Today’s guest post is written by Jessica Reisner, Principal of Tarkington School of Excellence.聽
I鈥檓 in my second year as a Chicago聽public school principal. As the principal of Tarkington School of Excellence, a level 1+ school in the Marquette Park neighborhood, I knew聽our聽school was good and moving in the right direction, but I needed to be intentional and strategic about how to take聽our聽school to the next level.
One of my core commitments is to continue to be a learner. I am constantly pushing my teachers to grow, and聽I am aware of聽the importance of me continuing to learn as their leader. As an AUSL school leader, I believe that I have the highest quality professional development available to me through our network. That said, I recognize the importance of growing through multiple opportunities.聽so I see聽a with other high-caliber principals as that natural next step.
I鈥檓 a member of the Good to Great PLC led by . One of the reasons I decided to participate in this PLC in particular was for the opportunity to get a diversity of opinion. In Melissa鈥檚 PLC, we have new principals, experienced principals, and principals from AUSL, charter and district schools. Despite serving in different school types, we have so much in common as leaders.
I鈥檝e really appreciate the responsiveness of Melissa as a leader. Before and during the first session, we took time to get to know the group. This foundation allowed for a level of comfort with sharing and being vulnerable that wouldn鈥檛 have happened without dedicating this time to do so.
The work we are doing in our PLC is highly experiential and job-embedded. I am able to take what I鈥檓 learning in collaboration with my principal colleagues and bring it back to Tarkington. This allows for me to provide the highest quality PD for my staff and assistant principals.