Put yourself in someone else’s shoes….

That decade-old phrase now can be practiced by school leaders throughout the United States.

A new initiative, Shadow A Student Challenge, is challenging local school leaders in every community across the country to shadow a student attending a school for an entire day.

According to shadowastudent.org, the “purpose of this challenge is to create a community of leaders driven to make change in their schools, and support [these leaders] take action toward deeper [student] learning”

Shadow a Student has yet to run in Alabama, Delaware, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. The group is hoping to change that trend this year. Any interested candidates are encouraged to sign up at shadowastudent.org.

In this program, there are four steps that each leader is required to follow.

Step one: preparation- People who will shadow students are suggested to create learning goals for the shadow day, choose a student, coordinate with the chosen student, parents, and staff then meet the student.

Step two: shadow- Volunteers meet their student at the bus stop (if there is one), shadow him or her for an entire day, capture their learning, and share the observations, photos, and have fun!

Step three: reflect- identify the most interesting thoughts and observations, turn the observations into opportunities and share what is found with others.

Step four: act- achieve quick wins with our example hacks, design an action plan and share any questions, challenges, and accomplishments.

Will teachers and administrators accept this challenge and try to make BFA a better place?

Teachers and staff, I challenge you!