Welcome to LDI

Each year, the 21st Century Education Foundation and Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) offers AACPS employees the unique opportunity to participate in a Leadership Development Institute (LDI). This year-long professional development program engages participants in monthly sessions to cultivate collaborative leaders and enhance partnerships between the school system and business sector.

This is my story as part of the LDI Class of 2015

Why LDI?

I saw the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) flyer in the Spring. I knew about the LDI and thought the program was intriguing but I wasn’t sure I was the right fit.

I had been with Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) on a full time basis for three years and, while I wanted to grow, I had not yet found the specific direction that I wanted to go. I took a second look, though, when a coworker recommended the program. I got a better sense of its format (a series of eight 1-2 day monthly sessions, each focused on a different relationship within the county) and learned more about the objectives of the program:

• Examine the major components of AACPS and the Anne Arundel County community and government;
• Contribute to solving key issues facing AACPS through experiential learning and group projects; and most importantly,
• Create an integrated & collaborative learning community of leaders from across the county.

I decided to apply because I knew that for having grown up in the county, I was woefully unaware of the structures that make Anne Arundel County what it is. The LDI would give me a chance to better understand the public schools’ place within the region—how AACPS is influenced by the culture and policy of the county and how, in turn, AACPS influences that culture. I realized that while I may still be finding my path within the school system, I need to understand what it really means to be a part of AACPS before I can go anywhere.

My Vision for the Blog

When I was accepted into the 2014-2015 LDI class, my friends and family asked about the program and what it offered. I tried to give an overview of what we would be doing, but realized that, while I had only ever heard positive feedback about the program, it was hard to get a sense of what it would really mean for me to be in the LDI. I felt incredibly lucky to have been given this opportunity and wanted a way to help promote the program.

The purpose of this blog is not to provide a day-by-day itinerary of this year-long program—for that, I encourage you to apply to the next class of LDI. Instead, I hope to use this space to capture my own journey through the program. What will I learn about the county and the role that AACPS plays in shaping—and being shaped by—the public and private entities around us? Who will I meet, both in my peers and guest speakers to the class? And what will I learn about myself as a leader and employee within this school system?

I am so excited for this experience and am glad to have you with me as I start this journey.

About the Author

Lauren Grey-Hawkins works in Anne Arundel County as the Business & Communication Specialist.

After attending Anne Arundel County Public Schools since Kindergarten, Lauren graduated from Severna Park High School in 2007. She has worked in AACPS since 2008, moving from a college job at the Central Office Switchboard to a full time role in the Department of Advanced Studies & Programs. She moved to the Division of Partnerships, Development, and Marketing in July 2014.