Dewey Smart’s Post

As I walked through the halls of my children’s school recently, a young girl named Erin halted me in my tracks with an unexpected question: 'Mrs. Hagens, where have you been? Why aren’t you volunteering in English anymore?' I fumbled for a response, explaining that her grade now had fewer parent volunteer opportunities. We chatted a bit more, and I promised to find a way to join her class. Walking away, I felt a mix of pride and responsibility. The encounter made me reflect on one of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes: 'People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.' It struck me that in my occasional classroom visits, I had left a lasting impact on this 8-year-old – she missed me. This mirrors the advice I often share with clients and senior leaders: How do you want people to feel? What actions do you want them to take? Authentic communication takes time, but it’s crucial for building trust and crafting your unique voice. Consider this: if you stopped engaging with your audience or employees, would they notice? Would your voice be missed? It took the boldness of a young girl to ask what many wouldn’t say as adults. So, take a moment to ask yourself: Where would your absence be felt?" #leadershipcommunication #employeeengagement #internalcommunications #executiveleadership

The Future City Competition is Here Again Future City Competition Theme for 2025 The Floating City Challenge The students’ challenge: Design a floating city and provide two innovative examples of how your floating city works and keeps its citizens healthy and safe. The Future City Competition is a project-based learning program for 6th through 8th grade students that introduces them to the principles of engineering and project management. The Philadelphia Regional competition has over 500 students and teachers in the Philadelphia area. We need volunteer mentors which is a great way to give back to the community and share your experience with the next. The Future City Competition is a project-based learning program for 6th through 8th grade students that introduces them to the principles of engineering while allowing them to use teamwork and creativity to solve problems that face the world.  The regional competition has reach over 500 students from about 50 schools. We need volunteer mentors. This is a great way to give back to the community. Mentors work with a student team to build their model and prepare for the competition.   We also need project managers to meet with teams as project management consultants to help them with the project management challenges. For PMPs you get one PDU for each hour of volunteering. This has a much lower time commitment. Time Commitment - Normally, the teachers could use help every other week for the first month or two, then more frequently as deadlines approach. Schedule – Mentors are needed as soon as possible. The competition will be held in on January 18, 2025 at Archbishop Carroll High School. Spread the Word –  Please share this post and tell your friends and coworkers. Schools that need mentors: Academy of Notre Dame de Namur - Villanova PA Bala Cynwyd Middle School - Bala Cynwyd PA Holy Rosary Regional Catholic School - Plymouth Meeting PA Howard Gardner Middle School - Scranton PA LEAP Academy Charter School - Camden NJ Newark Center for Creative Learning - Newark DE Pope John Paul II Regional Catholic School - West Brandywine PA Sacred Heart School - Havertown PA School Lane Charter School - Bensalem PA St Anastasia School - Newtown Square PA St Andrew School - Drexel Hill PA St Francis of Assisi School - Norristown PA St Martin de Porres School - Philadelphia Interested in mentoring but don't see a school in your area? Please reach out - schools are still registering and other schools may be looking for co-mentors. In addition to mentors there are many (over 100) volunteer opportunities in advance of and on the day of the competition including city essay judges, presentation/model judges, special award evaluators, and general volunteers. If you are interested in getting involved, please visit https://lnkd.in/egu9N-aJ  to sign up.     Any questions please contact me through LinkedIn, via e-mail or phone.  Ken Golkin kgolkin@pmi-dvc.org 856-287-5526

Now that the school year has ended (or is close to ending) for most educators across the U.S., it's time to do a little reflecting. Teachers who are exposed to and able to volunteer their time and/or serve as leaders are more engaged, more satisfied with their jobs, and report feeling more valued by their administration and colleagues. As we turn the page on another school, let's examine how we can facilitate these opportunities for educators to serve for the good of the profession and our learners. #volunteers #teachers #belonging

Are you stuck wondering if you have enough time for a graduate school program?! Well, you are far from alone!! 👍 Our online pathways make it easy for our candidates to engage with this program on top of their busy lives, and we promise we’ll find a way for you to apply what you’re learning to your current context ⏰ During our last info session, a.t. furuya (EdL ‘23) shared a bit more about how they invested their time into our program, and how their cohort developed a support system of their own around the 3 C’s-collaboration, connection, and community. After a decade of working in nonprofits and graduating from our program, a.t. founded Transform Together, @transformtogetherllc which provides consulting services in policy, systems transformation, professional development training, and resources to build and sustain equitable practices for LGBTQI+ students, educators, and employees. Partnerships include San Diego County Office of Education, Sweetwater Union High School District, Golden State Warriors, Discord, and national non profit Athlete Ally. Their practice is grounded in collaborating with students by centering their voices, needs, experiences, and ideas. Join our next info session next week on Thursday, February 1 at 4:00 pm PST to hear from more alumni, learn more about how we design our Master’s in Educational Leadership coursework with busy teachers and educators in mind, and how you can prepare your application before our priority deadline 📝 Register here to save your spot: bit.ly/edlinforsvpfeb2024 or use the events link in our bio! #educationalleadership #mastersdegree #leadershipgoals #hthgse #cohortlove #collaboration #connection #community

Positive references derived from volunteer experiences carry weight in various aspects of life, from academic applications to professional endeavors, as they serve as compelling endorsements that validate your character, skills, and the positive impact you can make within a team or community. #VolunteerImpact  #WorkReadiness 

The power of a positive message is incredible. Just when I started to doubt how much longer I could multitask with work, extra projects, volunteering, and completing more coursework for my EdD, I received this feedback on my latest assignment submission. Don't underestimate the power of positive feedback on someone's motivation. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another assignment to work on. Well done, Nadine! Your responses not only reveal a comprehensive grasp of the concepts but also feature thoughtful support with relevant examples. The seamless blending of theory with practical insights adds a valuable layer to your contributions, rendering them both informative and engaging. Your work is truly impressive, and I encourage you to continue with this outstanding effort! #learningneverstops #doctoralstudent #positivemindset

This is an amazing event where 6th-8th graders develop a city of the future. They have to consider all the different aspects of what makes a city functional, successful, and sustainable. Then they model it with a program similar to SimCity to prove it out and build a model of it using only stuff found around the house. Over the years, it has been truly remarkable seeing and hearing what young minds from all across the region come up with, before life tells them "That doesn't work." If you're able to help with the judging, I cannot recommend it more strongly!! #futurecities #mentors #mentoringmatters #STEM

Missed your school's involvement fair? Didn't hear about that club until it was too late? Couldn't find what you were looking for in your school's list of hundreds of campus organizations? In my Emerging Media Project Management course I designed Student Serve, an app that allows students to more easily get involved with their campus. With Student Serve, students can casually browse clubs and organizations in their respective campuses. See more features in my article below. #appdesign

The meeting on November 8, 2023, marked a crucial moment for our volunteerism project. The appointment of key roles, including leader, vice leader, treasurer, and secretary, demonstrated a commitment to a well-organized initiative. As the appointed vice leader, I felt a sense of responsibility to contribute effectively. The fairness in role allocation was a key aspect of our proposal discussion. Utilizing the vote method to determine leadership positions ensured an inclusive and democratic process. This approach not only recognized individuals' capabilities but also fostered a sense of equity among the team members. The thorough inventory list with item counts, as shown in the attached photo, demonstrated careful planning. This meticulous attention to detail made sure that resources were allocated properly, which set the groundwork for our project's success. All of students actively participated in the discussion, which brought a variety of viewpoints and ideas to the table. This cooperative method enhanced the range of our planning while simultaneously promoting equality. As we move forward, it is essential to maintain this spirit of teamwork and open communication. Reflecting on our proposal discussion, I am optimistic that the groundwork we laid will pave the way for a successful and impactful volunteerism project.

Tomorrow marks the start of #VolunteersWeek2024 so I'm dusting the cobwebs off my LinkedIn page and I’ve written about how I've spent some of my time mentoring with Brightside in partnership with STEM Learning UK ⬇️ It started with four matches. Four GCSE students going through their Mock exams and needing study support and guidance. As a learning professional, this activity felt near(ish) my comfort zone. Having a daughter in Year 11 going through this herself; I really couldn’t say no to this opportunity! I thought ‘perhaps some of these students may actually listen to my advice’ 😆 The reality is, this was never about me. The mission of Brightside is to help young people make confident and informed decisions about their future. And online mentoring simply provides a user friendly and safe platform for it to happen. Mentoring online not only empowers young people, giving them access to high-quality information, advice and guidance to help them navigate challenges - but it does so while overcoming geographical barriers too. I spent ten weeks exchanging daily messages with those four individuals, covering top tips, providing a non-judgmental but focused ear to support them to set, define, refine or achieve their goals – but, importantly – to feel more confident and motivated in their decisions too. It was a hugely valuable activity, and something I was so happy to be a part of. ⭐ So, Why volunteer? ⭐ Well, as well as helping someone else, my experience is that volunteering helped my own wellbeing too. It’s human nature to feel good after helping someone out, yes - but volunteering as part of this programme helped me build new skills and experiences, and importantly made me really think about the value of my guidance and how I engaged with younger people. ⭐ What could you do? ⭐ If you're affiliated with any existing groups, like STEM, you may be invited to participate in volunteering activity already. But if you've no idea where to get started, click on this link and see what you could be getting involved in: https://lnkd.in/e_Kv6V4S I would encourage you all, should you have the opportunity to give back, to volunteer in whatever capacity you can. Get in touch if you would like to know more about my specific experiences 👩🏫 #VolunteersWeek2024 #Volunteering #Mentoring #OnlineMentoring #MentoringWorks #MentoringMatters