Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket is a wife, mother, principal, public speaker, and author. With decades as a teacher and leader in public education, she has earned the reputation as a strong instructional leader, passionate educational advocate, and dedicated mentor. As the Principal of a top ranked school in Maryland, she is a life-long learner who strives for excellence not only for herself, but also for everyone she serves. Dr. Edoho-Eket’s belief in fostering meaningful relationships serves as the foundation for everything she does, and her highly effective teaching and leadership style continues to inspire up and coming aspiring teacher leaders. During her educational career, she has proudly served as a classroom teacher, instructional team leader, mentor teacher, Assistant Principal, and Principal. Her book, “The Principal’s Journey: Navigating the Path to School Leadership” provides a helpful and practical blueprint for educators to follow as they transition into new leadership roles.
Dr. Edoho-Eket holds a B.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Temple University, a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from McDaniel College, and a Doctorate in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University.
Trench story: began principalship during COVID, that fall in 2019 everything was working well. Didn’t see staff again remainder of the school year. Hybrid in spring ‘21. Trenches was figuring out how to support staff during COVID. Did a lot of soul searching. Wanted to make it work. Remembered her “why”. Grounded her. Needed to do the job that worked well for her. now in her 5th year at the school. Had a mentorship cohort- 9th new principals in district. Remained tight-knit community of learners. Relationships have come out of it.
Author of The Principal’s Journey , published Feb’23. What led you to writing it? Always had a concept for the book. Was on personal bucket list. Had read books about what to do when in the position not how to get there. Had read a ton herself, such as Principal Kafele’s. Called around, learned the process. During doctoral program, was writing dissertation for 2 yrs. Afterward put writing time on calendar. Put herself on a writing schedule, the kids are MS aged- did it @ night. Committed to it in 2022. Purpose was to help people become APs and principals. Wrote ‘here’s the process’ and what does the first year on the job look like. Really wanted to do it, be an author. Self-published When Kafele invited her on the show, it was a total explosion of ppl buying it., #3 on Amazon at the time. Hurdle is a variety of things. Resume, recommendations-she talks about the mentorship, could be a leader in central office. She impresses upon readers to find. She talks about taking initiatives, reaching out to take on projects. Make sure you challenge yourself in taking projects. There’s a pipeline issue right now w/ AP’s & principals- they’re leaving. We need good quality even if we have the quantity. Systems will be challenged.
Taught Kindergarten, was SAHM for a few years w/ twins (2 years), then moved into leadership. adored teaching that age-taught that level for 10 yrs. Early childhood t’s teach foundational skills. It’s fun to see how they’re being nurtured by t’s. Was given K as her placement out of college. Had a lot of misconceptions around students. Had a mentor teacher who’d taught generations of t’s. Took it w/ her into her position. Families from 1st year are out of college. Loves what the st’s are able to do. Whatever you do in K you can scale up. A lot of what we teach in K is timeless.
Also wants to highlight transition to principalship, surprises and blindspots, steep learning curve. After came back, took over 2nd grade. Got to know each child individually. Had a chance to open a new school again. The school had a group called “Aspiring Leaders”- they did goal setting. ILT leader- talked about qualities. Principal at new school said “you have the right experience to be a team leader”. Was a very different experience opening it as team leader. Mentor said “I can see you running a building”. Principal asked for her feedback a lot. Rachel asks staff for fdb now. Power of having a principal assert what qualities you have you don’t see.
3rd generation educator, had great principal in 2nd grade who had an influence on her. Grandma, aunt, mom. Grandma librarian, aunt taught. Mom has certification. Helped in a classroom as a youngster. 1st principal in her family. Every summer- went to schools, did bulletin boards, gradebooks, binders. Lined up their dolls, used pointers.
Mentoring ppl who are wanting to get into leadership, mainly onsite. Listeners can also reach out. Currently mentoring 4 ppl. Others are shadowing her (2) from other schools. Leadership intern, works closely w/ her. Is communicative & transparent.
Out of everything: Continue to improve, set your goals, it’s a challenging job, you need to have the right support. Click To Tweet Help ppl as part of your daily work
Where can ppl find you? Twitter @racheledohoechet @the_principals_journey
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/w5xiNV2HOyQ?si=v8T0a8zE1-p43GxZ
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