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Reflective Journal – Aligning Vison with Teaching and Learning
Lashonda Smith- McNeal
School of Education, Liberty University
Topic: Aligning Vision with Teaching and Learning
As an educational leader, it is important to understand your role within the ecosystem of
the school that you serve. In essence, you are the school's principal teacher, creating,
implementing, and driving its vision. Establishing a positive culture and climate is crucial to
ensure teachers understand the school's vision and their role within it. According to Swaner and
Wolfe (2021), “When leaders understand the larger ecology of the school, they are empowered
to shape schoolwide approaches that lead to educational flourishing.”. Additionally, the authors
suggest that the importance of developing a learning culture is driven by the organization's
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shared beliefs and values that essentially drive the school’s mission, which is led by the principal
teacher.
To ensure that the vision of my school or school district is lived and not just laminated, I
would implement opportunities for collaboration and fellowship among teachers and staff, such
as Food Truck Fridays. We all know that lunchtime for educators is a precious time to unwind
and vent; by pre-paying a portion (about ten dollars) towards the teacher’s lunch once a month,
allowing them to pre-order their option and then having it delivered to them, it creates a space
where teachers feel appreciated and protects that important time. We implemented this in my
school, and it changed the culture and climate drastically. I have also partnered with a local
small business, a woman's boutique, to host a pop-up shop for our faculty and staff during their
planning or lunch hour. She contributes ten percent of the sales to the school’s teacher
appreciation fund, or she enters each teacher's name into a raffle for a twenty-five or fifty dollar
gift card. These two unique ideas have made our school feel more like a family unit, than work.
To ensure that teachers are aligning the vision of teaching and learning, Swaner and
Wolfe (2021) emphasize that building personal relationships that foster trust is key to achieving
a vision of collaborative teaching and learning and will necessitate intentional and sustained
work by leaders. We can also achieve this by providing professional development opportunities
to enhance teacher learning and education. As the professional learning communities coach, I
am responsible for finding trainings to support our school’s vision of growth and student-
centered learning. My overarching goal is to become a model school at the national level with
highly qualified and trained teachers with the skills to be our nation's next leaders in education.
Hopkins and Reynolds (2010) say that there needs to be a school environment that is focused on
the future and always getting better through professional development opportunities. This
means moving from using "best practices" to "better practices," which leads to knowledge-
based learning.
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As a growing leader, I consistently seek out ways to grow and learn in my professional
practice that show alignment with my school’s vision. One example is going back to school and
beginning this journey of attaining an advanced degree in supervision and administration. I
believe that as a leader, it is my responsibility to gain as much knowledge and practice as
possible. Education is consistently evolving with an increase in the presence of social media and
technology automation such as AI; it would be irresponsible to not be aware of the trends and
digital safety concerns that affect our students. In an article by Martin et al. (2023), the authors
provide insight into the challenges that we face to enhance collaboration between schools and
families that involve the use of digital media, social media, and technology while helping
parents navigate finding balance in this technology-driven world.
I view the process of maturation in the field of education as a privilege and a spiritual
responsibility, where I strive to build knowledge and shape the next generation of teacher
leaders. No matter how difficult or fast-paced it may seem, I feel like it is still my responsibility to
give everything I have, because it’s not about me. This brings me back to the very first sermon
that I ever preached. I remember fasting and praying for almost forty days to be able to hear
God's instructions clearly on what he wanted to say to his people. At a young age of thirty-ish, I
began to feel overwhelmed with the responsibility to speak out over the congregation with
what I thought God wanted me to say. It turns out that some ten-odd years later, the message is
still the same, that even in the capacity as an educator, I was called to follow Jesus, and he
would disciple me to be “a fisher of men” (Matthew 4:19 NLT). God has admonished me to help
gird up and prepare all those who would receive and believe in the eternal vision to be disciples
in all areas of our life as we follow him.
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References
Holy Bible, New Living Translation (2017). YouVersion Bible.
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/heb.11.6
Hopkins, D., & Reynolds, D. (2001). The Past, Present and Future of School Improvement:
Towards the Third Age. British Educational Research Journal, 27(4), 459–475.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920120071461
Martin, F., Bacak, J., Polly, D. et al. Teacher and School Concerns and Actions on Elementary
School Children Digital Safety. TechTrends 67, 561–571 (2023).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00803-z
Swaner, L. E., & Wolfe, A. (2021). Flourishing together : A christian vision for students, educators,
and schools. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
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