As a school system district leader, one of my biggest fears was safety. Would I be ready in an emergency? Could I lead the system so that our schools were both perceived to be safe, and more importantly, that they were safe places inside and out for our students? I hesitated until the last day of the application process before I submitted my own application for Superintendent because of my concerns around issues like bus safety and school violence. 

My question was not ‘Could I help and be there for our students and staff members?', but ‘Could I be heard by our community, our school board, and our staff members.’ I did apply, and after I was appointed, I did have many of the scary things happen while I was Superintendent, but I had a team that made each event work out far above my expectations. That team was created over time, but it allowed me to cope with the things that held me back and it allowed our system to be safer.

We have been hosting Women in Leadership events for more than five years and then last year, we started offering three unique events annually around our Women in Leadership ‘Three C’s’---Coaching, Coping, and Creating. This event on 2/23/2023 is our annual ‘Coping’ event. You will hear from Janice Cook, Dr. Donna Wright with TOSS Gold Partner Katz, Binkley, Jones & Morris (KBJM), and me, Dr. Wanda Shelton as we discuss learning to lead and cope with the creation of ‘safe schools’.

This event, more than any other Women in Leadership event we have ever hosted, is open to ALL leaders in ALI and SLI. In this time, we will discuss the ways we can learn to lead together to keep us all safe, secure, and performing at our best each day. So, leaders, sign up for this one and hear three current and former school and system leaders discuss building relationships over time to build success…coping with our challenges, together.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***