The Many Faces of CHSAA Leadership – Terita Walker

This semester, CHSAA will begin a new series of articles highlighting the many faces of leadership throughout our membership. Our hope is that by taking a small glimpse into the window of their leadership background, you will gain a greater understand of why they are such strong advocates for the vision and core values of the Colorado High School Activities Association.

Terita Walker has been in education for the past 20 years, having been at Denver East High School for the last 15; serving as the principal of the school for the past two years. CHSAA has benefitted from her expertise in many areas of the Association. Terita has served as a member of the CHSAA Board of Directors, a member of the Equity Committee, and she is currently the chairperson of the Ice Hockey Advisory Committee. With so much expertise and practical experience, you know that our conversation was only going to provide more depth into her leadership origin story. Here are the highlights:

Can you share your education background with us?

I attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where I received my BS in Speech Communication. I then went on to National Louis University @ Chicago, where I earned an MA in Secondary Education. In 2008 I earned a degree in School Counseling and in 2016 I earned a certificate in Educational Leadership from the University of Denver.

What has your journey in education consisted of? Did you start out in the classroom? What administrative positions led you to where you are? Did you come into education specifically for this role?

My journey through education began when I left my career in Corporate America at Wells Fargo Financial and became a substitute teacher at several schools in the Chicagoland Area. I continued my journey while pursuing a degree in education serving as a college and career readiness advisor for an outside agency in a high school on Chicago’s Southside. Before leaving Chicago, I would have my first opportunities teaching 7th grade Language Arts and Social Studies and 9th grade English. I continued my journey after my move to Denver, briefly working for College in Colorado, supporting Denver Public Schools, and then teaching high school English to adjudicated teens at Justice High School in the Boulder Valley School District. From there, after pursuing a degree in a different area of education, I became a guidance counselor at Denver East High School. I served and lead as a counselor at East for eight years before becoming an Assistant Principal and Athletic Director for five years. I am now serving my second year as Principal of Denver East High School.

I must ask you about sports or activities you participated in during your college years…?

Throughout college, I competed in sprints and relays on the Track and Field Team at Southern Illinois University in the Missouri Valley Conference. Participating on the track and field team helped me stay focused and gave me the discipline I needed to find success as a collegiate student-athlete playing Division I sports. I was grateful for my experience as it allowed me to still pursue my passion for dance in the “off-season”. While competing, I also danced part-time with the Black Fire Dancers Dance Team at my university as well. My teammates were fun and talented and took their academic careers seriously as well. So, we motivated each other to be successful on the track and in the classroom.

Getting back to your current role at Denver East, what do you love most about being the principal?

I love that I have the opportunity hear perspectives of people from so many different walks of life. When you are the principal of the school, you must have some awareness of every corner of your school community. As I engage and listen to the members of my community to assist and potentially solve, I can engage in my own learning and growth as well.

What are some of the challenges you face in your current position?

You want to be able to know, do and fix everything. But that’s not humanly possible as a principal, no matter how big or small your school may be. So, delegation is key, but people often want to speak directly to you. So, it’s a challenge when you trust the work of your staff to handle things, but people often operate under a “Skip Level” mentality. It sometimes feels to them like you don’t value them or their voice. Realistically, it is the exact opposite. You want them to talk to and work with those that are assigned and most aware of certain aspects of the school. They are the experts in those situations. I get it, but it is hard to manage, especially because I care so deeply for our school community and don’t ever want anyone to feel undervalued, unseen, or unheard.

Who are some of your mentors?

I have several mentors, as I believe that having mentors is extremely important in a person’s professional and personal journey through life. My parents are my mentors through my journey as a working parent myself. They were amazing working parents and showed me the importance of committing to your work and your family. They continue to guide me through finding the balance. One of my closest and longest standing professional mentors is an amazing woman, Ms. Barbara Lanair, whom I first met in middle school. She was my Language Arts teacher. I’ve always admired the way she connected with us as students, our families, and her colleagues. She was my cooperating teacher while I student taught and continues to be a mentor and dear friend to me and my family, guiding me every step of the way along my career.

If you could, share with us one mistake you may have made early in your career and what you learned from it.

I buried myself in my work to cope with challenges and hard times. I learned that this wasn’t the way to find balance, which was what led to my actions. It became evident to me that my work may be important, but I’m no good to others if I’m not in good spirits and good health. It is a work in progress, but I am practicing more self-care which includes prioritizing my family and friends as well.

How do you see yourself impacting the next generation of female leaders?

I will continue to be an ear and a voice for women who have aspirations of being leaders. But I’ll be an ear and voice for those who want to support those interests as well. The heavy lift to empower women leaders will take all of us to work together.

What is one bit of advice you would share with young women looking to become school building leaders?

BE YOU!! It’s pretty simple to say, but hard to do at times when people set expectations and force stereotypes on you. But know who you are and believe in you even if others don’t. Then allow yourself to keep learning, growing, giving, and loving.

On behalf of the Denver East High School community, the CHSAA membership, and our office staff, I want to thank you for sharing your story with us.