A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay has been the soundtrack to my journey this year — and it captures exactly where I find myself as Season 14 begins. Looking up at infinite possibilities, feeling both the magnitude of the work ahead and the wonder of where I’ve landed.
Last year, I was wrestling with a question that wouldn’t let me go: “How might we create a school where staff come to be well?” It felt like such a big, important question — one that mattered deeply but seemed almost too ambitious to tackle. I was asking it from the sidelines, wondering how change could happen, hoping someone would step up to make it real.
Then something shifted. The universe conspired, opportunities aligned, and suddenly I wasn’t just asking the question anymore — I was being handed the keys to answer it. I became the Well-Being Coordinator for KCS, a role I’d been working toward for years. With it came something I hadn’t fully anticipated: endless energy and ambition. When your zone of influence grows to match your sense of purpose, it’s like discovering you’ve had superpowers all along.
But here’s what I’m learning: having influence means getting serious about impact. It’s not enough to launch initiatives and hope for the best. I’m in that critical evaluation phase now — determining which efforts should continue and grow, and which aren’t moving the needle. I want to measure engagement in meaningful ways, not just count attendance at wellness events. I want to know if staff are actually feeling more supported, if the culture is shifting, if people feel safe to be vulnerable about their struggles.
The work is both strategic and deeply personal. Every morning, I walk the halls solving the staffing puzzle — making sure we have the right people in each classroom, ensuring our foundation is solid so everyone else can do their best work. There’s something fulfilling about being the person who makes sure we’re ready for the day. It’s logistics, yes, but it’s also care in action.
Looking ahead to Season 14, I’m thinking bigger than just KCS. I want to build a Well-Being Coalition through Cohort 21 — a network of educators who understand that staff wellness isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s the foundation everything else is built on. I want to use this community as my learning lab, gathering thinking partners who can help me refine what meaningful engagement actually looks like and how to measure it authentically.
The question that launched this journey — “How might we create a school where staff come to be well?” — is no longer just a question. It’s become my north star, my daily practice, my contribution to the constellation of educators working to transform how we care for each other in this profession.
KCS isn’t quite a place where staff come to be well yet, but it’s better than it was. And now I have the influence, the energy, and the community to keep reaching toward that sky full of stars.
