entire staff has buy-in? A.J. Juliani shows teachers how Artificial Intelligence tools can save teachers time, improve their planning and prep, and lead to meaningful and relevant activities to get to the top right Green corner of the matrix to make a difference for kids and help teachers succeed at creating meaningful work.

High Aims Leadership Retreat

Featured Speaker - A.J. Juliani

December 6, 2023 - 10:00 AM -4:30 PM -

December 7, 2023 - 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Location: Delta Hotel, 11320 Chester Road, Sharonville, OH 45236

District Leadership Teams will experience an incredible learning opportunity with A.J.Juliani. A.J. Juliani is a leading educator in innovation, design thinking, and inquiry-based learning. Juliani has worked as a Middle and High School English Teacher, a K–12 Technology Staff Developer, an instructional coach, an educational consultant for ISTE, an educational speaker, and currently an Instructor at UPenn Graduate School of Education. He is the author of eight books about learning, of which four have been best sellers. He’s also a parent to five kids and believes that our job is not to prepare our kids for something but to help them prepare themselves for anything.

Please make sure you register for this powerful learning opportunity. You can register using the QR Code at the top of this section.

Deer Park City Schools is doing some exciting things to build student relationships. They have launched a Peer Mentoring Program that seeks to pair freshmen and seniors together to work on relationship building, showing interest in others, developing empathy, and creating an action plan to help others. Adam Gergen, Career Academies Instructor, would love to partner with school districts at no cost to assist in helping high schools organize and implement the program. Please take a look at the attached document explaining the program and a video that complements Adam and his seniors' efforts. He is waiting to hear from you. He can be reached at gergen.a@dpccsd.org.

Brene Brown's book, Dare to Lead, is one of the most profound

leadership books I have read. Our district administrators

participated in a book study using Dare to Lead. The concepts

taken from the book were so applicable that administrators

referred to them when meeting with their staff, teacher

leaders, and teams of people they supervised. Some of you may have read this book and

participated in a book study where you engaged in courageous conversations, causing you to demonstrate vulnerability. Reminding you of becoming a daring leader will trigger your memory

of those conversations and may make you get the book off the shelf to reread it. To others, I suggest you get the book. You won't be disappointed. You will find it very impactful and relatable. She challenges you to think about becoming brave leaders who can cultivate a culture in which brave work, tough conversations, and whole hearts are the expectation. People feel safe, seen, heard, and respected.

Brene reminds us that leadership is not about titles, status, and power. "A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas and has the courage to develop that potential.' With that said, three concepts are at the heart of daring leadership.

1. You can't get to courage without rumbling with vulnerability. Embrace the suck. Most of us feel

brave and scared at the same time. We need to learn how to get through the rumble (i.e., a

discussion, conversation, or meeting) by having a real conversation, even if it's tough, and

committing to vulnerability. This skill takes daily practice. I have attached an infographic that

displays the Rumbling Language Feedback Tool you can use when it's time to rumble.

2. Self-awareness and self-love matter. Who we are is how we lead. It is less about who people are

and more about how people behave and show up in difficult situations. How we behave moves us

out of alignment with our values, creates mistrust with our colleagues and teams, and prevents us

from being our most courageous selves. Brene reminds us that "daring leaders must care for and

be connected to the people they lead."

3. Courage is contagious. If we want people to truly show up, we must cultivate a culture in which

brave work, tough conversations, and whole hearts are expected. We must be vigilant about

creating a culture where people feel safe, seen, heard, and respected.

Question: What can you say have been or are your challenges, barriers, obstacles, fears,

weaknesses, or limitations to becoming a daring leader?

Question: What can you say have been or are your challenges, barriers, obstacles, fears,

weaknesses, or limitations to becoming a daring leader?

Meeting and spending time with the High AIMs Consortium cohort leaders has been a joy. Working with such competent, forward-thinking experts in education is exciting, and I look forward to this great partnership. All cohort groups have met at least once since September and have determined meeting dates and locations for the remainder of the school year. Cohort groups have decided what they want to accomplish, the professional learning they need to support their work, and how they see themselves operating.

Thank you for your time, participation, and engagement at the cohort meetings. We have already engaged in rich dialogue about collaborative leadership, innovative and best practices, personalized learning, and fostering an environment for improved learning experiences for students, teachers, and administrators. You can click here for more detailed information about meeting locations and times.