As our city schools strive to improve, it is critical that our school leaders are innovative, supportive, open-minded, strong and passionate. These same school leaders must also have extensive experience as educators and be committed to studying and incorporating current research into their practices. I have experience in leadership roles in school settings and have learned a lot from my participation in these roles. I am committed to the students of New York City; I want to improve our schools for them. It would be an honor to be a school leader working to bring excellence to all of our public schools. I am pursuing graduate studies to gain the knowledge and experience that will make me an effective school leader in New York City. This year I have taken on challenging leadership responsibilities at my school. In the fall I took on the role of testing coordinator. I volunteered to fill this role because I was troubled by how it had been handled in the past. The student experience during the testing sessions was always very chaotic and confusing, especially for students with disabilities. The previous testing coordinator always neglected to plan testing accommodations for students; as a special education teacher, this was very concerning to me. My first big jobs as a testing coordinator were PSAT and January Regents. Everything went smoothly, all the students and all the adults knew where to be and what was expected of them. I was careful to ensure that all testing accommodations to which students were entitled were met. As a result, our special education population performed better than they ever had on the Regents and RCT exams. After the PSAT in October, our principal contacted me to see if… middle of the paper… the first three workshops of the eight-part program. The work has been well received by staff and I look forward to seeing the effects it will have on our students. I worked hard on this project and loved every moment of it. This experience in instructional leadership has made it clear to me that this is the type of work I want to continue doing. There is no greater privilege than the opportunity to help a young person gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the world. Schools that lead all of their students to success are always led by exceptional administrators. I want to lead a school so that it meets all of its students where they are and raises them to their highest potential. I will use my postgraduate education to gain the skills and experience I will need to lead a school that helps ensure every student reaches their potential.