Erin Kershner

What is your current job?

Executive Director of Elementary School Leadership, Stafford County Schools (VA)

What are your Research Interests?

Why William & Mary?

The cohort model was important to me, as was the hybrid construct.  I knew I didn't want to have a completely online experience, as relationships for me are the foundation for learning - relationships with instructors and peers - which I find easier to cultivate in person.  Having a community of practitioners from around the country to learn and grow with promised to provide me with different perspectives and experiences to draw on.  By taking all our classes together, some intensive over the summer and some online in the hybrid model, we indeed began to understand one another's strengths and tap into each other's expertise to tackle both coursework and shared problems of practice.  We became a tight learning community, supporting one another even outside our studies.  At the same time, I appreciated the flexibility of the hybrid model, allowing me to work at my own pace in between classes.  As a full-time principal at the time, I appreciated both the benchmarks to keep me on track for completion, and the interim intervals to match my various schedules.

What is your favorite thing about the program?

First of all, the people - as mentioned above.  My cohort represented a diverse cross-section of folks working across different sectors of education from many different states - special education, technology, assistant superintendency, principals from all levels, content coordinators at the building and division levels; VA, Rhode Island, Ohio, New York, DC.  We each brought a valuable and different lens, which provided for a rich environment for discussion and learning.  It pushed me to explore issues from different perspectives and to outside of my own box.  In addition, the program was very practical. It was designed to build up to the dissertation, and if you decided on a research topic early enough, each class helped contribute a piece to the final product.

How has attending W&M impacted your career to date?

While I felt adept at building-level leadership and systems thinking, the program helped to broaden my lens to division and state-level systems thinking.  It sparked my interest in tackling broader issues at the policy level, which I began to do a bit while still a building-level administrator, but eventually helped me realize that I was ready to do work at that level on a full-time basis.