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A Quick Note to Listeners:
—- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks.
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: How can leaders ensure staff feel supported, particularly in the face of all other management challenges?
Listen in to hear their response and thank you for doing what matters!
Meet Dr. Margaret Coates:
Dr. Margaret Coates became Superintendent of Owasso Public Schools on July 1, 2022, after nearly 15 years in the district as a teacher, coach, and administrator. She oversees operations for 9,800 students and 1,200 staff. Before her appointment, Coates was interim superintendent and previously served as Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning. Since becoming superintendent, she has led the district’s largest bond package ($83.9 million), updated employee salaries, and initiated a five-year strategic plan.
Coates started her career as a geometry teacher at Owasso High School in 2002, later becoming assistant principal and Math Department Chair. She was key in creating Owasso Virtual High School and coached basketball, cross country, and track & field. She later served as Principal of Centennial Middle School and opened the Freshman Academy, followed by six years as Assistant Superintendent for Broken Arrow Public Schools before returning to Owasso in 2018.
A native of Collinsville, Coates earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Oklahoma State University in 2017 and holds degrees from The University of Tulsa in Athletic Administration and Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. She was an Academic All-American basketball player at TU.
An outdoor enthusiast, Coates has hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and completed more than 20 marathons, as well as the Ironman Tulsa Triathlon in 2022 and 2023. She enjoys living on the edge and taking on challenges.
Owasso Public Schools highlights:
One of the highlights of Owasso Public Schools that Coates is proudest of is their 5 year strategic plan and how it is being implemented. She says that they have collected lots of data to show how the program is impacting the areas where the program has been implemented. One of the programs Owasso has started offering as a result of their 5 year plan is the SPARK program, which is a before and after school care program. Owasso Public Schools is able to offer subsidies for families that need the program. Another highlight that Coates is proud of is how Owasso is a professional learning community. They really focus on the PLC process and have collaboration days on the calendar. Their PLC model is the foundation of the academic achievement for the entire district. A third highlight of OPS that Coates is proud of is that one their special Olympics coaches has been named the national special Olympic coach of the year; and that Owasso’s special Olympics team is the largest in Oklahoma. Finally, Coates is proud of how OPS is the largest employer in the city of Owasso. With a retention rate of about 91%, they have about 1,250 employees in the district.
Living on the Edge of Death:
Coates says that she enjoys taking extreme risks and “living on the edge of death”. To her, taking a risk equals being vulnerable. Goal setting is extremely important to Coates; she says that to start out, people should set small goals and try to accomplish them. The feeling of accomplishing those goals is what drives Coates to keep going after she sets a goal. Furthermore, she says that she gets a thrill of not knowing if you’re going to be able to finish something when you start it. For example, Coates runs marathons, and she decided that she wanted to qualify for the Boston marathon. She says it took her four tries to qualify, and that she had to push herself harder than she ever felt possible, but the thrill of meeting that goal is what made it all worth it.
In a position of leadership, Coates says that it is important for people to get comfortable setting goals, as leaders have to take risks and push themselves. Courage and the ability to ask for help is what makes a good leader, Coates states. Throughout her own leadership journey, Coates has learned that asking for help in instrumental for accomplishing goals. One event that taught her this was her journey through the Pacific Crest trail. When she started out, she was on her own, but she quickly realized that she needed a team and needed help getting through the journey.
Advice to New Leaders:
Coates says her biggest piece of advice for new leaders is the stay focused on the main thing: students and staff. In leadership, it can be easy to get distracted by the outside stuff, so it is important to keep yourself reminded of the reason you really do the job. Another piece of advice she has for new leaders is that you cannot make everyone happy 100% of the time. She says that, as a leader, you are going to make people mad, but that is okay as long as you know you’ve made the decision that is best for your students. Coates also wants to remind leaders that they’re not going to get through all the stuff you want to get done; that it is more important to take care of people first. Finally, she says that new leaders need to keep learning; that they should try to have a growth mindset and stay curious.
Self-care as a Leader:
Coates has learned to balance the responsibilities of leadership with her self-care in a revolutionary way. Hiking the Pacific Crest trail, Coates learned some important takeaways about self-care and what truly matters for leaders. She retired early to hike the Pacific Crest, and says that she was scared to death about retiring beforehand. After coming back to work at OPS, she realized that if her work doesn’t work out, she will be fine. Consequently, she realized that what really matters is your health, your family, and your relationships. She also says that it is important to learn from making mistakes; mistakes make a better leader and build grit. Coates further emphasizes that teamwork is the key to survival for leaders; there is no way to do it all alone.
Trauma Informed Practices:
Owasso Public Schools had partnered with ConnectED kids to implement trauma informed practices within their school district. Through this partnership, Coates says that she has realized the need to target students when they are really young. By doing so, it ends up spreading exponentially and organically when you bring those practices into the school.
Parting Words of Advice:
To wrap up the conversation, Coates emphasizes the importance of building and maintaining positive, collaborative relationships with board members for school superintendents, for nothing can move forward in the district without the board members. She also reminds listeners to have fun and find joy in everyday of their work.
To stay connected to Margaret Coates you can email her at margaret.coates@owassops.org
