When

I was in high school I was encouraged by my art teacher to consider teaching. You would be a great teacher, Jami. Have you considered teaching as a profession? Full of adolescent arrogance and certainty I quickly replied, Why would I want to do that? Nobody respects you and you dont make any money. I am going to be a lawyer. I still see my high school art teacher on a regular basis. He smiles and shakes his head before we greet each other (with good reason!) every time. It is important to know that education was not my plan, but rather an accumulation of choices and their outcomes. My mother and my stepfather made the importance of an education abundantly clear when I was growing up. The question was not, Will you to go a college or university? It was Which college or university are you planning to attend? My parents were also strong advocates of self-explorationof finding out who you are and so did not rush me or try to influence me toward one major over another. In fact, it was more the opposite. My mother told me, Take a look at the schedule of classes and register for things that sound fun. I did not even see an advisor until I was a sophomore. The day I left for college, my mother gave me the poem, Parting of the Ways, by Robert Terry Weston. It was typed on a small, green, oak tag card. I carried it with me in my wallet for many years and referred to it when I was preparing for a new journey. It reminded me that even though I was leaving something I loved, I was also embarking on a new journey, and who knew where the new adventure might lead me. There have been many adventures. Some people know exactly what profession they want, and have a plan to get there from a very early age. I was not one of those people. Because my stepfather was in the military we had opportunities to move from base to base every three years, but Lincoln has always been home base. While I was working on my bachelors degree my mother and stepfather lived in Germany. As a fulltime student and military dependent, I had one grip to Europe each year to see my parents. I love learning Spanish. It seemed prudent for me to take German in preparation for a semester in Germany attending the Goethe Institute in Rothenburg for eight weeks of intensive German classes.

After four or more years of gallivanting all over Europe each year and taking classes along the way, my stepfather encouraged me to complete a degree as soon as possible, as he was going to take me off payroll. He would have three children in college in the coming fall and would no longer be able to support my lack of focusing on a degree and my travel habit. Since I had changed my major a number of times, I already had more than enough credits to graduate, but not enough towards any one subject to obtain a degree. I found that I had enough credits in English and Spanish to major in both. I decided to get a teaching degree so I could continue to improve my Spanish language skills as well as continue to travel and immerse myself in different cultures. At this point, teaching was not about students for me. It was about my love of language, culture, and travel. My first teaching assignment was a high school Spanish position in York, NE. I was responsible for teaching Spanish levels I-IV. As a new teacher to that district, I reported on the first day along with all of the veteran teachers. I introduced myself to the German teacher, who informally became my mentor, and remains a dear friend. While in York I coached 7th grade volleyball and sponsored a few clubs: Spanish Club, Freshman Class, and Radio Club. As a second year teacher I sponsored a group of 13 Spanish students on a three-week trip to Spain that included a 10-day family stay. It was on that trip that I realized what it meant to be sharing the world with students by teaching them a language. Watching them use their skills abroad was incredible. What I was not prepared for was how much I enjoyed teaching Spanish and traveling with students. While I taught in York, I took advantage of as many professional development opportunities as I could. There were a number of workshops and classes for language teachers hosted by the Bureau of Educational Research in Kansas City, UNK, and UNL. I started working on my Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Second Language Acquisition. This required commuting to classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights. After two years, it became clear that if I were to become an effective Spanish teacher, particularly at the upper levels, I would need to improve my Spanish proficiency. Although I truly loved the

community and my students at York High School, I needed to immerse myself in Spanish so I could be a better teacher. I resigned from my position in York and moved to Cost Rica for a year. My parents dropped me off in Nogales, Mexico. Taking trains, buses and an airplane from Nogales to Costa Rica afforded me many opportunities to meet people and practice my language skills. I considered finding a job teaching English in San Jos, Cost Rica, but I really wanted to live close to the rainforest or the beach rather than in a city of 3.5 million people. I returned to Lincoln in the spring of 1996, subbed for Lincoln Public Schools, and started teaching Spanish at Pound Middle School in the fall. Again, the teacher across the hall adopted me, offering support and great ideas about classroom management. She was and still is an amazing mentor to new hires. After five years of teaching Spanish I and II, I became somewhat bored with the curriculum, knowing that if I didnt teach a higher level, my Spanish proficiency would suffer. In August of 1999, I earned my Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. As World Language Liaison for Pound, I shared district information, worked on curricula, and started a newsletter to inform the principal and other interested stakeholders of upcoming events. It was a wonderful building with excellent teachers and a caring principal, but I felt I needed to move on to new challenges. Those challenges were wrapped up in a bond passed by the city of Lincoln to open two new high schools. Southwest High School opened in the fall of 2002. As World Language Department Chair, I truly had the best job in the world. On a 4x4 block schedule I taught two classes, had one block for planning and one block for departmental duties. Opening a new building is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I loved every minute of it. Many of my students from Pound were my students at Southwest, in Spanish III and IV. I twice served as a teacher leader for the Know-Your-Neighbor Study Tours to Spain, taking students I had taught in my Spanish class since they were in seventh grade. Again, I loved teaching Spanish, teaching my students and teaching in my school. But once again, I could begin feel that it was time to branch off into a new direction.

Through my work as department chair at the district level, I began to emerge as a leader with an avid interest in educational leadership. The previous world language curriculum specialist encouraged me to get an administrative certificate. She was an incredible mentor. At the time I did not realize she was creating an efficacious environment for me. When I started working on my Educational Leadership degree, I intended to work with a world language teacher to improve instruction, and organize the Know-Your-Neighbor Study Tours to France, Germany, and Spain. Then my life branched out in a way I had not expectedanother perfect job for me at the right time in my journey. The position came up in the spring of 2006. When it was posted, the position was listed as 0.5 World Language Curriculum and 0.5 Professional Development Specialist. Not being exactly certain what 0.5 Professional Development meant did not stop me from accepting. When I accepted the administrative position I had completed the first year of my Educational Leadership degree from Doane College, and had one more year ahead of me. World language curriculum duties were no surprise. I had been privy to most of that position for the previous four years, and had built strong relationships with language teachers in the district. My professional development duties included: New Teacher Orientation, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Candidate Support, Data Systems Professional Development Teach, and The Lincoln Public Schools Mentor Program for new hires to the district. New teacher Orientation is a four-day event for newly hired teachers to become familiar with the curriculum they will be teaching. Each year Lincoln Public Schools hires close to three hundred teachers. The first day new hires receive laptops and training on all of the technological services available. The second day includes breakfast with principals, a workshop featuring Harry Wongs First Days of School, a luncheon sponsored by the Lincoln Education Association, and introduction to professional learning communities and to the technological services offered by Computing Services. The following two days are designated curriculum days. Curriculum specialists bring in instructional leaders to share and discuss curricula with new hires. These three days are the most important single event I

supervise during the year. It is during this time that I discuss tenure requirements and professional development opportunities with new hires. Once a teacher achieves tenure, the next step is national board certification. As the support person in the district for National Board for Professional Standards for Lincoln Public Schools I observe candidates, videotape their classes, and assist them in writing the four entries that are required. As a national board candidate myself, I know the process is extremely arduous and that so much is going on in classrooms simultaneously that candidates often need assistance in recognizing how the little decisions they make each day impact student learning on a larger scale. Because student learning is always at the core of education, I serve as a member of the Data Systems Collaboration Committee Professional Development Team. Basically, I train school improvement teams on the different tools Lincoln Public Schools has to determine student achievement, and how to use that information to inform instruction as well as to support teachers with research- based instructional strategies. As professional development specialist, it is my charge to ensure that all teachers have the tools they need to be effective teachers. The Doane Educational Leadership degree requires a school improvement project, which was quite timely as the second year of the program is based on collecting data regarding improvement of instruction. Because my new position was unique (my colleagues were not in administrative positions) to meet this requirement, I assessed the state of the Lincoln Public Schools Mentor Program. This program was started based on a state grant. Each year I continue to see many opportunities for improvement, and my goal is to continue to improve the Lincoln Public Schools Induction Program in an effort to ensure each student has an effective teacher in every class, every day. I am keenly interested in using my experience and skills to continue to make a difference in students lives. I view leadership in education as a process (not a spotlight) and involvement in educational organizations and community connections as professional responsibilities. What we teach students is directly affected by teachers skills and a congruency between instruction and assessment. I understand how education and whats best for students can move in new and

different directions that cause instructional leaders to reassess and take informed risks. Professional development is a powerful way to bring together students learning and classroom effectiveness. Teachers must believe in their own ability to teach students and that their decisions directly affect learning. When teachers take the risk of making an instructional model or parts of models their own and integrate a variety of teaching strategies and best practices, instruction improves and we better prepare students as citizens for the future. Because my career has branched off into new and different directions, to better serve new teachers I will continue to learn as much as I can about how to support teachers and make certain they have the skills needed to be effective teachers. Earning a doctoral degree in the area of professional development from the University of Nebraska will ensure that I will be able to make more informed decisions and to foster systemic change necessary to improve the induction program. I am excited about challenges ahead of me!