Educator Uses Leadership Degree, Fellowship Experience to Help Teachers Grow

Hope Caruthers taught kindergarten in Monticello, Arkansas, for nine years. Then, while finishing a master’s degree delivered online by the University of Arkansas, she moved into an administrative position.

“It has helped my career,” Caruthers said. “I moved from a classroom teacher to the preschool director at the end of last year. So, I have finished my first year, but we have made so much progress in a year in our district, and I am super proud of that.”

That’s pretty much what was supposed to happen. 

Caruthers was chosen to participate in the IMPACT Arkansas Principal Fellows Program as she earned her Master of Education degree in educational leadership. The fellowship based in the College of Education and Health Professions is designed to develop effective leaders for Arkansas’ highest-need schools. It pays 90% of tuition and fees, an increase from 80% when Caruthers was accepted, and provides professional development and other support services during the 18-month-long program.

“I pursued IMPACT Arkansas because my principal at the time came to me and asked me to apply,” Caruthers said. “She wanted me to better myself. She saw something in me that was a leadership quality that I guess I didn’t see in myself at the time.”

 

Razorbug Diploma Tour

John Bacon, executive director of IMPACT Arkansas, traveled to south Arkansas to present Caruthers’ diploma to her on June 11 during the Razorbug Diploma Tour.

The U of A’s Global Campus takes the Razorbug, a Volkswagen Beetle outfitted with snout, tusks, hooves, tail and razor-edged spine, on the road each summer to celebrate graduates of online degree programs across Arkansas. These graduates stayed in their home communities to continue working and taking care of families and other responsibilities as they earned degrees.

Bacon also presented a second framed diploma later that day to a former teacher in a neighboring county who also completed the IMPACT Arkansas program. Kirby Gibson was also promoted to an administrative role in her district after completing her master’s degree in educational leadership.

School officials attended both ceremonies along with family and friends.

 

IMPACT Arkansas

Bacon asked Caruthers how she uses what she learned during the IMPACT program in her new position. She highlighted the process of reflective debriefing, a structured conversation that helps educators learn from an experience rather than simply move on from it. The process looks at successes and challenges and encourages educators to understand their own decision-making to improve their practice.

“That has been a huge help to my teachers in pre-K,” Caruthers said. “They have never had anything like a reflective debrief where you talk back and forth and just reflect on a lesson. Having a conversation of how to better themselves rather than ‘this is what you did wrong’ has been huge for their morale and for their teaching styles, everything.”

The teachers feel more comfortable coming to her with an issue or area they want to improve, she said.

“It’s not as scary to talk to me as it is when you just come in and do an observation of ‘This is what you did wrong; this is what you did right,’” she said. “It’s become a lot more communicative.”

 

Online Flexibility

Online courses worked well for Caruthers because of family obligations, she said. She could attend class online even when her little boy was sick and needed to be held.

“I had told (the instructor) before class even started, ‘I’m so sorry, Dr. Duncan, but my son is sick. He will be on class with me.’ He literally just laid on me the whole class time, and she did not care at all,” Caruthers said. “She just ran with class; none of my cohort members cared, they knew he was there. It’s what I had to do, but I was on class and being a mom at the same time.”

The educational leadership program includes some synchronous instruction in which all students meet together online Wednesday nights; many degree programs delivered online by the U of A offer all asynchronous classes, allowing students to view the content individually at any time.

 

Beyond the Degree

Caruthers was able to build a strong network of other teachers around the state and the IMPACT Arkansas staff while meeting primarily with them online, she said.

My favorite aspects of the program were the 19 people that I came out with,” Caruthers said. “I have recommended two people from my district to apply for IMPACT online because they are the same way. They have kids, they are working professionals, they need something online. Thankfully, one of them was accepted into IMPACT for the next cohort so we’re very excited for her.”

She can call on people all over the state for help, Caruthers said.