Jacqueline Reid, PhD, is president of the Santa Barbara Unified School District School Board, a credential analyst, and affiliate faculty in the Antioch University Santa Barbara education program, and she also teaches in the BA program as well. As part of a course she is teaching this fall, Leadership in Education Reform, she has organized three leadership panel events, which will be open to the public and offer a series of three opportunities to interact and dialogue with different political leaders, school board trustees, and leaders of local non-profit community organizations.
The goal of the class, which is part of the MA in Education Program, is for students to create a change plan or action program as a solution to a problem or concern within the community. Through participation in the panel discussions, students will gain a better understanding of various leadership styles and consider questions such as how does one lead change? and what does leadership look like? Putting knowledge gained into practice in their classwork through reflection and analysis, they will determine how to launch their own particular plan for change on a chosen issue. Reid is new to teaching this course. While working on its redesign, she recognized an opportunity to provide both her fellow trustees and her students with a mutually beneficial opportunity for dialogue on district interests and concerns via a platform framed around the concept of effective leadership and its many forms. “I wanted to find a way to engage the community through the work students are doing,” she said, “and offer students an experience designed to widen their perspective of what effective leadership is.”
When she initially reached out to gauge interest on the idea amongst colleagues, community members, and sponsoring organizations (Santa Barbara Education Foundation and Santa Barbara City College Foundation), she was met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Geoff Green, community leader and Chief Executive Officer of Santa Barbara City College Foundation, agreed immediately to facilitate two of the panels. Reid herself will facilitate the November 15th School Board Panel, wherein her students will have an opportunity to dialogue with board members. Their coursework will include the development of questions designed to gain insight into different leadership styles and methods. In addition to the panel events, on November 1st, 37th District Assembly member for Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, Monique Limón will be giving a presentation on K-12 and higher education policies.
In addition to raising the profile of the MAE program in the wider Santa Barbara community, Reid hopes the events will promote cross-community dialogue and support. She and Dr. Anna Kwong, chair of the AUSB MBA program, are already discussing plans for interdisciplinary collaboration for this course and future panel events. “I wear many hats,” Reid said, “and I just want to say that Antioch is an excellent place to work! I appreciate the opportunity to teach in education in a place where the faculty has a lot of freedom to tailor unique programs that are of interest and application beyond the classroom.”
The panel series will take place on Thursdays in November and December from 5:00–6:30 pm:
November 8, 2018 (SBUSD Board Room | 720 Santa Barbara Street)
November 15, 2018 (Community Hall, AUSB | 602 Anacapa Street)
December 6, 2018 (Community Hall, AUSB | 602 Anacapa Street)
Presentation by Monique Limón is on November 1st from 5-6:30 pm in the AUSB Community Hall, 602 Anacapa St. Santa Barbara.
All events are free and open to the public.
