By: Dr. Susan Crosier
From the beginning, we see in Genesis that, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it,” (Genesis 2:15), highlighting that work is part of God’s design for us. Each of us has been given unique gifts and passions to bring glory to God through our labor, making our work a profound privilege, especially in teaching.
Teaching is inspiring, challenging, life-giving, and sometimes exhausting, yet its impact on others is worthwhile. Work has always been woven into my identity, from my cherished time as a full-time mother to my calling in teaching and educational leadership. Whether in moments of beauty or challenges that test my resolve, I find joy and purpose in impacting lives. Just as work was essential to God’s design for us, Jesus modeled this high calling. He lived with purpose, humility, empathy, and commitment. Each of his actions was aligned with the Father’s will. Daily, I pray to lead with the same compassion and dedication Jesus showed, striving to fulfill the work God has set before me.
With this belief in purposeful work, our school sought to grow even further. In the summer of 2023, our school had the privilege of attending Catalyze, hosted by Baylor’s Center for School Leadership (BCSL). We had a team of ten teachers and administrators and were excited about time away to focus on collaborative, meaningful work fully dedicated to the mission of improving our school. We knew that working with the Center would provide the insights and support essential for our success, which proved true.
Yet, as we dove deeper into this journey, it quickly became apparent that the road ahead would not be without obstacles and that our team may not be fully aligned with our vision for our school. Differing views on priorities and direction created tension and complicated decision-making, making it difficult to move forward with unity. Our team struggled with the vulnerability needed to identify a single core issue to focus on, and tensions ran high as we navigated challenging conversations. With support from the BCSL team and other educators in attendance, we were guided through these discussions and encouraged to clarify our focus. This support and the opportunity to collaborate with other school teams facing similar struggles were invaluable.
Through intentional guidance and the wisdom of fellow educators, we found ourselves able to navigate these difficult conversations and, in time, discovered a core focus for our school’s growth. By clarifying our goals, we came to a shared commitment: to strengthen our partnership with parents through parent-teacher conferences in Kindergarten through 6th grade. We committed to this goal by planning three rounds of parent-teacher conferences throughout the year—beginning, middle, and end—to foster meaningful collaboration with parents. (Conference Planning Form). During the conferences, the teachers shared academic data with parents, discussed specific needs for each student, and worked collaboratively to design goals/plans for continued student growth through home-school partnerships. Following the end-of-year conferences, we sent a survey to K-6 grade parents. The chart below shows a small sample of the data collected to provide evidence of parents’ perceptions of parent-teacher conferences.
Little did we know how soon we would need to rely on this well-established plan for school improvement. Only weeks before the school year began, our principal resigned, creating uncertainty for our stakeholders. Starting the year without a principal was difficult. Teaching is a complex profession, and our teachers were headed into the school year without a layer of administrative support that they were accustomed to, heightening their uncertainty. Still, during a challenging season, our relationships were anchored in meaningful work, closely aligning our hearts and minds to stay focused on what truly mattered.
Would we do it all over again? Absolutely, and we are. But, it is fair to say that it was hard. When things get difficult, we often desire to revert to what we already know. Our challenges with less administrative support for our teachers made us want to put the work off until a “better time.” However, with the support, encouragement, and accountability from our friends at other schools and Baylor’s Center for School Leadership, we kept going and we were so thankful that we did! Through the work on our adaptive challenge, our school grew even through struggle, instilling a sense of hope that inspired us to keep moving forward.
With continued guidance from the BCSL team this year, we collaborated to define a new adaptive challenge. Using the school survey sent to teachers at the end of our adaptive challenge work from last year (below), the data showed that our teachers needed more support, time, and resources. Although we have chosen to continue working to, “improve home-school partnerships through beginning, middle, and end-of-year parent-teacher conferences,” this year, we are focusing our work on teachers’ perspectives of the conferences. During this phase of our adaptive challenge, we are focused on providing teachers with the time, support, and resources they need to feel most prepared for parent-teacher conferences. At the end of this year, we hope to see our data improve regarding teachers’ perceptions of administrative support, time, and resources as we work to engage our families at Grace Prep.
Again, we find ourselves anchored in deep, meaningful work focused on school improvement. We are thankful for the challenges we have faced, for one another, and for the community of friends we have formed and continue to grow with. Our work emphasizes the journey of resilience, collaboration, and trust in God’s guidance. We are thankful.
Dr. Susan Crosier is the Head of School at Grace Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas. Grace Prep is the flagship University-Model school, where the model was introduced in 1993. Susan has been married for 29 years and is a mother of two adult children. Her daughter is happily married and is a teacher, and her son is a junior at Baylor University. Susan successfully defended her dissertation at Baylor in the education leadership doctoral program this fall, and her primary research area is parent engagement. Susan has been in education for 22 years in the public and private spectrums.