A Vocation, Not a Career
A Vocation, Not a Career
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I always wanted to be a teacher and a coach. I never expected my career to become a vocation and a spiritual calling.
I was hired in 2003 by Mrs. Cheryl Lowe, who founded Highlands Latin School in 2000. We were a small community of roughly 70 students. Over the next 23 years, I had the profound privilege of guiding our faculty and leading our families as we grew to more than 700 students across multiple campuses.
I have sat in your chair. I know what it is like to carry the daily responsibility of leadership. There is a quiet, emotional weight that never leaves, and it becomes heavier still once you grasp what is truly at stake.
Students should be placed on a path toward wisdom and virtue, formed in temperance and compassion, not merely advanced from grade to grade.
The weight does not disappear, but it becomes worth carrying the moment you witness Christ in the eyes and movements of your students. Being present as they grow in faith and understanding is a great gift.
Your task is arduous and often thankless, but I would be honored to walk with you for as long as you need.
Shawn Wheatley
Founder, Magister Leadership Collective
2019 Closing School Speech
Videography and Music - Memoria Press
Length: 2 minutes, 49 seconds
Shaping Alma Maters
Shaping Alma Maters
The word 'collective' in our name is intentional. I did not found Magister Leadership Collective to hand administrators generic leadership guides. I founded it to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them as a trusted partner and friend.
I deeply believe that a school should be an alma mater, a nourishing mother. A school cannot simply deliver high test scores and impressive campuses. It must be designed to shape souls.
This aspiration cannot be achieved if leaders and faculty are running on fumes, or if simply surviving the day becomes the norm.
My mission today is simple: to help schools and their leaders recover a healthy cadence, make wise institutional decisions, and build a culture that nourishes and forms the souls of the people within it.
Shawn Wheatley
Founder, Magister Leadership Collective
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