Adriane McGhee
Adriane McGhee is a transformational education leader and Program Specialist of Leadership Development with Orange County Public Schools where she leads districtwide initiatives designed to grow teacher leadership and strengthen instructional excellence. She develops and aligns leadership pathways including Developing Teacher Leaders, Aspiring Leaders Academy, Preparing Future Principals Academy and FELS coursework to ensure educators are supported through intentional standards based growth. In addition she serves as Lead Strategist & Empowerment Leader at The Leadership Collective where she designs strategic systems that expand leadership capacity across schools and empower teachers to lead from within their classrooms.
Adriane began her career in education in 2008 as a classroom teacher at a local elementary school where she spent eight years teaching primarily 4th and 5th grade students. During that time she also taught 4th grade English Language Learners an experience that deepened her passion for differentiated instruction and culturally responsive teaching. She later transitioned into instructional leadership as a math specialist at a Title I school providing targeted interventions for students who needed additional support in mathematics. Her success in that role led to her appointment as a math coach a position that became a defining moment in her career and solidified her passion for instructional leadership.
It was through coaching that Adriane’s approach to leadership fully emerged. She discovered the power of supporting teachers through collaboration modeling and side by side coaching and recognized how directly teacher growth impacts student success. Her philosophy centers on simplicity flexibility and responsiveness in instruction especially in environments where perfection is unrealistic and adaptability is essential. She often emphasizes that teaching requires continuous adjustment meeting each student where they are and refining approaches until learning takes hold much like throwing a spitball to see what sticks. She believes every student can learn when educators understand how they learn best and she continues to champion this belief through her leadership practice.
Adriane is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at National Louis University further strengthening her expertise in leadership development and systems improvement. Her academic background and professional experience reflect a consistent commitment to building strong educator pipelines expanding leadership capacity and creating sustainable support systems for teachers and students alike.
• Advanced Coaching Academy - U.S. Lassenger Center
• University of Florida - BS, in Elementary Education
• University of Florida - M.Ed.
• Nova Southeastern University - Ed.S.
• Teacher of the Year
• Administrator of the Year
What do you attribute your success to?
For me, my most noble achievement is to see the people I've coached meet their goals. When I work with my Aspiring Leaders Academy, their goal most of the time is to become assistant principal. So when I get to see their names appear on our board document where they announce the new assistant principals, and I get to write their congratulation card and send them a book about leadership - that's when I feel the most proud, the most accomplished. When I'm able to help someone else meet their goal, that's what success means to me.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I believe that every student can learn we just have to figure out how they learn best. And to do that, you just have to be creative in your thinking and have the mindset that no child is going to win, they're not going to beat me, they will learn this stuff. If you have that mindset, then you're willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that they get it, grasp it, and keep it. I help people understand that leadership does not mean you have to leave the students and the classroom. You can be a teacher leader and really help and support new teachers, help teachers that switch grade levels, and build great things on your campus while still being an awesome classroom teacher. We need leaders at every level, and especially in the classroom, because that's where you make the most impact with students. It's such an important job that we do, and how we make sure that we do it well has to be intentional. If we don't set our kids up for success, life is gonna be hard.