Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Livingston ESA brought together educators from across the county for its second year of the learning series “Cultivating Leaders.”

Officials say maintaining a leadership pipeline is a challenge facing school districts across the state. In 2021, Livingston ESA launched a series of workshops, Cultivating Leaders, to address that challenge and fill the space by cultivating new and emerging leaders.

On March 20th, educators from across Livingston County attended the last of this year’s four Cultivating Leaders workshops. The group was the second cohort to participate in the series.

Livingston ESA Superintendent Dr. Michael Hubert said cultivating strong leaders is one of the most important things they can do to support local schools. Through the workshop series, he said they hope to help educators develop the skills and confidence they need to take on leadership roles in their schools and to build a network of supportive mentors and peers.

The Cultivating Leaders workshop series was facilitated by Livingston ESA Assistant Superintendents for Early and Secondary Learning, Sean LaRosa and Jonathan Tobar, respectively, along with Trish Poelke, Principal at Howell Public Schools’ Parker Middle School, and designed to empower participants to recognize their own leadership qualities and how to apply them in their profession and within the community.

The series was said to have conceptualized the true meaning of leadership and that it is not specific to a job title or supervisor status but rather the building and nurturing of relationships founded on trust and loyalty - demonstrating that anyone can bring leadership to the table regardless of job title.

A press release states by bringing together educators from across Livingston County, the series served as an invaluable opportunity to cultivate leadership capacity and support members as they step into active formal and informal leadership roles.

More information is available in the attached release.