Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy

Go: Last Friday I went to the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy. CGLA is an all-girls charter school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is currently in it's 3rd year of operation. I met with the principal, LaMar Wilson and the director, Carolyn Towns. I had a great morning talking to them about the successes and struggles of CGLA.

Learn: I learned how important it is, when planning a school, to have lofty but attainable goals. Both Carolyn and LaMar are new to CGLA this school year. They both commented on their struggle to live up to a "champagne charter on a beer budget." Neither one of the current leaders had participated in the writing of the charter so they were doing their best to interpret what they had inherited.

At 4.0 Schools we often talk about the concept of a beginner's mindset and the idea that leadership is problem solving. I saw both of these approaches in full force at CGLA. Carolyn and LaMar's beginner mindsets were a huge asset to the school. They brought a fresh perspective and were able to ask great questions so that the could solve some of the recurring problems the school had been facing for the past 2 years. This was the first time I had seen the beginner's mindset and leadership as problem solving used in tandem so effectively.

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