A Valpo Life in the Spotlight: Charlotte Sekula

While some people are well into adulthood before they know what they want to do for a career, Charlotte Sekula never had a doubt in her mind. To her, teaching came naturally.

“It started when I was in elementary school,” Sekula said. “I always loved kids. My brother would have a birthday party; he’s 10 years younger than me, and little kids would come over. I would be the one organizing all the fun activities, working with the kids, and getting them to listen. Kids have always been easy for me to understand, help, and guide.”

In elementary school, Sekula would often be an assistant to her teachers during lunch or recess, where she would help keep things organized and make sure that proper order was followed. In high school, she did cadet teaching, where she would be an aide to different classrooms and learn valuable tools for her future career in education.

Sekula attended Purdue University in Lafayette for two years before transferring to Purdue Northwest in Westville. During her time in college, she assisted in starting Little U Academy in Valparaiso. During all this time, she never doubted what she would do with her life.

As Sekula gained experience in the classroom, it became clear that she had a gift for education administration. While she loved leading a classroom and connecting with her students, she was encouraged by fellow teachers to pursue more leadership positions.

“I had instructional coaches and assistant superintendents that were guiding me,” Sekula said. “They were so good about telling me to go back to school, to get this degree, and to assist me in getting roles within the district. I moved up pretty quickly when I decided I really wanted to make a larger impact than I could in my classroom.”

Sekula’s first administrative roles were in elementary settings in largely urban areas. As she was searching to expand her reach into different areas, she found the opportunity to take on the role of assistant principal at Morgan Township Middle/High School. Even though it was very different from anything she’d done before, she adjusted quickly to the change and accepted each challenge face-first.

Now as an assistant principal, Sekula wears many hats. Not only does she help oversee things like school attendance and discipline, but she also gets involved in crisis situations that students might be facing or helping graduates look into options for their time after high school.

“The last four years that I have been here, we’ve really focused on our special education program,” Sekula said. “The special education team and I have worked together to revamp what we’ve had in place here. For the last four years, a lot of my passion has been put into that. I’m also working with our athletic department and working with our finances, so I’m really an assistant to the principal as we take a sort of divide and conquer approach to everything we want to improve. That’s how I got involved with the Building Leadership team.”

The Building Leadership team is a group of teachers and other members of the administration who meet to focus solely on ways to build the school from within. Where funds may not always be available or plentiful, this team can work on solutions that encourage parents to get involved or to create more student-led initiatives. They also prioritize where funding will be used most efficiently, and they work on ways to relate directly with students to understand their needs.

“We’re here to educate students, but we’re also here to teach them the skills they need throughout their lives,” Sekula said. “We want to create some really productive, amazing citizens in our world. When we’re missing those real-world pieces, we’re missing a vital part of education. I think that, along with educating in different content areas, we need to teach those skills that make them successful out in the world.”

Even during the summer months, much of Sekula’s time is spent working on school planning and programs to make each year’s students excel at the highest possible level. When she does have time to herself, however, she finds no greater joy than spending it with her family.

“In my free time, I try to fit in personal health. There’s always a priority of getting to the gym, putting myself first a little bit, so that I feel strong enough to deal with all the other things.” Sekula said. “I love being outside with my kids, going hiking, going to the park, and just being in nature. Those are the things that are important in our family. I have two very active boys, so we are dirty – in the mud and in the sand – and any opportunities that get us closer as a family, we take.”

Sekula knows that whether it’s during the school year or in the summer months, all success is achieved with a great team. At home, she finds this with her family as they grow together and collect precious memories. In her work, she finds this with her team of fellow educators, all of whom continue to push each other to be better, to do better, and to continue working to give students the best education they can get, in or out of the classroom.

For more information on Morgan Township Middle/High School, visit their website.