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By: Patreece Terrell
Learning to Lead in Community
When I began my journey as an educator over a decade ago, I believed leadership was something you earned through achievement. Now I know it’s something you grow into by walking alongside others. In this season of my life, leadership looks less like a solo spotlight and more like a circle, one built on trust, reflection, and shared faith.
The greatest shift I’ve made as a Christian school leader is moving from “How do I lead well?” to “How do we lead better together?” Scripture reminds us in Ecclesiastes 4:9, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.” At Aug Prep, we’ve learned that collective leadership isn’t just efficient, it’s transformational.
Thought Partners Who Sharpen and Stretch Me
Two people who have reshaped my leadership journey are Baognia Stoeckler and Johnathan Powell — colleagues who have become trusted thought partners. Baognia challenges me to think differently, reflect deeply, and elevate the voices in the room that often go unheard. When I wanted to make professional development more meaningful, she nudged me to shift from direct instruction to interactive reflection. I started embedding “applied learning moments” into PD, where staff could process, practice, and personalize the session takeaways. The result? More authentic engagement and ongoing ownership.
Johnathan models what it looks like to lead with both strength and humility. In navigating student behavior and discipline, he’s helped me see how warmth and high expectations can, and should, coexist. Together, we’ve created restorative accountability projects that both uphold school values and dignify students. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” These two colleagues do just that, sharpening my practice and anchoring me in grace and truth.
Adaptive Change Requires Shared Leadership
One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned from Dr. Jon Eckert’s work on Just Teaching and collective leadership is that adaptive change takes a team. It’s not just about implementing policies. It’s about shifting mindsets, culture, and systems. In our school, that has looked like building distributed leadership across grade levels, creating space for teachers to lead data conversations, and involving students in problem-solving initiatives.
Take our Student Culture Reset, for example. Rather than creating top-down behavior systems, we convened teachers to review discipline trends, shared Kickboard data, and invited students into discussions on what a respectful community should look like. The result was not just compliance, but investment. When students and staff co-own expectations, the climate of the school shifts.
Faith Fuels Our Shared Mission
Collective leadership flows from faith. In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them.” I believe God is in the center of every hard conversation, every planning meeting, and every student breakthrough when we lead with love and humility.
Our faith compels us not only to teach but to cultivate. As educators, we’re not just planting seeds of knowledge. We’re tilling soil for character, belonging, and hope. And that’s not work we were ever meant to do alone. Faith reminds me that leadership is about relationships over recognition, people over performance.
Students Rise When We Rise Together
Perhaps the most beautiful example of this came through my work with the High School Black Student Union (BSU). This year, our BSU put on a powerful, student-led Black History program and proposed graduation stoles or pins to honor their journey. Rather than seeing these ideas as extra tasks, I saw them as meaningful opportunities to celebrate identity and leadership. I partnered with colleagues across departments to help bring these ideas to life. What resulted was a celebration that reflected our students’ voices and affirmed their sense of belonging and purpose.
When we lead together, students see what’s possible. They see adults collaborating, listening, and adjusting. They begin to model those same behaviors: taking initiative, offering solutions, and honoring their community
The Journey Continues
I’m still learning. I’m still growing. And I’m still leading — but not alone. My prayer is that more schools embrace collective leadership rooted in faith, so more educators can thrive, more students can flourish, and more communities can reflect the kingdom of God in action.
In a world that often rewards individual success, I’ve found peace and purpose in shared progress. And in the words of Romans 12:5, “So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” That truth guides my steps. I lead because He leads. I grow because we grow.
About the Author
Patreece Terrell is a Middle School Assistant Principal at St. Augustine Preparatory Academy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A dedicated educator and leader, Patreece oversees school culture, discipline, teacher coaching, student support, and character education. She is passionate about restorative practices, faith integration, and fostering inclusive communities where students and staff thrive. Patreece is currently completing her Master’s in School Leadership at Baylor University, where she has deepened her commitment to collective leadership rooted in faith. She believes strong schools are built not by one, but by many, and that transformational leadership starts with humility, relationships, and shared purpose.