Stacked Keys Podcast
The idea to talk to women who are out there living and making a difference is where the Stacked Keys Podcast was born. There are women who make a difference, but never make a wave while paddling through life. Immediately I can think of a dozen or more who impacted me, but I want more. I want to talk to those I don't know and I want to share with an audience that might need the inspiration to find their own beat. This podcast is to feature women who are impressive in the work world-- or in raising a family -- or who have hobbies that can make us all be encouraged. Want to hear what makes these women passionate and get up in the morning or what they wish they had known earlier in life? Grab your keys and STOMP to your own drum.
Stacked Keys Podcast
Episode 167 -- Stephanie Emmons -- The Heart of Educational Leadership: Balancing Rigor, Relationships, and Family Values
As we peel back the layers of educational leadership, Stephanie Emmons stands out as a beacon of dedication and insight. Her role as assistant superintendent in Scott County Schools, Kentucky, along with the unwavering support she provides for her team of 19 principals, is balance between professional rigor and deep-seated family values that she totally loves. Stephanie's narrative weaves through the complexities of overseeing 18 schools, each with their unique challenges, and sheds light on the delicate balance of autonomy and guidance she maintains.
Venture with us through the transformative tales of schools risen from the ashes under Stephanie's watchful eye. Witness the metamorphosis of a once-struggling high school climbing its way to the top 50 in the state, a testament to the tenacity and strategic vision of its leaders. The stories shared reveal the critical nature of relationship-building, fostering positive cultures, and the thoughtful celebration of achievements in the realms of education. Stephanie's approach to leadership not only champions academic excellence but also cherishes the human element at the heart of educational success.
Amidst the backdrop of Stephanie's professional chronicles, we also explore the intricate dance of managing career aspirations alongside family time. She opens up about the competitive drive that fuels her resilience, addresses the stark realities of educational inequities, and recounts the adaptive leadership required during unprecedented challenges like the pandemic. Stephanie's journey is a poignant reminder of the power of support systems, the art of setting boundaries, and the profound impact that seizing growth opportunities can have on both personal and professional landscapes. Join us for this heartfelt reflection on gratitude and the pursuit of excellence in the ever-evolving world of educational leadership.
Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff
I am really excited today. I have a guest with me, stephanie Emmons, and I am so excited to kind of dive into your world, see what you're about. Let's start out right out of the gate, stephanie, if somebody was to introduce you, both professionally and personally, what would they say about you?
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, that's a really difficult question. I would hope that they would say that I am a passionate educator and educational leader and that my work and profession has been devoted to bringing the best experiences to students' lives in their educational environments. Is this professional and personal?
Speaker 1:Both. We're going down both paths. A lot of times they cross and blend.
Speaker 2:Also, I'm a loving mother and a loving wife. My number one priority is always my family. I'll tell you this every morning I wake up and on my way to work, I will say that my ultimate focus is to have a positive impression on, number one, my family, number two, the students that I serve. And number three, the people that I get to work with and lead Always family number one and always focused on having the most positive impact on the people's lives that I work with every day.
Speaker 1:So you're definitely a people person.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm definitely a people person, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Have you always been.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I always have been. Whenever I was young and in high school I was a very social person. I loved to connect with my friends, and that also was followed through in college. I've just always enjoyed being around people.
Speaker 1:So you're in the education world. What do you do in that capacity?
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm an assistant superintendent in Scott County Schools here in Kentucky and so I serve around 10,000 students in our community. We have 18 schools, 19, if you include our new virtual program, and so I have 19 principles and yeah, and so I have the privilege of getting to work in an incredible place and we always say our vision here is to be the best place to live and learn for everyone, and so really focused on meeting the needs of all in our community.
Speaker 1:And that it sounds like you have to do, because, dealing with 19 adults, they have agendas and their own passions that they're probably in your office fighting for, and then dealing with students too. That's quite a balance. And so how do you? Do you listen with your heart? Do you listen with your head? How do you come to that scene?
Speaker 2:Sure, and I think that there's a balance with that because, you know, previous to this role, I was also a principal.
Speaker 2:I was an elementary principal and then I was a high school principal for a bulk of that time, and so I understand where my principles come from fighting for the best and the most worthwhile for their students and their schools.
Speaker 2:And of the 18 schools and not team principles that I work with, they all have very different needs and so I see that and I know, and I've been in their shoes, and also, you know, I'm really big into relationships and building relationships, and so you know over you know the past I'm only in my second year in this position, so I've really worked the first year on building the connection with all of my principles, knowing what their values are as an educational leader and knowing their passion and what they're fighting for.
Speaker 2:And so, with that being said, knowing that I can make also informed decisions, because whenever they come to me and they need things for their building, I want to know, you know what the outcomes are that they expected to get with whatever they're asking for and you know, and having the data to support it data in regards to why it's needed or the ultimate data that they're working towards, like what are their goals. And so I think there's a balance there because, I'll be honest with you, when it comes to students whether it's my pre-school students all the way to our high school seniors you know my heart is always there for them, and also with our amazing teachers and staff, and so there's just that fine balance, when you're dealing with this many people and this many different scenarios, of finding that balance, of leading with your heart but also making good, informed decisions.
Speaker 1:And I can see too I would have trouble and this is probably just my personality and that's why I'm not in your role but it'd be so hard not to want to step in sometimes and go. Well, you see, when I was doing it, this is how I would approach it. So do you find yourself having to pull back because you have been there and you have been in those situations?
Speaker 2:Sure, yeah, absolutely, of course you know because you've been there.
Speaker 2:But let me say that, again, I always go back to balance, because oftentimes I may use that just to let them know that I've been in their shoes, I've experienced that, but then also just making suggestions I mean they can take that and make it their own, or sharing resources that I've used in the past so that they in turn, can make their own informed decisions. You know, I again I was not a principal in this school district and so and I wasn't a principal in their schools and and so they all have very different needs and so, yeah, you know I like to share my experience. Sometimes I try not to too much, but I also want them to just know that I've been there. But also, if they, if they have something that I've done and they want to use it, absolutely I'll share it with them. If they don't, or if they just need it as an idea, that's great too. But it's really just about giving them guidance and support so that they can do what's best for their, their schools and their buildings and their, their students and staff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what's a typical day? Or do you even have a typical day?
Speaker 2:Oh goodness, you know I don't have a typical day. I'll be honest, my schedule is pretty booked up all the time, because there is a balance. I do have the things that I need to get accomplished in working with federal grants, working with budgeting, working with my team. Here in my office I have a team of 18 who help me direct and make the work happen in the school district. So I have the balance of being there and being here for my team who help roll out all of the the things that we put in place. But then also I'm very passionate about being in schools, being exposed or not exposed, but being seen yeah, being seen, being around kids. I mean because I'll be honest with you, in all of my experience, being around students is what gives you the energy to drive the work, because you you really get to see what's happening, and so it's a balance. And so, and then also navigating working with the community.
Speaker 2:I'm on the Chamber Board of Directors here in Georgetown, kentucky. I do a lot of work with industry partners, because our focus is making sure that we are giving students experiences that are going to prepare them for when they leave their K-12 education and go out into the world and so making sure that we keep that connectedness to know what our business and industry partners are, what our civic organization see and value. Because we are, we are truly, we are truly educating the, the citizens of our community, and so it's important to make sure that you keep that connected. So so yeah, I mean it looks different every day and which I like because keeps me on my toes and keeps me, keeps me just ready to take on any new thing that that comes to my desk.
Speaker 1:So well, as you were talking, I kept thinking of all the skills that you had to bring into your current position, and perhaps some that you sat in a class for, but then a lot of it is probably life. And in those experiences, how do you pull together and pull out all of the experiences and training? And I mean you mentioned grants. Grant writing is a whole career, and yet you're involved in pursuing the grants and then receiving and there's a lot to it, and then in the community there's a lot of politics, then there's the education, the curriculum, that all of the standards, and so there's so many elements. How do you train to be where you are?
Speaker 2:Um, well, I mean, I guess, um, you know, I think experiences start and this is probably why I'm so focused on giving students great experiences, Because I had in my own K12 education I, um, you know, my mother was a A 4h extension agent and then she went on within the extension services and so I had exposure to public speaking and Um opportunities to get in front of people and polish that skill. I also did that a lot in high school through clubs and organizations. Um, you know, in my high school I Graduated and to graduate I had to give a, do a research project and present in front of community and um and school leaders, and so that started it. I think, you know, if you can get in front of people and speak, that that says a lot and I think that's a great. There's a lot of value in that and giving kids that exposure at a young age. And then, um, you know, just you know, obviously I went to college and have master's degrees and started working on my doctoral program. Um, but you know, I think I just had this awesome experience that I had great leaders, who, um, who I was under, and they, they saw something in me and Helped me navigate that and gave me experiences to lead professional development, to lead curriculum teams, to understand you know initiatives in a district and how to take those through.
Speaker 2:And I will say this when I, when I became a principal Um, I had an awesome experience as an elementary principal, but it really started changing when I became a principal of a priority high school, and that means so, priority high school it's now called something else, but then In the early to 2010s it was a school that was in the bottom 5th percentile of the state In student performance, and so when that happens, the Kentucky Department of Education Takes over and um, and you know, the 2 principles before me have been removed by the state of Kentucky and and I had the opportunity to go in and be a priority school turnaround principal and through that process I learned so much because that being in a low performing school, the importance of understanding the curriculum, realigning instruction, real lighting, um assessments, um having Structured conversations around student data, but then also the component of building a positive culture and a culture of high expectations. And through that experience and with the partnership that I got to have with the Kentucky Department of Education and um, I just really got an amazing experience In that now it was. It was very hard, and the teachers that I had the pleasure of working with Through that process worked very hard and in 3 years, um you know, we were no longer in the bottom 5th percentile and we were ranked as 1 of the top 50 high schools in the state. And so, um, you know that that experience, I think, has helped lead me to where I am today.
Speaker 2:Um, because even then, we were a turnaround school, and then the other 4 to 5 years we were a hub school where other schools and districts came to see what was happening. We also were on the forefront of innovation and relooking at what education can look like. And so, that being said, I had this opportunity Of my time there that went from being in the bottom to being at the top, from doing what it takes to To just get to the students where they need to be, to rethinking and reimagining what education can look like Um, within that span, and so that's really um giving me the opportunity to now Um in my current role. I was a part of a whole lot of components Um through that process, and so it's been, it's been a. That definitely was the time period, I think, where I've all most as a leader.
Speaker 1:Wow, I can see how that could age you quickly and how, because you're you're not dealing with just Paper and numbers and you're dealing with lives and at the same time, you're dealing with children's lives. You're dealing with those of your staff and your, your peers, and they don't put all of their life on hold To make this happen in the academic and career world. So, um, you talked about leaderships and, and, um, and I guess maybe in that I see, maybe your leadership style. Um, so tell me a little bit what you think makes a good leader and made people follow you from the bottom to the top.
Speaker 2:Um, I think it it started with clear expectations and follow through. Um, you know, I came in um with clear expectations and, and I also want to say you know, the school had been in this process before, before I became as a teacher, for A couple of years and and it was just a very negative experience. And when I was hired and I go into the office that I was going to be in, I'm one of the at the time, whenever a school's taken over by Katie, there's some different options, and one of them which is not, which wouldn't I don't know if it ever happened but would be that they, that they could choose to completely close the school. And so the local newspaper had gotten ahold of that when the school was first in the process and written an article and it was on the front page and it said um, you know, fchs, uh, to be closed, or something like that. I can't remember exactly, and that was framed sitting on my desk and I was like you know what, we are moving past this and so, in front of my staff, and I did get to teach there for like 2 years while they were priority, so I also got to experience it with them, that that process and that negativity and so on.
Speaker 2:My very first time, in front of those teachers, I just said and I had a garbage can. I had that picture and I said this is behind us. This is no longer what our focus is. We are focused on moving forward and we will stop at nothing until we are one of the best high schools in the state of Kentucky. And I threw it away because people had just been so focused on that and we just needed to put it behind us. It's not who we are anymore. And and you know when you and it was a small rural district, and so when you're in a small rural district and all the districts around you they know that that's what you're going through, because it was very public. And so that was the moment. And I said we're focused on moving forward. And every moment that I had that I could celebrate that school, we celebrated and we celebrated big and. And then also, in addition to that, yes, there were, there were those celebrations and that positive, but also there was some accountability. We're in this and we're in this together and and we're going to do these things and we're going to do them together. And then, if you don't, if you choose not to follow and do this certain thing, then I'm going to hold you accountable for it.
Speaker 2:And so I did have high turnover for the first couple of years, because the work of turnaround for a school is not easy and I respected the people who said you know what this work is not for me, I need to go someplace else and absolutely.
Speaker 2:And then I did a lot of, I put a lot of work into recruitment of teachers.
Speaker 2:I went across the state because I was in this little tiny town in Northeastern Kentucky and nobody was going to sell it but me, and I went out and did a huge recruitment to get students from different universities across the state to want to come to this rural school and be a part of being the best.
Speaker 2:And so, yeah, I mean just a lot of work, a lot of energy and really a lot of investment in people, because you know you can be a great principal, you can be a great school leader, but if the people who are underneath you or are working with you to make all these things happen take out underneath, if you don't care, but if you're the people who are working with you to make those things happen, they have to be invested in a part of the work or it's never. You're never going to get the outcomes that you want. And so a lot of investment in people and investment in the community. This community, it has one high school and you know, when the high school is not doing poorly, it doesn't matter what all the other schools are doing. People just think the district isn't flourishing. And so put a lot of investment in the community. And so, yeah, I mean it was a lot of work, but a lot of investment in the human resource component of the work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's phenomenal. But you said a couple of things that really struck me. Is that celebrate? You know, sometimes when you're doing a task, it's tough to remember to celebrate. My husband is in management and one of the things that they say to him is we do something great and then we don't celebrate, we just move on to the next thing. And so how did you avoid that temptation of like, all right, chop, chop, we've got to get on? I mean, very strategically.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there you go, it was strategically. When my admin team met, you know, the very first thing that we talked about at every meeting was celebrations, and I carry that through today when I meet with my student learning team here in the district. And now the first thing that we start every meeting with is celebrate. You know, as a principal, we did postcards, called them positive panther postcards and made sure, at the beginning of every one of our professional learning community meetings, the first thing that everybody did was write a positive panther postcard that would go out to students or parents.
Speaker 2:And then here we do the same thing. We do thank you cards, because you have to put that intentional time into celebrations, whether that's at the personal level, whether it's at the professional level, whether it's at the school level or the district level, you have to take time to celebrate. I used to tell my students and my staff that we're going to work hard, but we're going to play hard, and so made sure that we gave those moments. Yes, you're going to work, work, work, work. But then the outcome of that is we're going to have this big celebration, we're going to do a paint war out in the front lawn, we're going to have a Christmas spirit day and so, yeah, just making sure that I was very intentional, and it always occurred, and still does, and still does.
Speaker 1:How do you take that home too? Because you might just go OK, I'm celebrated out, I'm exhausted, I worked hard, but then you've got the home life and the kids and their school situations that you have to invest back into. So I've heard it said that there's no such thing as a balance. One takes precedence and then the other one, and then you know you just. But what's your take on that?
Speaker 2:I'm probably not the best one to speak on that. I've gotten better as I've gotten more experienced in leadership and so, especially in the beginning of my leadership career specifically, I mean it was easy that I was putting in 60, 70 hour work weeks. And being a high school principal is very challenging because you have all the extracurricular things that you have to go and I felt like in the beginning I had to be at everything. Now I will have to say I have an incredible husband who, as an elementary principal, there's a lot of pressure and there's a lot to do, but it's very different than a high school principal. And when the superintendent came to me and asked me if I'd be interested in the high school position, you know the first thing I did was go and talk to my husband and he and I have talked about like we both know, going into this, that it would be a lot of time commitment, especially in the beginning, being turned around because I needed to be out in the community and being the face of the school. And so I fortunately have an amazing husband. He also has his degree in school administration and as we navigated that, he just stepped back and said you know what I'm going to keep being a teacher, and you do, you, and I'm going to support you and be your biggest cheerleader. And so we had very honest conversations about the time commitment that that that this was going to bring. He's an amazing father and great to our three boys, and so I'm, I'm blessed in that regard and so, but I will tell you this, I mean I, I spend an, even now, I mean I work a lot, but when I'm at home, I want to, or with my kids, that I want to be committed to them, and so it's.
Speaker 2:It's funny when we first started taking vacations Well, we've always taken vacations, but the first one we, the first ones we went once I became a high school principal and I remember being on the beach and something had occurred on a bus, on a ball trip and, and I'm walking up and down the beach on my cell phone, trying to help navigate this with my athletic director and my superintendent while I'm here, and at that moment he said, ok, we're going to have to put some parameters. And so we agreed that while I'm on vacation, I can check my phone for work once a day and I can check my emails, I can make phone calls, and all this up. At the rest of the time I'm going to commit to my family, and so that worked out really well. So, moving forward, I would explain to and I still do to to the people I work with While I'm gone on this vacation. Know that I'm going to be checking my phone and making phone calls once per day, and so you'll you'll get connected. If I don't answer immediately, you know. Know that I will call you back that day and and that has been hugely valuable when we spend time together as a family and commit to that time.
Speaker 2:But in the beginning that was not me. I was. I was going 90 miles an hour and I'm not going to say that I'm nearly as healthy as I used to be before becoming a principal and a school leader and now district leader. But I'm definitely working on that now because you do that work. Life balance is tough. It is tough especially when you're in leadership, because you you want to be available and you want to be that guide. And then you also have to know your family is, you know, your number one, and so when you're with them, you need to be committed to being with your family.
Speaker 1:So well, and in a small town, in a rural area, a lot of times you're in a fishbowl.
Speaker 2:Oh, very much so, very much so. Now, I will tell you this now in the community, them in, now it's very different, because this is a much larger community and so it's not and I'm not from here, you know, some of my principals are from here and their experience is a little different, but you so, when you're and I will say this, whether I'm in this position or in my former one, there are some commonalities with that, because here, yes, I have 10,000 students, and that means I have at least 20,000 moms and dads, and I also, you know, have, you know, a thousand teachers, and not to mention all the other employees that they know my face, but I don't, might not know theirs Right and so you always just have to be mindful of that.
Speaker 2:when, when you're in this role, whenever I was in a smaller community, it was even more challenging because everybody knew me and I might not know them, but I know a lot of people, and so that was challenging in the regard that there was never off time, right, there was never time that I could disconnect from school, even in my own family, like my husband's family is from there and so we would, you know, be at the pool and they'd want to talk about something going on, and so there's just that was very challenging, because I never felt like I could just turn it off unless it was just my husband and my three kids and I, yeah, and so that core group that my husband and my three kids and you know, and in my extended family, is amazing too. But I knew, when we're in our home and it's the five of us together, that that was time that I can be me and not have to worry about anything else.
Speaker 1:So Well, and I mean I don't know if you've had to deal with any of this, but I mean your kids have to deal with the fact of who you are too. You can't see your career, you cannot realize that that's a huge benefit, you know, down the road, but but it's still something they have to kind of cope with. And my kids did a lot of eye rolling as they grew up and it's like are you the child of? And they go. Oh yes, Now they go. I'm the child of and they use it so, which is not bad, because their dad, you know, put it out there well enough to where they can, can be proud to wear it. But have you had to struggle with any of that? And, as a parent, would you have any advice to those that are are trying to navigate that? And should they navigate it? Or should they say all right, I'm not going to go this career path because it might cost this?
Speaker 2:Well, I, you know I I had a very successful mother and and so I. For me, it has been probably since I was a young girl that you know you make something great of yourself, you have all these capabilities, and I remember being young and my mom seeing leadership qualities in me and and talking about that, and so I, I never looked at having a family or any of those things as something that would keep me from meeting my goals. I never saw that as a barrier or something that would or something that I would have to net like, I guess, whenever I became a principal, I never really thought about the impact of what that could do on my children's lives, Because I mean now I'm not going to lie I did have the eye rolls with my mother Don't don't, because she will tell you lots of IRLs but also it's like you said, as I got older, who my mom was with something to be very proud of. Now I will tell you that as a mother, I would never have a mother that, as a mother and with my husband we have, we have very honest conversations about with our kids, about you are going to be looked at differently. You know, unfortunately, my oldest, who is now a sophomore in college. I was his high school principal, yeah, but that's like a nightmare, like I try to think back to whenever I was in high school and if my mother was my principal, I would have been devastated, but he navigated it well. He has a big personality and it didn't hold him back at all.
Speaker 2:But we were very clear that he has to be mindful that people are looking at him and possibly some people may be looking for him to mess up, and so we had that conversation early. I mean I think he was in middle school, and then the same with my other two sons. I have two identical twin boys and they are currently in middle school and again, we just have conversations about you. Just, you know, this is the nature of your situation and you need to be mindful. And we have high expectations for all three of our kids, obviously, and all that they do, whether it's their character or their grades or any of those things. We want them to be the best that they can be and to strive for that. But I think it's also fair to them to know that. I think it's a fair conversation for them to know that people are looking at them differently and that's just the nature of the situation and so that way they can be prepared for that. I don't want them to ever experience any surprises. So, yeah, I mean I think that having those honest conversations, conversations is good.
Speaker 2:And I'm not going to say I mean especially my oldest. I will say he. I'm not going to say that he was the perfect child in high school, and his teachers will tell you he was not the perfect child in high school. But I will tell you this when he messed up, I had the exact same expectations of him as I did every other student in my building. If he messed up, he had the exact same consequences, maybe even a little bit more than other kids. I remember when he was an incoming freshman I think this really sent the message to the people who work with me we had a class and it was an intervention period and it was based on an assessment that kids take at the beginning, middle and end of every year.
Speaker 2:And so in eighth grade he took the assessment and parents were always trying to get their kids out of this class because they wanted them to go do this and they want to go do that and his scores put him in that class.
Speaker 2:So guess what? He was in that class. And so you know, when parents came to me and said, well, I don't want my kids in that class, well, my kids in that class. So what's good for your child is the same as mine, and so I've always been very mindful that in my position, that they don't want to get treated differently and they might have little I mean, that's just the nature of people but like, if they get in trouble, I want them to get in trouble just as any other kid. If they don't have this score, need to take this class and that's what they're going to do. Because I think that fear and consistency has to shine through for people to also understand that you're not going to treat your child differently and you're not going to treat other children differently. So I've kind of also kept that balance in my role as well.
Speaker 1:You have to set that from the beginning and I know it'd be difficult, but to set it in the beginning and then in our family, honesty was key. If my kids did something, they needed to be 100% honest, because if I hear the same thing from him, them that I'm hearing from an outside source, then we're good. But if I hear completely opposing stories and I think my kids learn pretty quickly just be honest, just tell them what happened. Yep, absolutely. And the judgment is there. And actually, to tell you the truth, I think you probably are a little harder on them than the other, because the perception is constant, right Of people thinking oh, you've got an N, you've got an edge, so absolutely. So there's something I want to kind of go down this road and it can stay down the career or it can go family. But what do you think the difference is between maybe wishing and realizing your dreams? Do you think there's a difference between those? It's an interesting question.
Speaker 2:So we repeat it really quick, just like a process.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Just the difference and if you think there is a difference between wishing and realizing your dreams.
Speaker 2:I think that you can wish something into reality. I kind of feel like, when you're wishing something, I always see myself as a very visionary leader, and a visionary just in my life in general, like seeing where I am, seeing where my family is, seeing where I am professionally. When you wish something, you're thinking in your mind of what it is that you're wanting and what it is that you're wanting to see, whether that's you as a human being, as you as a mom, as you as a professional. So, as you're wishing those things, I think that the more you keep your focus on that, the more your actions and your intentions are going to make that happen. And so I always feel like I have a picture of what it is that I'm wanting to accomplish, whether that's in my own life, with my husband and my family, you know, or what I see we are as we start to evolve.
Speaker 2:Like you know, my son is currently in college my oldest and kind of wishing and hoping and seeing what I want for him to accomplish. And then, through that, we're having conversations and you know I'm giving him ideas. Now, listen, he is 19 years old and he's going to do what he wants. That is very clear to me right now, but I still see what I'd love for his future to be looking like. I'm saying, with the twins in my career you know, I knew as a principal that eventually I would want to sit in the seat I'm in now and I could never be happier. I'm absolutely loving what I get to do every day and eventually, I'm sure someday I can see myself being a superintendent, being in the head seat. But like I think that you're through those wishes and visions and seeing where you want your direction kind of veers towards that and that guides like what opportunities that I place in front of myself and I say yes to to lead to that, and so I mean I kind of see them as one in the same.
Speaker 1:I like that. I like that you think that loving what you do serves your family.
Speaker 2:That's a really interesting question.
Speaker 2:I think I do feel that loving what you do serves your family. You know, number one, my husband we have conversations all the time. He loves what he does, he loves being a teacher, he loves the school that he's in. He loves, you know, and right now he's getting to teach PE, which he absolutely loves because he gets to have an impact on his every student in the building, and so he loves being that. He loves teaching elementary school.
Speaker 2:I love doing what I'm doing, I love leading, I love connecting with all kinds of different people and having a large influence. But what I see is us loving what we do is that our children, who are going to be seeking a profession one day, are going to see the value that loving what you do has to our lives. And you know we go to work happy every day. You know we come out and share. You have bad days, absolutely, but people, I think for them to see that is only going to have a positive impression on what it is that they're going to do in their lives.
Speaker 2:And I think that's what parenting is all about. You want to bring, you want to influence your own children so that they can have the you know, a great experience in adulthood and and you know, and that can look different for many my brother loves to, loves what he does, and he's in the executive world, but I think that that that filters through to your family. In addition, loving what you do, it just makes your life better. You know, I love having an impact on people's lives. I always love that. That's why I became a teacher, that's why I became a principal, that's why I've become an assistant superintendent, because I love having a positive impact in people's lives and that's what gives me, that's what keeps my heart happy, that's what keeps me motivated and and so for that, I think that that only shows to my children that there's importance in that and there's importance in in knowing that, whatever it is that you're going to do in your life, that you have that purpose.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of competition in your world. A lot of competition, you know, just even from classroom, classroom. But then when you go outside and you're in those other positions A lot of a man's world, not necessarily women make it all the way up to the top. So when you hear that word competition, how do you feel?
Speaker 2:To be honest, I I actually love competition, I'm a very competitive person and I love wanting and striving to be the best and to be honest with you and, like you said, it can be a man's world, but that's just something that drives me Like, okay, well, let me show you what I can do and and the same, like I also am a big proponent surrounding you, surrounding yourself with people that are only going to push you to be better, is a great thing.
Speaker 2:So I'm not afraid of competition. And, that being said, you know, whenever I was in the high school principal role, I wanted that high school to be the best high school in the state. Now I'm in this role. Well, now we're pushing to make this school district the best in the state. And then I think about, professionally, other people who are in similar, similar roles as me and we're we're all striving for similar things.
Speaker 2:I watch what they do and I take that into into consideration and that competitive spirit to me is like saying, oh well, what can I do like that, but only make it better. Okay, you know, whenever I was a high school principal, I always said I wanted our prom to be the best compared to all the other school districts. You know, I wanted people to do so. I mean, that was just something that drives me and I think a competitive spirit is good. Now you don't want to be too competitive because also in that like, in that competitive mind frame, I also want to pull other people up and with me, you know, and invest in other people to be the best and just strive for the best, and I think there's power in that and leadership and and so, yeah, it doesn't scare me. I love a good competitive spirit and I love it when other people push me to want to be even better, so I think there's good in it.
Speaker 1:And what happens when you miss, when you fail? I know that we've talked about that celebrating and the accountability and that investment in people, but what happens in that competition mindset or any of the challenges that you face, if it's flat on your face? Sure.
Speaker 2:And it happens 100%. And again, failure is also something not to be afraid of. Failure is a part of what makes us who we are, and I think what makes us who we are is how we respond to that failure. How do you respond when you fall flat on your face? What I have in the key pieces is that I look at. You know what it was that I did. Number one don't keep, you know, beating a dead horse. Look at it, what went wrong? And now reevaluate and decide what is it that I can do to build back up from this and what is it that I can put in place that can be successful.
Speaker 2:I think failures are a part of making us who we are, making us strive to be better. You know, I see, I think about my own children and you know, and they've had failures, but you know I'm never going to shy them away from an experience that might not go their way, because they need to learn how to respond to that and because in life failures are going to happen. It doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter you know how great things have it. Everybody fails.
Speaker 2:And the difference is is how you respond to that failure. Do you just sulk and go hot under a rock. You know, you need to know. Okay, this happened, that's okay, it didn't work. Now let's revisit, and and and. Think about what we could do differently. Think about how we can change. Think about what you learned from that experience. Think about, okay, this is how this made me feel. Now, what can I do to, whenever this happens again, to manage you know this emotion, and so, yeah, I mean, failure happens and it's going to happen to everyone, and what separates everyone is how you respond to it.
Speaker 1:So if I said the word unfair, whether it's relating to failure or situations that come about, what? When you hear that word unfair, what do you think of?
Speaker 2:When I think about unfair, I'll be honest, I think about, and I just naturally go back to my professional world. I think about inequities and how there just are inequities in our world and how we can address those inequities so that students can have the best experience possible. And you know, life can be very unfair and I think part of that is that we have to. We can't look at it as an excuse. We have to look at it as something that, yes, we see, and you know it, and you see that there are things that in our world that are unfair. But in my role, my goal is to look and see what we can do to address those inequities for students and families and how we can shift resources so that we can meet the needs of some of our population who do experience inequities.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like the way you went with that, because a lot of times you can just shrug and move on. But how do you protect your heart, because you see probably more inequities more frequently than I do Absolutely. So how do you protect your heart, or do you?
Speaker 2:I'm not going to lie Some of the things that I've got exposure to in my roles in school leadership. It does break your heart and some of the things that you know. I had a wonderful childhood. I came from a good family. My parents were married, you know, I had grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins, and you know it's funny because when you're a child you just think everybody else has the same life that you do, and getting into the educational world teaches you that there are lots of children that do not have those experiences. And once you get into school leadership, even more so. You see how many. And then in this role, I see even more how many.
Speaker 2:And I think that what drives me from those heartbreaks to not, you know, to not let it get you down, is that I have been blessed to be in a position to put things in place and put systems in place to where we can, either A try to protect, you know, our students, but we can't protect it when they go home, necessarily but also that I'm in a position to make sure that when they are at school for those eight hours a day or I guess more like six, but they are getting the best and most amazing environment possible, and so knowing that I'm able to have that influence, I think is what protects my heart.
Speaker 2:And also, you know you, just in education I think we all have a little box full of you know all the things, like all the positive notes or things that students have given us or things that another teacher has given us, that when you have a really tough day and you experience heartbreak or you experience in today's society we experience lots of angry adults and you know there's been a little bit of a shift in perspective around education and how it's responded to by the adults in our world, and you just take out that box and that always takes you back to your why. And there are a lot of pieces of reminders and I have them, I have mine has them all the way back to the classroom and they're just little reminders that of the impact and the influence and the positive things that you brought to your students and to the people you've worked with.
Speaker 2:And so you just have to keep that in mind. And I've read, you know, lots of books. You know John Gordon's energy bus, which my mom had me read as soon as I became a principal, and you know the the orange frog, which is a great little book that really talks about how, you know, negativity can have such a huge influence on your life, even though it's so small, and so a little little tiny bit of negativity has a much more powerful influence than you know, a ton of positivity. And so you just have to be mindful of that always, not to let the that, that portion of negativity be what drives your attention to what you need to do.
Speaker 1:That's fabulous. I'll have to look the orange frog up, and I adore your mom by the way, she got to meet her through Becca and you want to talk about a positive lady and a lady that just takes life and squeezes so much out of it.
Speaker 2:She sure does, and it's such an inspiration.
Speaker 1:I just I really have enjoyed the encounters that we've had, so and I can see a lot of her in you a lot of those strengths.
Speaker 1:So you've gone through a lot of different things in the education world in the last few years that have been really hard, Things that we never expected to see, things that made us question everything that we do. The challenges, the challenges of COVID alone just really hit you guys hard and all of a sudden you were responsible for all of your teams and the whole process. Did you ever feel and you may not be out of that now, but do you ever feel like that was just such a burden on your shoulders or what do we do?
Speaker 2:Sure, yeah, and you know, when I speak to this, I think I'm probably speaking for every educator in this country COVID shifted and changed everything. And you know, in the time I think about the fall of 2020, when lots of people were working from home and there was a big push that schools needed to open, and so you navigated, your teachers and your staff coming back into a very different world than what they left in March of 2020. You know, the whole everything was different, and also one of the interesting challenges of that time period was that our schools weren't just the schools, we were also social services, because social services at the time would not go into homes. We were truly I mean other than I think about our medical professionals, and in that we were on the front lines to kids' lives. And you know, I think about when we were in shutdown, and you know my own children we were at home. My husband's a teacher, I'm an educator. You know we were stable, we had all the things that we needed. We had food. You know all the things that make you feel safe and secure, which is your number one. You cannot go into a school and learn if you do not feel safe and secure. And so when our students but my kids had that experience not a lot of kids did not and it's like we just and I don't I want to say that our society is so dependent on schools to meet the needs of our most fragile population and I think in that period, I think it really shined a lot on how dependent we are on school systems.
Speaker 2:And so when fall comes around and we're starting back, you know we not only then were just over, you know our educating our students and making sure they had a safe school, we were also becoming their protectors. We were looking even more diligently on signs as something wasn't happening at home. But then even the challenge of that is, if you call in to social services, they weren't doing home visits. I know myself I was doing home visits. We were the ones for the kids that who you know. Yeah, they were there in March of 2020, but then in October of 2020, nobody heard from them. We were tracking those kids down. We were the point of contact, steering shut down that every kid connected with someone outside their home and the pressures that that had on teachers and on school staff and on school leaders and you don't think about our nutrition staff. They were the ones that, through COVID, they were open, making sure that kids still have meals every day, and so I think that that, yes, it was definitely a burden and it was 100% one of the most challenging times of my career.
Speaker 2:I can say it was one of the most challenging times of a lot of educators, probably most, if not all, the most challenging point in their career, because there was so much pressure and no one goes into education because they don't love and want to take care of kids. And when you have that, that heart and drive that you want to take care of your kids not your personal kids, but well, yeah, you want to take care of them too, but you also feel that responsibility of taking care of your students. And that was that was that was huge and that was hard. And then you know, then you have these, the political climate, and you know schools were just trying to navigate, like what to do, right, with mask, and you know. And then you had opinions, and then everybody was on the schools and and it was just so difficult, some people thought that kids didn't need to be in school because they were going to catch COVID.
Speaker 2:And then some people thought, yes, they need to be in school and, and we were just stuck in the middle Just trying to do what's best for kids. That's all we were all trying to do and and it was very, very, very difficult. I think now we're starting to finally get on the other end of that. I know so last year there was still at the beginning of school still that like COVID looming, and now this year, in the conversations that we've had with our, the teachers and the principals and your transportation, all the people this year finally felt normal. I think everybody felt like we've all said, man, this just feels like the best start to school year we've had in so long and, thinking back, we've not had a normal start to school year since 2019. Yeah, and so I think that we're all at a place that we just want to put, put that behind us and move forward and and do what we do every day and love kids and do what's best for kids and give them the best education that we possibly can.
Speaker 1:Well, and, at the same time, all these community partnerships that you talked about. They became so valuable, oh, absolutely. And to be able to look back and we found out very quickly, especially in rural America, that there was no connectivity. And here, all of a sudden, you were assuming that everybody's got it. No, they don't, no, they don't. And so it becomes. The issues become way more than what you went to school for, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, we were out in the middle of COVID we were delivering packets to kids, because you had such a population that doesn't have internet and and that was across Kentucky. I don't even hear in Scott County. We're near Lexington, but there's been a huge push on getting broadband out to our rural areas. Yeah, and so you know, I think it it became so much, more than anything about those kids who didn't have connectivity to internet and they were completely disconnected and and yeah, it was. It did become more than I think any of us ever went to college for and I always we always talk about, like, the leaders that we were before COVID and the leaders that we became during COVID were totally different Because the needs of the schools completely changed and and so now I think we're all shifting back to the leadership that we could, that that we can be before COVID hit, and I think we're all better because of it, because we've had that experience.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, Well, you kind of had to test your leadership skills a little bit, well, more than a little bit, but but I guess that's something that we don't really get to do in life a lot of times A test and then kind of resume normalcy or some difference of that. So that's kind of an interesting, interesting thought of how you process the leadership. So we have gone down so many different pathways and I know we could keep talking. You're just a gem of information and and inspiration. Is there anything that maybe we haven't touched on that you would like to make sure we do?
Speaker 2:No, no, you know there's it's.
Speaker 2:You know I've been blessed to get the opportunities in front of me that I have and and it makes it makes me very, very happy that that I've had these opportunities to influence the people around me.
Speaker 2:And you know, I know that that as I, as I move forward, you know I see challenges ahead. I mean we're dealing with a major teacher shortage in Kentucky and, and you know I'm getting to see opportunities. I get to be on a coalition with the state of Kentucky on things that we can do to work on the profession to make it more desirable. And you know I'm always excited to the opportunities that are placed in front of me and the new, the new opportunities, like now, in this role, I have more connectivity with with politicians and legislation and and driving a whole different type of influence on education and and and how we can do it at the legislation and legislative level. And I think that's one thing that that you know, I hope people take away from this is not to shy away from new opportunities to have an influence on what it is that you're passionate about.
Speaker 1:I actually was going to ask you to kind of issue a challenge, and it sounds like that that might indeed be the challenge. Yeah, absolutely. Well, this has been outstanding, Stephanie, and I appreciate you joining me. So so very much.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely, and I thank you for giving me this opportunity. It's been, it's been really great, thank you.