{"id":201845,"date":"2016-11-17T13:40:24","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T18:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=201845"},"modified":"2023-07-26T13:42:54","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T17:42:54","slug":"neag-school-welcomes-back-educational-leadership-alumni-for-second-annual-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2016\/11\/neag-school-welcomes-back-educational-leadership-alumni-for-second-annual-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Neag School Welcomes Back Educational Leadership Alumni for Second Annual Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following an evening of networking among more than 130 educational leadership alumni, students, and colleagues, two notable Neag School alumni \u2014\u00a0school principal Alicia Bowman and superintendent Joseph Macary \u2014 took to the stage to\u00a0share their program experiences and insights on leadership during Neag School\u2019s Second Annual Educational Leadership Alumni Forum, held Nov. 1 at UConn\u2019s von der Mehden Hall in Storrs.<\/p>\n

Lessons Learned<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Educational
Alumna Alicia Bowman, principal of West Woods Upper Elementary School spoke about lessons learned during her career. (Photo credit: Ryan Glista)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Featured speaker and three-time Neag School alum Alicia Bowman \u201901 (ED), \u201902 MA, \u201908 6th Year, who began her education career as a sixth-grade teacher at West Woods Upper Elementary School in Farmington, Conn., rose through the ranks to become team leader, then literacy specialist, then assistant principal, before beginning her current position as principal. She spoke about her lessons learned in these roles over the past 14 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeadership is making happen what you believe in, and I believe that learning and leading are inseparable,\u201d says Bowman, who was recognized in 2015 by both the Connecticut Association of Schools and the National Association of Elementary School Principals as the National Distinguished Principal of the Year. \u201cAs a school administrator, I have the opportunity to create a community where students, teachers, and administrators are teaching and learning simultaneously, under the same roof.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a former sixth-grade teacher, Bowman compared school leadership to leading a classroom. \u201cIt involves the same challenges: thinking critically, seeing situations in new ways, being able to make mistakes, knowing yourself, and being passionate about the work that you do,\u201d says Bowman. \u201cLeadership development is a personal journey aimed at becoming an authentic leader whom others will follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowman went on to speak about her realization that effective leaders do not have all the answers, but that they should have the ability to ask the right questions; consciously surround themselves with colleagues who believe in the work and have shared core beliefs; listen and engage with students; share emotions in order to build deeper relationships; and maintain work-life balance between work and family.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeadership is making happen what you believe in, and I believe that learning and leading are inseparable.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Alicia Bowman \u201901 (ED), \u201902 MA, \u201908 6th Year<\/small><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bowman says she used to think that recognition and celebration did not need to be a priority in high-performing organizations, and that having fun might make an organization\u2019s team appear as if they were not working hard enough, or were not serious enough. That outlook, she admits, has changed: \u201cI think celebration, recognition, encouragement, and appreciation are vital to an organization. When the recognition is specific and deliberately delivered, it\u2019s even more motivating than money.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also focused on the importance of cohort learning, which she experienced as part of the Neag School\u2019s\u00a0UConn Administrator Preparation Program<\/a>\u00a0(UCAPP).<\/p>\n

\u201cOur cohort was a community of learners where each member brought a unique perspective and their own experiences to our collective leadership development,\u201d she says. \u201cThat cohort experience modeled for us the power of professional collaboration and shared accountability. In a culture of trust and support, we were able to have honest conversations about teaching, learning, and leading.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"educational
Alumnus Joseph Macary, superintendent of Vernon Public Schools, shared his insights on building school leaders. (Photo credit: Ryan Glista)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Intern to District Leader<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another three-time UConn alum, Joseph Macary\u00a0\u201994 (CLAS), \u201905 ELP, \u201916 Ed.D., superintendent for Vernon Public Schools in Vernon, Conn., served as the evening\u2019s next guest speaker. Macary talked about his managerial, leadership, instructional, and political experiences, calling his superintendency \u201cthe most challenging and rewarding position I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macary\u2019s vision for leadership centers on working together as a team to make learning with high expectations a priority for all children. \u201cEducation is truly the way people excel in today\u2019s society,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

A first-generation Lebanese-American, Macary\u2019s family came to the U.S. years ago for the educational opportunity. \u201cMy family left their country, left their families, so that we could get a better education in a prospering society,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He says he learned early on about the importance of getting firsthand experience. While earning a degree in political science at UConn, he had an internship at the state Capitol, assigned to the appropriations committee. That experience would prove invaluable, as he often now works with elected members of school boards and other political entities.<\/p>\n

Prior to accepting the leadership role for Vernon Public Schools, Macary spent 10 years with Wolcott Public Schools, in Wolcott, Conn., starting out as an intern while attending UConn\u2019s\u00a0Executive Leadership Program<\/a>\u00a0(ELP). While holding a full-time teaching job, attending board meetings that often ran late into the night, and welcoming his second child, Macary completed 120 hours for the internship \u2014 and says he \u201cloved every moment of it.\u201d He emphasized the power of internships, whether at the state Capitol or as part of ELP.<\/p>\n

Macary moved up the ranks in Wolcott, achieving the level of superintendent, before moving over to Vernon. While in Wolcott, Macary also pursued the Neag School\u2019s\u00a0Ed.D. program<\/a>, with a research focus on secondary education and policies for helping secondary schools improve.<\/p>\n

All along the way, Macary has focused on making a difference in children\u2019s lives and creating conditions for success. He says he believes in the \u201cwhole-child approach to learning: the academic, the social, and the emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mental health of our children is our biggest problem right now,\u201d he adds. \u201cFor those of you in schools and classrooms, that is what we struggle with each day, and we need to reflect a whole-child approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also believes in having a partnership with the communities and families. \u201cYou need the parent, you need the student, and you need the teacher working together.\u201d<\/p>\n

And creating those conditions for success is the responsibility of school and district leaders, he says. \u201cIt\u2019s the leadership that puts the students in front of that classroom, fed, well-nourished, healthy, and ready to learn. It\u2019s the leadership that puts the teacher in front of that classroom, properly trained, with a good curriculum, and with a strong instructional core.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macary noted that, for him, the key parts of leadership \u2014 the political, the managerial, and the instructional leadership \u2014 all came from UConn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to understand that we need strong leaders in education today, so that we can create the conditions for people to succeed, that they can create that instructional leadership, and that instructional core, to make things happen,\u201d he says. \u201cWe need school and district leaders to create the conditions for students to succeed in our schools and classrooms across the state and nation. I urge you to support leadership \u2014 through UConn \u2014 to make a difference in children\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following their presentations, Bowman and Macary responded to questions from the audience.<\/p>\n

Are you interested in taking your education career to the next level? Find further information about\u00a0Neag School\u2019s Executive Leadership Program (ELP)<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0UConn Administrative Preparation Program (UCAPP)<\/a>\u00a0today.<\/em><\/p>\n

View photos from the event here.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following an evening of networking among more than 130 educational leadership alumni, students, and colleagues, two notable Neag School alumni \u2014 school principal Alicia Bowman and superintendent Joseph Macary \u2014 took to the stage to share their program experiences and insights on leadership during Neag School\u2019s Second Annual Educational Leadership Alumni Forum, held Nov. 1 at UConn\u2019s von der Mehden Hall in Storrs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2427,1855],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1879],"class_list":["post-201845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni","category-educational-leadership","category-neag"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-08 00:37:06","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201845"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201846,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201845\/revisions\/201846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201845"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=201845"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=201845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}