SCHAUMBURG, IL–– Whether it is students, their families, teachers or school administrators, developing character is at the heart of Concept Schools’ mission. That is why we launched our new Aspiring Leaders Program, which was created to build a pipeline for future leaders at our organization.
Last week, Concept Schools hosted its first-ever network-wide event for the program. Teachers and school leaders had a chance to discuss big picture topics like goal setting, the rapidly changing charter school landscape, and what is to come as they continue to develop in the program.
Xavier Owens, the program’s leader and Concept’s Director of Professional Development, believes in the potential of ALP after a successful first event.
“Everywhere you go, there’s a gap in leadership,” Owens said. “We have people in high places in education that really need to be trained well to lead buildings, schools, school districts and their communities. This program is very important, and it is absolutely going to help us reach the next level.”
One component of the program is pairing seasoned veterans in education with young educators looking to grow their leadership skills. Throughout the day, ALP’s mentors and mentees were able to hold one-on-one breakout sessions where they could go over what they learned in lectures led by Concept’s central office staff along with their own experiences navigating different challenges and situations as future leaders.
The all-day event covered a lot of ground and provided its participants with tactics and leadership strategies to go back to their schools with.
HSA Cincinnati teacher Aaron Lutterodt (left) and South Ohio instructional coach Antoinette Norman (right) meeting during a breakout session
“It’s really meaningful to me to be a part of an organization like Concept Schools that wants to see me grow as an educator,” said eighth grade social studies teacher at Gateway Science Academy Shaun Ballman. “The reason I became a teacher is because I wanted to improve student lives so for them to provide additional training to achieve that goal is really impactful.”
“[Being a part of the program] means the world,” Horizon Science Academy Southwest Science/Social Studies teacher Lutha Maura added. “Today has been a day filled with excitement. You have this whole team of people who are willing to invest their time, effort, energy and resources into building your capacity. It gives you a sense of being valued.”
At the end of the day, mentors and mentees were gifted messenger bags and Concept SWAG for being among the 25 people selected to be a part of the program (over 70 applied). Owens came out of the event excited for what is to come for ALP and the future leaders it is molding.
“We’re constantly learning,” Owens said. “We are going to go over the surveys from everyone who submitted them and see what we can do better but overall today went very well.”
