“Leadership is the ability to establish a course of direction and recognize actions that

need to be taken to move forward on the established path.” (Anderson, 2005). My beliefs have

been deeply influenced by Andersons (2005) research in “Leadership Is Not About Position:

Leading From Behind.” I believe that as leader in education, whether a teacher, curriculum

director, principal, it less about your title or your position and more about what you do. As a

teacher, I lead my students on their quest to acquire the English language. When I served as

department head and director, I led my colleagues through developing and revising curriculum,

gave encouragement and support in lesson design and delivery, and provided a listening ear

while mentoring them as they began to take on leadership roles of their own. Currently, serving

as the Secondary ELE Coordinator for a public-school district, I continue to do all of the above,

but I am now in a position as a leader to advocate for and uphold values of my professional

organization. The entire list of values can be found on www.tesol.org. My current focus and

research is on building a partnership with the SPED department in my district (value #4) to

provide dual identified ELs with accessible high-quality education (value #3). Each year more

and more students are being screened and identified as both ELs and students with disabilities.

Because of scheduling logistics, programming size regulations, and lack of staffing, most of

these students are not receiving the high-quality education which they deserve and need to be

successful in grades 5-12 and beyond. Currently there is little to no collaboration between the

two departments which is leading to this unique population having to choose between receiving

ELE support or SPED support. As a leader, I hope to bridge the gap between the ELE

department and SPED department within my district. In addition to building a working

collaborative relationship between these two departments, I hope to provide better programming

and support for content area teachers as well. While the number of dual identified ELs has risen,
so too has the number of ELs in the public schools across the United States. Orem (1981) was

one of the early TESOL leaders to recognize the great number of needs ELT professionals are

providing to ELs in America. While I agree his sentiments hold true today, I hope to change the

stigma that ESL teachers are the only ones responsible for supporting ELs and their myriad of

needs. It’s too often that my colleagues and I have heard the phrase “your kids” in reference to

EL student population. The Secondary ELE Department is devoted to shifting the mindset from

“your kids” to “our kids.” Everyone is an English teacher. We are working to reach this goal by

coaching content area teachers in differentiating and modifying curriculum and offering the

required SEI endorsement course free of charge and onsite. In addition to this, the Secondary

ELE Department regularly offers professional development workshops during the academic year

on a variety of ELE topics. By working with content area teachers and demonstrating how SEI

strategies can be implemented and that the strategies are beneficial for ALL students has begun

to change the mindset that ELs are the sole responsibility of the ESL teacher in the building.

In addition to the initiative mentioned above, I have implemented other changes that align

with my beliefs and the TESOL values. In the schools that I have worked, I have made additions

and changes to the ELE Department course offerings (ex: ESL History and ELE ELA course for

Level 1 students). In addition to new course offerings, I have designed and implemented

newcomer programs on short notice to support the needs of students that were accepted under

false pretenses (students would often submit forged TOEFL and IELTS scores to meet the

minimum admission requirements). Being able to start a newcomer program (design courses,

create a schedule, hire and train faculty) is by far one of my biggest achievements and proudest

moment as an ELT leader and professional. Working well under pressure has been cited as one

of my strengths and is why my superiors have often referred to my work as dependable,

informed and trustworthy. The success of this program after its first year and knowing that it is

still standing and running like a well-oiled machine long after I have left the institution has

affirmed by belief in myself as a leader in the field of ELT.

My influence and impact in the schools where I have worked reach far beyond the brick

and mortar. Just last week I received a phone call from a former student, Jeungsoo. He has just

finished his service requirement for the South Korean army, and he had called to say that he will

be starting a new job as an ESL teacher. When he said, “Did you ever think that when you had

me in Level 4 class that I would end up being an ESL teacher like you?!” Fighting back tears, I

told him, “That I always believed you would do great things and I am honored you are following

in my footsteps.” But not all of my students go on to be ESL teachers, nor do would I expect

them to. That being said, my former students have all had great achievements. Every student that

I have taught over the last ten years has gone on to pursue a college degree. Many of them have

now graduated and are working in various fields across the globe. As for my colleagues, I have

helped them to identify their leadership skills and encouraged and mentored them as they have

taken on leadership roles of their own. I strive to follow and implement the view that a person is

not born with leadership traits, but that if they are devoted and dedicated to professional

development and person growth, any person is capable of becoming a leader (Ruben & Gigliotti,

2016). By encouraging and supporting my colleagues to explore leadership roles within our

department and district, I hope to create a stronger collaboration and mutually beneficial “leader-

follower” relationship.

From presenting at both the TESOL and ACTFL conventions to participating in TESOLs

management and leadership certificate programs, I have strived to continue developing, growing

and improving not just as a teacher leader within my school but also as an ELT professional in
my field. My career and personal goal of earning my terminal degree in Interprofessional

Leadership will continue help me grow as a leader in my district and as a contributing member of

TESOL and ACTFL. Not only will the core course requirements give me the knowledge and

tools I need to continue leading my department, but the opportunity to study SPED as my

cognate area will certainly prove to very beneficial as I begin to work towards a collaborative

partnership with the SPED directors in my district. My fire and passion to do so is ignited by our

students right to a high-quality education. Not only do I hope to see more programming offered

for dual identified ELs, but also, I hope to shift the mindset that ELs are “your kids.” Continuing

to offer SEI support classes and ELE professional development activities, the ELE faculty and

content area faculty will be able to design curriculum and master strategies for lesson delivery

that makes the content accessible for ALL students.