August 23, 2022

Organizations love to secure one or two unicorns in their midst. Schools are no different. Unicorns are the teachers or staff members that are described as “visionary” or “out-of-the-box thinkers”. You don’t have to search for long to identify the unicorns in your school—most everyone you ask about visionary thinking will spit out the same two names without hesitation. 

Unicorns make “dreams become reality” as the paper plate my supervisor made for me at the end of last year stated. There it was, written down with a black sharpie, decorated with sparkles. 

Blessing or curse, to be such a unicorn? 

It’s a fine line and those of us in leadership positions need to keep our unicorns a little supported and protected. For many years things were wonderful. I loved working in a community that appreciated new ideas and colleagues that were willing to take on more projects for fun. Out-of-the-box programming, collaboration, and interdisciplinary curriculum development are a lot of work.  And yet, when I was teaching in the arts, my “unicorning” was what fueled me and gave me the energy to get everything else done as well. There was a measurable benefit too. New programs…