Fearless Learners: Through an Administrative Lens

Today, I have the privilege of speaking with two professional educators who have been making those kinds of differences in individual lives for more than a quarter of a century. They have taught in widely ranging environments, have served in several administrative capacities, and together, now very capably lead Benton 47. I first met Dr. Steve Smith and Ellen Gibbs this summer, and I immediately sensed that these were people who knew how to get things done; who had a demonstrable track record for doing so, and who really cared about kids and their families. It turns out, for all the plates spinning in the world of Dr. Smith and Mrs. Gibbs, they distill everything down to a few simple mandates, “How can we best serve the students of our community, creating fearless learners?” And, “What can we do to build a culture in our school community that will enable everyone to want to bring their ‘A-Game?’” Yes, Dr. Smith’s got a budget to prepare, he’s got to work with his administrators on all manners of daily complexity, he’s got to make himself available to the media, decide what qualifies for a snow day and what doesn’t, participate with a range of community groups and organizations to forge community partnerships for the District, he’s gotta keep a close eye on the assessed valuation of real property within the district boundaries and make important recommendations to his board regarding tax levies and possible bond issues, and Mrs. Gibbs has an enormous team of teachers, paraprofessionals, specialists, non-cert staff and more than 1,100 students to greet every day, but when the dust settles, these two seem to have found a way to bring unusual focus into incredibly tight alignment in the service of the Benton community: Create Fearless Learners and build a great culture of support. Think of those two ideas as a pair of stones tossed into a pond and imagine the ripple effect they will have for generations to come. That is no small thing.