My Philosophy of Educational Leadership

Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the
Master of Arts in Education

by
Kelsey L. Kempf
Excelsior Middle School
Marion, IA
December 8, 2013

Instructor Timothy Gilson

My mission as an educational leader is to provide a high quality learning experience for

each and every child. This is a monumental task that requires a unique balance of several
essential elements. The Iowa Standards for School Leaders (ISSL) highlights these important
characteristics of a quality educational leader, and serve as a model by which all principals
should live. As a principal, I will carry out my mission of high levels of learning for all students
by creating a clear vision, developing a strong culture of learning, and innovating our educational
practices.
Every building must have a clear, concise vision. The visionary leadership ISSL, a
school administrator [must develop, implement, articulate and implement a] vision of learning
that is shared and supported by the school community (Wilmore, 2002, p. 19), will be my first
priority as an educational leader. An effective, meaningful vision cannot be created by one
individual alone, especially if I am that individual who is new to an existing building. It must be
collectively created with staff members. When taking on a new principalship, I plan to sit down
with my staff members to create a clear, shared vision for our building. I will ask tough
questions regarding what is working well for the building, as well as what concerns or
frustrations they may have. We will examine how we envision our school years down the road:
what do we want things to look and feel like? From there, every program, decision, and dollar
spent must align with that vision, as Wilmore stated, Everything the campus does should be
aligned with this vision (p. 21).
All children, regardless of achievement status, have unique individual needs, including
those in the middle. I will work toward my goal of high achievement for all students by
developing a quality staff of educators. It is my responsibility to help teachers reach every
student by selecting and supporting high quality teachers who are able to be strong stewards of

our schools collective vision. When given the opportunity to hire new teachers, I will look for
individuals who do not necessarily fit in, but who help move our building toward the
fulfillment of our vision. I can improve existing teachers by supporting them with strong
professional development sessions and scaffolding collaborative groups (such as Professional
Learning Communities). As Whitaker (2012) states, if we want them [teachers] to do better, we
must help them improve their skills and master new ones.Unless we show teachers a better
way, they will probably never even attempt a different instructional practice (pp. 41-43). By
supporting teachers with research-based methods of differentiated instruction, I will have an
impact on every classroom, and student, in the building. Our focus and passion for learning will
be shared throughout the school, creating a positive school culture.
School should be a welcoming, positive place conducive to meaningful learning. I will
strive to create a culture and climate that is genuine and inviting. To create this positive climate,
I plan to get to know students and staff. The second ISSL standard describes how school
administrators must be advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional
program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth (Wilmore, 2002, p. 32).
Building strong relationships in my building, and being a positive, visible presence will be a key
factor in the success of our mission.

I want to know these people as individuals, and for them

to know me as a real person as well.

I pride myself on being down to earth, someone who is

able to share a laugh, empathize, and understand those around me. Every decision educational
leaders make directly influences the lives of students, staff members and families. By making
relationships a priority, I will not only be able to make well informed decisions about the needs
of stakeholders, but will also be directly improving the climate and culture of our building.

As a leader, I want to inspire my staff to do their absolute best every day. I feel that I
have already started on this mission as a classroom teacher. As Dr. Lew Finch put it (personal
communication, December 13, 2013), [my] enthusiasm is contagious, and I hope that I am able
to spread that passion for student success to every person my leadership impacts. Robbins and
Alvy (2009) said that The leaders behavior literally influences whether staff members
emotions will be driven in a positive or negative direction (p. 45), and I am willing to take on
that responsibility to make my school a positive place to learn, grow and work.
Educational leaders face difficult problems that require creative solutions, and this is an
area of strength for me. Innovation is a concept that has been front and center throughout my
entire life. When I was in junior high, my father (an avid hunter) was frustrated with the
crossbows available on the market. Although he had no formal engineering experience, I
watched as he fearlessly proceeded to disassemble several traditional crossbows, taking out what
was not working, rearranging what did work well, and adding some new elements. This was a
grueling, frustrating, and difficult process to say the least. When he finished, his new version of
the crossbow was one that served the same purpose, but was one that he believed would be
quieter, faster, and more efficient. At that point, we all thought he was a tad crazy for thinking
that he could simply make up his own crossbow from parts of others, and to be honest, I think
my mom and I were both fearful that it was going to blow up in his hands. The day finally
arrived when we anxiously watched my father pull back the string and make a perfect shot at the
target. My crazy dad had engineered a product that would revolutionize the industry for years to
come, in our garage!
This story may seem completely irrelevant to my stance on educational leadership, but it
has been a key motivator for me as a leader over the years. My father taught me that you do not

have to accept things that are not as good as they could be. You can be an innovator by taking
pieces of what is working in the current system, tweaking parts that are not as efficient as you
would like them to be, and adding some new elements. Similarly, Robbins and Alvy (2009)
recommend that leadersshould develop the ability to take the best from each new idea and
synthesize information into an eclectic model (p. 7). This does not mean that I want to walk in
to a school on day one and begin disassembling everything to fix it all. Rather, it has taught
me to look at the world and constantly consider how things could be better, and what practical
steps I can take to make it happen.
Similar subsequent experience with my father prompted me to enroll in the
Entrepreneurial Management certificate program at the University of Iowa during my
undergraduate studies. This was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. The programs
major initiatives were getting students to think outside the box and look at new ways to solve
old problems. The business experience in finance, marketing, and management has played a
major role in pushing me toward educational leadership. I enjoyed the challenge of developing
products and business plans working in collaboration with others. I grew more confident with
developing creative solutions to problems, organizing my ideas, creating financial and business
plans, and pitching my ideas to real venture capitalists. Wilmore (2002) states, The difference
between success and failure revolves around analyzing and solving problems to overcome any
barrier to success (p. 21), and this is a valuable, innate skill I will bring to my building. These
entrepreneurial experiences provide a strong framework for my responsibilities of the third ISSL
standard, ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources (p. 52).
I know that I am willing to take risks and go the extra mile for my students and staff. By
building strong relationships with stakeholders, we will build a positive culture that students are

eager to learn in. My inability to settle with the status quo constantly pushes me to find better,
more efficient way to accomplish our common educational goals. I cannot accomplish my
mission alone, for that would not be true leadership. To truly lead my staff I must provide for
and enable others to be able to attain their goals (Wilmore, 2002, p. 24), and with a shared
vision, our goal will be the same: High levels of learning for each and every student.

References
Robbins, A., & Alvy, H. (2009). The principals companion: Strategies for making the job
easier (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Whitaker, T. (2012). What great principals do differently: 18 things that matter most (2nd ed.).
Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
Wilmore, E. (2002). Principal leadership: Applying the new educational leadership constituent
council standards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.