Clik here to view.
How Will Your Staff Remember You?
If you’re an educational leader, you may have led (or will lead) hundreds if not thousands of teachers, counselors, librarians, cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, registrars, bookkeepers,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Searching for Wisdom in All the Right Places: Growing as a School Leader
Growing up, some of my favorite movies were part of the “Indiana Jones” series. I loved how Indy lived a normal life as a professor, lecturing college students on the history of the world. Little did...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The ABCs for First-Year Administrators
As I prepared for new teacher training, I came across an Education World article with sound advice for first-year teachers, including a list of the “ABCs” that would help make them successful in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
5 Reasons Great Teachers Are Leaving—And What We Can Do About It
This summer, I read many articles from and about teachers leaving education for myriad reasons. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, teacher turnover is about 16 percent, compared...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Students Live on Instagram—Shouldn’t You?
I love using social media to tell the story of our school. I am passionate about how we employ social media to not just tell our story, but to engage our students, staff, and families. Instagram, in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Kaliopeku’: Cultural Project-Based Learning
Engaging students and making learning relevant is an issue all educators reflect upon. As one of the higher performing high schools in Hawaii, we could have easily rested on our laurels. Over the last...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Encouraging Student Involvement in Activities
Growing up, I didn’t have a role model to guide me in identifying what it was to excel as a student until I was involved in after-school activities and had a coach lead me on the path to grow—both...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Supporting Staff is Built With Intention
I recently read a tweet by Dr. Bryan Pearlman detailing eight bad leadership traits. The accompanying graphic spoke to poor communicators and leaders who lack integrity, trust, and other important...
View ArticleClik here to view.
5 Ways to Jump-Start A New Year
A new year is a time of reflection, goal setting, and new habits and practices. As the new school year begins to take shape, it’s time to get re-energized. Maybe you’re a new school leader who is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Better Together: The Power of the Professional Learning Network
One of the biggest shifts I struggled with when transitioning from the classroom to the principalship was moving from the support of a team of teachers to the solitude of a building leader. As leaders,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Teacher Evaluation to Create a Culture of Learning
The teacher evaluation process has been at the forefront of many policy conversations over the past decade, and the underlying assumption resonates just as much today as it did ten years ago: the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How We Can Make School Special
Last Halloween, I took my 8-year-old daughter, Juliet, to a Brooklyn Nets game. She had just started playing basketball and was so excited to go to her first professional game that she gave up...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How My Cellphone Reduces Stress
Has this happened to you? It’s Friday afternoon and, remarkably, the day has been unusually quiet. There are no extracurricular activities to support that afternoon or evening, and you can leave school...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Making Difficult Decisions In Students’ Best Interest
Like my colleagues across the globe, my daily battle revolves around how to make decisions through the lens of what is in the best interests of my students. This seems particularly trying in my current...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Student Discipline: It Takes More Than a Consequence
I vividly remember my middle level principal and the fear that hit my gut every time he would look at me or even walk by. He was six and a half feet tall, weighed close to 400 pounds, and his last name...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Making Student Connections: Will You Check on Me?
When a former colleague of mine, Joe Turner, was named teacher of the year, a reporter asked him for his advice to new teachers. He responded, “Teach every child like you’re their lifeline—like you’re...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Character Champions: Teacher Leadership to Address Social and Emotional Needs
Over the past couple of years, our school has been challenged by the social and emotional needs of our students. The impact of increased behavioral incidents has put a strain on our previously steady...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Learning From My Daughter: Unfiltered Feedback
Over the past three years, I have had an amazing opportunity to view my school in a different way as the principal to my daughter, Sidney. As you might expect, I think that she is a pretty amazing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Three Principles for Improving Practice
My school, long rated as top-performing, was this year given a rating of “targeted” for underperformance among student subgroups—including African-American, free and reduced-price lunch, and special...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Leading Through the Struggle
We spend a great deal of time as school leaders talking about building culture. We often consider the day-to-day elements of this work: eating lunch with the kids, visiting classrooms, being visible at...
View Article