“Once we have our ‘why,’ why we do what we do, that’ll help us stay focused on our goal.” – Dr. James Randle
One month into their fellowship at the Institute for Leadership Impact, a cohort of school leaders from four U.S. states are developing Impact Models to tackle a challenge in their districts. On October 9th, the cohort came together on Zoom to discuss the components of their models and improve their coaching skills. Program facilitator Dr. James Randle led the meeting.
In breakout sessions, triads of Fellows took turns interviewing each other about their models using the OARS (Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflections, Summarizing) approach used by coaches who practice motivational interviewing. The breakout sessions offered Fellows an opportunity to discover ways they could improve their model drafts and to provide and receive feedback on their coaching skills. Institute team members Khris Beeson, Megan Brown, Kaitlyn Contreras-Castro, Dylan De Muth, and Price Morgan assisted in the breakout sessions.
About the District Leadership Fellows program
Since 2016, the SMU District Leadership Fellows program has brought school leaders together in year-long cohorts to build their leadership skills and collaborate on district improvement projects. Initially focused on school leaders from rural Texas, the program went online and expanded to Arkansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma for the 2020-2021 cohort year.
To learn more about our programs, visit our website, email us at leadershipimpact@smu.edu, and engage with us on Twitter.