
Take 5: Q&A with Strategist Dr. Mark Healy
02/03/2025

Take Five is a quick-hit series highlighting the people behind Leading Educators’ mission, shining a light on the experiences they bring to our partnerships with school systems. Learn how Leading Educators can help you go further faster.
Meet Mark Healy
Education leadership—whether at the school or system level—is complex, human work. It’s also everchanging.
This is a truth that Dr. Mark Healy, Leading Educators’ new senior director of system strategy, knows well. As a former and forever teacher, curriculum developer, professional development facilitator, adjunct faculty member, school principal, instructional expert, and district leader across Canada and the United States, he’s motivated to help leaders find new opportunities for momentum and support team success.
Learn more about him and the perspectives he brings to our mission.
Q: You began your career as a classroom educator. What was the journey like from the classroom into school and system leadership?
I vividly remember watching my principal racing around the school and thinking, “That’s a wild job—I’ll never do that!” The long hours, the constant problem-solving—it looked overwhelming. But then, I became a principal.
What drew me to the role was the opportunity to scale my impact. As a teacher, you shape the lives of 20-40 students at a time. As a principal, you shape an entire school community. You’re not just supporting students—you’re guiding teachers, working with families, and influencing a broader vision for the school.
My journey didn’t stop there. I moved into district leadership in both public and charter schools, gaining insight into how systems work at scale. Now, I get to take everything I’ve learned—the successes, the missteps—and use it to help school and district leaders improve. It’s about equipping them to make an even greater impact than I could on my own.
Q: how would you describe your leadership philosophy?
I often use the lighthouse analogy to describe the role of principals and their administrative teams. Imagine the principal as a tall lighthouse with a 360-degree view, overseeing the entire area. The assistant principals, coaches, and deans of instruction are smaller lighthouses, each focusing on specific areas but working towards the same goal.
The principal should have a strong vision and use the support of their team to build that vision. Often, principals get bogged down with specific tasks like student discipline, which can detract from their focus on instruction. Discipline issues often arise from a lack of engagement in the classroom, so it’s crucial to set up the team to ensure the principal can focus on the bigger picture.
The principal’s role is to build the capacity of their team, allowing them to focus on instruction. When principals spend too much time on operational tasks and not enough on adult learning and instructional leadership, they miss opportunities to improve teaching and learning. Ensuring the team is well-equipped to handle their responsibilities allows the principal to shine their light across the whole school, fostering a strong instructional focus.
Q: What’s a lesson that fuels your work today?
Principals face constant demands, often becoming rapid-fire problem-solvers. Early in my career, I got caught up in the operational side of leadership, leaving little time for instructional focus.
What I wish I’d known from the start is this: keep instruction at the center of every decision. Even logistical tasks can become learning opportunities. For example, we added educational content to drill signs during fire drills. Stairwells had math labels to reinforce skills, and hallways featured idioms to support language learners, building social capital.
At first, I was 20% instructional leader and 80% operational. Over time, I worked to flip that balance. When instruction is the priority, everything else aligns, like a conductor ensuring the orchestra plays harmoniously.
Q: What are some of the ways a leader can think about success for systemic change initiatives?
As a school leader, I used a data dashboard to track various metrics, including English learners’ test scores and reclassification rates. However, measuring aspects that impact school culture is crucial, like teacher satisfaction. I conducted monthly surveys to gauge this.
I aimed for every teacher to be observed and coached weekly. My administrative team and I provided feedback and held coaching meetings regularly. We used monthly surveys to assess our progress and identify areas for improvement.
People often ask how I managed to coach so many teachers.
My response is twofold:
- First, we prioritize what we believe is essential. If coaching and instruction are core to our work, we must focus on them.
- Second, we acknowledge that things can get hectic. I set a goal to achieve this 80% of the time, which I communicated to my teachers. If we couldn’t meet this target due to unforeseen circumstances, we adjusted accordingly. Success, for me, meant supporting our teachers as much as possible.
Leaders should build a data dashboard that includes both cultural and instructional data. Monitoring these metrics closely helps ensure that the school environment is conducive to learning and that instructional goals are met. For example, tracking teacher observation ratings can provide immediate feedback, unlike state test scores, which come too late to make timely adjustments. Regular monitoring and support help create a positive school culture where students and teachers thrive.
Q: we’re so lucky to have you here now. Why did you decide to join Leading Educators?
I was drawn to this work by the commitment to true partnership. Unlike organizations with one-size-fits-all solutions, Leading Educators builds alongside schools and districts, tailoring support to their unique needs.
We know what effective conditions look like for teaching and learning, but how we get there varies with every partner. For example, we’re currently co-creating an instructional framework with a district—shaped entirely by their input. If we did this work with another district, the framework would look completely different.
Leading Educators isn’t about plug-and-play fixes. It’s about working hand-in-hand with educators, providing expertise and support to help them realize their potential and achieve more impactful results.