DR. TERESA LÓPEZ ALONZO:
Hi, my name is Dr. Teresa López Alonzo, and I work with the Education Leadership and System Design team here at WestEd. Our team believes wholeheartedly that every school community deserves a world-class leader at the helm. And our team works to ensure that leaders have the tools, the resources, and the processes to create the conditions for their school communities to thrive.
This month we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month here at WestEd. It also happens to be National Principals Month. I’d like to call your attention to the incredibly important role that school leaders play in uplifting their school communities and transforming lives. With over 30 years experience working at various levels in the educational ecosystem, I have witnessed firsthand the power of leadership in education.
I’d like to just share a full circle moment with you. Growing up, working the fields in California’s Central Valley, as a child of Mexican immigrant farm workers, I could have never imagined going on to earn a doctorate degree, let alone becoming the principal of Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Bell Gardens, California. In my 10 years there, I witnessed the incredible dedication and hard work of that school community, and the biggest moment for me was when I left that school, the staff gifted me with a beautiful watch with the inscription of, “¡Sí se puede!” “Yes, it can be done.”
An essential quality that leaders need in order to be effective is to engage others, head, heart, and hand. Gary Bernison writes in The Five Graces of Life and Leadership, “Leadership is about inspiring others and enabling that belief to become a reality.” And as Latino leaders, we have the responsibility to tell our story, to share our gift, and to bring others along on this leadership journey. As my dad always told us, his seven children, “¡Échale ganas!” “Give it your all.”
And some advice that I would give to aspiring educational leaders is to know your why, your purpose, your values, what makes you you. You’ll need this as you will be tested along the way. I would also invite educational leaders who are aspiring leaders to approach leadership with the learner disposition. To listen to understand, to listen to empathize, and to listen to learn. And lastly, I would encourage aspiring leaders to grow your network. Find your community of support. Leaders set the tone, but they do not do it alone.