Letter of Introduction...

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.

-Henry A. Kissinger

Welcome, my name is Effie Koutros.  I am a fourth grade teacher in the Yonkers Public Schools District in Yonkers, New York.  I am permanently certified in Elementary Education, grades pre-kindergarten through sixth and hold professional certification in Literacy Studies, grades one through six.  Currently, this is my ninth year as an elementary teacher; I began my career in November of 2002.  My first teaching experience was as a third grade elementary school teacher in Yonkers and the remainder of my teaching experience has been at the Rosemarie Ann Siragusa International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme School teaching the fourth grade.     

Pursuing a degree and certification in Educational Leadership was a no-brainer for me.  It stems from a deep-rooted passion to share and promote a long-term vision, which is founded upon the idea that all children are educable and can achieve.  Continuing an education in school leadership will help me communicate my ideas by developing and expanding on current methodologies in theory and research and by building a firm, solid knowledge base in leadership, ethics, integrity, efficacy, and instruction.  I realize the importance of gaining specific skills, knowledge, and hands-on experiences, so that when I assume a future supervisory role, I can gain trust and credibility from those who are affiliated with the school community to help put my vision into action. 

After much reflection, I realize that the best teaching practice an educator/leader can afford children is working towards a long-term shared vision, where student success is the premise and in which all the members of that learning community believe in and strive for.  It was evident to me that if I sought to communicate a bigger vision for schools, a degree in leadership is necessary.  Prior to the start of this program, I thought my personal career goal was to exit this program with a placement as an instructional coordinator or instructional consultant at the district level.  However, after taking just two leadership courses, I have learned that two of the most effective skills a school building leader possesses are their belief that all children can learn and the application of best practices to student learning.  Therefore, I feel the most direct influence I can have on the learning community would be becoming a school building leader, Principal.

At this time, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the readers for perusing my portfolio.  It is my hope that through self-awareness, reflection, and introspection, I can continue to grow and build upon my strengths and weaknesses as a leader.

Thank you.

Effie Koutros