We are excited to introduce you to ITEF’s first Spotlight Innovator:
Dr. Audrey Lee
Dr. Lee is Hazelwood Central High School’s Principal, and a 2014 ITEF Innovator (what ITEF calls grantees).
Dr. Lee spearheaded a flipped classroom project at Hazelwood Central that began in 2014 and continues to succeed.
A conversation with Audrey Lee:
Q: How do you define innovation?
A: Necessary changes that advance teaching and learning
Q: What inspires you, your teachers, and students to be innovative?
A: Our ability to focus on a mindset of continuous growth!
Q: What does the process of innovation look like at your school?
A: Administrators, teachers and students stepping out of traditions to advance their understanding of the curriculum and how this understanding will benefit their future.
Q: What mindsets, qualities, or talents have you found to characterize top innovators that you most admire?
A: I admire those who have a growth mindset and delve into technology and tools that advance teaching and learning.
Q: How is innovation integrated into your hiring process?
A: I search for educators that are creative, technologically savvy and understand that educators should be life-long learners.
Q: What is the most important thing an innovative leader could or should do to regularly stay effective?
A: An innovator leader should seek solutions that are futuristic and beneficial to growth of teachers and students.
Q: What are you currently reading?
A: Monday Morning Leadership by David Cottrell
Three Things You Might Not Know About Dr. Lee
1. She loves volleyball.
2. She started her educator experience at the elementary level.
3. She used to be a computer programmer.
Dr. Audrey Lee Quotables:
– “Teaching is important, but learning is most important.”
– “Involving parent education in the Flipped Classroom model is a key part of the process.”
– “We have to start winning people over from industry so that we can coordinate efforts and better prepare students for the workforce.”
– “Teachers work really hard.”
Here’s what people around campus are saying about Dr. Lee:
“Dr. Lee is very enthusiastic when it comes to the children in Hazelwood Central. She pushes us to strive higher than the sky. She treats us like we are her own. She’s tough but we all know that’s because she cares. – Brianna Grady (Hazelwood Central High School, Grade 12)
“I think that one of the things that Dr. Lee does really well is she finds a way to balance her love and support for the students with high performance expectations. You can tell that she really cares for them, but embedded in that care and concern is an expectation that they always work hard to do their best, and she doesn’t accept less.” – Dr. Kevin Murray (Journalism Advisor, Hazelwood Central High School)