What went well?

The progress I made; what was achieved and done

While continuing the work on the equity audit, I also became more involved in research regarding kindergarten readiness assessments for the DC Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE). This has been great, because it is the type of work I hope to do throughout my career. I began a detailed literature review, which should help inform the policy best practices in DC.

What could have been done differently?

Things that did not get done and/or could be changed

This literature review was really hard at first, because we were unsure what type of program we were supposed to be researching. There are a number of different tools in the realm of early childhood assessments. Kindergarten Readiness Assessments are designed to judge the pre-k skills of individual kindergarteners, while Program Quality Measurements are assessing pre-k programs as a whole. They give different data and use different metrics. It was unclear for a while which one I should be researching, which made the literature review challenging. There is simply too much information not to have a more focused scope. Figuring out this distinction earlier would have made my job more productive.

What did I learn about myself when working with others?

Contributions, behaviours and values I exhibited

I learned that I really like work time when there are other people in the office. It is helpful for me to have people to be able to talk with and bounce ideas off of. For me, this is much better than times when I’m alone working from home. I feel more engaged, connected, and part of a team.

What did I learn about leadership?

Leadership attributes and insights I developed

We had some staffing changes at the company, which was slightly challenging because work had to be rearranged and such. I realized that clear communication with your team is important, especially during transition times. Ambiguity can lead to anxiety, and people fill in the blanks with their imagination. Once we had a team meeting everyone felt less stressed and excited to keep working.

What do I want to develop or focus on next?

What I still need to develop

I did a lot of background learning on kindergarten readiness assessments, and I am excited to start doing some comparative work across states and districts. I am also excited to participate in some of the interviews we have lined up with national experts. Both of these should give me a tremendous opportunity to learn, and to move closer to the policy decision and implementation process.