Q&A: Lead From Your Feet, Not Your Seat

Q: Q: In the Transformative Leadership Summit, you are presenting on the topic of Administrator Empowerment. How can the education community make administrators feel empowered to lead initiatives in their schools or districts that are truly meaningful?

Jessica Cabeen: I would love to see more schools, staff and communities recognizing school leaders. This could be in the form of a card, a note, a phone call or any other way possible to celebrate our school leaders. The work is hard, and celebrating the positive is not done enough. The more we highlight the positives and successes from our school leaders, the more of these initiatives will be created, shared and celebrated.

Q: Q: Buy-in for new approaches to teaching and learning from all school leaders - both administrators and teachers - has been identified as a challenge to innovation in classrooms. As a former teacher, supervisor, and now principal, what are the best approaches to sparking a school transformation?

JC: It starts with you. In Hacking Early Learning I introduce the framework Listen, Learn, Lead. Listen: What do you really know about the new initiative? And have you heard from all stakeholders it might be impacting? Learn: What information is out there about the initiative? Blog posts, research articles, and connecting with members of your PLN can give you answers to the questions your stakeholders are asking. Lead: Armed with all this information, you can move forward knowing you have worked to make an informed decision that will be positively impacting your school.

Jessica Cabeen, the 2017 Minnesota Principal of the Year, talks about visible, active school leadership ahead of her summit session.

By Jessica CabeenJul 20, 20183 min read

Principal walking a busy hallway with her office chair empty behind leading from your feet

Jessica Cabeen presents at the 2018 Transformative Leadership Summit

**Jessica Cabeen – Don't worry what others think!**1 min 47 sJethro Jones on YouTube

Jessica Cabeen presents at the 2018 Transformative Leadership Summit

Jessica Cabeen, the 2017 Minnesota Principal of the Year, will join more than 40 leading presenters for the 2018 Transformative Leadership Summit, an online PD event taking place from July 30 to August 7. The third annual summit will focus on empowerment for administrators, teachers, students, and parents. Educators can attend each day’s sessions online, free of charge, and can also purchase an all-access pass to get exclusive bonuses and archived content. Visit TransformativeLeadershipSummit.com to register.

Empowering School Administrators

Q: In the Transformative Leadership Summit, you are presenting on the topic of Administrator Empowerment. How can the education community make administrators feel empowered to lead initiatives in their schools or districts that are truly meaningful?

Jessica Cabeen: I would love to see more schools, staff and communities recognizing school leaders. This could be in the form of a card, a note, a phone call or any other way possible to celebrate our school leaders. The work is hard, and celebrating the positive is not done enough. The more we highlight the positives and successes from our school leaders, the more of these initiatives will be created, shared and celebrated.

Sparking School Transformation: Listen, Learn, Lead

Q: Buy-in for new approaches to teaching and learning from all school leaders – both administrators and teachers – has been identified as a challenge to innovation in classrooms. As a former teacher, supervisor, and now principal, what are the best approaches to sparking a school transformation?

JC: It starts with you. In Hacking Early Learning I introduce the framework Listen, Learn, Lead.

Listen: What do you really know about the new initiative? And have you heard from all stakeholders it might be impacting?

Learn: What information is out there about the initiative? Blog posts, research articles, and connecting with members of your PLN can give you answers to the questions your stakeholders are asking.

Lead: Armed with all this information, you can move forward knowing you have worked to make an informed decision that will be positively impacting your school.

Ideas From Hacking Early Learning

Q: In your book, Hacking Early Learning, you get straight to strategies administrators can use to make a difference for early learners. What are one or two ideas from the book that you’d like all educators two know about?

JC: Lead from your feet, not your seat. Spending time in classrooms really gives you back that perspective that administrators lose after years out of the classroom.

Do you know where your students are coming from? I loved every second of going into community preschools to meet students, talk with staff and introduce myself to families. Building connections isn’t a program or curriculum; it is about finding time to intentionally be in the spaces your students are in before they come to you.

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Jessica Cabeen: Author
Principal, Ellis Middle School
Jessica Cabeen currently serves as the principal of Ellis Middle School in Austin, Minnesota. Prior to this role, she was the Principal of the "Happiest Place in Southeastern Minnesota", the Woodson Kindergarten Center. She has been an assistant middle school principal, a special education supervisor, and special education teacher. She started her career as a Music Therapist and worked with adults with disabilities and adolescents in residential settings in Iowa and Illinois. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Music Therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a Masters in Special Education from the University of Saint Thomas, and her administrative licenses from Hamline University. Jessica was awarded the NAESP/VINCI Digital Leader of Early Learning Award in 2016 and in 2017 was named the Minnesota National Distinguished Principal. She has written two books: Hacking Early Learning and Balance Like a Pirate.
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Jessica Cabeen

Principal, Ellis Middle School

Jessica Cabeen currently serves as the principal of Ellis Middle School in Austin, Minnesota. Prior to this role, she was the Principal of the "Happiest Place in Southeastern Minnesota", the Woodson Kindergarten Center. She has been an assistant middle school principal, a special education supervisor, and special education teacher. She started her career as a Music Therapist and worked with adults with disabilities and adolescents in residential settings in Iowa and Illinois. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Music Therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a Masters in Special Education from the University of Saint Thomas, and her administrative licenses from Hamline University. Jessica was awarded the NAESP/VINCI Digital Leader of Early Learning Award in 2016 and in 2017 was named the Minnesota National Distinguished Principal. She has written two books: Hacking Early Learning and Balance Like a Pirate.

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