THE PRINCIPAL STORY

THE PRINCIPAL STORY:
Engaging Leaders in Learning about Leadership
Joellen Killion
Deputy Executive Director, Learning Forward
September 23, (8:00-11:00)

You could have heard a pin drop during the viewing of the DVD, THE PRINCIPAL STORY, at our first Leadership Forum of the 2009-2010 school year. Guided by Joellen Killion’s skillful facilitation and focused questions participants viewed and discussed portions of the DVD. THE PRINCIPAL STORY follows the poignant journey of two elementary school principals throughout a school year as they strive to improve student achievement and implement school reform.

Educators in attendance included principals, university people, staff developers and district personnel. These different perspectives made for rich discussions. Participant reactions went from smiles to tears to questions. It was fascinating to hear the different perspectives about the DVD. Participants stayed after the workshop was over to finish their conversations. Certainly, the accompanying Field Guide would be very important to use with the DVD when sharing it with any group of people. Four lucky attendees “won” a copy of the DVD and Field Guide.

THE PRINCIPAL STORY (produced by the Wallace Foundation) actually has three components: the full DVD (52 min.), a second DVD with 4 clips (3-5 min. each) from the full DVD to be used for focused discussions, and the Field Guide to accompany the DVD’s. The Field Guide and the DVD with the 4 clips can be downloaded for free by going to www.wallacefoundation.org. The full DVD can be purchased from the Wallace Foundation for $35.

A huge thank you to Joellen for doing an outstanding job of facilitating this event and for fitting us into her busy schedule. Her commitment to professional learning is commendable!