We were lucky to catch up with Shauna Stephanchick recently and have shared our conversation below.
Shauna, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
When I was in second grade I had an innate feeling that I should be a teacher. I loved children and being in charge, so it seemed to be a natural fit. As I grew and pursued teaching in college, I had clarity that teaching was my calling. Through my years in serving public education, I was able to observe systemic barriers in the field. The pandemic intensified those barriers and I began to diligently reflect on what my role could be to close educational inequities in Missouri. In those weeks of reflection, it became clear to me that my purpose was to seek solutions that would provide more students a better education. I also wanted to support and retain as many teachers as possible.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the President and Founder of STEP Up, an educational consulting company that provides products and training services to improve educational outcomes in Missouri. Our company seeks innovative ways to take systems and processes that have typically been broken or challenging for schools and make them effective and efficient.
One of our most popular approaches has been a curriculum management tool. It ensures every teacher who comes into the profession has a clear plan of the standards s/he should teach throughout the year. Sadly, many teachers have and continue to come into education not having a clear system of what to teach in their first year. STEP Up is slowly overcoming this barrier with its clients. In addition, we provide proficiency scales for priority standards that teachers should help students master. This gives teachers clarity on what students should be able to accomplish in each grade level, as well as ideas on how to help students who continue to struggle. This has been powerful work and has caused excitement for teachers in Missouri.
STEP Up is also excited to launch more innovative ways to service educational leaders in instructional growth through our online community, the Missouri Instructional Leaders Network. Our members can use this platform to collaborate with other leaders and get access to high quality information and training.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I believe the qualities of a hard work ethic, innovative thinking and the ability to listen have been the most impactful in my journey. It’s critical to listen and observe the needs of the audience you are serving, so you can really reflect and hone in on the root problem. The hardest part of starting a business is trusting that you don’t need to know all the answers at the beginning. You must have the ability to listen and adjust as you find the right or better answers along the way. Leading this work has challenged my way of thinking and pushed my working ability. I have put in countless hours and energy into my company, but when it’s something you are passionate about it’s hard to stop pursuing it.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel overwhelmed, which is often, I try to pause or stop what I am doing and anchor myself back to the pillars of why I started my company. I am an idea person and also have a tendency to take on more than I should. Taking time to anchor myself on my core values and purpose as a company is helpful. I focus on trying to amplify what the company is doing well and seek to refine small areas slowly. I love brainstorming with my amazing team of people who help ground me in my thinking. My team can take things off my plate when I am struggling to prioritize. Hiring the right people has been the most energizing and rewarding part of my role.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: [email protected]
- Facebook: [email protected]
- Linkedin: [email protected]
- Twitter: [email protected]
- Youtube: [email protected]
- Yelp: [email protected]
- SoundCloud: [email protected]
Image Credits
Jami Stevens
