On the Path to Principal: How Shawn Earned His Educational Leadership Endorsement Despite a Hectic Schedule
Working for years as both a public school teacher and technology support person for the Washoe County School District, Shawn Lear always knew he wanted to advance his career into educational leadership.
In the interest of maneuvering his way toward that goal, he went from teaching high school students to working as a coaching instructor, primarily for elementary school educators. As an implementation specialist, Shawn was constantly on the road, traveling to various schools within Washoe County to work with teachers on incorporating Common Core standards into their educational instruction
But all that traveling hindered Shawn from progressing down the path of leadership, especially since he needed a degree to advance any further.
Knowing that distance education was the only way to obtain his educational leadership endorsement, Shawn shopped around, hoping to avoid taking out student loans while receiving an engaging and flexible online education. He found it all at WGU.
“I liked the online format and the self-paced model. And it was nice to have a mentor to check in with each week. It really added that personal touch,” Shawn said.
Since receiving his endorsement through WGU, Shawn has recently accepted a position as Dean of Students at Lincoln Elementary School in Sparks—just one step closer toward his dream job of principal.
