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“A person going nowhere can be sure of reaching his destination. Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase – just take the first step.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our March issue of Grow with Great Hearts features the many paths available in this growing network in multiple regions. Hear from several of our longtime Great Hearts team about their journey and the growth opportunities that took them there.
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Great Hearts has historically offered a variety of courses for aspiring leaders, beginning in the early days with the Headmaster Fellows, which then became the Headmaster College, Virtue Leadership, and now the APEX program. Dozens of Great Hearts teachers and staff members have engaged in APEX over the last few years, and beginning this summer, APEX will be revamped to offer a shorter, more focused approach to various topics in school leadership. Vice President of Leadership Helen Hayes, said of this new format, "We have envisioned this new APEX program to provide more flexibility, school-focused application, and timely content for current or future leaders at Great Hearts."
If you are interested in joining the APEX program to learn more about school leadership topics from student culture to hiring to parent communities, please contact PD@greatheartsamerica.org.
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The Journey
Jerilyn Olson, Chief People Officer
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The metaphor of a journey is one of the more common ones used in education (second only at Great Hearts to the metaphor of gardening and cultivation, of course). Indeed, perhaps you have heard the description of teachers as hiking guides, leading students through observations, coaching, and questioning in the common pursuit of truth. This imagery can be quite helpful in thinking about the great responsibility of teacher to orienting students properly, for, as Plato asserts, “The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life” (Republic, IV, 425-B).
But this metaphor is equally important for the teacher considering his own craft. The teacher is one who models the journey for the student both by walking beside them and ahead of them as a continual student. Again, the metaphor of a journey emphasizes the directional nature of one’s vocation – including the time and perseverance required as well as the enjoyment possible along the way.
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Career Pathway Highlights | | |
The professional journey at Great Hearts often begins in the classroom, where we as teachers learn a great deal about ourselves from our students and colleagues. But then, either through our own vision or the prompting of another, we find additional opportunities to grow and lead others in their growth. Learn from three inspiring Great Hearts employees who shared their particular career pathways with us this month! | | |
Kristi Parot
Exceptional Student Services Lead, North Phoenix Prep
Kristi Parot is an 11-year veteran of Great Hearts, with a unique history as a founding lead teacher at both Archway Veritas and Archway North Phoenix. She speaks of this pioneering role as being one of the most formative in her development at Great Hearts, though she also participated in one of the network’s first Headmaster development programs, which was “most advantageous for me in seeing what it was like on the other side of the table.” Kristi has contributed much in her career at the North Phoenix campus, as the school’s first Literacy Coordinator, network Spelling Bee coordinator, then moving into the Arizona ESS-TIR program, which is a 2-year program that she completed in only one year.
After working as the ESS coordinator while completing that program, Kristi moved into the ESS Lead role, and even stretched her wings to join the North Phoenix Prep campus. “I have found it really challenging to learn the nuances of document preparation at the Prep level, which is much different from the Archway, but working with these Prep students has been absolutely great – it didn’t take me long to fall in love with all of them!”
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Cammie Passey
Professional Development, Great Hearts America
Cammie Passey joined Great Hearts and Archway Veritas in 2012 as a 5th Grade Lead teacher after many years teaching outside of the network. In just 18 months, she took on the role of Assistant Headmaster there and has since joined the lead office in Talent, Professional Development, and Curriculum Development roles. In the past five years, Cammie has moved fully into the Curriculum Development area, where she is now the point person for all Great Hearts Lower School curriculum. Cammie finds the most joy in her interactions with others, though she misses teaching and expressed her love for navigating all of the activities with the little people of the lower school. “The school community is special – these are the people you care for, and that’s where your focus is. At the lead office, your focus is more on the institution, which is a good thing, though it’s more of a systems-thinking approach.”
“It never occurred to me that I would end up working on the curriculum team,” she reflects, “and that fact that I ended up here is not an exception. It has taught me something about being open – to get involved and try your hand at things that you never considered before. I really appreciate the idea that the network allows you to grow within the academy, but that it is not the only possible trajectory.”
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Mary Plath
Grade Level Lead Teacher, Great Hearts Irving Lower School
Great Hearts Irving 1st Grade Lead teacher Mary Plath joined Great Hearts Irving in its inaugural year as an Apprentice Teacher, and after one semester, she moved into a 1st Grade lead position. After two years in her lead role, she was approached to apply for the Grade Level Lead position, and she credits her mentor Mary Pantin (now Dean of Academics) with coaching her into the grade level lead.
In addition to the Apprentice Teacher experience, Ms. Plath credits the school-level professional development as most enriching for her own growth. “Our campus is really careful in crafting development activities that benefit us professionally, but also personally,” she shares, “and the apprenticeship position was incredible. There is no way I could have successful if I had been thrown into a lead position.” Now in her seventh year as a 1st grade teacher with Great Hearts, Ms. Plath says “I could stay in 1st grade forever. Training the soul, the mind, the affections – academics will come, but character is where it starts! And, I have grown so much as a person by being around these little people – they have helped me strengthen my own character."
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Highlighted Opportunities this Month
Opportunities abound for network staff both in leadership and corporate roles. Take a moment to consider one of these exciting positions for yourself or others you know!
Academy Leadership and Support Roles:
Corporate Roles:
Visit the Great Hearts Leadership Careers page information on Headmaster opportunities. The application deadline closes soon for certain positions!
Access our Internal Job Board for up-to-date information on internal opportunities.
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