1) The purpose of education is to build productive community members with critical thinking skills to succeed in life. Struggles in school often lead to poverty, incarceration or dependence on welfare. 2) Effective leadership comes from influence, not position. It involves sharing expertise laterally across schools and districts. 3) Collective moral purpose, the right leaders focused on learning, building capacity through collaboration and reflection, and ongoing learning are keys to educational leadership according to Fullan's research.

1. This I believe…my educational platform<br />My realizations after completing my educational specialist degree-- I’ve been pushed outside of my comfort zone, empowered in community advocacy, propelled by the catalyst of academia. My professional ideology has grown, and there is no doubt in my mind that I, along with those I serve, will be better for it.<br />Purpose of Education and Schools:<br />I believe the purpose of education is to build productive community members who employ the necessary critical thinking skills needed to successfully approach life’s next step. Our nation’s school systems have a vital impact on the success of our society. As an example, consider the staggering statistics concerning dropouts. On average, dropouts earn about $12,000.00 per year. This computes to 50% less than those who have a diploma (Rouse/Muenning). Struggles in school can often mean a life of poverty, incarceration, or a dependence on society’s welfare systems. Schools provide students the necessary tools to build a better life. <br />Effective Leadership:<br />I believe a strong educational leader must understand that leadership does not come from position, but rather by the ability to influence. “Leadership does not come automatically with high position; conversely, it is possible to be a leader without a position of formal authority” (Bolman and Deal, 345). Leadership, for me, is not a position, but rather a knowledge-based influence arena in which I share expertise in the area of reading and writing with practitioners. From an ESD perspective, leadership expectations often occur at the district level as much of the work is done laterally across local constituents. As Fullan explains, “We can’t change the system without lateral (cross-school and cross-district) sharing and capacity development” (Fullan, 66). With cross-school and cross-district sharing some of the most powerful conversations and learning can take place as educators are allowed a forum to share and expand their knowledge base.<br /> I believe that being a strong educational leader includes employing a systematic foundation for effectiveness. Grounding oneself in these concepts can help to navigate territory that can be quite complex and overwhelming. The key foundational concepts I prescribe to come from Michael Fullan’s text, leadership &sustainability (67).<br />The ability to lead with a compelling, driving conceptualization

2. High engagement with others coupled with abundant two way communication, ultimately leads to shared leadership and commitment at all levels. An educational leader must have a strong, concrete understanding of the concepts of leadership and sustainability in order to see that they are carried out with fidelity.

3. Collective Moral PurposeEveryone in a district has a responsibility for changing the larger education context for the better, it’s not just about one elementary school doing well—it is about the system as a whole doing well. An educational leader at the district level will need to reinforce and build the capacity for individuals to invest in this belief.<br />The Right Bus

4. An educational leader will identify a coalition of leaders who understand the system and the importance of each component. An educational leader will ensure that the leaders in the right positions focus on curriculum, teaching, and learning. Empowering the right leaders means managing in a way that allows school system leaders to focus on the important issue of learning.

5. Capacity Building

6. A daily habit of working together and constantly developing leadership for the future is necessary. This means job-embedded learning and reflection, and time to do so for those involved in the system. In addition, this means developing leaders within the system so that there is a constant flow of people who can continuously move forward.

7. Lateral Capacity Building