About
Transformational Leadership Agency
Transformational Leadership Agency, LLC was created with the intent to provide consultant and training services to educational organizations that seek to improve overall communication, operational efficiency, empowerment, inclusivity, and achievement.
Dr. Sybil Burney
Meet our Founder: Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney
A visionary and strategic leader with a passion to ensure effective and robust educational opportunities for all students. Proven leadership in defining educational mission and vision, leadership and teacher development, budgeting and strategic planning. Collaborative planner and policy developer with constituents including the School Board, community, parents, and state education agencies.
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Testimonials
What Our Client Says
I have known Sybil Knight-Burney since 2007 when I served as a principal in the Harrisburg School District. I later worked with Dr. Knight-Burney in a consultancy role as the District’s Professional Learning Coordinator. Dr. Knight-Burney exhibited an extraordinary connection to the students and families of the Harrisburg School District. She knew her students and families by name and made herself available to them in a way that exceeded other superintendents with whom I have worked. Under Dr. Knight-Burney’s leadership, countless programs and initiatives were made available to students and families due to her vast knowledge of – and connections to – community resources. In addition, Dr. Knight-Burney developed a tiered program designed to train teachers and staff as emerging leaders. Many of the participants in this program now serve in leadership roles. Dr. Knight-Burney’s pedagogical knowledge is second to none. She is intricately aware of current evidence-based educational practices, especially as it relates to serving students and families in urban centers. I would be more than willing to expand on Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney’s qualifications in terms of your needs. She would be an asset to any organization given her knowledge, experience and expertise.
Rose Sampson Educational Consultant , Rose Sampson
I am honored to submit this recommendation to your organization on behalf of Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney. I had the pleasure to work with Dr. Knight for over fifteen years. Please accept this correspondence as a formal letter of recommendation for Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney. Dr. Knight exemplifies excellent strength in the following leadership areas: • Works well with others to insure joint efforts are achieved for betterment of schools, district, staff and students. • Organizes and works collaboratively to accomplish goals/objectives, while recognizing the need to remove any obstacles that could potentially impede the progress or the district, students and educators she service. • Presents concepts and precepts in an organized fashion with the intent towards serious implementation of policies and procedures. • Effectively implements and conducts excellent staff development sessions and enlightening workshops. • Effectively develops and maintains cross departmental and interagency relationships. • Develops creative avenues to insure a supportive environment for students, educators and parents. • Excellent record keeper and negotiator. • Perseverance during times of adversity using creative problem solving skills. These assets served Dr. Knight well in her acceptance of the challenge to become superintendent of a district with zero fund balance, a deficient budget that could not sustain district wide programs, failing vocational and alternative schools, slow academic growth and a looming 97 million dollar bond debt during the 2010 Harrisburg school year. She worked with staff, community partners and the Board to make drastic cuts/bold new changes to begin corrective action that addressed many of the problem facing the District. Lack of money/revenue was the key weakness of the District’s scenario; so she looked at the many facets of employee talents to condense work load and responsibilities. By 2014 due to the extraordinary efforts of Dr. Knight’s work with District staff, community partners the fund balance was 22.5 million dollars, the budget was on track to sustain programs which included: students attending Dauphin County Vo-Tech, the adoption of a scientifically based reading program, five schools awarded millions of dollars via school improvement grants, a high school received Blue Ribbon Status, also the adoption of STEM and Educational Leadership Programs. Dr. Knight commands excellent rapport with Board members, students, educators, community partners and other stakeholders. She participated in district-related activities with enthusiasm and reflects a wide scope of preparation capabilities as well as organizational skills. She exhibits genuine concern for the welfare of others which contributes to her success. One would have to experience a working relationship with Dr. Knight to fully appreciate her fine qualities. She is a dedicated professional who genuinely loves challenges and thrives on seeing hard work come full circle.
Barbara Hasan Founder & CEO, Hasan Education Consultant
It is a pleasure to pen this reference letter on behalf of Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney, an educational leader, community activist, care giver and overall woman of integrity. I have had the honor of working with Dr. Knight more than fifteen years in various capacities including professional developer and leadership consultant. As an educational leader, Dr. Burney led the Harrisburg School District in the implementation of proven reform initiatives. She sought after and embraced research driven practices to 1) improve leadership capacity at both the district and building levels, 2) develop and enhance instructional capacity to deliver effective, rigorous and relevant instruction and 3) develop and sustain parent and community partnerships. Under Dr. Knight-Burney’s stellar tenure, policies and procedures were put in place to ensure systemic approaches were implemented districtwide yet flexible enough to provide building leaders sufficient autonomy to customize strategies to meet the unique needs of their student population. She used data to shape a strategic vision for the district with student success at the core of her plan. With a goal to have every student college and work ready, Dr. Knight-Burney convened a community/school task force to determine the best route to achieve this goal. Career Academies was an outgrowth of this effort. To get students ready for high school academies, she reformed the district’s approach to reading and led school reconfiguration to ensure smooth transitions k-4 through twelfth grade. Well known for her work in the community, Dr. Knight-Burney belongs to several community organizations and has worked tirelessly bridge the gap between school, parents and the larger community. Sybil’s leadership and people skills, her focus on team building and her commitment to educational excellence makes her a viable and sought-after candidate for leadership positions across genres and organizations.