Interview With Joan Brixey Ed. D. Director of Curriculum and Instruction Waukegan Public Schools Leadership Brendan Murphy The Johns Hopkins University
Abstract Interview with Joan Brixey Director of Curriculum and Instruction with Waukegan Public Schools District 60. Dr. Brixey moved to her current position early 2010. Before that she led a three year transformation of Daniel Webster School, a middle school in the Waukegan school district. Daniel Webster Middle School won the Breakthrough Schools Award in 2009 thanks in part to Dr. Brixey's leadership. In this half hour interview Dr. Brixey was asked six questions on leadership in education.
The Waukegan Public School District 60 web site quotes their motto and mission as:
“A New Day... A New Way in Waukegan Public Schools... whatever it takes!”
Mission Statement:
Educating students for the world of tomorrow is our top priority.
Through mobilization of the entire community, we will challenge, teach, and inspire our students.
We will provide the resources to serve each of our students, expecting excellence from all involved.
We will deliver an exciting education in a safe learning environment that celebrates our diversity and similarities in a spirit of unity and respect.
From the beginning of the interview Dr. Brixey exhibited many of the hallmarks of a strong leader. She keeps focus primarily on the needs of the students. As Gardner suggests she uses a “process of persuasion” through the offer of collaboration and support. She keeps the lines of communication open not only to support teachers, but also as Murphy says to “gather intel” (p. 54) “My goal”, as Dr. Brixey states it, “is to be out and about and supporting principals and teachers.” As Kelley and Peterson note effective principals clearly communicate a vision through her work (p. 361)Dr. Brixey does the same by focusing on encouraging and accommodating student achievement and making reading central to learning. She and her team are doing what they can to support this by collaborating with teachers and parents, and tailoring help to principal and teacher needs. She is constantly scheduling meetings to help keep up with what is going on in the schools and to let the people know that she is there to help and support in anyway necessary. Kelly and Peterson recommend some critical skills of leaders: working knowledge of educational research finding, methods, and approaches, strong communication skills....(p. 361). Dr. Brixey keeps up with the current research through subscribing to and reading “tons” of educational literature. Her commute to work is currently used to listen to books on CD. She attends and presents at conferences where she networks with other professionals. She also credits winning the Breakthrough School Award with creating a vast network of professionals she can call on to rely on for growth and learning. One of the weaknesses of the district is community involvement. As a building level administrator it is easier. There schools have open houses, Saturday activities, clean up days, and PTO. As a principal Dr. Brixey tried to let parents have ownership and keep them involved. She built trust through the use of an open door policy. “If I am not busy they can walk right in.” As a district level administrator it is more difficult beyond attending community events. The work of an administrator requires a large skill set. When asked about social, ethical, or legal issues. Dr. Brixey did mention that it is very important to keep abreast of changes in school law. It can be very easy to violate union agreements, special education laws are very important. Often parents and teachers may not be aware of due process laws, so a principal should take the time to make sure people understand their rights. The biggest part of the job, according to Dr. Brixey are the social and political aspects. Murphy says in The Unheroic Side of Leadership much of what happens...is dependent on information that administrators frequently do not possess. This includes “local” knowledge ....”situational knowledge” ... and “people” knowledge. (p. 55) According to Dr. Brixey it is important to know who the key players are and what their agenda's are. A leader must carefully choose what you present and to whom it is presented. Sometimes it is necessary to accept defeat. Compromise is key, but don't settle for something you cannot ethically live with. Schools are extremely political from teaches to school boards. There are many people who always put the interests of the students first, but there are some who don't. Those who don't you have to political and subtle so that they see what you present as working in their favor. Fullan suggested that an effective leader should make alliances with danger. (nd) Dr. Brixey agreed that that was a very effective way of getting people to work with you, but sometimes you have to leave people behind. When you make alliances with people you don't like of you know will disagree it can help bring them around to your way of thinking. If they don't come around, they might quit and lose the ability to effectively oppose you. Sometimes their peers will tell them to get with the program. This can be the most effective, but sometimes you just have to say the bus is moving on and you can come with or get left behind. Robert Evans suggest that three qualities -ethics, vision, belief in others – that are central in the personal beliefs of authentic leaders are reflected in their organizational goals. As an aspiring instructional leader Dr. Brixey has a similar view. She believes an aspiring leaders put their heart and soul into the job, model your beliefs everyday, have high expectations, be willing to do anything you ask someone else to do, be a lifelong learner, and collaborate with and empower teachers and other leaders. When a leader has integrity their followers see you as a person they can trust. A leader should also:
Share your vision and involve others in the process of developing your vision.
Be patient and do things well and properly before moving on.
Reflect
Show your human side
Listen
Build strong relationship
She ended with this bit of reality. There are some leadership qualities that can be developed, but there are some that are just a part of who you are.
References Inc, Jossey-Bass, & Fullan, Michael. (2007). The Jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. Evans, R. (2007). The authentic leader. In Inc, Jossey-Bass, & Fullan, Michael. (Eds.), The Jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. (2nd ed.) (pp. 135 – 158) San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. Kelley, C., & Peterson, K. D. (2007). The work of principals and their preparation: addressing critical needs for the twenty-first century. In Inc, Jossey-Bass, & Fullan, Michael. (Eds.), The Jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. (2nd ed.) (pp. 351 – 402). San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. Gardner, J. (2007). The nature of leadership. In Inc, Jossey-Bass, & Fullan, Michael. (Eds.), The Jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. (2nd ed.) (pp. 17 - 26). San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. Murphy, J. T. (2007). The unheroic side of leadership: notes from the swamp. In Inc, Jossey-Bass, & Fullan, Michael. (Eds.), The Jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. (2nd ed.) (pp. 51-62). San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. Waukegan School District 60. (n.d.). About WPS60. Retrieved August 5, 2010 from http://wps60.org/wpsd60/about.php
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Waukegan Public Schools
Leadership
Brendan Murphy
The Johns Hopkins University
Abstract
Interview with Joan Brixey Director of Curriculum and Instruction with Waukegan Public Schools District 60. Dr. Brixey moved to her current position early 2010. Before that she led a three year transformation of Daniel Webster School, a middle school in the Waukegan school district. Daniel Webster Middle School won the Breakthrough Schools Award in 2009 thanks in part to Dr. Brixey's leadership. In this half hour interview Dr. Brixey was asked six questions on leadership in education.
- The Waukegan Public School District 60 web site quotes their motto and mission as:
- “A New Day... A New Way in Waukegan Public Schools... whatever it takes!”
- Mission Statement:
- Educating students for the world of tomorrow is our top priority.
- Through mobilization of the entire community, we will challenge, teach, and inspire our students.
- We will provide the resources to serve each of our students, expecting excellence from all involved.
- We will deliver an exciting education in a safe learning environment that celebrates our diversity and similarities in a spirit of unity and respect.
From the beginning of the interview Dr. Brixey exhibited many of the hallmarks of a strong leader. She keeps focus primarily on the needs of the students. As Gardner suggests she uses a “process of persuasion” through the offer of collaboration and support. She keeps the lines of communication open not only to support teachers, but also as Murphy says to “gather intel” (p. 54) “My goal”, as Dr. Brixey states it, “is to be out and about and supporting principals and teachers.”As Kelley and Peterson note effective principals clearly communicate a vision through her work (p. 361)Dr. Brixey does the same by focusing on encouraging and accommodating student achievement and making reading central to learning. She and her team are doing what they can to support this by collaborating with teachers and parents, and tailoring help to principal and teacher needs. She is constantly scheduling meetings to help keep up with what is going on in the schools and to let the people know that she is there to help and support in anyway necessary.
Kelly and Peterson recommend some critical skills of leaders: working knowledge of educational research finding, methods, and approaches, strong communication skills....(p. 361). Dr. Brixey keeps up with the current research through subscribing to and reading “tons” of educational literature. Her commute to work is currently used to listen to books on CD. She attends and presents at conferences where she networks with other professionals. She also credits winning the Breakthrough School Award with creating a vast network of professionals she can call on to rely on for growth and learning.
One of the weaknesses of the district is community involvement. As a building level administrator it is easier. There schools have open houses, Saturday activities, clean up days, and PTO. As a principal Dr. Brixey tried to let parents have ownership and keep them involved. She built trust through the use of an open door policy. “If I am not busy they can walk right in.” As a district level administrator it is more difficult beyond attending community events.
The work of an administrator requires a large skill set. When asked about social, ethical, or legal issues. Dr. Brixey did mention that it is very important to keep abreast of changes in school law. It can be very easy to violate union agreements, special education laws are very important. Often parents and teachers may not be aware of due process laws, so a principal should take the time to make sure people understand their rights.
The biggest part of the job, according to Dr. Brixey are the social and political aspects. Murphy says in The Unheroic Side of Leadership much of what happens...is dependent on information that administrators frequently do not possess. This includes “local” knowledge ....”situational knowledge” ... and “people” knowledge. (p. 55) According to Dr. Brixey it is important to know who the key players are and what their agenda's are. A leader must carefully choose what you present and to whom it is presented. Sometimes it is necessary to accept defeat.
Compromise is key, but don't settle for something you cannot ethically live with. Schools are extremely political from teaches to school boards. There are many people who always put the interests of the students first, but there are some who don't. Those who don't you have to political and subtle so that they see what you present as working in their favor.
Fullan suggested that an effective leader should make alliances with danger. (nd) Dr. Brixey agreed that that was a very effective way of getting people to work with you, but sometimes you have to leave people behind. When you make alliances with people you don't like of you know will disagree it can help bring them around to your way of thinking. If they don't come around, they might quit and lose the ability to effectively oppose you. Sometimes their peers will tell them to get with the program. This can be the most effective, but sometimes you just have to say the bus is moving on and you can come with or get left behind.
Robert Evans suggest that three qualities -ethics, vision, belief in others – that are central in the personal beliefs of authentic leaders are reflected in their organizational goals. As an aspiring instructional leader Dr. Brixey has a similar view. She believes an aspiring leaders put their heart and soul into the job, model your beliefs everyday, have high expectations, be willing to do anything you ask someone else to do, be a lifelong learner, and collaborate with and empower teachers and other leaders. When a leader has integrity their followers see you as a person they can trust.
A leader should also:
- Share your vision and involve others in the process of developing your vision.
- Be patient and do things well and properly before moving on.
- Reflect
- Show your human side
- Listen
- Build strong relationship
She ended with this bit of reality. There are some leadership qualities that can be developed, but there are some that are just a part of who you are.References
Inc, Jossey-Bass, & Fullan, Michael. (2007). The Jossey-bass reader on educational
leadership. San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
Evans, R. (2007). The authentic leader. In Inc, Jossey-Bass, & Fullan, Michael. (Eds.), The
Jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. (2nd ed.) (pp. 135 – 158) San
Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
Kelley, C., & Peterson, K. D. (2007). The work of principals and their preparation: addressing
critical needs for the twenty-first century. In Inc, Jossey-Bass, & Fullan, Michael.
(Eds.), The Jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. (2nd ed.) (pp. 351 – 402).
San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
Gardner, J. (2007). The nature of leadership. In Inc, Jossey-Bass, & Fullan, Michael. (Eds.), The
Jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. (2nd ed.) (pp. 17 - 26). San Francisco,
Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
Murphy, J. T. (2007). The unheroic side of leadership: notes from the swamp. In Inc, Jossey-Bass, &
Fullan, Michael. (Eds.), The Jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. (2nd ed.)
(pp. 51-62). San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
Waukegan School District 60. (n.d.). About WPS60. Retrieved August 5, 2010 from http://wps60.org/wpsd60/about.php