Are you the type of educator who sees the way things are done in schools and constantly thinks to yourself that you could do it better?
Meet Rebecca Maestas-Sanchez, who comes from a family of leaders and was unhappy with the perspective of education she had as a mom, and decided to become an educator and do something about it at the age of 35 when she entered college for the first time!
She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree, became a teacher. Received a masters from Creighton University and became Principal at St. Mary’s School in Albuquerque, NM, where she would lead her site to be ranked #4 in the Top Places to Work in 2022.
And that’s not even the first time they’ve made the list, this is the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW.
Rebecca is a lifelong advocate for kids and is super passionate about making sure that every learner is accounted for and all students are put first.
Within the world of education, Rebecca saw a growing need for outside of the box solutions to the same problems noticed year after year, that mainly revolved around how best to reach all students.
As a long-time listener of the BLBS podcast, her journey began when she posted a Google review, and received a personal phone call for a response! From there a relationship developed, and she continued to gain valuable advice and tips on leadership and education, while she climbed the ranks to a principal’s position.
Once Rebecca became a principal, it was then that she realized she needed to level up.
Rebecca did have some hesitations at first, prior to joining the mastermind …
“I totally thought everybody in my mastermind had been in education for 25 plus years. I don’t have that kind of experience. Yes, I have life experience. And yes, it was a second career for me, but I didn’t have those experiences that they had in education.”
In her new leadership role she had the autonomy to make decisions and invested in herself AND her Assistant Principal by joining the BLBS mastermind group, and Rebecca has this say about that decision …
“My mastermind is made up of amazing women from one end of the coast to the next. We meet every Thursday and they are just incredible. It’s very unconventional, and I just love it.”
Being in a silo of a small network without many other schools to call upon for help, Rebecca summarizes perfectly what her experiences have been like in the mastermind …
“It’s such a safe place to grow. I am the only Catholic School Principal in this mastermind and I’ve learned so much from the group because I always think, ‘Wait a minute, why do you guys do that? Because we don’t do that in private school.’ Although we are governed differently we are still on the same team with the same goals.”
Rebecca was looking for motivation and she found it. She was able to combine what her network was doing with what she knew was best for her students, and now takes pride in how she grows leaders within her school community as evident in her own words …
“That’s my goal, to grow leaders and to make sure that they feel supported and loved and encouraged and that they get to figure that out here at St Mary’s.”
She learned new and exciting ways to consider all students and staff at her site. When asked what her experiences were like during the pandemic as a leader, this was her response …
“We were the first school to have a disinfecting robot on our campus. We now have three and our enrollment boosted, and our nurse visits went down. It was something that we felt and believed could keep our kids and our staff safe.”
Talk about making a Ruckus! WOW! Robots disinfecting your school!
To complement her innovative leadership accomplishments, Rebecca has led St. Mary’s to be the only dual language Catholic school in the state of New Mexico.
Whether the complications seem insurmountable, the network of job alikes doesn’t exist, or perhaps you have no time to invest in yourself – We ALL share these obstacles.
Finding solutions is what matters here most, and that’s best done when the support is in place.
Just listen to how Rebecca describes the mastermind value …
“I don’t know that I can continue being a leader without having that support network. It’s such a necessity for me now. It’s been that kind of experience.”
She continues to express her LOVE for the mastermind by quoting Simon Sinek …
“I believe our job as leaders is to care for those we’ve been entrusted to lead.”
Rebecca knows leadership is all about relationships … and how we support, communicate, and foster them, and we couldn’t be more proud to have her as a part of the BLBS Mastermind.
If you are looking to focus on relationship building OR shifting the culture at your school then Better Leaders Better Schools mastermind is for YOU!
Don’t let the day to day grind stop you from growing and creating the school of your dreams.
Apply to the mastermind today!
>>> https://betterleadersbetterschools.com/mastermind-application/
