Centering Student Voice: Re-envisioning Schools and Leadership

Thursday February 20, 2025
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Ballroom D

In order to focus on school improvement, equity based school leaders need to have not only a clear instructional vision, but have a vision for what they want for their students' learning experiences. During the session, you will engage with the story of school and district administrators that center student voices as part of their leadership practice, especially students with marginalized identities. You’ll hear the story of leaders from both rural and urban settings reflecting on student focus groups and reflecting on what they learned to develop a cohesive vision for student learning. During the session you’ll also have the opportunity to analyze your own school/district’s vision light of artifacts from a school, student interview protocols, a research based visioning tool.

Presenters
Jonathan Aldanese-Wells

As project director at the Center for Educational Leadership, Jonathan manages district partnerships throughout the country. Some of the services that he provides include leading for instructional improvement, leading instructional leadership teams, supporting coaches, and designing equitable schools. Before joining CEL, Jonathan led large district partnerships and provided professional development internationally at Teachers College, Columbia University. Jonathan brings experience as an administrator, instructional coach, and elementary and middle school teacher in Seattle and in New York City. He holds a Masters degree from Brown University and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington's Leadership for Learning program.
Michele Mason

Michele Mason joined the University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) in June 2019 and serves as one of our senior directors. Michele supports district partnerships and provides instructional leadership support for district and school administrators. Prior to CEL, she served as a district administrator, non-profit leader, school administrator and high school English teacher in suburban and urban areas. Michele is interested in how empowered central office staff can support the principal as an instructional, strategic and visionary leader. Michele completed her doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2021.
type:
Hybrid Workshop
theme:
Leadership
audience:
Building Leaders
tags:
Effective Leaders, Equity and Excellence