MSAA Summer Institute

In this session, principals will learn about Soul of Leadership, a groundbreaking yearlong professional learning opportunity that focuses on personal development as a way to enhance leadership qualities. A partnership between MSAA and Courage & Renewal Northeast, Soul of Leadership was developed to give school leaders the opportunity to reflect on their lives and work through contemplative and reflective practices. Principals (K-12) come together in a cohort of 25-30 leaders and also meet in small online groups. Practical approaches drawn from the work of Parker J. Palmer (The Courage to Teach) and the fields of mindfulness, social-emotional learning, neuroscience, and the arts all help principals learn and practice strategies and approaches for self-care in their high stress jobs and bring what they experience and learn back to their school adult community in a way that allows them to be more present and responsive in their leadership. Parker Palmer describes this as "the work before the work."

Participants will hear from a panel of three principals who participated in a cohort this past year, and from Rick Rogers and Chip Wood, former Massachusetts principals and current facilitators for Courage and Renewal Northeast.

Testimonials: 

"One of the, if not the, most valuable thing for me about the sessions for SoL is that you somehow slow down time. In our work in schools, things happen fast, fast, fast and people want decisions fast, fast, fast. In our sessions, you model and teach slowing down. I'm working to use those techniques in my work life so that I can slow down and improve my decision making."

"There is a real risk of burning out. I feel it and I see it in my colleagues. The risk is even higher among administrators with high levels of compassion and responsibility. This work has allowed me to embrace rather than suppress these traits in ways that make me more effective and able to lead in a more sustainable and meaningful way."