LaVonna Roth began her journey in education teaching 2nd through 8th grade, then served as a Team Leader and Mentor Teacher and is currently the creator & Founder of Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® & LaVonna, Inc., where she works as a learning specialist, author, keynote speaker, and consultant. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education, a Master’s in the Art of Teaching and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. LaVonna is passionate about encouraging others to use their skills, talents, and gifts to illuminate the world.
Learn more about Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.: http://www.igniteyourshine.com/about/
Connect with LaVonna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaVonnaRoth
S = Self | What are your strengths? How are you serving?
H = Heart | What are you passionate about?
I = Inspire | How do you stay inspired? How do you inspire others?
N = Navigate | What is your vision and why?
E = Exceptional | What are you doing to stay on track? Are you celebrating the little victories?
Be confident in who you are and the gifts you have and get ready to illuminate the world!
LaVonna talks about her family, her background, playing flute and piccolo, and being Field Commander of her high school’s marching band (2:00)
Psychology’s loss is education’s gain – LaVonna decided to go into education after realizing that college wasn’t a good fit during her second year of college (5:17)
LaVonna traces her career path from a new teacher in Ohio, to being encouraged to go into mentoring, and then into administration, (9:17)
Why LaVonna decided to step away from the classroom and eventually formed her own company, Minds That Matter, Inc, which is now LaVonna Inc. (11:37)
All about LaVonna’s program Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E. (Self.Heart.Inspire.Navigate.Exceptional.) (13:24)
How LaVonna overcame one of the biggest challenges she faced in her career path (18:32)
A deeply moving story about the impact S.H.I.N.E. had on a special needs student who was being bullied on the playground (20:40)
“Dream bigger than you ever imagined” is LaVonna’s favorite leadership advice (22:44)
Don’t ask, “Why me?”, but instead, ask, “Why not me?” (23:50)
Be passionate about what you do, but also be careful not to overdo it (24:20)
LaVonna’s #1 book recommendation for school leaders (25:00)
Always remember that even with all the buildings and curricula and standards, your job is really all about human beings (25:50)
If you’re just starting out in school admin, here’s the advice LaVonna would give herself if she had a time machine and could go back in time and give herself advice when she was just starting (27:38)
Books mentioned in this episode
Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All
Connect with LaVonna Roth
About EducatorsLead:
Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are interested in educational leadership as an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders weekly to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.
Educate. Inspire. Lead.
