This year marks the beginning of the seventh year of my second principalship. I’ve learned that years six through nine are where things really seem to come together for me as a school leader; it takes me that long to know the students, the community, and my staff to the depth that is needed to effect positive, long-term change and impact. The school culture at Owen County High School (OCHS) has really taken shape over the last half decade, and we look forward to “making hay while the sun shines” for the next few years.

When the school council hired me to come to OCHS, they emphasized their desire to have someone who would come to stay; the school had had several principals over the previous five years, and it was clear that the school had stalled out, largely because no one knew what direction they would be going as they changed leaders again. Interestingly, recent education reports from sources like Education Weekand The Chicago Sun-Timeshave commented on the positive impact of stable school leadership and staffing as well as the cost of high turnover, especially in the principal’s chair. We often underestimate the power we create as leaders when we simply stay and struggle through the tough times that we all face.

All of that is to say: we cannot truly do the most important work of creating and caring for the culture of our schools unless we are committed to working through the entire life cycle of leadership. It takes time to build a solid school culture; we often think our work is in maintaining an existing culture, but the real work is in creating one that is the most effective for our students and teachers. The truth of the matter is that you can only do this as you hire teachers and entice excellent teachers to stay with you as you build an excellent school.

Built into a commitment to excellence is a commitment to stay. Research has shown that not only does principal effectiveness increase with experience, but also that teachers tend to remain at a school when an effective leader is in place over time. For the second time in my career this past summer, I experienced teacher turnover in my school of less than five percent. The common thread in both cases? I had been at my school 6+ years. I have had the opportunity to build my faculty, and we have built a school culture that values students and teachers.

Once you build your staff, work to keep them. Build their competency by spending time in their classrooms and talking with them. Build their confidence by encouraging them to take risks and by recognizing failure not as a “gotcha” moment, but as an opportunity to shape and sharpen a fellow professional. Build your community—your extended family—in your school. Find your staff’s favorite restaurant (shout out to Moe’s Southwest Grill!) and feed your people! Give them t-shirts and pens and parking passes that declare that they are all on the same team. It always astounds me how the little things can build extraordinary esprit de corps.

And one last thing. Take pictures! Plaster them all over your school, on social media, in your office. Students love posing, even (especially) when they are working on classroom projects. Make it a habit to take at least one picture of a student working in every class you visit. It won’t be long before you hear students bragging that the principal took their picture, and it will take even less time before you get kids asking you to take their picture—and send it to their moms as evidence that they are working!

Every year on the day before students return, I gather the staff in our front foyer to take a family picture. This has become ingrained in our pre-year routine to the point that staff members will beg me not to take the picture until they can be present. They want to be a part of the family, and they remain a part of our family, largely because I am committed to being there with them. Stick around. Build a family that teaches and learns together. Leave a legacy.

Have you made a commitment to staying at your school long enough to build a real culture? How do you communicate your commitment to building your school’s culture, your faculty and relationships with your students over time?

Duane Kline is in his 32nd year as a public-school educator, and 17th year as a high school principal. He lives in New Liberty, KY with his chemistry-teaching wife, Anne, and he is the proud dad of his special educator daughter Hannah and soon-to-be history-teaching son, Aaron. He was blessed to be recognized as the 2016 Kentucky Secondary Principal of the Year (he’s kind of proud of that).

For students with disabilities or unique challenges, finding a source of understanding at the school level makes a profound difference. For Aubrey Bridges, a student with an intellectual and developmental disability, having a teacher who saw her ability made all the difference for her; however, the impact she had on me forever changed my capacity as an educator. Aubrey grew up with multiple disabilities that include autism, verbal apraxia, auditory processing disorder, and a Vein of Galen Malformation that required surgery at age three. Because it was difficult for her to talk, she learned sign language and uses communication devices.

Fortunately, I crossed paths with Aubrey as an 8th grade math teacher at WC Friday Middle School in Dallas, NC. Most people saw her as the girl with autism who liked earrings and couldn’t speak. I saw her as a mathematical genius and a funny eighth grader—much like her peers. In my class, we educated one another about our unique needs, and she taught the class sign language for five minutes each day.Fast forward to the end of the school year where a student who some had given up on passed her state math assessment, transitioned to high school, and graduated with a 3.0 GPA.

What I never anticipated was how this opportunity would change my life and make me a much better educator. Through seeing Aubrey blossom and flourish, I learned that high expectations, appropriate support, and strong school/family relationships created the perfect recipe for attaining the impossible.

When I became a school administrator, I discovered that Aubrey’s triumphant school experience was unique. Students with disabilities and challenges often find themselves in school environments that have difficulty providing the expectations, support and relationships necessary to help them succeed. How can leaders promote more inclusive environments in schools? I challenge you to reflect on your school’s progress in the following areas:

The Culture of Opportunities

As I began talking to others about their journeys of inclusion, I often heard the reasons why it would never work. It seemed that educators were too comfortable living in the reaction zone, seeing students with unique learning needs as problems. For true learning to occur, we must move more toward the relationship zone. It is here that all parties involved can discuss student abilities and begin to address areas of weakness with creative fervor prior to there being an issue to solve. Some ways you can do this as an administrator are having meet and greets with parents in the summer, and being an active participant in the IEP meetings. When I go into an IEP meeting, I often remind myself of what it must feel like to be on the other side of the table and remember the courage, strength and perseverance demonstrated by Aubrey and her family.

Responding to the Label

Another aspect I see quite frequently are educator reactions based on the child’s disability. While we know that all students, regardless of their background or disabilities, have individual learning needs, there seem to be preferred courses of action based on certain labels, not the student. These actions are born out of sympathy, fear, or uncertainty. As an assistant principal, I asked five students with disabilities to facilitate a conversation with my teachers centered around one question: “What I Wish My Teachers Would Have Known About Me.” All of the students shared that they desired to be pushed past the predetermined boundaries to explore their strengths. How does your school do this?

Pushing Boundaries

For true growth to take place, teachers must communicate the potential of each student and then build scaffolding of support unique to each student’s needs. This will inherently mean that teachers and administrators are exploring out of the box ideas to meet the student needs in areas such as scheduling, service delivery, educational pathways, etc. Some ideas for administrators to think about are promoting peer buddies, creative facilitated seating in lunch, or a reading buddy program for students in separate settings.

In reflection, what ways does your school provide inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities? How can you as an administrator become an active participant in IEP meetings?

Meghan LeFevers is the principal at Tryon Elementary School in Bessemer City, NC. She is the 2018 North Carolina Assistant Principal of the Year, the 2017 Milken Educator, and the 2017 Gaston County Schools Assistant Principal of the Year. Follow her on Twitter @MeghanLeFevers.

A principal’s influence spreads far and wide—impacting students, faculty, staff, parents, and the entire community. I have been blessed to serve as a school administrator for the past twenty years. As the principal of Pottsgrove High School, I take this responsibility seriously and value the power I have to make a positive impact. I am constantly looking for ways to increase my influence and to expand opportunities for our students. I grow so much as a leader when I learn what other leaders are doing. I encourage you to check out how these leaders are expanding their reach, work, and opportunities for students.

Be Authentic, Not Perfect: So often we strive for perfection and it holds us back from growth and success. Or, we lead in a way that doesn’t best reflect who we are as a person. Instead, focus on being authentic. Your students, faculty, staff, and community need the best you that you can be. They don’t need you to be perfect; they need you to be authentic. Megan Black (@MaBlackOW), assistant principal of Olathe West High School in Kansas, shares, “Part of being an authentic leader is being a person willing to take any challenges head on. The most authentic leaders are the ones who learn from mistakes.”

Be Smart—Surround Yourself With Greatness: The strongest leaders are confident and smart enough to surround themselves with people smarter than them. Dr. Sanée Bell (@SaneeBell) of Morton Ranch Junior High in Katy, TX, shares, “I always tell my staff that I don’t have all the answers, but I am wise enough to surround myself with a strong PLN that is equipped to help me with my leadership challenges and dilemmas. Each year I strive to become a better version of myself. We must seek to challenge ourselves as individuals so that we don’t become irrelevant. If we are not growing each year as leaders, we are on our way to becoming irrelevant, ineffective, and unfocused. If you don’t have other leaders around you who make you better, find leaders who challenge your thinking and encourage you to be excellent.”

Be Connected—Build Your PLN: When we are connected leaders, we expand our reach and strengthen our learning. Boomer Kennedy (@BoomerKennedy), principal of Forbush High School in East Bend, NC, shares, “I highly recommend that teachers and principals use social media platforms to connect with fellow educators. Twitter is a great avenue for sharing ideas with educators from around the world.” When leaders are connected, their faculty, staff, and students benefit. Follow the leaders in this post on Twitter, check out Lead the Way, a podcast for school leaders, and get connected with the opportunities to lead and participate at NASSP.

Be an Example—Dumpster Diving Leaders: I have dumpster dived for a retainer or cell phone more than once because I work to place the student’s best interest over my own pride and comfort zone. Leaders need to be an example of going the extra mile for kids; they need to be willing to dumpster dive for kids. Principal Darrell Webb (@docwebb1911 ) of Turner Elementary School in Shreveport, LA, shares “I work to build buy-in from my teachers and to do this, I need to be the example of what we expect in our school. I am the first on campus and many days the last to leave the campus. I expect my staff to be on time so I am always on time. I teach lessons, watch classes for teachers, work weekends with teachers, change trash can liners, serve food in the cafeteria, and eat with teachers/staff. I even performed my first dance in front of an audience for my staff and students. As a leader, you have to be visible and relevant to your staff. Be approachable and positive. I want a leader who is out here with me in the trenches and not afraid to get [their] hands dirty. As a school leader, we have to be humble and serve in the same trenches we are leading.”

As we celebrate principals this month, take a moment to reflect on the positive impact you are making on your students and school, start journaling the positive things that are taking place on a daily basis, and take time for yourself to improve and grow. Thank you for being a principal, You totally ROCK!

Bill Ziegler, EdD, is the principal of Pottsgrove High School in Pottstown, PA. He was a 2015 NASSP Digital Principal of the Year and the 2016 Pennsylvania Principal of the Year. Bill is the host of Lead the Way, A Podcast for School Leaders that is 5 minutes or less and works to encourage, equip, and empower school leaders. He is also the co-author of Future Focused Leaders: Relate, Innovate, and Invigorate for Real Educational Change. Follow him on Twitter @drbillziegler.

Of all the jobs in the world, there is no greater honor than to be a secondary school principal! The uniqueness of each day and the flurry of activity make it action-packed, and there never seems to be a dull moment. Whether it’s athletic events, concerts, homecoming, prom, classroom observations, lunch duty; the list of responsibilities is endless. It is important that we celebrate the work we do during National Principals Month and take time to reach out to our fellow colleagues from across the country and thank them for the jobs they do, day in, day out.

While these same activities create a lively and exciting work environment, they can also lead to exhaustion and burnout. Too often, principals get caught in the cycle of trying to meet the needs of their students, staff, and communities, and fail to take the time needed to care for themselves and their well-being. To help fend off burnout and exhaustion, it’s important to take time for ourselves and find support through various avenues. Here are three important tips to finding a good life/work balance:

Network

Having a network of supporting individuals is crucial to the success of any administrator. Being able to rely on different people for varying issues is helpful in solving the myriad of issues a principal will face every day. Having those individuals that you can call, text, tweet—at any time, for any reason—allows you to be more effective in your job while also feeling supported.

However, it also essential that a principal’s network extends beyond other administrators and educators. You are more than “just the principal,” so it’s important to have individuals who support you, but who don’t have the desire to discuss the millions of issues you face such as Title IIA funds or Maintenance of Effort. Whether it is a neighbor, college roommate, golf partner, church member, etc., it is important that you have someone to talk to about issues that aren’t school-related. These individuals help remind me that I am also a father, husband, and friend, and that I don’t have to be the “principal” 24 hours a day.

Find a Passion

We all have a certain skill set and talents that are our passion and life’s work. For most principals, education is their passion. There is no better feeling than helping students succeed and watching their staff grow. My favorite day of the year is graduation when I get to announce each senior by name as they walk across the stage to receive their diploma. We get to celebrate the fruits of our labor with students, families, and communities, and there is no greater feeling or honor than that.

While being an educator is probably our first love, there are also other passions and talents we all possess. We all have interests that we enjoy that fall outside of the education realm such as reading, writing, sports, crafts, hunting, volunteering, or exercising. Taking the time to explore these passions—even if it is only 10 minutes a day—can keep your passion alive for your work as a principal. For me, I enjoy photography and the challenges it brings in trying to get the “perfect shot.” I will often bring the camera to events and games and share the shots I get with students and on our school’s social media platforms. Being able to combine two of my passions brings great joy and satisfaction.

Be You

There are a lot of “things” you can be as a principal. One can be “relentless”, a pirate, a member of #fitnessedu, or a variety of other mantras or groups out in the edutwitter world. However, at the end of the day, BE YOU! Reflect upon who you are and what your vision is for your school and live it to the fullest. Be inspired and learn from others, but blaze your own trail and you will be the one inspiring your students and staff to greatness.

By relying on others, following your passions in life, and being you, any principal can take on the challenges that we face on a daily basis while keeping the fire burning within. Continue to learn, develop, and grow while taking time to enjoy a life outside of the principalship. Your students, staff, and family will thank you for it; it will make you a better principal.Who are those non-educators you can rely upon for support? What talents or passions do you want to explore? Are you being you?

Happy National Principals Month! Thanks for the work you do. #ThankAPrinicpal

Brandon Mowinkel is the principal at Milford Jr/Sr High School in Milford, NE where he has spent his entire career also serving as the industrial technology teacher and an assistant principal. He is the current Vice Chair of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators. Follow him on Twitter @bmowinkel.

Each year, our student leaders at Westwood Middle School focus on one goal within the area of school culture and climate to improve. During the 2017–18 school year, they chose to address improving school-wide attendance. So how does a group of eight middle-level student leaders take on chronic absenteeism within their school and within the families in their community?

With the help of our administrative team, our student leaders began their work by researching the effects of chronic absenteeism. They learned that children with poor attendance fall behind academically and are less likely to graduate on time than their peers with strong attendance. They also discovered some of the reasons why students frequently miss school. Some students miss school due to illness and responsibilities at home, which prevent them from attending. Others are not comfortable in the school environment because of factors such as bullying and harassment, and miss school in order to avoid these encounters. And then there are some students who don’t see school as valuable, so they stay away.

After their research, these eight students spent time discussing ways to encourage attendance and deal with the reasons students would not want to attend school. To understand the full scope of the issue, they worked with our attendance administrator and attendance secretary to collect relevant data. They learned that 22 percent of our students had missed more than 18 days within the previous school year, which are the students at high risk for dropping out of school.  Next, they realized that they need to raise awareness for the entire school community about attendance and its importance. And finally—and this is where the fun begins—students brainstormed ways to recognize and celebrate those students’ strong attendance.

Here are the four actions our middle-level student leaders took to improve student attendance:

• Communicated attendance facts to all of our families.At the start of the school year, every family received a fact sheet that our district office staff created about the importance of attendance. The students called families every month through our school phone messaging system. The students used many facts from the website Attendance Works (Advancing Student Success by Reducing Chronic Absence) to write their messages and then they put their unique and cute spin on the messages.

• Shared monthly student and staff attendance data to the school community.With the help of our administrative team, the students collected data on both student and staff attendance. They made a display that showed this data and put it in our shared common area for all of the students and staff to see. In addition, the student leaders communicated this information with our local community through phone messages, school newsletters, and in meetings with the school board and PTO.

• Recognized each student and staff member with perfect attendance each month. Using the attendance data, the students decided to show students and staff who had been to school every day the importance of their attendance in a public way so that others could be inspired to be in school each day. Wearing designer fanny packs from the 1980s, the student leaders would personally deliver treats to students and staff with a note that said, “Thank you for being here every day this month.”

• Celebrated students as a group with a special school day event. In addition to the individual recognition, the student leaders wanted to gather together the students with perfect attendance. To honor these students, the leaders chose to host three daytime events, which they called “attenDance.”Students would leave their regular class for an hour and go to the gym for a party. Each party had a different theme. A DJ came to spin tunes while students shared their own music mixes at one event. We also had a glow-in-the-dark dance party with glow sticks, face paint, black lights, and glow limbo. The last event of the year was a dance contest, where students followed along with YouTube Just Dance videos and received prizes for the best moves.

Did the efforts of our middle school student leaders work to raise attendance? Absolutely. Their commitment to raising awareness, collecting data, recognizing individuals, and celebrating success made a big impact on our school. In one single year, regular attendance increased by 7%, which equated to 88 more kids with regular attendance and on track to graduate. Listening to my student leaders and letting them choose their goal, create the actions and see them achieve this result inspired me. It should also inspire you to encourage more student leaders at your school to get involved in addressing school climate and culture issues.

What are your student leaders capable of?

Tami Skillingstad is the assistant principal and athletic director of Westwood Middle School in the Cheney School District. Previously, she served as a math and science coordinator and high school teacher. She is the 2018 Washington State Assistant Principal of the Year.

After leaving a fulfilling job as principal of Pocomoke High School after six amazing years, I began to reminisce on the work that my team had accomplished together. I thought, what if we were to write a book on the work we had done? What would we entitle the book? What would be the theme of the book? And what would the focus of each chapter be?

We would call it Making a Difference Every Day, and the book would focus on instructional leadership strategies that work. Here is a preview of our would-be book:

Chapter 1: High Expectations for All

Our opening chapter would be jam-packed with examples of the rising tide that lifted all of our students. We would share examples of the strategies we used to raise the bar of student performance expectations—both behavioral and academically for our students.  Instructionally, we implemented professional learning communities and utilized formative assessments in order to improve test scores. Behaviorally, we strengthened our school counseling office and expanded the services students could receive there, with collaboration from our local health department. Personalization was a strong force in this rising tide, and we made it a point to know each child by name. There would be many other examples in this chapter of our individualized approach to education and the regular data meetings we held to examine the progress of each and every child.

Chapter 2: Reaching those Expectations through Relationships and Support

The second chapter would describe our commitment to building relationships with our students as well as our willingness to learn how to support them in better ways. We would show all the wonderful ways our staff cultivated strong ties with students from the opening days of freshmen year all the way through to congratulating our graduates on stage. The strong relationships we formed gave us the foundation we needed to support our students in a myriad of ways. This chapter would include examples of our relentless commitment to providing students with the support they need in order to reach these high expectations.

Chapter 3: Laughter is the Best Medicine

This chapter would remind readers that we never took ourselves too seriously; our humor helped make us real to our kids. The words in this chapter would also remind readers not to confuse humor with sarcasm. They are very different, and sarcasm does not motivate nor encourage impoverished students.

Chapter 4: It’s Worth It

Next, we would discuss the reality that these expectations, support, and attempts at humor take a lot of energy. This chapter would be focused on the fact that all that effort is worth it, and here we would write about our “why,” or our Ikigai, a Japanese word meaning “our reason for being.” The words would be all about the way our mission, passion, profession, and vocation meld together to create an amazing educational experience for our students.

Chapter 5: The Rest of the Story

Our book would end in Chapter 5 where we would share the rest of the story. Here we would discuss how after five years of steady growth, our scores declined a little. I would take responsibility in losing my laser focus on those individual data meetings. I would share honestly that I allowed distractions to get in the way of my work and sometimes my ability to laugh with our students. This chapter would be uncomfortable for me as a writer, because I would be reminded of all my shortcomings, all the things I didn’t accomplish while leading the most wonderful school in the world. The final paragraphs of the story would be an apology to my staff and students that I wasn’t the principal for them that I had wanted to be. But then in the final sentences I would hear an echo…

I would hear the voices of my staff and students saying, “If we are really being honest, our story never ends and this book is just the beginning. We all grow and learn together. We all grow and learn forever. Our story never ends!”

And I would close the book with these final words: This will be our vow to each other; We will keep learning and loving, forever and ever.

If you walked away from your job today, what would be the title of your book and its focus? What chapters would you include in your book? If you aren’t sure, it is never too late to pen a more authentic, more meaningful, and more rewarding story!

Annette Wallace, EdD, is the former principal of Pocomoke High School and the current Chief Operating Officer of Worcester County Public Schools. She is committed to a high-quality education for all students, equity, and minority achievement. Annette was the 2016 Maryland Secondary Principal of the Year. Follow her on Twitter @Aewallace8.

Guest post by Kristopher Brown

When colleagues describe why they became educators, they usually describe a teacher who inspired or motivated them. My path toward education also centers around a former teacher; one who used relentless sarcasm and lacked the cultural competency necessary to engage me, an African American male student in a predominantly white suburban school. I got a B in class, but I dreaded going to that room. That class would often ruin my day. This teacher served as my inspiration to become an educator because I did not want another student to have an experience as poor as I had.

While in this teacher’s class, I often wondered about the experiences of other students. I didn’t display any negative body language, so to the teacher’s defense, how would she know that she was the reason my experience was awful? Perhaps she may have had a better idea if she had asked her students, and sought their input about the class.

As a school leader, I have worked to help teachers do just that, and find ways for them to collect and use student feedback in order to enhance learning experiences.

Why Ask Students?

Formative assessments are great for teachers to inform their instruction. These assessments are often linked to course content and student comprehension, but formative assessments can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of our instruction. There are many benefits to gathering feedback from students:

1. More student-centered instruction: All of the teachers I have worked with have shared that gathering feedback led them to use more student-centered instructional practices. One teacher wrote, “Students started to realize how invested I was in their responses. Then they started to be really honest and committed to shaping their educational experience. It [collecting feedback] gave them a chance to say, ‘Hey, this is how I learn best.’ It also gave them a chance to learn themselves because it de-centers the teacher.”

2. Targeted areas to improve effective instruction: Teachers have shared that gathering feedback has provided targeted opportunities for growth. Another teacher shared that collecting feedback “forces me to do a little bit more, which is good. And look at things that I haven’t looked at in a while. That’s a good reminder at this time of my career that there are still things that need work.”

3. Improved relationships with students: Incorporating student feedback has helped teachers connect better with students, and students appreciate the interest the teachers show in their experiences. 

4. Becoming more reflective practitioners: The use of student feedback provides teachers with a systematic approach for regular reflection, which supports and advances their own growth as a professional.

5. Opportunities for shared professional learning: Collecting feedback has led to more opportunities for collaborative professional growth; this process has enabled colleagues to network about creative ways to engage students.

How can I help my teachers in this process?

1. Help teachers set goals: Many teachers were initially hesitant to gather regular feedback from students; one even shared a story about a colleague who left teaching because of harsh criticism from students. That is not the idea here! To be effective, this process should be non-evaluative; help your teachers set their own professional goals and then challenge them to use student feedback to grow as educators. Caution teachers against asking questions such as “did you like this” and challenge them to engage in dialogue with their students that produces genuine feedback.

2. Don’t Complicate the Process: Teachers asked me specifically how this process should play out in their classrooms. I told them to think of it as a “choose your own adventure novel.” There are some very reliable student surveys available for purchase if your school is in position to acquire them, however, our teachers brainstormed and generated some useful instruments using Google Forms. The important part is not howyou collect feedback; the important part is that you arecollecting feedback. I instructed our teachers to let the feedback guide them; no two sets of students are exactly alike, and each class will take you in a different direction.

3. Practice What You Preach: Model this method of democratic leadership by also gathering feedback from teachers on your performance as an administrator. What better way to encourage teachers who may be hesitant to open themselves up to feedback from students than to model that process yourself and gather feedback from your teachers!

What do your students have to say? How can you encourage your teachers to create a more personalized learning experience for their students?

Kristopher Brown, EdD, is the principal of Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, PA. Previously, Dr. Brown served as a social studies teacher at Abington Senior High School. He is the 2018 Assistant Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @DrKBrown11.

With a career in education spanning over 23 years and 11 children of my own, I have come to respect and recognize that happiness is paramount in education. Unhappy high-achieving students have similar struggles to their unhappy underachieving peers as they navigate through life after high school. Yet happy children (and adults) are more productive, healthy and successful. They earn more money, live longer, get and stay married longer—and yes, achieve more. Educationalist and philosopher Nel Noddings sums up happiness best for me when she says, “Happy people are rarely mean, violent or cruel.” Let’s fill our schools (and homes) with opportunities for our students and adults to be happier and healthier. Here’s how we can use technology to maximize our efforts.

Happy Habits

Habits are the basis of action in all of our lives, positive and negative. A common characteristic of truly happy people, and highly successful people, is practicing gratitude. Well, that sounds easy enough! At Sarah Pyle Academy (SPA) in Wilmington, DE, we have used our Google Apps for Education Platform (GAFE) to build this habit with our #SPAinspires students.

Not a GAFE school? There are countless apps that you can download for gratitude habits. My new favorite to use this year is Voxer, a walkie-talkie app for iOS and Android that creates a social media community. I plan on having my staff join and share messages on Voxer describing “What is Right in Our SPA World” to inspire our gratitude.

Modeling gratitude and happiness starts with you, spreads to your staff and flows into your students. Don’t forget to build your staff’s capacity. It sounds simple, and it is. This one habit will yield large returns. November is the perfect time to start or build a gratitude habit.

Happy Connections

Online communities will never replace the connection we get from physical community interaction. Leverage the reach of your existing tools to extend your building’s walls and expand your community. Video conferencing (Google Hangout, Chromecast, Zoom, Facebook Live) for student-led conferences gives your families an opportunity to connect and engage when they are unable to physically enter your building. Bring equity to engagement and connect families to their child’s classroom. It is not uncommon to stream student award ceremonies, parades, and student presentations, so why not progress these goal-setting opportunities?

Don’t forget about former students! Boost your alumni connections—start a social media group for your alumni. Give alumni space to post about their accomplishments and struggles, and to continue their happiness habits. Post a weekly or monthly question or chat. Be sure to engage in the community, too.

Happy Mindfulness

Mindfulness is defined by mindful.org as “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” Sounds blissful! But shouldn’t we put away the devices to achieve that? Not so fast.

#SPAinspires leverages our GAFE platform to create lessons in a Google Classroom for students to select activities that guide them through tools for mindfulness and self-regulation. Lessons on how to understand our reactions to different stimuli—foods, sounds, stress, or trauma—and their impact on our emotional reactions have been eye-opening for all involved. Using online tools to create a vision board, set shared goals, and practice reflection are other intentional strategies to increase mindfulness.

Does mindful mean mediation in your world? There are many apps that can help your staff and students establish a routine of mindful meditation. We really dig Smiling Mind as it consists of programs with a series of mindfulness meditation routines grouped by age and tailored to the social and emotional needs of students. HeadSpace; DreamyKid; Stop, Breathe & Think; and Take a Chill are also kid-focused.

Don’t forget to engage your staff and students in the process of what and how to use technology to build your school happiness agency. The more voice in their “happy”, the more “happy” you will see!

What does happiness as a goal look like in our schools? What ways could you use technology to build your school happiness agency?

#schoolHAPPINESScounts

#HappyPrincipal

Kristina MacBury is principal at Sarah Pyle Academy in Wilmington, DE. She is an author, speaker, leadership coach and advocate for school happiness agency. She is a 2018 NASSP Digital Principal of the Year and in 2017 was named a Top 30 Technologist, Transformer and Trailblazer by the Center of Digital Education. Follow her on Twitter @MacBuryKristina and visit her blog, educate4hope blog.

Any principal who has engaged in the process of change will tell you that the ultimate goal is when the change becomes ingrained in school culture, and is no longer considered “new” but rather just thought of as “what we do.”

Over the last couple of years, I have started to notice that our work to implement a competency-based learning (CBL) system in our New Hampshire school district has started to reach that point in the change process. The last decade has been quite the journey, filled with many ups and downs. The transition to CBL has questioned my thinking about instructional practices and overall philosophy about education. It has tested my resolve as a school leader as I have been questioned about—and in some cases asked to defend—parts of the model to various stakeholders. Most importantly, the work has given me a great sense of satisfaction as a principal that I am positively impacting my students, my school, and the profession through work that is making a difference.

As an early adopter of this model and this work in the nation, not a week goes by that I don’t get asked by a school leader somewhere in the country if I could offer advice from my own experience making the transition as they engage in similar work in their schools. In my book Breaking With Tradition: The Shift to Competency Based Learning in PLCs at Work, my co-author Jonathan Vander Els and I take on this topic by developing a “top five” list of advice for school leaders:

1. Include all stakeholders in the work.For any change, buy-in is an incredibly powerful prerequisite to have in order to sustain the work. As a school leader, you will need the buy-in and commitment from all of your school’s stakeholders, including teachers, students, parents, and community members, in order to make CBL become the culture in your school. When done correctly, it will be these stakeholders who will “teach” others how to adopt the school’s CBL culture across all aspects of the school community.

2. Be a prophet of research.To engage in this work in 2018, know that you can stand on the shoulders of giants such as Thomas R. Guskey, Ken O’Connor, Douglas Reeves, and Rick Wormeli, among others. They have paved the way for you by providing decades of research to show that these systems work. There will be many in your school community who will struggle with this transition, as it breaks from the traditional school model of which they have grown accustomed. Don’t let them challenge the work with their traditional views. Be a prophet of research, and bring research into the discussion whenever possible.

3. Don’t compromise the model.Too often, schools make concessions and compromises with stakeholders in the community who are not ready to accept the competency education philosophy. This can be a difficult trap for a school principal to get caught up in, particularly if a compromise seems like a way to get non-believers to support the work. Be true to the model and stay with the course; don’t let the model get watered down or misdirected by a compromise that doesn’t fit the school’s beliefs.
   

4. Keep student learning at the center.Aren’t we all here for the kids? When doing this work, people will sometimes forget that. The hallmark of the CBL philosophy is to provide a laser-focus on student learning in ways that we have never had before. As the principal and leader of the change, you will have to constantly remind your school community of this. When teams get derailed from their work, remind them to focus on student, not adult issues. Above all, keep students at the center of all that your school does.

5. Start today.There is an ancient Chinese proverb that goes something like this: “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is now.” No amount of planning will ever completely prepare your school to be successful in this journey, but you don’t have to have all of the answers before your school begins. Start your school’s journey today, even if you start slow. Doing something will be better than doing nothing. Your students deserve it. Your teachers deserve it. You deserve it.

In Dr. Richard DuFour’s book In Praise of American Educators, he writes, “Changing the traditional culture of public schools that has endured for more than a century is no easy task, but at no point in American history have the stakes for our students been greater.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Do you have a clear picture of what you can do as a leader to support a change like competency-based learning in your school?

Brian M. Stack is the NASSP 2017 New Hampshire Secondary School Principal of the Year. He is Principal of Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, the author of Breaking With Tradition: The Shift to Competency Based Learning in PLCs at Work, 2018 by Solution Tree, and an expert for Understood.org. He consults with schools around the country engaged in school redesign. He lives with his wife Erica and his five children Brady, Cameron, Liam, Owen, and Zoey on the New Hampshire seacoast. You can follow Brian on Twitter @bstackbu or learn more about him by visiting his blog.

I am agnostic when it comes to weather. I acknowledge that it exists. But I don’t favor any one season. Some people like winter, some like summer. Each season offers unique rewards. I experience weather, but I have no great affinity for one climate over another.

Recently we had that first really chilly day of the year—that day when summer turns to fall. My mother always loved this day. She would hug me and tell me how excited she was that it wasn’t warm anymore. She disliked summer because it’s hot—perhaps because she grew up without air conditioning. My mother didn’t like to sweat. Me, I barely notice the weather. I enjoyed the fact that my mom bundled me up in a cozy sweatshirt to go out and play, but if she hadn’t done so, I probably would’ve gone outside in shorts and a tee shirt and played with my friends until it got dark.

The thing is, if my mother didn’t tell me, I would’ve never known she preferred fall to summer. Because my mother never complained about anything. I guess, like most little kids, I actually thought my mother made the weather. If she dressed me in shorts, then it’d be warm. If she made me wear a coat, then she must’ve decided it would be cold outside. Of course, this wasn’t true. We cannot control the weather, we can only control how we respond to it.

What’s the point? Two things:

1. We must teach our kids to approach life the way my mom did. We cannot determine what will happen to us in life, but we get to decide how we will respond. It can be sunny, it can be rainy, it can be snowy, but we decide how we will respond. Are you going to complain, or are you going to put on your coat and get out there and play?
2. I was wrong about my mom. She did not actually cause the weather. But do you know when adults do create the weather? When they are teachers, in a classroom. As educators we make the weather in our schools and our classrooms. We need to build resilient kids who are strong enough to handle adversity and success in equal measure. But we also need to realize that we create conditions in which the kids in our school live every day. If we’re sarcastic, cold or grumpy, then our classroom climate will be threatening. If we’re inviting, warm and smiling, then kids will know our classrooms are safe places to try new things and learn from their mistakes.

We cannot control the weather, but there are so many things that educators do control. It’s about intentionality. Everything we do as educators should be done with intention, not because that’s the way we were taught, not because it’s what feels right, or what’s easy for us; we must always act in ways that create safe conditions for learning to take place and build the resilience of our kids.

How do you do create favorable learning conditions in your classroom or school? How are you intentional?

Donald Gately, Ed.D., serves as the principal of Jericho Middle School in Jericho, NY. He was the 2016 New York Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @donald_gately and visit his blog In the Middle of Learning.

Have you ever wondered what the new students in your school will be like? Will they be good at math? Will they be able to navigate technology effectively? Do they have proper parental support and guidance at home? If these questions cross your mind, then you may want to conduct meaningful transition meetings for your incoming students.

Transition meetings are a great way to learn about the new students entering your school building. Transition meetings involve sitting down with the students’ counselors, instructors, principals, and other stakeholders (such as case managers)—and having a “real life” discussion about the students moving from one school to the next, whether it is from elementary to middle level, middle level to high school, or whatever your school district transitions are.

During these meetings, we can talk about our students and learn more about them that we don’t see based on the numbers. Anyone can pull standardized test scores, GPA, class rank data, and report cards. Gathering that type of data about a student is easy. But when this is the only information we have on our incoming students, we don’t have a full understanding of our students.

For instance, we may learn that “Johnny” did poorly in physical science last year and he is behind on credits to graduate. But if we miss the fact that his dad died in September of last year, and he had to take a part-time job to help his mother out with bills, we aren’t seeing the complete picture of “Johnny.”

To really know our students, we must have the tough discussions about student behavior, student choices, family dynamics, substance abuse issues, discipline referrals, and other outstanding issues that may impact student success. We must be more aware of “what happened to our students,” and focus less on “what is wrong with our students.”

Whether your school uses a trauma-sensitive school model, compassionate schools, multi-tier systems of support, or some other model—the bottom line is clear: we must look at the “whole” student (behavior, grades, family life, family support, etc.) if we are going to fully meet the student’s needs to help ensure their success.

Transition meetings should focus on what the student brings to the table, what we can do to help the student succeed, determine if the student needs a mentor or another responsible adult to turn to, and open the lines of communication between the school, the student, and the family.

If we look at the entire student (grades, scores, behavior, history, family dynamics, etc.), then we are better able to create a more active, engaging, and productive learning environment for our students. Remember, we are here for them—they are not here for us. We have to know what our students need so we can meet those needs and support students to be successful in school and beyond.

Do you really know your students? Could transition meetings help your school get a more complete understanding of each student?

Kelly D. Peters, EdD, is an assistant principal at West Fargo High School in North Dakota. Dr. Peters is starting his 27^thyear in education, his 19th as an administrator. He is the 2018 North Dakota Assistant Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @peterskellyd.

In a recent Q&A I host weekly with Danny Bauer, we talked about the importance of having a coach, or mentor, to help you become a better leader.

Having a mentor is not a luxury reserved only for the best, but rather a requirement to become your best. Michael Jordan didn’t become a great player by sheer force of will (though that helped), but rather because he was coachable and sought feedback.

The same is true for principals. Great principals seek opportunities for coaching and growth. Here are the three major qualities I look for in a mentor:

Asks Questions

I recently worked with a leader through my weekly mastermind, who was putting out figurative school fires left and right. He asked for help in determining how to deal with all these problems. As we asked questions and clarified what he actually found important, he quickly realized that the issues were the result of a bigger problem: a vision for his school. He realized through answering questions that he didn’t paint a clear vision for his staff, so the issues arose because nobody knew that vision.

At the next meeting, he articulated his vision, and almost immediately the fires went out because he was able to tell his staff where they were going; they no longer needed to ask questions about small things because those fit into the bigger picture.

Has the Experience You Need

You want to find a mentor who has done things you want to do, or at least helped others. This one can be tricky because you have to think in smaller steps. If you want to become the next Charlotte Danielson, Todd Whitaker or Bob Marzano (or any other “educelebrity”), you don’t necessarily have to get one of them to coach you, though it would be nice.

You do want to find someone who has done something similar, or helped someone else do something similar. For example, Michael Jordan’s coaches weren’t the best basketball players before him, but they had experience helping other players succeed.

Additionally, you can find someone who is well-connected to others who has done what you are trying to accomplish. For example, I am currently at work on opening a first-of-its-kind K–12 magnet school. Though we are only in the research phase, having connections to different innovative principals has been very helpful in this initial stage. They have provided me valuable advice and resources as we plan this school.

Provides Honest Feedback

Early in my career, I was really struggling, and I asked my mentor “How do others perceive me?” He, thankfully, was very honest with me and helped me figure out what was lacking in my professionalism and how I needed to overcome that. I interviewed for a position later and asked for feedback from the superintendent. Again, he was brutally honest.

It may be challenging to ask for feedback and not know what you’re going to get, but it is worth the discomfort. Both these mentors helped me figure out what I was lacking and helped me grow and develop into a more effective leader. Having someone who cares more about your success than your ego can help you identify your weaknesses and become your best self.

Finding a mentor is not just important, but vital if you want to be more than just another school principal. What other things do you look for in a mentor?

Jethro Jones is a principal at Tanana Middle School in Fairbanks, AK. He is the host of Transformative Principal, where he has been seeking mentorship for five years. He was a 2017 Digital Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @jethrojones.

Guest post by Chuck Rinkes

When I became principal of River View High School (RVHS) in 2007, our building met the academic excellence standards, and our community was pleased by our high ranking. But despite these achievements, neither our superintendent nor I were happy with the overall building culture. We witnessed unhealthy interactions between our stakeholders, students expressed negative feelings about our school, and there was an overall sense of stress and anxiety amongst the staff. In order to rise to the next level and become a great school, we needed to improve our overall culture.

Who did I need to speak with to truly get an understanding of our school culture needs? I realized that the best people to ask were the ones who inhabit the building for seven hours a day: the students. Senior interviews began eleven years ago and continue today. I now conduct over 150 senior interviews each year, and this process hasbecome a rite of passage for seniors to sit down with their principal and have a conversation about their high school experience and next steps. In addition, these interviews give me valuable feedback about our school culture.

Interview Process

The process of senior interviews is simple. Each student schedules an interview with me that is conducted before winter break. Students select a preset time slot by signing up online via Google Calendar or by contacting my secretary. The time slots are 15 minutes but some can last up to an hour depending on the student. I ask each student these same ten questions and follow up with others depending on their answers, the discussion, and our rapport:

1. What is your plan for next year? Job? College (major)?
2. What teacher(s) has been a great influence on you over the years at RV? Could be a teacher in another school.
3. What do you like about RVHS?
4. What is something we need to do a better job of at RVHS?
5. How has RVHS changed over the years you have been a student? How has the culture (the way students interact) changed?
6. If you could go back to your freshman year, what is something you would change?
7. What is going to be your LEGACY? How are people going to remember you after you graduate?
8. What advice do you have for our teaching staff? Meaning, “If you would just do this, students in your class would really learn?”
9. Any advice for new teachers?
10. Goal for yourself this year?
11. One word that you want to use to describe how you want your senior year to go?

Crafting a Legacy

At RVHS, we focus on leaving a legacy that others can be proud of when they hear our name. This legacy question gets to the heart of who you are as a student at RVHS. We have signage in the building asking students about their legacy. I try to get all seniors interviewed before the end of the first semester so that if they are unsure of their legacy, they have the rest of the year to craft it.

Impact of Senior Interviews

What I’ve realized through this process is that we do not give our students enough credit for their perspectives and perceptions of the school. Our students have given me insight into many areas, including their impressions of our guidance office and suggestions to improve it. They have given me perspective on building procedures such as parking issues and cafeteria inefficiencies. Their frustrations about connectivity and finding a quiet place to study led to direct WiFi access and a separate lounge for our College Credit Plus students.

Understanding what students have to say about school culture has not only kept me more informed, it has also helped me set priorities about ways to improve our culture. For example, when seniors voiced a concern about our school being divided and a desire for a stronger community, we organized an activity schedule within the school day where clubs and activities meet semimonthly with their advisor. Seniors also voiced concerns for more opportunities to express their creativity and interests. As a result, we increased our club and activity offerings and added an intramural program.

The ideas resulting from senior interviews have allowed me to help students cultivate a school culture that seniors now describe as friendly, close knit, welcoming, and respectful. River View High School is now a positive school community where students are proud to be a Black Bear.

Senior interviews remind students that it is their building, and they need to take ownership of not only their own learning but also the culture of the building. Our conversation serves as a catalyst to propel seniors to make the most of their final year, and, in doing so, they pave the way for the rest of the student body to have a positive school experience.

How does your school gather student input on its culture? Could senior interviews help you gain this direct feedback?

Chuck Rinkes is the principal of River View High School in Warsaw, OH. He is the 2018 Ohio Principal of the Year. Chuck is also the 2014 President of OASSA and the 2007 President of Ohio’s Baseball Coaches Association (OHSBCA). Follow him on Twitter @Chuckrinkes.

Like many schools, Sparks High School wanted to implement collaborative, co-taught classes with the goal of providing a supportive learning environment for all students to achieve. Each of our collaborative classes in language arts, social studies, math, and science was designed to include a content-area teacher and an intervention specialist or English Learner teacher who would work in tandem to lead course instruction and student learning.

But when we first started collaborative teaching, many of our students were not experiencing the academic success we had anticipated.  Both credit attainment rates and student test scores were not improving. As a new administrator, I wrestled with how to approach these issues. What could our school do to support our collaborative classrooms and co-teachers so that all students can experience academic growth and success?

Discovering the Root of the Problem

I began to analyze the expectations we had for co-teachers, and I uncovered inconsistencies that made me question if we truly had co-taught classrooms. Were we using staff resources ineffectively? Were we supporting students with best practices? I observed co-teachers routinely leaving the classroom to make copies, meeting with parents, handling discipline, meeting with other students on their caseloads, and engaging in various other tasks. They were often not focused on the students in the classroom and seemed rather inaccessible. Students did not always know who the co-teachers were. One student even told me that one of the teachers was a classroom aid.

In addition, I learned that when there were vacant substitute jobs, we routinely pulled co-teachers to cover these classes. Finally, co-teachers did not participate in the same professional learning community meetings as each other, did not look at data, and did not help create curriculum. Basically, special education and English Learner co-teachers were not expected to maintain the same role as regular education teachers; they were guests.

Changing the Culture

After discovering the issues and inefficiencies in our collaborative teaching initiative, which was backed up by the student data, we began to make changes across all co-taught programs. Here are the improvements we made:

• Co-teachers are protected from being pulled from the classroom. We find other ways to cover classes and other tasks have to wait until class is over.
• The classroom is a shared class where the co-teacher is not a guest. In most cases, both teachers have desks, computers and phones in the classroom.
• All special education and English Learner teachers attend PLC meetings with their regular education counterparts. Teams look at data together, plan curriculum, and design student supports.
• In most cases, co-teachers share a prep period with regular education teachers.
• Co-teachers are scheduled in a subject area where they are either highly qualified or, at least, very comfortable with the subject matter.
• All new co-taught teams attend basic and advanced trainings together at the beginning of every year.

Change Wasn’t Easy…

When we began to make changes, we did not initially get everything right. Some pairings were not as strong as we had anticipated and the master schedule became more cumbersome. We had to make space in classrooms for more desks and computers, and covering classes for missing substitute teachers was always a task.

…But Now We Are Seeing Good Results

However, once we found a good rhythm with co-teaching expectations and procedures, we quickly saw student growth in credit attainment and in test scores. Now, students report feeling more successful in their classes, and they confidently make stronger, more trusting connections with both teachers in the classroom. Interestingly, teachers also report stronger relationships with their co-teachers and confirm that their own professional growth is impacted. They learn from each other every day.

As we continue to monitor our school data, we find that in co-taught classes our students are not only outperforming students who came before them, but they are also scoring at or above the district average in nearly all areas. For example, in the area of credit attainment last year, data reveals that freshmen designated as FRL, IEP and EL scored above district average in Biology, English 1, and Algebra 1.

We are proud of our collaborative classes and will continue to improve the program so that all of our students can grow and experience academic success. Our hope and expectation is that a visitor can enter any co-taught classroom and will not be able to distinguish between the regular education teacher and the special education or English Learner teacher.

How well does your co-teaching program support student growth? What can you do to grow your co-teaching program?

To learn more about what our students say about their collaborative classroom experiences, click here.

Click here to see what our co-teachers say about collaborative instruction.

CJ Waddell is an assistant principal at Sparks High School in Sparks, NV. She has been an educator in the Washoe County School District for the past 20 years. CJ is the 2018 Nevada Assistant Principal of the Year.

Do you dread staff meetings as the principal? Does your staff audibly groan when you discuss policy changes or district minutia? Do you see your teachers watching the clock and counting down the minutes until they can leave? A few years ago, staff meetings at Harrisburg South Middle School were just this way, tedious gatherings that both the staff and I wished would just end as soon as possible.

Knowing this was not good for any of us, I sought to change the vibe of our staff meetings. Just because staff meetings have traditionally been times to communicate school information, they didn’t have to be stale and boring. I wanted our staff meetings to model the best practices and tools we integrate into our classrooms. I started by incorporating the following practices and activities to help set a positive tone, build relationships, and share ideas.

Set a Positive Tone

As people walk in the meeting room, do you want them to feel like it is a morgue or a space where they feel some warmth or ease? To set that positive tone, two things have helped:

• Music—Create the mood of the meeting by having some music playing. What do you play? I mix it up by using Apple Music, Amazon playlists, or albums. At times it includes current hits, but many times I just use music that will be uplifting, inspire creativity, or fits the season. If I want the vibe to be casual, I play some Jack Johnson. When the winter doldrums hit, I play ‘Breezy Summer Classics’ on Amazon.
• Food—This always pleases, but will depend on the frequency of your staff meetings. In my building, we meet only one time per month. I either have the food service in my building make something or grab bagels from Panera (1/2 price on Tuesdays!). It’s amazing how sharing food can sometimes spark a better conversation.

Build Relationships

Since one of the most important parts of our job involves building relationships, use staff meeting time to get them relating to one another. Find ways for them to connect, communicate, and learn about their teaching and lives. In every meeting, we include at least one organized icebreaker. Here are some of our favorites:

• “Speed dating” for Teachers—This has similar ideas as speed dating, but we rotate with each other and answer questions prepared ahead of time. Questions are related to school, family, and personal life.
• “Who’s That”—This activity is simple. If your school and teams are similar, it is possible to not see someone in another hallway for weeks. While together for a staff meeting, people find others they do not associate with on a regular basis. They take turns answering questions about their family and school passions.
• Culture Team—I created a specific team that works to build our culture for adults. They call themselves the Culture Club. During staff meetings, they provide a skit and explain the social calendar for the upcoming months. They host outside of school events for staff and their families such as picnics and tailgates and activities within the school day like luncheons and staff spirit days. These events help to create and maintain a family atmosphere.

Enhance Meeting Time with Technology

Our classrooms aren’t the only places we should be integrating technology. Utilize digital tools at your next staff meeting to promote engagement. These tech tools have helped to share ideas, facilitate discussions, foster interaction, and more:

• YouTube—Videos can be a great way to get attention and drive a message. They range from American Ninja Warrior to Goalpost clips and other education sites, and I’ve used them to share messages of hope, overcoming challenges, the importance of relationships, and more.
• Flipgrid—This easy tool allows you to create “grids” of short questions to which participants respond through recorded videos. The videos appear as tiles on a message board, allowing everyone to view. One of the best mixers I created for my staff was a grid where people had to talk about themselves, explain what they love about teaching, and what their goal was for kids. Our staff created over 200 videos with each other and thoroughly enjoyed watching their creations.
• Mentimeter—A great free tool that allows for interactive polling, word clouds, and more. It is a great way to get your group interacting with one another, and it is fast and simple to use.
• Padlet—Padlet has a starter version that is free and provides an electronic board for everyone to post comments or provide feedback. We’ve used Padlet to help develop our school’s purpose. It allowed everyone to give their input in a time-efficient way.

These are just a few ideas or tools for you as a leader. Our meetings don’t have to be filled with policy discussions or information passed down from central office. Make it a positive time for relationship building, vision sharing, and idea generation.

What do you do to make your staff meetings worthwhile?

Darren Ellwein is the principal of Harrisburg South Middle School in Harrisburg, SD. He is a 2017 NASSP Digital Principal of the Year and has a book coming out in February of 2019 with Derek McCoy called The Revolution. Follow him on Twitter @DEllwein.

One of my teachers sent the following email to our staff. The subject line was: “A Thanksgiving Thought.” With his permission, I am posting it below in its entirety:

I want to share a comment that was made to me today. It could be both good and sad. A student asked me how my day was going and I said, “Great! How is your day going?” She said, “Okay, but it is sad.” I asked her why it was sad and she said that today was the last day of school this week and she really loves it here. She said she would rather be here than home.

Those words really made a big impression on me. I thought about how I am so excited to go home and have a few days off to be with my family. I thought that maybe she just loves TSGC that much, or maybe she doesn’t want to be at home because it isn’t that great. Whatever the case, the fact that she loves our school means a lot to me. No matter how frustrated we are and think, “These kids are out of control today and I just can’t wait for the end of 8th period to get here!”—there are some of our students that aren’t that excited about it.

We never know what they are going home to, and sometimes we probably don’t really want to know some of the things these kids are going through. I couldn’t imagine not looking forward to going home for Thanksgiving break because my home was full of love and it was my safe place. I say this as encouragement to all of us—we do make a difference and these students are worth it. We may be the only smile they get today.

I know I am not the best teacher at times and can be negative when I shouldn’t be, but I also know that I am in this because I truly care about these kids. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to make a difference in their lives and I hope that it is always a positive difference. Although some students may be disrespectful, some may seem not to care, some may get on our nerves, and some may never stop talking—what we do in the classroom today makes a difference in the world tomorrow.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and give your students a smile and some words of encouragement today.

Thanks,

Greg Ragland

There’s not much I can add to this. We all have much to be grateful for. One of the things I’m grateful for is having colleagues like Greg Ragland who are committed to making a difference for kids.

You can follow Greg Ragland on Twitter @GregRagland.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Danny Steele serves as the principal of Thompson Sixth Grade Center in Alabaster, AL, where his passion is building a school culture that values connections with kids, fosters collaboration among teachers, and focuses on raising student achievement. In 2005 Steele was recognized as Alabama’s Assistant Principal of the Year, and in 2016 he was named Alabama’s Secondary Principal of the Year. He is currently writing two books with Todd Whitaker. Follow him on Twitter @SteeleThoughts and check out his blog Steele Thoughts.

Empowering students to serve others through acts of kindness is something we at Regional School District No. 7 in Connecticut strive to do through a program called Kindness in Motion. The inspiration for this program came four years ago when our superintendent, Judy Palmer, saw a program on CBS Sunday Morning about Chris Rosati, a great man who—despite having ALS—dedicated the rest of his life to spreading kindness before he passed away in 2017.

Chris’s story impacted Palmer in such a way that she wanted to offer students in our district a similar opportunity to spread acts of kindness. As a result, each February, students and staff create and submit proposals for a project that spreads kindness through the school or community. Palmer and our district’s administrative team review the proposals and select a number of ideas to receive a $100 grant. Students then have until May to complete their Kindness in Motion projects.

To fund the grants, Dr. Palmer puts in her own money, and local companies match her contribution. In addition, every member of our administration team contributes as well. Amazingly, each year we have received more and more money from businesses and donors. Once others in the community heard about what students were doing with our Kindness in Motion projects, they wanted to donate as well. Over the last two years, we were able to fund eighty different grants!

Toward the end of the year, we have a Kindness in Motion Celebration where students get to invite family and friends to a ceremony that showcases all of the wonderful acts they completed. It also gives students an opportunity to tell why they did their act and what they learned. It is one of the highlights of the year.

Projects have varied greatly and impacted numerous people in different locations. For example, a young lady who was adopted used her grant to create dolls that she sent to her orphanage in China. Another student purchased supplies with her funds for a breakfast that people paid to attend. She then used the profits from the breakfast to purchase items for children’s care packages, and donated them to our state’s Department of Children and Family (DCF) that would give the packages to children to comfort them during investigations. Additionally, a group of students volunteered at a local nursing home and purchased games and activities to use while visiting senior citizens. At the end of their multiple visits, they donated the games to the nursing home. One of my favorite Kindness in Motion activities was when a student—with the help of her dad, our local Lions Club, and the Home Depot—used her grant to fund an exterior makeover of an elderly neighbor’s house.

I spoke to a few students recently about why they got involved and what they learned from the Kindness in Motion program. Here are some of their responses:

• “I wanted to do something that would impact those less fortunate in a positive way.”
• “I saw it as a great opportunity to get involved to help people.”
• “It made me feel good to see others were benefitting from my action.”
• “I wanted to give back to my community and felt this was a way to make a difference.”
• “It taught me leadership skills. To see a project from idea to completion was a rewarding experience.”
• “We can make an impact on the world, no matter our age.”

There are so many awesome things that have come from Kindness in Motion. Its impact on our school community, and the towns our district serves, has been tremendous. Our students learn that they have the power to impact others in a positive way. I share Kindness in Motion with all of you in the hope that it spreads to others. If you are interested in bringing this program to your school, please email me at jmasi@nwr7.org to learn more.

How does your school empower students to spread kindness?

Joe Masi proudly serves as an assistant principal at Northwestern Regional High School in Winsted, CT. He wakes up every morning grateful to serve the amazing parents, staff and students of his school community. He is the 2018 Connecticut Assistant Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @JosephMasi12.

Being a leader means that you have to make decisions, and in my five years as an assistant principal, I have gradually come to accept the fact that not everyone is going to like the decisions that I have to make. Here is my story in a nutshell along with three key criteria I have developed that help me make sound decisions for my school, while dealing better with the inevitable complaints.

When I first started as an assistant principal, I wanted to make everyone happy. But as the first year went on, even basic decisions that seemed simple to me sometimes left people feeling upset. I felt like I couldn’t win. No matter what I did, people would be upset. I even had people complain about the selection of free meal choices!

I struggled, and at times wanted to go back into the classroom and teach my third-grade students. When I taught, I didn’t have to deal with so many upset people, and the decisions I made never received the same type of backlash from 8-year-old children. What was I supposed to do?

At one point, I had a teacher approach me with a fantastic idea of hosting parent nights to inform parents what their children were learning and show them how to help with homework and studies. Since the idea addressed an important issue of parental involvement, I shared it at the next staff meeting and expected teachers to jump on board. But even before I had finished introducing the idea, half the staff had already grabbed their figurative torches and pitchforks to run me out of town. They looked at the idea as another task to complete, instead of seeing it as an opportunity to bridge the gap of school and home. In an effort to keep the peace, I put the parent nights idea on hold. But to be honest, at that point I had already decided to bury the idea rather than try to convince a hostile crowd.

Reflecting on that and other missed opportunities a year later, I began to look at the big picture and see what my main goal as a leader was. Was it to make decisions that would please everyone, or was it to make decisions that would push others to meet their potential and do what is best for kids?

I began to take time before making any decisions and see if the decision I was making was best for kids and best for our schools’ success. I also began to run my thoughts on specific decisions past individuals whom I trust and knew would give honest feedback.

Decisions are made only if they hit all 3 main criteria that I have set in place. Is the decision:

• Research-based?
• Centered in the school’s vision?
• Best for students?

If the decision hits all three criteria, then let’s roll! If not, it’s back to the drawing board. When you make a decision through this process, you will feel more confident about your decisions and able to explain your reasoning to others.

Do I still have people upset and unhappy with my decisions? Sure I do. But the difference now is, I don’t take it personally, because my decisions are not personal. My decisions are no longer about what I feel is best for the school but instead what is best for the school.

So, leaders—be leaders. Don’t be afraid to make decisions, and do not be worried about making everyonehappy! Dive in and show your leadership skills. At times you will get a 9.8 on a dive and other times you will get a 3.7, but no matter the score your decision receives, you made one and you made it after making sure it was best for your school. That is the first step (or dive) into true leadership.

I end with a great quote that I heard a few years back, and it is so true: “If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader; drive an ice cream truck!” Those you lead might not light up with huge smiles and cheers every time they see and hear you—but they will know every time they see you that you are fair and have the best interests in mind when you make a decision for them, their students, and the school.

What decisions have you neglected to make because you knew it would upset some people? What steps could you have taken or still take to make sure that decision was best for your school? Who do you think you could choose to be on your “checks and balances” team because you know they would be honest with you?

Roger Gurganus is an assistant principal of Brownstown Middle School, a 6–7 building in Michigan. He has a passion for children and education and strives to ensure that every student is connected and feels part of the community he creates. He is the 2018 Michigan Assistant Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @RogerGurganus.

E pluribus unum.Out of many, one.

It sounds cliché, I understand. Yet, as I reflect on the past few months after being recognized as the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals 2018 Principal of the Year, and after participating in the NASSP Principals Institute in Washington, D.C., I find this to be a remarkably simple and accurate summary of principals around our state and nation.

I began my educational career as a math teacher, determined to inspire young minds to solve problems and make sense of this complex world and the systems we use to describe and model it. Now, nearly two decades later I find that is still my mission—but I play a very different role as a principal, and the arena has expanded to teachers, support staff, families, and community members.

In fact, every principal I have had the honor of meeting has shared with me a similar heartbeat for their own community—to inspire, to make a difference, to empower. These same principals are also the ones who humbly go about their day-to-day lives, never drawing attention to themselves, but using their positions to lead and serve their schools. And serve. And serve more, and more still. It is no wonder the turnover in our profession is so high, as the demands of the job are never-ending. Regardless of setting, principals have shared with me the variety of initiatives, activities, and duties that come with the territory, and I’ve found a peculiar sense of comfort in learning they are similar to mine. What has been most intriguing is that however diverse our settings are, our “why” is the same. E pluribus unum.

I’ve had the honor of connecting with principals in small high schools around the country that enroll less than 300 students as well as those with a population similar to the one in which I work with over 2,200 students. There is a wide range of accessible resources and facilities as well. The demographics and socioeconomic status of communities are as varied as the populations, and yet the role of the principal in each setting remains the same: leading, teaching, and learning; managing resources; problem-solving; hiring and retaining staff; student supervision; etc. Their heartbeats are similar—they beat for their students and teachers. E pluribus unum.

While in Washington, D.C., we came together to take advantage of the opportunity to unify our voices and advocate for students, teachers, and public education on Capitol Hill. Our own backgrounds were different, and each state flag or mural hung in an office reminded us that we represented an even more diverse mix of educators. The political landscape and pressing issues from each state had voices that pulled our representatives in so many directions. Yet, our mission to advocate for students and teachers was one voice from principals. E pluribus unum.

If I’m being honest, being a principal is one of the most rewarding things I do (it is a runner-up to being a husband and father), but at times it is certainly the loneliest place to be. There are difficult decisions that have to be made in every school and there are many eyes watching your every move. For those who are in the profession and are doubting that they can make it through these pressures, please hold on and keep marching! Our students and teachers need you. Don’t lose sight of your purpose. You are not alone. There are quite literally thousands of great school leaders whose hearts beat just like yours, and we need each other in order to keep moving forward. As the proverb states….as iron sharpens iron…

And that leads me back to the greatest lesson I have learned as Michigan’s Principal of the Year. Throughout many schools, with many stories to tell and many students and teachers we serve, there is one common mission of principals: to inspire, equip, and empower students and staff to be citizen scholars. I am proud to be one of the many. E pluribus unum.

With so many people and tasks that need your attention, it is important to find ways for us to take time for ourselves, grow professionally, and remember our “why”. What steps do you take as a principal to connect with other leaders, stay energized, and stay inspired to carry out your mission?

Jason Schrock is the principal of Howell High School in Howell, MI. He is the 2018 Michigan Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @HowellSchrock.

December can be a hard month for educators. The excitement of the new school year has faded, the end of the semester looms ahead, the holidays add extra stress, and the busy pace of school can get in the way of taking care of oneself. Education is a profession that demands putting others first, often to the detriment of an educator’s health and well-being. We know that we must model what we want to see in others, so it’s important that school leaders model healthy habits and personal wellness for their staff members.

As it’s been said, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” When it comes to time management, school leaders need to make self-care a priority so that their ability to support others will be sustainable and strong. We often get so focused on being there for others that we downplay the necessity of spending time doing the things that sustain our own well-being.

Here are two big ideas for taking care of yourself the rest of the school year:

Make health and wellness a priority

It’s important that we practice healthy habits daily so that we reap the benefits of our positive choices for our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. In The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson, the author states, “The difference between successful and unsuccessful people is in the simple choices they make every day. Successful people take simple and positive actions that are repeated over time. Unsuccessful people do the exact opposite: they make simple errors in judgment that are repeated over time.” When we make health and wellness a priority, we will be consistent in our efforts to choose wisely.

• Get enough sleep. Sleep is important for our concentration, performance, emotional state, and physical health.
• Choose healthy foods. Make substitutions for unhealthy foods, drink an extra glass of water each day, and eat breakfast every day.
• Get out of your office. Walk your campus during the day and try using a mobile standing desk to get in more exercise while working.
• Identify unhealthy habits and triggers. Work with an accountability partner to eliminate and/or reduce both.

Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is about being fully aware of the present with the quality of openness, curiosity, and non-judgment. We naturally classify things that happen as good, bad, or neutral. We tend to want more of the good, less of the bad, and we ignore the things that we classify as neutral. When we recognize our judgments and accept them as temporary, we can enjoy life’s experiences as they come to us.

• Take a deep breath. When you were a kid, were you ever told to count to ten when you got upset? It’s a good practice, and one that you can do throughout your day, even when you’re not upset.
• Show gratitude. Pay attention to beauty around you and show gratitude by speaking it or writing it. You can start a gratitude journal or simply stating your thoughts out loud.
• Take a walk in silence. As you walk, pay attention to your breathing. Notice your surroundings. Welcome the physical action of your body.

In what other ways do you make your health and wellness a priority so that you can better serve others?

Jennifer Hogan is an assistant principal at Hoover High School in Hoover, AL. She is the 2018 Alabama Assistant Principal of the Year and one of three finalists for the 2018 National Assistant Principal of the Year. She also blogs at http://TheCompelledEducator.com, and you can follow her on Twitter at @Jennifer_Hogan.