Why Fit In When You Were Born To Stand Out – Dr. Seuss

It is that time of the year. The current school year is wrapping up – testing is taking place, spring concerts, art shows, and school plays allow students to showcase their talents, evaluations of staff members are finalized, and there are numerous opportunities to recognize students and staff members for their accomplishments. It is also the time of year when we begin to look to the next school year and begin thinking about new goals and building our district schedules of meetings and important events.

I am hopeful that I will see you at Spring Leadership Conference 2022, The Balancing Act:  Connecting Life, Leadership and Wellness on May 18 - 20, 2022 at Harrah's Waterfront Conference Center - Atlantic City. I believe it will provide you with additional insight as you begin to plan for next year and at the same time provide you with an opportunity to think about yourself and how to better address your own needs. Over the last few years you have all focused on the needs of your students and staff members often disregarding your own needs.  

I encourage you to take the time to come and learn from each other, learn how other women leaders rose up and discover strategies to move professionally forward. I hope that you will discover success stories and ideas you did not know existed plus garner feedback on what works. I am optimistic that you will connect with other top women leaders to pick up on best practices, mentors, and ideas. 

Shirley Chrisholm, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, famously said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” I want you to bring your “folding chair” – not only to the spring leadership conference but also to the numerous One Day Seminars included in your NJASA membership. I urge you to connect with other female educational leaders at roundtable meetings, curriculum council meetings, conferences, and regional or county Women in Educational Leadership events. I urge you to find ways to help your female colleagues to continue to occupy a greater number of leadership positions in education.
 
We need to work together to counteract the pandemic’s impact on women in the workplace. Statistics show that there are roughly two million less women in the labor force now than in February 2020. More than 300,000 women left the workforce in September 2021 alone. According to a McKinsey Report, one in three women have thought about leaving their jobs or “downshifting” their careers in the last year – we cannot allow that to happen in educational leadership.

We must find additional ways to support female educators, aspiring leaders and each other.  There are new realities of work-life balance and we must set aside time for ourselves and continue to broaden opportunities to network and support each other. We need to continue along the path of becoming an even greater group of movers and shakers focused on growth and success. 

It is also that time of year when we think about words of wisdom to share with students at promotion and commencement ceremonies. So I thought it fitting that I share some quotes that I hope will give you pause as you wrap up this school year and plan for the next:

We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.
•    Arianna Huffington

Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.
•    Stephen Covey

Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.
•    Dolly Parton

We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own TO DO list. 
•    Michelle Obama