Diversity in student and administrative leadership

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Diversity in student and administrative leadership

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I think we always have to encourage diversity in schools, but one of the things we have to do in the adult leadership is to make sure we have diverse role models. Nothing inspires children more than to see different kinds of people teach in different ways. We bring part of our culture and part of our background to our teaching every day. We also bring part of our diverse learning styles as adults to our teaching. And for children to see that teachers have different ways of learning themselves, different ways of interacting, different ways of expressing themselves, gives them permission to be their true and authentic selves in classrooms. We can encourage leadership among students by always recognizing their strengths. It's very easy for us to fall into the pit of starting to think about children only in terms of their weaknesses. If we look at their strengths and give them opportunities in the classroom to highlight their strengths, to discuss their strengths, to share their strengths, their leadership will automatically come to the fore. Because in the confidence of operating from a place of strength, they also operate in a leadership fashion. Shy children can be leaders too. It can take sometimes a little encouragement. But it also takes cues from the teacher on how to lead. Often shy children don't have or understand the paradigm of leadership. They don't observe what it takes in others. They watch the world more silently than others do. So one of the things we have to do is give children voice. Give them the opportunities to express themselves and not always wait to recognize. But call on them and help them express themselves so that other children see the strength that shy children have in the classroom as well.

Watch Reveta Bowers's video on Diversity in student and administrative leadership...

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Reveta Bowers

Head of School

Now starting her forty-second year, Reveta Bowers is the Head of School at The Center for Early Education, an urban pre-school through 6th grade Los Angeles independent school with 538 students. Devoted to children and education, Ms. Bowers served and has served on a number of boards. She is currently on Board of Overseers of the UCLA Healthcare System, on the founding board of the African American Board Leadership Institute and the board of the FEDCO Charitable Foundation. She just completed serving as Chair Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the California Community Foundation. A past president and former secretary of The Educational Records Bureau Board, Reveta Bowers was also a member of the Advisory Board to the Klingenstein Center at Teacher’s College for ten years. She served as an outside director on the Board of Directors of the Walt Disney Company for ten years and is a former member of the Harvard-Westlake, Brentwood and Windward School boards. Reveta was on the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education board, and the boards of the National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls and the Country Day Headmaster’s Association. She served as a trustee and treasurer of the NAIS Board, and as past president of the California Association of Independent Schools. For the past thirteen years she has also been on the faculty of the NAIS Institute for New Heads where she serves as the Lead Faculty member. One of her proudest career moments was receiving the NAIS Diversity Leadership Award in 2009. She has had a long and rewarding career in independent schools and finds her work with organizations supporting education, students, parents, community and Board work to be continually inspiring.

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