A Fearless Leader

      I'm going to dedicate this blog to all the female visionaries at OMSD who work tirelessly to improve the learning and lives of the students they serve. They have shown me, through their hard work, the importance by doing more than they thought they could, more than what was expected of them, and more than what was in their job description. They have set a tremendous example of what it means to put the needs of children first.

      Over the years, there have been many women who have directly impacted me in one way or another. Some were women whose contribution and work ethic I admired from afar and some I had the privilege of working with.

      The most influential woman in my life has been my mother. Never an educator in the traditional sense of the word, she played a tremendous role in the person I've become. She was definitely a "tough love" mom. She was a "I'll give you something to cry about" mom. Never having had a mother herself, she wasn't familiar with the job description. She was abandoned at birth and survived a childhood of physical and emotional abuse. In spite of the odds, she had a dream for her children. She encouraged me to do my best in school and to pursue an education--even when it seemed financially inconceivable. She dreamed of me becoming a teacher. She has always had extraordinary respect for teachers. In fact, she spoke of one teacher who finally taught her to read in the sixth grade. 

     So, here I am. For many years, I have proudly described myself as a teacher. I am determined to be the kind of teacher that makes an impact. I owe it to all the children who wake up early, get dressed, and make their way to school with the hope that they will learn something new and to the strong, talented, and hard-working fearless leaders who have paved the way. I owe it to the parents who entrust me with their children's education. I owe it to my mom.

     At Friday's Coaching Collaborative, when I saw how bravely one of our OMSD teachers, Kandyce Valverde, and our fearless Spotlight leader, Andrea Thune, showed an over-packed room full of educators a video of their coaching cycle, I felt incredibly grateful to Andrea for masterminding this unique way for teachers to lead from the classroom. Those aren't just her words, they are her mission. I'm literally living the dream my mother had for me.



Livin' the Dream,

Lola Jollie