July Leadership Week, a time for school leaders to come together and prepare for the new school year, kicked off the week of July 20. And while team members weren’t able to meet in person this year, there were many opportunities to connect virtually, including hearing from guest speaker Verta Maloney. Verta -- who has 20-plus years of education, leadership and coaching experience -- led conversations around race in education.
One school leader wrote, “Verta Maloney was exceptional!”
During the event, school leaders discussed priorities, prepared for success for this upcoming school year and reflected on lessons learned during the historic 2019-20 school year.
Among the planning and topics discussed, Leadership Week provided opportunities around the NYCLA work and DPS’ focus on Black Excellence.
The NYCLA session provided leaders the opportunity to reflect on their own personal assumptions, beliefs and behaviors, as well as their racial identity, and to define what leading for Black Excellence looks like for each leader and school this academic year. As one school leader shared:
“The work around the Black Excellence planning is something I've been wanting to dig into since my second year of teaching. I am SO appreciative of our senior leadership and board for leading this and providing us the opportunity and support to change the narrative.”
More about our Black Excellence focus, as well as other topics discussed during July Leadership Week, will be shared soon. Thank you to all DPS leaders who attended and for the thoughtful conversations as we move into a new school year.
