Reflections of a School Leader: Fellowship Adventures #1
My experience in Heads of Schools Fellowship Program at the Klingenstein Center, Teachers College, Columbia University.
3 hours in a winding immigration line was not the new NYC experience I was dreaming of, but I’m back in the city after 6 years so I got over it about 1 second after I left the airport. It is -7C and freezing, I take one step outside onto the street tunnelled by the beautiful NYC buildings and I have all the feels. Added bonus, I spot residual snow patches from the snowfall before I arrived.
But the real treat is that I am back in this amazing city to learn, which means that for two weeks I can relive my 2 years during my Masters Program at Teachers College (Sadly without my husband who was also studying with me at that time. He has taken one for the team and is caring for our children back home). I have been accepted into a 2 week Heads of School fellowship program which is also at Klingenstein Center at Teachers College.
What?! I get to spend 2 weeks in NYC studying School Leadership, reflecting on my work, and planning for the year ahead. I could not have designed a better experience for 2 weeks of personal and professional reflection if I tried. What a privilege and joy!
The Klingenstein Heads of School Program awards up to 20 School Leaders a fellowship to study and learn with each other for 2 weeks in a structured program. My schedule informs me that it will cover a range of leadership topics from listening, communication, governance, climate action with classes, case studies and a school visit. The value of the fellowship award is roughly $13000 and also earns you 3 college credits on completion. And they threw in team experiences at the Culinary Institute and a musical too.
I am pretty sure that by the end of the two weeks I will be encouraging many of my eligible School Leader colleagues to apply (application details are available on the link above).
Also, I crushed my jetlag. Stayed up for well over 36 hours, crashed at 7pm and slept 11 hours straight ready and woke up well rested at 6 am. I would call this a great start.
Last evening I met my cohort of 15 Heads of Schools. They included people from schools in Korea, Egypt, Norway, South Africa, India (me) and leaders from all across the US. In a short few hours of interaction, I realised that they were an amazing group of people with such rich experiences in School Leadership! Didn’t think it was possible, but this has now doubled my excitement.
My Program starts today and I can’t wait for it to begin. Feels special that I shall be reactivating my Teachers College ID after 15 years.
Looking forward to documenting my journey and sharing my learning from the next two weeks here!
Here is a photo of when I made the terrible decision of taking a walk in Central Park in -7C weather just to take a picture of the snow for my kids.
