In 2023-2024 our Educational Services department transitioned our idea of educational leadership from a DLT (district leadership team) to Soquel Union Elementary School District Stewardship Leaders.
Stewardship is defined as “the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving.” As members of the Soquel Union Elementary School community, we are all stewards of students and their educational experience. To do this well, stewardship of our teaching and learning work is critical.
As a part of the functioning of a school district, the leadership of this important work is essentially inclusive. This takes many forms over the course of a year. Leadership teams, curriculum sub-committees, calendar committees, report card committees, master plan committees, COST teams, grade level teams, department teams, admin teams, Racial Justice Task Forces, Equity Teams, School Site Councils, etc. all work in tandem to ensure that we all continue to thrive. To do this even more coherently, a team of lead members, organized to support all of the interconnected work, can cooperatively: -Develop Direction for Student Learning -Support Staff Leadership and Learning -Foster Collaboration for Teaching and Learning -Grow Organizational Structures and Culture
In the first months of the 2023-2024 year, we organically built this team. While in the spirit of the district or distributed leadership team (DLT), this team will function as a shoulder-to-shoulder, growth development model. Together we began to dig into relevant data and research to create a plan, timeline, goals, etc. with our sights on leveraging assets, removing barriers, and potentially reaching practices so that all humans find efficacy and achievement at high levels.
Want to hear how it’s going, or how to get started? We’d love to share our processes and resources with you!
