Leadership with a Difference: A Look at Lola Gray

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Leadership with a Difference: A Look at Lola Gray

6 October 2011 No Comments

Lola Gray

By Krysta Celestine

We all know the old African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”. When it comes to educating our youth, it’s a principle that Lola Gray lives by. “Schools can not do it on their own,” says the retired educator. “School leaders must work with the parents and the community to foster good attitudes.”

And Ms. Lola Gray knows of what she speaks. The Jamaican born child advocate, who spent 39 years as a teacher and school principal in Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas, is also the author of Transformational Leadership taking Responsibility for Successful Schools; a guide for educators that offers a fresh perspective on how to lead people so that they can view their work as a calling instead of a job.

The second of five children, Lola Gray knew that teaching was her “calling” at the tender age of seven. “I grew up in a household where the values of hard work and goal setting were instilled at a very young age,” says Gray. “My mother had a love for teaching and worked on literacy skills at home with us.”

After graduating from St. Joseph`s teachers college in Kinston, Jamaica, she taught at several schools in her homeland. “In Jamaica, you’re not just a teacher. You’re the doctor, the lawyer; the person who takes care of the community. It’s as if the parents hand (the children) over to you,” says Gray.

Although she enjoyed teaching in Jamaica (and later the Bahamas), she did not attend University. “The competition at UWI (University of the West Indies) was too high,” she notes. It was her desire to pursue a university education which prompted her to migrate to Canada in 1969.

To an outsider, Ms. Gray had three strikes against her: she was black, female, and an immigrant. Not so, counters Gray. “My experience was very positive,”she notes. In fact, while pursuing a degree at York University part time, she was hired by the North York School Board (now the Toronto District School Board) almost immediately, working in a variety of teaching roles. “Fortunately, my settings from Jamaica and the Bahamas helped me to work with students from diverse cultures. My skills enabled me.”

Being a black, immigrant educator actually worked in her favour. She reflects, “ In the twenty first century, the school population is diverse and this enriches the school system. As an ESL (English as a second language) teacher, I was able to empathize with newcomers. I had the same experiences as the students. Schools leaders should be well equipped to deal with the diverse student population.”

After ten years with the North York school board, Gray moved on to the York Catholic District School board, where she held positions as teacher, and later, vice principal and principal for ten years. It was in these positions that Gray decided that leadership was her passion. “The last few years that I spent as principal enabled me to write the book.”

In Transformational Leadership, Gray draws on her 39-year experience as an educator to show how transformational leadership can significantly improve a school. Gray’s aim is to share her knowledge and successes with other educators. The author calls her book a “call to action”.

“It offers a tactical approach on how to lead people so that they can view their work as a calling rather than merely a job, a place to belong rather than a place to work. Additionally, it shows how to infuse meaning into work, and how to engage and energize your staff, thus creating a community of intellectuals seeking new ways of working and new ways to alter the work environment. It speaks to all these concerns and offers a fresh perspective on the art of leadership”.

While the book is mainly for educators, chapters one to three is for any leader who wishes to infuse motivate and energize their staff. So what’s next for Lola Gray? Although she’s retired from teaching, she assures that she’s “very busy”. Gray plans on pursuing a doctorate and writing another book. As founder and President of Progressive Leadership Consulting Services, an organization designed for and committed to working with educators, students and parents on mediation matters, she plans on pursuing a doctorate and writing another book. Ms. Gray has definitely found her calling.

Transformational Leadership: Taking Responsibility for Successful Schools: From Theory to Practice can be purchased by visiting www.essencebookstore.com.