Good ‘ole Facebook is good for reminding you of what you have posted in the past. Last week, on June 1, Facebook showed me what I had posted two years ago, on June 1, 2021. It was my last day as a school administrator.

When I was a school administrator, my principal aggressively tried to get me to resign after my dad died on January 2, 2021. It had nothing to do with my skill set or accomplishments. You can even see in the photo caption that I earned a performance bonus. It had everything to do with deciding that life is too short for me to be anyone but my full Black self. When someone close to you dies, you remember your mortality and evaluate if you are living the best life. The teachers I supervised said I was a good administrator in multiple supervisor surveys, but I knew there had to be more to the life I was living.

Also, my evaluations were good, although my principal tried to slide in some nasty comments for my 1st-semester evaluation of my last year at the school despite my effective rating. She had the nerve to say she didn’t like my attitude while I was on leave. During my leave, I had a hysterectomy, and my dad died, yet she kept contacting me. Apparently, professionally saying that my cellphone is my personal device that the school doesn’t pay the bill means losing my number when I’m not working, especially when I’m on medical leave, is mean. Girl, bye!

I told her I wasn’t signing the evaluation; she could note the refusal and move on. What ended up happening is the charter network brought in a third party to independently review my evaluation, and they sided with me. They removed the comments; I signed, and I added an attached statement.

My principal was too blind to see what I was REALLY doing. In January 2021, I decided to leave. I started interviewing for other positions while making an exit plan. In February 2021, I outlined my education consulting business plan and started talking to a school district that became my first client. In March 2021, I started meeting with more clients.

All the while, they thought I was fighting to stay because I wouldn’t (a) resign or (b) confirm or deny whether I had accepted another job. While my principal was worried about (a) and (b), I was fully immersed in (c), my education consulting business plan.

HR told my principal she couldn’t ask me about my plans anymore, AND they told me I could work from home for the rest of the year. It was only a few weeks.

My mere presence bothered this lady!

I actually HAD told everyone some of my plans when they first interviewed me for the job. They just weren’t listening. During my final interview with a panel of other administrators and teachers, I said I had two goals, (a) confirm I am a good administrator and can still impact students through administrative work and (b) stay in this role for at least two school years so I could move from the initial practitioner administrator license to the proficient practitioner. In Indiana, you can only renew the two-year license three times before you have to take other actions to keep it. You must have an administrator role for two years. In 2019-2020 (such a great year to switch to school administration … please note sarcasm), I was in my third two-year period.

I reached out to the IDOE earlier during the 2020-2021 school year to find out the earliest date I could request my administrator license be moved to the proficient practitioner. They told me on May 1, 2021. I had taken the CPR certification class, which you need to renew your license. I had all my professional growth points (PGP), which was easy since I was in the middle of my doctorate program. All I needed was a signed letter confirming that my role had the same job description as an assistant principal.

This is where she tried to do harm. Note: I said tried. She told me she wouldn’t write or sign it because my job title was middle school academic dean, not assistant principal. To bolster her “proof,” she said we had an employee (her friend) with the job title of assistant principal. The assistant principal only did the student dean’s job, nothing else. Charter Networks tend to make up roles and switch what the roles actually do. IDOE provided the tasks that qualified as assistant principal. Wouldn’t you know it…they all aligned with my role. I hired and terminated teachers, coached staff, and completed teacher evaluations, to name only a few of the tasks I managed and completed.

HR agreed with me and told her to provide the signed letter. She sent me a blurry letter via a cellphone picture, which IDOE rejected. I told her they said it wasn’t acceptable. HR had to print the letter, get her to sign it, scan it, and send it to me. I emailed that letter, and IDOE updated my license within one hour.

After that, she really thought she was going to get me. Everyone had already been issued contracts for the next school year. I was working on tasks for the next school year even though I knew I was NOT returning.

She scheduled a meeting with me, and HR was there. I was home in my family room, and so were my husband and kids. They were off-screen. That’s when they came to me with a proposal. I started laughing. I mean, cackling!

They said (a) I could make today my last day and my pay ends, (b) I could finish all the evaluations I was responsible for, and that day, whenever it was, would be my last day, and they would pay out the rest of my contract (c) I could do all of option b and stay until the last student day June 1, 2023.

I chose option 3 and finally revealed I had already planned not to come back. I wasn’t skipping the 8th-grade graduation due to petty adults. My plan was to work until my contract ended in July because Sis will leave no coins on the table! Remember, I was working from home at that point.

Then, I told her I would now share what my plans were. Remember, she wasn’t allowed to ask anymore. I informed her I had already started my consulting business, Blazing Brilliance, and had contracts lined up for the following school year. I had enough contracts to almost match my salary. She was absolutely speechless.

While she was playing childish games, I was focused on grown woman business.

Out of curiosity, I asked why they offered to pay out my contract. At this charter school, I was at will. They said there were no grounds for termination. Remember, I also earned a performance bonus. They simply didn’t want me to come back because I seemed unhappy…and I was.

Then, for kicks, I asked the principal why she was lying about the following school year. They had issued documents with my name on them saying what I would do the following year. I said, “Why lie?” She said they didn’t know how I would react and claimed I did the same by withholding my plans. I told her she lied repeatedly and that I didn’t. Also, my personal business, like my cellphone, was not her business. People with poor leadership tend to lie and scheme.

She tried to be all friendly. Even asked me how to renew her admin license. Yes, after what she did! The damn audacity!

The picture above shows triumph and exhaustion. I ALWAYS play the long game. While you think you are playing in my face. I’m just swatting you away like an annoying fly and staying centered on the target. Teachers who want to exit from being school employees must play the long game and perform with excellence until they leave.

Here are my tips about making that transition:

Also, you are a real one for reading this far!

1. Don’t tell everyone all of your business. Folks can’t destroy plans they don’t know about. Every time you get the itch to tell, ask yourself these questions: How does sharing this information benefit my future? What harm could come from my colleagues knowing my plans?

2. Keep your emotions in check. I could have (justifiably) shown my full Black a**, but that would have interfered with my plan. Instead, I used that time to keep building my skills because I knew I would need them. I continued to develop myself professionally to prepare for my future.

3. Be honest about your story so that others can learn. I was offered other administrator jobs and teacher coach jobs even though I shared part of the information I listed above. Many times, poor leaders have a terrible reputation that other people already know about. I really didn’t have to elaborate much.

4. Keep your work ethic spotless. My work ethic reputation reaches people before they even meet me. I work hard because I want to beat who I was previously. Don’t slack off because you are leaving. Don’t let bitterness knock down your work integrity.

5. Visualize yourself doing your goal. This might seem corny. When it gets hard and you want to pop off, you need to stay grounded.

What did I visualize? I visualized myself completing my doctorate, having two successful businesses, and replacing my income so I wouldn’t have an employer dictating my life.

All those goals are completed.

What am I visualizing now?

…oh, I can’t tell you…revisit tip 1.

Want to connect? Email: assist@blazingbrilliance.com