By Laura Cook Kroeger
Communication Project Partners
Polly Lusk Page is Executive Director of the Northern Kentucky Education Council, responsible for advancing the vision and strategic direction of NKY’s P-20 Council. She has extensive experience in education, community engagement and sustainable schools and community partnerships. She and her husband Ken live in Villa Hills.
What was your first job?
I had summer jobs in retail and banking while attending college, but my first real job was teaching first grade in Dayton Independent School District, where my beginning salary was $6,700. I still have my first paycheck stub.
Did you ever think you would have the position you have today?
Not early on in my career because I thoroughly enjoyed teaching and was following a career path to become an administrator. When I left the school setting I took a huge leap of faith and received a Distinguished Educator in Residence position. That change led to a statewide position with the Kentucky Department of Education and ultimately a faculty position at NKU. When the Executive Director position became available for the Council I almost did not apply because it was an interim position. After much encouragement from many and believing that I could be doing more to affect change with a wider audience I seized the opportunity.
You have done a great job of involving the business community with your organization. What’s your secret? Persistence and knowing that solutions don’t occur if we work in silos. Involving business in the creation of talent development solutions is not only a win for our students, but a win for our entire region. When we all focus on our educational outcomes we are creating the infrastructure to attract new business, drive economic growth and impact the quality of our lives.
Who wouldn’t want to contribute to this progress?
Describe your leadership style.
Participative and Inclusive.
It is critical to the success of collective impact work that all of our stakeholders feel engaged and know that they are an important part of the team. While there are often difficult decisions that must be made to achieve our vision and maintain strategic focus I have no problem with making final decisions.
What has been your biggest professional challenge?
Honestly, running a not-for-profit organization because the currency is not profit but impact. In order to sustain collective impact, bring initiatives to scale, ensure all youth are prepared for college, career and life I seem to always be in the position of seeking needed resources to support and scale our work.
If you could do something over again, what would it be?
Like many young students I was much more interested in the social aspect of school rather than academics. I skated through high school earning modest grades and found when I entered college I really did not have the requisite study skills. If I could have a do-over I would have taken my high school studies more seriously.
What is your greatest professional achievement?
If I have to pick I would chose two. My current position and developing the One to One; Practicing Reading with Students program because our coaches change lives!
You deal with K-postsecondary education so you see quite a range of reading material. Which book best describes who you are?
The classic children’s story The Little Engine that Could- “I think I can, I think I can…” is one of my favorites and actually my mantra. When I asked my husband Ken about this question he suggested Gone with the Wind and mentioned Scarlett- hmmm.
The Kentucky Education Genie is willing to grant you one wish. What would it be?
I am going to take the liberty of asking for 2 wishes: The first is to secure the critical resources that will allow districts and schools to implement innovation that supports all youth along the continuum from birth to career and the second is to bring educator salaries in line with other industries in order to recruit the best and brightest to teaching as a career.
Tell us 3 things that many people do not know about you.
1. I love to cook and entertain.
2. I am an avid reader and helped to launch a Book Club that will be celebrating 15 years together in 2015!
3. My lifeline is my group of friends that have been together for more than 40 years- we are the Ya Yas. Our children and grandchildren are the la petite Ya Yas.
It should be no surprise that my grandchildren call me YaYa!
Women’s Initiative profiles are coordinated by Laura Kroeger, retired Vice President of Gateway Community and Technical College and Immediate Past Chair of the Women’s Initiative. She is now a communications consultant at Communications Project Partners.