Leading, Laughing, and Learning: The Evolution of Dr. Chantell Manahan’s Educational Journey

Hi, I’m Dr. Chantell Manahan! I’m a life-long educator and a life-long student.

I began my career with six glorious years of teaching mostly French and a little English in Bryan, Ohio. I had recently graduated from Ball State University, and I was fortunate that Bryan offered tuition reimbursement for teachers seeking their Master’s degrees. I enrolled in my first set of graduate classes for the first summer semester at Indiana University-Purdue University Ft. Wayne before I had even finished my first year of teaching, and I opted to seek a Master’s degree in secondary education. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to leave that glorious classroom experience I was able to share with my students each day!

Fast-forward three years later, and I was regretting my decision. We had experienced three different high school principals and two superintendents in my first four years of teaching, and all of that chaos and turmoil made me question my choice. I knew that teachers deserved better–more support, more stability, and more mentoring. I finished that Master’s degree, and I was already planning to go back for that administrative Master’s!

Right after that first graduation, I was fortunate to find out I was pregnant with our first son. I continued to enjoy teaching and plan for the future. The summer after my sixth year teaching, I received a cryptic text message in August, just before school starting, letting me know there was a last minute English opening at my home school district. It turned out that the text message was from the English department chair, an old friend of my husband’s family. I had so many factors to weigh–I would be giving up teaching French, the timeline was short, I would be taking a pretty significant pay cut, and I was pregnant with our second son. I decided to go for the interview, and I was hired on Friday and the first teacher day of the school year was on Monday! Six months pregnant, I made the change! I taught that year, had a baby, and signed up for a Principal Licensure, post-Master’s program. After two years of almost no sleep, coursework, planning professional development for our full staff, starting an RTI/MTSS system with a cross-functional team at our high school, countless hours of technology training, and sitting on every interview committee for our building, I finished the program and added building level admin to my educator license.

I always thought I would then become an assistant principal or an instructional coach, then a principal, and MAYBE a curriculum director, but life had other plans. I applied for several positions that summer, including three internal admin positions, but I didn’t end up in any of those roles. I was feeling pretty low, but I put my best foot forward, vowing to have the best year yet. And I did! My students were learning so much, I led our high school through the accreditation process, including the information gathering and the on-site visit. I continued to offer technology training that was well attended. I was making a huge impact on our school and community, which was my goal.

And then…my superintendent showed up in my classroom at the end of the school day! I was internally hyperventilating, because this is NOT normal! But he was there to let me know that we were going to have a job opening, our technology director was resigning, and he hoped I would apply for the position. He took the time to ask me, and I am still not certain I would have applied for the job. Even in my home district, among the people I knew well, I don’t know that I could have taken another rejection if he wouldn’t have asked me specifically to apply for that position. I applied, earned the job, and made a plan to transition at the end of the semester. For two weeks in January, I was giving high school English finals, and I was also learning to be our district’s CTO!

I knew there was so much I did not know, so I immediately signed myself up for a spot in our state mentorship program for new and aspiring CTOs, the CTO2B. Further complicating matters, six weeks into the role I had to tell my superintendent that we were pregnant for our third son! Since no one gets a substitute for a district admin, I knew what was ahead of me. I survived, even finishing the CTO2B program and earning my CETL certification in May of that year.

Since then, I have been working tirelessly as a thought leader, mentor to others, resourceful colleague, and champion of edtech, blended learning, and data-based decision-making. I started back to school in fall of 2020 for first an Ed.S. certificate and then and Ed.D. degree. in the spring of 2024. My team won the 2022 Indiana CTO Council team award for our impact on our community, I’ve grown the team by two new positions, and we continue to offer innovative programs and opportunities for teachers and staff members alike. I am passionate about K12 education and the impact technology can have on educational outcomes, and I just launched my new consulting firm, Leading.. Laughing, and Learning, LLC this summer. I can’t wait to tackle the next challenge and embark on the next adventure!

Look for more details in the future as I continue to share about my educational journey!