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Thank you to the 1,400 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 questions!
I hope reading
7 Questions with Jacob Bush
helps you in your leadership.
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Cheers,
Jonno White
7 Questions with Jacob Bush
Name: Jacob Bush
Current title: School Administrator
Current organisation: Celeryville Christian School
I am currently serving my 8th year as the school administrator. I love serving the Lord in this capacity and enjoy the work that I get to partake in with my students and staff.
My beautiful wife, Rachel, and four daughters all are very supportive of my role at CCS.
I have served in education since 2008 and have enjoyed the journey!

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader in the education sector?
The biggest challenge is bringing cohesion to all of the reasons why people participate in private Christian education. Families arrive here for various reasons, but we ultimately want to align their desires with our mission and vision. This is a difficult task when everyone has a very unique background and expectation when they begin with us.
2. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?
I have a task list that I typically consult so that I can accomplish everything that I need to do. If it's not on there, then it usually goes undone.
3. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?
Personal development is important. I need to invest in my own growth so that I can continue to lead the organization in a direction that will prove fruitful. Reading leadership books and applying that knowledge has been very helpful.
4. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?
I have enjoyed several books by John Maxwell. His methodical approach to shifting leadership and understanding how to develop leadership has been insightful. I have read many of these books and worked to implement them in my own situation with varying degrees of success. His book on failure was particularly pertinent to my current situation and, therefore, greatly appreciated.
5. How do you find and keep great leaders in the education sector?
We must continue to develop them and fine tune their skills to keep them invested. If we begin to ignore their training and stop investing, then they will lose interest in the mission and move on from here. Keeping great leaders in the classroom is proving difficult, but the path to get them to remain is quite rewarding.
6. What's most important as a leader in the education sector for developing a culture of wellbeing in your staff and students?
Being available and present are very important. I want to remain accessible to my students, staff, and families. Having access to me keeps me grounded and understanding of the needs that they all possess. I can then attack the issues with purpose and bring appropriate levels of change and improvement when needed.
7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader in the education sector so far?
As a school, we were divesting in special needs education. No one was really interested in meeting the needs of non-typical students. In reality, having these special students in our school and classrooms actually brought a much more diverse, engaging, and growing environment. We took a purposeful approach to building a framework in which we could minister to families with special needs and have maintained that as part of our mission. The most beautiful aspect is that I have witnessed the growth and success of our special needs population over the last 8 years and I am very pleased with the results that our school and classroom leadership have produced. One student in particular went from having severe traumatic experiences that affected her life and behavior to being a wonderful young lady who is chasing after Christ. There is no greater thing than to see that eternal transformation and I am grateful to be a part of it!