Name: Jacquelyn Bobien-Blanton

Title: Executive Director of Early Learning

Organisation: Orange Public Schools

Dr. Jacquelyn Bobien-Blanton is a distinguished educator with nearly three decades of educational experience. She currently serves as Executive Director of Early Learning for the Orange Township Public Schools, and holds a doctoral degree from Walden University, a master’s degree from Montclair State University, and a bachelor of science degree from Louisiana State University.

Certified in several areas of education, including Preschool-Third Grade, Elementary Education, and Education Administration (supervisor and principal). Dr. Blanton is responsible for the educational experience for the youngest scholars in her district.

Recognized as an Exemplary Elementary Educator, she contributed to early childhood education observation protocols, participated in the revision of the teaching and learning standards, and served on a committee to review curriculum for early learners for the New Jersey Department of Education, Division of Early Learning. Dr. Blanton was also recognized by the Senate and General Assembly for dedication to scholastic achievement.

She is actively engaged in professional organizations, including the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Dr. Blanton is committed to educational advancement and community service. Her motto is “Service is the rent you pay while living on earth,” Muhammad Ali. Dr. Blanton’s book, It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader, was released on August 1, 2024.

It is a research-based book that was developed from her dissertation topic on reading fadeout. The book is about the ecosystem that surrounds a child, which either hinders or promotes reading proficiency by third grade. She provides historical and current events that led to the reading narrative we are experiencing today. Dr. Blanton provides personal and professional commentary to help readers connect with the content in her book.

Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Blanton is a mentor for new school leaders, an educational speaker and presenter, and an All-American Track and Field athlete. Her dedication to sports extended to years of community service including serving on the board that assisted in creating the Shiloh Rainbow Academy in Newark, NJ. Beyond her achievements, “Jackie,” a devoted wife and mother, values family and believes in the transformative power of education to change the world. “To Whom Much is Given, Much is Required”.

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

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

Cheers,

Jonno White

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

My biggest challenge is getting teachers to transfer research/theory into practice, or in some cases, trying to provide research and theory to improve teaching practices. The challenge is that teachers come to work in our school districts with degrees and proper certifications, but they are not strong in content.

In my district, we do not have many professional development opportunities during the school year to build content knowledge and improve instructional capacity. As a result, we have teachers who do not have the tools needed to positively impact student outcomes.

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

I became an Educational Leader because I wanted to make more of an impact on education than just the students in my class. I noticed that teachers needed more help and support and I became a mentor for new teachers. I absolutely loved helping teachers improve their practice, but during that time, I discovered a problem. There were more teachers who needed help than I could provide. I also realized I was not coaching or mentoring, but teaching skills that perhaps should have been obtained in teacher prep courses.

I decided to become an educational leader to make a larger difference and to impact more people who had the privilege of touching the lives of students. I wanted to provide a space for teaching and learning that would help teachers provide meaningful learning experiences for students. I wanted to build confident, capable, and caring teachers. I believed that if I could build the capacity of teachers it would trickle down to students and the end results would be improved student outcomes.

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

Each night before I go home, I review my calendar just to prepare myself for the next day. I get to work early to review my emails. I do not like to get behind in my emails, and I typically respond to people within 24-48 hours to be respectful and professional. Then I review my list of schools/teachers I will observe. We have an 80-20 rule in our district where we spend 80% of our time in the schools and classrooms. My superintendent has a saying, "We cannot lead from the white house, we must lead from the schoolhouse."

For me, it means that we must be in the schools getting to know teachers, the school culture and climate, the students, and the administrators to get a picture of what teaching and learning look like. Before conducting walkthroughs, which is the largest part of my day, I typically have an area of focus and will look for trends, best practices, and areas of improvement. I typically stay in the classroom for 5-7 minutes.

I always leave words of encouragement on a post-it note for the teachers so that they view walkthroughs as positive instead of negative. I provide positive feedback to the teachers within 24-48 hours of my walkthrough. I meet with teachers to provide glows and grows, and doable expectations with a time frame. When I am not conducting walkthroughs/observations, I am in meetings like data, coaching, and literacy intervention meetings, to name a few.

These meetings provide valuable information to help me differentiate and meet the needs of teachers and students. I review lesson plans and provide "real" feedback. I review student work and ask them to tell me what they are learning or what they are doing. Students should know what they are learning as well as some of their areas of growth and areas that they need help with. When I return to my office, I review notes, data from the day, and create agenda items for the next day's meetings.

I am constantly in a planning, observing, modifying, and monitoring cycle. I use data to effect change in all that I do. I listen to feedback from teachers as to what they are experiencing and what they need. They are closest to the students, and I value their feedback. If I have time, I read current research, standards, books, articles, or I watch webinars, attend professional development sessions to keep abreast of current research to share with my staff.

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

A lesson I learned recently was that I should never assume what teachers know and what they do not know and just because I provided teachers the knowledge doesn't mean that they received it or can apply it right away. As a leader, I must be reminded to give teachers space for grace and to give them multiple opportunities and time to learn and grasp the information. It takes time to learn new skills, and I must be cognizant that teachers learn at different rates and at their own paces.

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?

Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation by Shane Safir - Jamila Dugan. This was a powerful book that confirmed for me that we need to stop using “big data” to measure the success of a school or district. We also need to stop looking at data as a deficit instead, we must look for what's right in our students and communities, instead of trying to find what's wrong.

We need to use different data points to help us diagnose root causes of inequity and how to transform learning and reshape how we view teaching and learning. The book reminded me that what is measurable is not the same as what is valuable and that data is about people and should be considered with a humanizing and liberatory lens. Changing the way we see and use data can transform schools.

After reading this book, it confirmed my belief that grades and scores do not define our students and our schools. I am more interested in building relationships with our students, families, and staff. I look at the culture and climate of the school and ask questions. Do students love coming to school? Are they motivated to learn? Do they have fun in school? Are they aware of what they are learning and what they need help with?

Do they see themselves in the school, in projects, assignments, books, etc.? Do they have a voice and choice in what they learn? Are they respected and seen as participants in the learning process? Do they have second chances or do-overs on tests so that they understand that we learn from mistakes? These questions/data are key to school success, and although not really measurable, will have an impact on grades and test scores.

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?

The key to success in education is relationship building on all levels. Get to know your staff and be sure staff get to know the students in their classrooms. Students and staff, for that matter, do not learn from people they don't like. Be honest with staff and say what you mean and mean what you say. Structure, organization and be flexible with staff. I would also encourage leaders to lead from the classroom, not from their office. You must have boots on the ground and know your teachers and your students.

You can effect change if you don't know the problems that may exist. Adopt a cycle of learning: Plan, Observe, Modify, Monitor. Data in the form of grades and test scores does not always tell the story. My final piece of advice is this: if it isn't good enough for your own child, then it isn't good enough for someone else's child.

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

I remember trying to build a relationship with a teacher who thought I was too tough on her. I had to find a way to connect with her. I did realize that I was saying no to her a lot and it must have sent a message that I did not trust her as a new teacher or like her. One day, she asked me if she could teach a unit on the rainforest, and everything in me said no because of the age of the children - I just knew it wouldn't work, but I couldn't say no to her again.

I asked for an outline and more details about the unit, and I wanted to know about the student outcomes. I shocked her and myself when I gave her the green light. When it was all said it done, she transformed her entire classroom into a rainforest. It was incredible, the students knew so much about the rainforest and they were excited to share what they learned. As a culminating activity (the unit lasted about 6 weeks), the students made invitations and invited families, other classrooms, community members, etc., to their classroom to learn about the rainforest.

The children were stationed in different areas in the classroom and were able to talk about their section and answer questions that guests had. After the unit, I told the teacher that I did not believe that it would work, but I wanted her to see it for herself instead of me telling her no. She thanked me for being honest and for giving her a chance.

She proved me wrong, and I told her that I would never underestimate her again. She thanked me for trusting her, even though I was super nervous about it. That unit changed our working relationship for the better. The lesson I learned was that we need to trust our teachers and that I don't always have all the answers.