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Leadership Training

District Leadership Fellows Reach Mid-Point in Program

As District Leadership Fellows reach the mid-point of their program, it’s time to take a look back at their leadership journey to date.

The 2024-2025 cohort kicked off in September with a book study to prepare for the year ahead.  After an initial meeting on Zoom to introduce the book and program, Fellows read and discussed The 4 Disciplines of Execution for Educators by Sean Covey et al.  Of the book study, Mrs. Hannah Mensah, Managing Director of Primary Schools at Uplift Academy, said “The book was such a good framing for the year. Its “digest-ability” and timeliness in the school year helped me simplify and clarify my own vision of my work.”  

Picture of the 4 Disciplines of Execution book
A book study on The 4 Disciplines of Execution for Educators prepared Fellows for the Fall Retreat.

The Fellows gathered at SMU in October for their Fall Retreat.  Building upon their knowledge from the book study, they drafted Impact Models for their individual projects, first learning about each component of the model as a group, then working in pairs to develop their models.  Fellows then refined their Impact Models in bi-weekly online meetings, before beginning to implement their projects in their districts.   

Projects underway cover a wide range of topics including:

  • Academic success, be it a specific population, grade or subject, a learning community or entire district.    
  • District systems and procedures ranging from a specific program or department to an entire district.
  • Teacher retention and leadership development including reducing attrition of first-year teachers and developing principals. 
Dr. Eric G. Bing talking to District Leadership fellows seated at tables in a classroom.
Fellows hearing from program director Dr. Eric G. Bing.

Fellows had the opportunity to learn and practice the communication technique Active Listening, learning in cohort sessions, practicing in breakout rooms, then practicing with an avatar in a simulation. Fellow Mrs. Hannah Mensah, said “I have also loved the active listening practice, especially with the AI people; it’s an experience I’ve never had before and I learned a lot about my own receptive communication skills from it.”  

Women avatar sitting in an office and woman sitting in a different office.
Mrs. Hannah Mensah practicing Active Listening with an avatar.

Following input from the cohort on the special topic for the year, program alum Dr. Gerald Hudson, Superintendent of Cedar Hill ISD, returned as a guest speaker to talk about change management.  His presentation demonstrated the integration of the different parts of District Leadership Fellows program, from drafting an Impact Model, to communicating with stakeholders, to implementing a project.   

Screenshot from presentation showing a slide about ADKAR and a image of the presenter.
Dr. Gerald Hudson discussing the ADKAR model of change management.

Fellows are currently preparing mid-year updates to present at the Winter Retreat at SMU in January.  We can’t wait to see the progress they have made! 

 To learn more about Institute for Leadership Impact programs, visit our website, email us at leadershipimpact@smu.edu, engage with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 

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