Who am I as a literacy leader? Before I began the master's program in reading education at Texas Woman's University, I would have shut down the person who asked this question of me. Who, me? A leader? Of literacy? However, my perspective of "leader" was adjusted when I saw a meme with the message: leadership is not a destination, it is the journey.

 

Since I began the program, I have trekked through the tangled vines of the adolescent brain and reading comprehension, the language systems of orthography, phonology, syntax, and semantics, and deciphering running records in order to personalize instruction for every student. I have gained confidence in my abilities to speak intelligently about research and theory; to hold my own in a conversation about what strengths and areas of need a student exhibits, and to communicate that in all modes to stakeholders.

 

In the last few years, I have ventured further down paths I would have never sought out before. I have become a curriculum writer, a mentor teacher, joined a curriculum adoption committee, and presented at public conferences. I have collaborated with others to integrate an early childhood special education classroom with a general education prekindergarten classroom and to establish and maintain high expectations and appropriate supports for all students. I have led my team in professional development in academic and social-emotional learning in order to support our students and one another. I have learned a tremendous amount of information, strategies, and skills that have equipped me to truly be a leader, to hit the ground running, setting the example, helping others grow, and serving where I am needed. I have always been one to take on new adventures; I am excited to continue my own growth and inspire that of those around me as I take on this next one! 

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