21085 LM Summer 2021_hi
Mahoney ... cont’d. Using a cohort model, the academy brings together 20 to 30 principals and teacher leaders eight times per year. The professional development is focused around soft skills and techniques to better navigate problems within buildings and help principals and teacher leaders grow their leadership capacity. Since 2012, the academy has graduated 150 educators. Similar initiatives have been adopted in Rockford and Belvidere, and Dr. Mahoney has presented at the Joint Annual Conference. “My colleagues and I would sit around the table and we would all have similar challenges with developing principals and dealing with similar mistakes in leadership that would cause rifts inside the building,” Dr. Mahoney. “The idea was how we could teach those soft skills and help leaders better understand what their strengths are, and how to leverage those strengths to build a stronger culture inside their buildings.” Dr. Mahoney is also an advocate for Enneagram, a framework to help leaders deeply understand themselves and uncover patterns of behaviour that subconsciously drive and motivate people to act in certain ways. “It has been profound in my life,” he said. “I have this belief that I create 90 percent of my own problems by what I do that I shouldn’t have or what I don’t do that I should have or didn’t do. If I take me with me wherever I go, I better know myself very well.”
Gill ... cont’d.
Under Gill’s direction, Springfield SD #186 created a 30-year vision and master facilities plan, Our Schools Our Future. This summer, the district broke ground on the process to transform the district with nine projects. “In order to really transform our district and create 21st century learning spaces, we had to think big and stop putting Band-aids on things,” Gill said. “The key to passing the sales tax was to get out to the public and tell our story. I can’t tell you how many speaking engagements and times I met with the community.” Gill is also passionate about sharing and supporting her peers. Two educational programs Gill has advised other superintendents on are Equal Opportunity Schools and AVID. Equal Opportunity Schools helps districts enroll more low-income and minority students in advanced placement courses. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a national academic program aimed at helping schools improve educational outcomes. Under Gill’s leadership, Springfield SD #186 increased the adoption of AVID at the elementary level. “We want to start with students early and try and make sure our district has the right strategies in place to help students be successful at each step,” Gill said. Gill has also shared with peers about Springfield SD #186’s partnership with Memorial Medical Health Systems called Memorial Choice, which serves as a community-based health clinic model for employees and their dependents. “Insurance is such an important piece for school districts to consider, so I love having that relationship with Memorial and being able to serve the individual health needs of employees and offer a community-based healthcare clinic model that has reduced out-of-pocket co-pays for our teachers and staff,” Gill said. Lastly, Gill has presented at the IASA Annual Conference and IASA’s New Superintendents Conference the past two years. The presentation to first-year superintendents focused on improving communications.
19 LM Summer 2021
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