Tell me about making the jump to admin

[TamiTaylor]

Thinking about getting my masters with principal certification. Never really thought I would want to be an admin but after some bad & so so school leadership experiences I have thought more and more about. It. Who has made the jump?

[notsopicky]

TamiTaylor, I have not made that move, but I want to tell you the other side, why I didn't make the move.

I got my masters in admin in 2004 (started the program in 2002, started teaching 1995). After my degree was awarded, for 3 years I interviewed for positions, and it just never worked out. I kept coming in second, for pretty much the reason that pixy0stix posted about in one of the randoms on CEP--I was lacking in experience to get the job (mainly admin-level discipline caseload), but to get the particular experience, I had to have the job. Frustrating as all hell. I am also a white, cisgendered hetero female, and at the time I was interviewing, that was not the demographic that the district was looking to hire for those positions (which was a good thing, so I never took it personally). As the years went by, I definitely used the skills that I gained in the admin masters program, to run departments, teams, programs, as well as to be an even better teacher (I've said many times that I believe my admin program taught me more about teaching than my undergrad ed degree ever did) so it didn't go to waste. I eventually decided, because of life (I got married in 2006 and between 2008-2011, we planned to have my son), that I wouldn't pursue it anymore. That was a good decision for me. I decided that I wanted to have positive interactions with my students; I didn't want to be the one suspending kids and keeping order in the cafeteria/hallways. I was able to be a teacher-leader, so that fulfilled the instructional leadership desire that some administrators are able to provide.

In 2015, I realized that I had many years to go in the field (I started at 20, and I have no breaks in service), so I was trying to figure out what I would do next. I didn't think I could weather the wave of constant change in the day-to-day classroom for 20+ more years. I briefly considered trying again to pursue admin, but when I realized that there were 100 applicants (real #s) vying for each admin spot in my district, I quickly abandoned that idea. Plus, I am still a white cis hetero female, so I wasn't going to throw myself in the ring when we still need to diversify our admin panels.

I received an email in the spring of 2016 about an 90/10 online/in person library sciences degree from a university in my state. I thought about librarianship, and it hit me like lightning--why hadn't I considered that before? I love books, and reading, and research, and technology, and all things digital, and of course kids, and helping teachers--so why not pursue that? And so I did. Before my program was even totally finished, and only 2 interviews into the process, I became the Head Librarian at a middle school in the neighborhood where I lived for 11 years (and that I had interviewed at twice before over the years, once for a teaching position, and once for an admin position--for which I came in second, lol).

It is the best job in the whole school. I get to have authentic relationships with kids, I get to surround myself with things I love every day, I get to teach (but not all day, every day), and I am able to use my leadership skills to run programs, help teachers, etc. I am also functioning as the instructional coach for the World Languages department, b/c that was my content area for 23 years. I just love it so much.

I say all this not to discourage you from following your dreams, but rather to give you perspective about different paths in schools. Best wishes as you navigate your career trajectory.

[psychmom]

TamiTaylor, I got my masters in administration with certification 100% online from Angelo State University. Just the flexibility of being able to work on school stuff at night and on the weekends and not having to stress about fitting classes into our already crazy schedule was amazing. I would totally recommend it if you're interested in an online program. I haven't started applying for admin level positions yet because I need more years teaching experience (starting year 5 this year) but I've talked to my evaluator about growing professionally to move into an admin roll in the future and she's created a road map to help me. She's also talked to her admin team about me so they know I am interested. If there's someone on your campus you trust and value their insight, I'd talk to them about it and get their thoughts as well. They might be able to give you some tips or steer you in a good direction.

[TamiTaylor]

notsopicky, I would love to be a librarian but those jobs are very few and far between for my area. I thought about becoming a counselor but again not a lot of openings I have seen in my area in the past few years.

I would love to be a college and career counselor.

[TamiTaylor]

Aug 18, 2019 8:30:33 GMT -5 psychmom said:

TamiTaylor, I got my masters in administration with certification 100% online from Angelo State University. Just the flexibility of being able to work on school stuff at night and on the weekends and not having to stress about fitting classes into our already crazy schedule was amazing. I would totally recommend it if you're interested in an online program. I haven't started applying for admin level positions yet because I need more years teaching experience (starting year 5 this year) but I've talked to my evaluator about growing professionally to move into an admin roll in the future and she's created a road map to help me. She's also talked to her admin team about me so they know I am interested. If there's someone on your campus you trust and value their insight, I'd talk to them about it and get their thoughts as well. They might be able to give you some tips or steer you in a good direction.

How long did that take you? Unfortunately I have an all new admin te this year on my campus. I am still on great terms with my last two rounds of admin. One is definitely my go to mentor even though I am no longer on her campus or even in that district.

[psychmom]

Aug 18, 2019 11:06:44 GMT -5 TamiTaylor said:

Aug 18, 2019 8:30:33 GMT -5 psychmom said:

TamiTaylor , I got my masters in administration with certification 100% online from Angelo State University. Just the flexibility of being able to work on school stuff at night and on the weekends and not having to stress about fitting classes into our already crazy schedule was amazing. I would totally recommend it if you're interested in an online program. I haven't started applying for admin level positions yet because I need more years teaching experience (starting year 5 this year) but I've talked to my evaluator about growing professionally to move into an admin roll in the future and she's created a road map to help me. She's also talked to her admin team about me so they know I am interested. If there's someone on your campus you trust and value their insight, I'd talk to them about it and get their thoughts as well. They might be able to give you some tips or steer you in a good direction.

How long did that take you? Unfortunately I have an all new admin te this year on my campus. I am still on great terms with my last two rounds of admin. One is definitely my go to mentor even though I am no longer on her campus or even in that district.

I was pretty aggressive with my course load so I finished in about 18 months. That includes the practicum or internship hours in which I did during my conference period and before/after school duties.