(by Don Meador, Allen County Schools, August 12, 2020)
The students, staff, parents, and community will be seeing a new face this school year in the administrative ranks of the Allen County School District. Veteran educator Melissa Biggerstaff recently began her role as Chief Academic Officer.
Biggerstaff brings over two decades of experience to Allen County. After growing up in Monroe County, she returned home to cut her teeth in education serving the students of Monroe County. After impacting student lives in ways students recall to this day, Biggerstaff transitioned to a regional consultant role over a decade ago.
“I served as a teacher, an instructional specialist, an assistant principal, and a principal in Monroe County” Biggerstaff explained. “We then moved to Warren County about 12 years ago. I have been working at GRREC (Green River Regional Educational Cooperative) where I worked as a consultant and for the most part as the associate executive director of GRREC.”
At GRREC, Biggerstaff was asked to work with 47 school districts across western and southcentral Kentucky. For years, her job allowed her to interact with teachers and education leaders in the area---a learning journey that enabled her to gain a greater understanding of the best practices which worked across school districts. In addition, she was able to work on a national level as well.
“In 2012, I started working as a national school improvement and leadership consultant,” Biggerstaff added. “I have had the pleasure of working all across the United States and beyond with teachers and leaders in the area of school improvement and leadership support and development. So, I come with a lot of varied experiences that will help me support teaching and learning in Allen County Schools.”
Biggerstaff’s decision to leave GRREC and return to a school district was motivated by a renewed desire to return to her roots and better serve students and staff.
“About four years ago, I started thinking about returning to a district,” Biggerstaff acknowledged. “Unfortunately, when you move into a regional position, you are further removed from the s students. Students are the reason I came into education. Helping all students has always been my focus so about four years ago, I found myself feeling a disconnect between the work I was doing at GRREC and the impact I had on student learning.”
At that point, she began to look for an opportunity to return to the school district level. Allen County provided a great fit for multiple reasons.
“The benefit of working at GRREC and with 47 school districts is that you get to know the teachers and the leaders in each district,” Biggerstaff explained. “I was also fortunate to come and work in Allen County several times. I worked with Mr. Fisher and with several teachers here. I had the opportunity to see firsthand the teaching and learning in Allen County and to meet several of the teachers in Allen County. Honestly, I love the people I have worked with here. I love the vision Mr. Hamby has for the students he serves every day. Also, having come from a community very similar to Allen County, I know that in a close, tight knit community you have the support you need for the students you serve and I am drawn to that.”
Biggerstaff steps into the role of Chief Academic Officer---a vacancy created by the retirement of Rick Fisher and Chad Cooper.
“The Chief Academic Officer is primarily responsible for all things teaching and learning,” Biggerstaff said. “Anything that’s related to teaching and learning falls under that umbrella. That includes curriculum, instruction, assessment, and all the things that we do day-to-day that helps make students successful.”
Biggerstaff will be working with teachers from across the school district. Her role will first include getting to know each educator in the weeks and months ahead.
“Over the next few months, my primary focus will be getting to know teachers and building relationships,” Biggerstaff explained. “I am a huge advocate of relationships and I truly believe that without a positive relationship, few other things are possible. I will be visiting teachers in their classrooms. We will be having conversations, and we will be learning together. I want them to know a little about me and I want to know them.”
As the school year starts, Biggerstaff is quick to note that her focus can be summarized in three words---learn, create, and elevate.
“I want our staff to be open to learning and continuous improvement,” Biggerstaff said. “I consider myself a lead learner. Teaching is a profession where you never really arrive. It’s a journey. As long as we can focus our attention to the fact that there is always opportunities to learn and improve, then we become much better at doing what we need to do to meet the needs of kids.”
Creating goes back to a strength-based focus, Biggerstaff added. “I want our teachers to create and share. They all have a genius inside of them. One of the things we can do really well in Allen County is to create and share, collaborate and help each other.”
Elevate is thinking about how we focus on continued improvement and growth,” Biggerstaff explained. “I want to elevate the teaching and learning that is happening in this district. Because of the fantastic foundation that has been built, together, we can certainly achieve that .”
Biggerstaff believes that her knowledge and experience will also benefit students and parents. One area of focus for her will be student-centered learning---a strategy that asks the students to take a more proactive role and become decision-makers and leaders in their classroom, guided by the watchful eye of the teacher.
“Allen County has done a wonderful job building a great foundation in teaching and learning and I’m looking forward to building upon that foundation to move forward in student-center learning,” Biggerstaff noted. “Part of student-centered learning that I believe deeply in is having a strength-based focus. I believe we sometimes miss the mark in education in our country by focusing on what students can’t do. So, I really want to begin conversations with students, parents, and teachers around what students can do. All students have a gift. All students have strengths that need to be shared and celebrated and sometimes we don’t create a system where that is possible. So, one of the first things I want to do is talk to students and parents and see what are the strengths they have so we can share and celebrate them and to determine how we can provide ongoing opportunities for them every single day.”
Her work will also extend beyond the classroom and into the home and community.
“I look forward to working with all students and staff, as well as parents and community,” Biggerstaff explained. “I believe that education is a profession where the stronger the support from parents and families and the community, the better the education. Ultimately, we are creating citizens and workers for this community. Knowing how we can support our community, knowing their needs, and helping to create learners that will be workers and leaders in this community is critically important.”
Biggerstaff adds that she hoped to help teachers positively impact their students and to help the students go beyond what they believe they can do and make a difference in the world.
“I do believe the work we do is the most important work in the world,” Biggerstaff pointed out. “What we do today impact our kids for a lifetime. I take that very seriously. I look forward to coming to work every day working to impact student learning and improve teaching and learning in Allen County Schools. My ultimate goal is not only to help kids reach their fullest potential but to help them exceed what they believe they can do. Coming from a small rural district myself, I know how intimidating it was to transition from high school to college. I know how intimidating it was to enter a world with people who had a lot more experiences and opportunities for education than I had. We sometimes are our own biggest barrier. We sometimes don’t believe we can compete in this big world when we absolutely can. I want to instill that belief in our students and their families, and I look forward to helping them figure out how to do that. I’m excited and I look forward to helping kids exceed even what they believe.”