#73 – Family Empowerment Fellowship Reflection

It’s hard to believe that my time as a Family Empowerment Fellow is coming to a close. I have had such a fantastic time working with the SchermCo team and learning from some of the incredible schools in North Carolina. Though my time as a fellow is ending, there are many moments I will take with me in the future. 

Key Moments 

• Getting to help create a project plan dashboard to organize our work with partner schools for the 2022-2023 school year.
• Meeting with principals to celebrate the family empowerment growth of the year and dream about goals to continue improving. 
• Calling families to hear what they love about their school community and how they’d like their children to be supported in the future.

Lessons Learned 

• School leaders, stay the course. It can be easy to get discouraged if you don’t see immediate results but stay the course! Be consistent, continue to deliver what you’ve promised, and the results will come.
• Mindset matters. It can be easy to get discouraged in the education world with the consistent demands in the midst of shortages and criticism. So surround yourself with people who believe in the work and are passionate about outcomes for all.

For the Next Fellow 

• Be prepared to be challenged but also equally supported in the work that you are doing. 
• Don’t be afraid to say that you don’t know something. Everyone is on the same team, and the only way to grow is to admit there’s something you need to learn. 
• Get to know the SchermCo team as much as you can! So many incredible people make up this organization; take advantage of the conversations you have. 
• Soak it all up. No matter how long your time as a fellow may seem, it’ll go by much quicker than expected. Enjoy the journey!