Name: Alyssa Tormala

Title: Head of School

Organisation: Laurel Springs School

Alyssa Tormala has been in the field of private education for nearly 20 years and before that, practiced law for over six years. During that time she has worked in several high-level college-preparatory schools in roles ranging from teacher to instructional coach to school leadership, and currently serves as Head of School at Laurel Springs School.

She is passionate about the art and science of learning in all formats and has deep experience in faculty development, instructional best practices, and curriculum design. She holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees (English Literature and Mass Communication) from the University of Utah, a Juris Doctorate from Stanford University, a Master in Education from Portland State University, and a School Administration Certificate from the University of Portland.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope Alyssa's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

The higher level you are in leadership, the harder it is to have a complete view of all the details of daily operations for your team or organization. But to lead well, you need solid insight into how well the organization is functioning and what your people and programs need to be successful.

So the biggest challenge I encounter is finding efficient, productive ways to get the information I need to make balanced decisions and support effective strategies for the overall team.

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I began my professional career as a corporate attorney at 25 years old. A little over six years later, I switched careers to become a high school teacher. People always ask me why I made that change, and among the many reasons was one core idea— I wanted to know that what I did every day was making a positive difference for others. Being a high school teacher taught me essential leadership skills — confidence, clarity, organization, creative problem-solving, and most importantly, the value of building constructive, authentic relationships with those you lead.

As I progressed in my teaching career, I got a better sense of the larger challenges that I thought I could help with, and I sought more opportunities to take leadership roles.

When my then-current school implemented a 1:1 iPad program, I worked directly with school leadership to pilot apps and practices and train other teachers, and ultimately, I became the school’s Instructional Technology Coach and the Technology Department Chair. In those roles, I learned to engage with adults who are experiencing change from a place of patience, empathy, and collaboration.

After a few years, I joined a larger high school as a vice principal, which led me to a deeper understanding of balancing individual needs with organizational necessities and resource allocation. When COVID hit, I also learned to breathe, pivot quickly, and implement creative solutions to wildly unexpected problems. I was fortunate to have an excellent principal and a team of colleagues as guides and mentors along the way.

I also learned how much I enjoy a challenge! A few years later, I joined my current school, Laurel Springs School, as the Dean of Faculty. In this role, I immediately dove into working with school leadership on a variety of personnel and program development projects. I was thrilled to be able to participate in creating real, positive change that immediately benefited students, families, and staff.

I was later promoted to Director of Teaching & Learning and ultimately became the Head of School. In my current role, I have an incredible opportunity to not only expand the leadership skills I have previously gained but to push myself to the highest level of leadership possible. I continue to learn and grow as a leader every day.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

My husband and I both wake up at 6 am every workday. After taking care of immediate chores (feeding our dogs and getting our teenage daughter on track for school), I get some coffee and answer the emails that have landed in my inbox. Laurel Springs is a fully remote organization with staff and families who live all over the country (and some internationally!), but as a staff we operate on East Coast time.

Since I live on the West Coast, my day starts three hours behind many of my staff, so I usually have quite a few items to respond to first thing in the morning. Once my inbox is settled and I’ve had a chance to connect with my husband and daughter before she leaves for school, I get dressed and am settled in my home office by 7:30 or 8 am. Most of my days are spent on video calls and managing daily school operations with a break for lunch.

By around 3 pm, meetings have calmed down, and I spend the last few hours of my day on focused work, which might include more complex emails, project development, budget review, strategic planning, and other tasks. When I come to a stopping point, I review my calendar for the next day and make notes in my daily planner that sit on my desk about the meetings and tasks to be completed.

Several times per month I will have an evening virtual event to attend, and sometimes there are urgent matters that require more time in the evenings. Otherwise, I typically finish working around 5 or 6 pm. I keep my phone nearby and monitor my email for emergencies, but the rest of the evening is committed to spending time on family and personal pursuits.

Given that I tend to lean toward being a workaholic, I learned long ago that I need to keep clear boundaries between “work” and “home” time. I usually go to bed between 10 and 11 pm. My role requires regular travel, so when I’m on business trips, my work days are organized around the events, meetings, or conferences that I am attending.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

Leading through change — whether small operational adjustments or large organizational shifts — requires a deep and ever-evolving understanding of human psychology and behavior. The majority of people react with discomfort or even fear when encountering changes in the workplace because they are so focused on the impact of the change at the moment that they have a hard time imagining what could improve when the change has been completed.

I’ve learned that building deep trust with your team, being sensible and collaborative about designing change experiences, and then navigating the change alongside them with patience, positivity, flexibility, and transparency are essential components to success.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

The 9 Types of Leadership: Mastering the Art of People in the 21st Century Workplace by Beatrice Chestnut, PhD.

When I was in my second year as a vice principal, the school principal led our team through a training experience built on the Enneagram. I had of course already explored the MBTI and other personality models in relationship to leadership, but the Enneagram completely shifted my perspective on how our core motivations and subconscious drive as humans affect the way we lead and work with others.

I continued to explore the Enneagram as a tool for deepening my leadership and self-awareness and have also brought it to my current teams with fantastic results. Ultimately, it has given me a lens through which I can deepen my understanding of human nature, and by doing so, I have become a far more effective leader and a better human. The 9 Types of Leadership is one of my favorite resources for this work.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

It’s not about you! If you are leading from a place of ego or ambition, you have already failed. Instead, remember that your people are the most important asset you have. Listen to them, learn from them, and collaborate with them. Be fair, clear, and transparent with your decisions and communication.

Own your own mistakes and be gracious when others make them. When your people feel seen and respected, they work 10 times harder and care 10 times more than they otherwise would, and everyone benefits. goals. Successful leaders aren’t just decision-makers; they’re relationship-builders.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

As a new vice principal in a previous school, one of my responsibilities was to plan and organize the professional development program. This was a large high school with over 100 faculty members who ranged from veteran teachers with 30+ years of experience to first-year teachers we had just hired. I had strong opinions on what our priorities should be for professional learning and what it should look like, but as a new leader AND a new member of the school community, I was having a hard time convincing our faculty that I knew what I was talking about.

One day I shared my frustrations with a fellow administrator who had become one of my mentors. He listened, and agreed that my ideas were good, but then said: “I’ve learned that there are certain members of our faculty who have great ideas and hold a lot of influence with other faculty. And teachers always prefer to listen to other teachers. How might you collaborate more with teachers in this work?”

This comment stuck with me – it turned out I was making a typical rookie error for teachers who become administrators. I already knew that teachers listen to teachers, but I made the incorrect assumption that my new role and my expertise in this field would automatically give me more weight with the faculty. Instead, in some ways, it gave me less. I learned that building trust by listening to what teachers needed and working collaboratively with teachers to find solutions made us far more effective together.

That conversation sparked me to create a PD Team that included teachers and program managers from a variety of departments who loved PD and enjoyed designing and building it, and the team process allowed us to build an extremely effective program over the next few years. It’s a lesson I have carried with me ever since – as George Couros puts it, “The smartest person in the room, is the room.”