Chad Dumas, Ed.D.
Next Learning Solutions
September 25, 2020
Teachers Matter.
Leaders Matter.
What we do matters, and
How we do it matters.
Even more fundamentally than this is who we are. Who are you as a leader? And how does this influence what you say and do, as well as how you say and do it?
With this in mind, and since this is my first post, Who am I?
While you can read about my professional career and experiences on my website (www.NextLearningSolutions.com), here I’ll keep it personal while connecting it to our profession of education:
Introduction to me...
Born and raised in North Platte, Nebraska by two educators and small business-owners, I have always loved being around people and engaging in meaningful conversations. My career really started, though not related to education, by serving (as a gardener!) in Haifa, Israel for a year between high school and college.
I worked with people from all over the world–an experience that really opened my eyes to the oneness of humanity and the fundamental sameness of each of us as people. One of the analogies that became clear to me is that people are like mines that are rich in gems of inestimable value.
Education is the only way to uncover the gems hidden in each of us, and to enable humanity to benefit from them. Hence, my reason for going into this amazing profession.
My Career
My career as an educator has taken me from some of the smallest schools in the country to some of the largest. I have taught, led, and presented not only all over the U.S., but internationally, as well. Some of my favorite memories are presenting in Vancouver, and serving for an accreditation visit at a school in Barranquilla, Colombia. Talk about hospitality, vibrancy, and open hearts! It was marvelous!
A teacher at heart, my focus as an administrator has always been on education–and drawing out the absolute best in others. Adults with whom I work tell me that I create safe spaces for reflection and planning, maximize the time and energy of others, and ensure the attainment of the highest of expectations of others. Together, we can accomplish just about anything, and my focus is on facilitating this unity of purpose, vision, and action.
When we love the people with whom we work, we treat them as such.
I remember my first months as a central office administrator, and every Wednesday this district released students early so that professional learning teams could meet to improve their practice. At the time, most every week was spent as a district meeting where all first grade teachers across the district met for an hour, all second grade teachers, etc.
So my time on Wednesday afternoons was spent traveling around to different buildings and observing these meetings. Because I value people and their time, and I know that leadership matters, I made a concerted effort to regularly email teams after having sat in on their meeting.
This one particular Wednesday I had attended a first grade team, and the teacher who was leading the meeting shared with me later: “I saw your email come in my inbox, and I was scared. What did I do wrong? But then I opened it up and saw your kind words of encouragement and enthusiasm and it made my day! Thank you!” As a matter of fact, she continued to mention this email to me a number of other times throughout the year, and would make a point of sharing this with other colleagues.
One small email.
One note of appreciation.
It made her day–and more.
Questions for Reflection:
In what ways do you know that who you are doing is making a difference?
What steps are you taking (and can you take) to make that difference?
Do you have a story you’d like to share–either of your impact on someone else, or their impact on you?
Comment below (or email [email protected]) and share it with me!
Know of someone who would appreciate this post? Share it with them! And direct them to www.NextLearningSolutions.com