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If you ask Marybeth Heyd, the Director of Lower Elementary Programs at the Center For Early Education in Los Angeles, about the challenges of being an administrator versus working in the classroom, you'll get an answer that ranges from waxing philosophical about teaching young kids, to how project-oriented she is, to how much she appreciates the longevity of growing up within a school. She has a lot to share, thanks to her years of experience both in and out of the classroom, and an unusual resume that includes stints as an AmeriCorps volunteer and even as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs! 

Marybeth Heyd

The Goldman Sachs analyst program was my first job out of college, and it certainly gave me a real sense of what the working world can be like, what hard work is and how it feels to work with people who are passionate about what they're doing. It was just two years, but it was enough time for me to gain some confidence and experience that I now draw on when it comes to hiring, financial decisions, and the business side of school operations.

My first year of teaching I was a middle school French teacher in the town where I grew up - Holliston, Massachusetts. I taught sixth graders and eighth graders for a year, and I loved teaching; but teaching eighth graders in particular was really challenging.

I got my Masters degree through a collaborative program with Lesley University and The Pike School in Andover, MA. During my internship with a Kindergarten class, I went to the program director and said "I want to teach in California. That's my goal." I had spent a year doing full-time volunteer work at a homeless shelter in Orange County through AmeriCorps, and I was eager to move back west with my husband and find a teaching job.

My director knew of Cal/West, which was the perfect resource. I was wide open to any possibility, and so I went out to California for a two-week trip. I had about six interviews, but The Center for Early Education was not originally on the list. I got a call while I was at the Cal/West job fair and it was from The Center. When I went there I met with the woman who ended up being my teaching partner for six years, and the team-teaching model hooked me right away. I thought, "Oh my gosh, I'm in an intern program now where I have this partner who's been a teacher for 30 years, and I get to ask her questions every day, and that's how I'm learning!"

After eight years I made the transition into administration. I miss being in the classroom. If I had to put a label on what kind of leader I aspire to be it's really an 'instructional leader.'  One of our third grade teachers is out, and her teaching partner drafted me to come give a spelling quiz, and that just still feels right to me. So I know that at heart what I focus on in my role as an administrator is really the teaching and the learning.

I think the biggest adjustment for me is getting my mindset to shift from the very, very big-picture things that we, as an administrative team along with the board, are dealing with, to the day-to-day things that we all have to do. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I meet with someone about a conference they want to attend or order books to enhance our classroom libraries, simple things that I can cross off my to-do list. But the contrast, to go in a single day from a meeting about the 75th anniversary of our school and how we're going to celebrate that, which is such a huge question, to my office to figure out if we should have indoor dismissal because it's drizzling - it's a big mindset shift to make within five minutes, but I feel like that's what I do all day long.