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A Quick Note to Listeners:
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Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —-
Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answer a listener question with a five minute response.
The question is: I’m a lead principal, when do I know it’s time to move on? Once you’ve “maximized” the school or are high performing or is there ever a time?
Listen in to hear their response and thank you for doing what matters!
Dr. Derek Mitchell is the CEO of Partners in School Innovation, a nonprofit that provides solutions for educational inequities in underperforming schools. Since 2009, he has focused on building the skills of educators and leaders to improve student outcomes, particularly in marginalized communities, through equity-centered school improvement.
Dr. Mitchell holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from UCLA and has held leadership roles in various educational organizations, including Oakland Unified School District and Prince George’s County. Under his leadership, Partners in School Innovation has received support from major foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His work continues to advocate for lasting, systemic change in education. Dr. Mitchell’s career in education came after a few other careers; he spent some time as a dancer early in his career. He also worked in the entertainment industry and co-founded a software company building video games. Dr. Mitchell says that his life’s goal is to make sure that kids can have a rich education in their own neighborhoods.
Derek Mitchell’s Story:
Dr. Mitchell talks about how his experience in school motivated him to serve schools and students. He states that his personal education story has been a combination of the worst and the best. Growing up in Chicago, he had the experience of going to many different schools. He recalls being jealous that his older siblings were able to go to school; so when he finally got to go he says he felt it was the greatest thing in the world. As a student, Dr. Mitchell became obsessed with cockroaches, and this led him to participate in a city-wide science fair. The science fair was held at a school much nicer than his own, and showed him that our schools are often setting up students on two different tiers of education. He has since used this experience as his motivation for his work.
Serving Leaders:
Dr. Mitchell’s organization has supported 70 different school districts across the country, having served in places like Oaklahnd, San Jose, inner city Philadelphia, rural Mississippi, and many other districts across the country. They know that brilliance is everywhere and excellence is abundant. Dr. Mitchell states that there is nothing more powerful than teachers. Expanding on that point, he explains that the job of a leader is to improve what happens between students and teachers. Their organization typically works with new leaders, as they often do not have a sense of what they are really there to do. Typically, their organization is in a school for several years. They focus on growth in leadership, and recognize that everyone has a role in leadership in some capacity.
Job Embedded Coaching:
Dr. Mitchell talks about how the job of school leaders in heavily impacted communities is often a lonely and thankless one. One way to unlock agency from within school leaders is through job embedded coaching. Dr. Mitchell’s organization focuses on building leadership skills and knowing oneself. They also focus on giving job embedded feedback to leaders as a way to find the cues needed to grow in leadership.
Advice for Leaders:
Dr. Mitchell says that the advice he would give to an education leader who wants to make a significant change in a challenging setting boils down to three things:
- Do they have the skill to do it?
- Do they have the will to do it?
- Do they have a way to do what they need to do?
He notes the importance of being transparent about your own learning as a leader, and states that most adults gain a will through coming together in community with other adults in a similar position. The last piece of advice he gives is that leaders need to be intentional about diagnosing where the hiccup in their learning community is, so that they can deal with the hiccup most effectively.
Staying Connected:
You can stay connected with Dr. Derek Mitchell through his website and through the book
- Website: partnersinschools.org, free connection with other leaders
- Book about their work “Change agent”
Thank you for supporting the needs of students and learners within your community!
Reference: Change Agents: Transforming Schools From the Ground Up 1st Edition by Justin Cohen
