So many of us are anxious to see our kids again, to start a new school year, to make sure our students are okay. We are ready to start over, to have classes in our rooms so we can get eyes and ears on kids, to have breakfasts and lunches in the cafeteria, and to get back to the schedule of the day—a return to normal or a semblance of normal. But I don’t think there is a return to normal. We have all experienced a major psychological and social event that we have all had to give serious time, effort, work, and attention to. (more…)
School of Thought Blog
Don’t Rush Back to Normal
The Principal’s Secretary: The Roots of Growth for the School and Its Leaders
Seven years ago, I stepped foot into my office as the assistant principal of a middle level school of 800 students. Moving from my third-grade classroom to the main office was a hard transition because, for the previous eight years, I was only responsible for the 20–30 students within my classroom. I went from a world of teaching, assessing, grading, and lunch counts to school improvement plans, state assessments, district initiatives, and free and reduced-price lunch data (to name just a few). I would not have made this transition in a positive way if it wasn’t for my secretary, Teri. She is a phenomenal woman and someone who will forever have a special place in my heart. One of the reasons I am in the place I am today and gained success is due to the work Teri did every day and her mindset to make sure that the school and I were the best we could be. (more…)
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The Power of Positivity—and Postcards
Over each of my last five years as a high school principal, we have set three schoolwide goals. Ranging from advancing college and career readiness to increasing attendance, our goals have been simple, student-centered, and focused on getting staff buy-in. Two years ago, we specifically set a goal to improve our community relationships with stakeholders and increase positive communication, and one simple strategy helped us do both. (more…)
Just One-Third of Principals Express Confidence in School’s Ability to Keep Kids and Adults Healthy When Buildings Reopen
Districts across the nation are rolling out school reopening plans with provisions to keep students safe. But the school leaders charged with implementing those plans have little confidence those provisions will work, according to a poll conducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Of the 1,450 principals who responded, just 35.2 percent indicated they were somewhat confident or extremely confident in “their school/district’s ability to preserve the health of staff and students as schools physically reopen in the fall.” A similar percentage (34.9%) indicated they were somewhat unconfident or not at all confident. (more…)
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Principals Zero In on Reopening Challenges in NASSP School Reentry Initiative
While each district is scrambling to produce a unique reopening plan that responds to their local needs, some issues for principals are universal. To define those issues, NASSP convened a diverse team of thoughtful school leaders for a facilitated series of conversations called the School Reentry Initiative (SRI). Ultimately, of course, the goal is for all students to learn successfully in a safe, supportive environment. Within that broad goal, the SRI team quickly reached consensus on the principals’ areas of focus, among them: (more…)
Daily Announcements During Times of Uncertainty
When this global pandemic began, I asked myself three basic questions: 1) What can I do to lead our community during this time of uncertainty? 2) What does our community need? and 3) How can I have a positive impact on our students, staff, and community during this difficult time? At Millard South High School, we pride ourselves on living the Patriot Way, and I used the school’s eight pillars to guide me on this journey. Here is how the pillars guided me while continuing daily announcements after the school building was closed. (more…)
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Helping Students Take a Challenging Course Load
Trying to coast can be human nature. Who really likes to do more? Yes, you have a few overachievers, but often the vast majority of us are not willing or able to fully push ourselves. This is why we need personal trainers, workout buddies, and accountability partners. Our students are no different, and this can form a culture of students not challenging themselves academically. (more…)
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Are Schools Ready for What Comes Next?
At the beginning of 2020, no one could have foreseen the impact of the pandemic. In the face of myriad obstacles, educators stepped up to implement remote learning to get through the remainder of the academic year. A post-COVID-19 world will be here eventually, but it is anyone’s guess when that will be. As schools grapple with the unknown questions and challenges at the top of everyone’s mind, here are a few that I hope resonate: (more…)
Culture Outlasts Quarantine
A month or so back, I stopped by my office to accomplish some tasks and to retrieve materials I needed in order to continue working virtually. On my desk were notes about some minor discipline matters that had occurred on the day before we left school. Nothing eventful, just typical middle school “naughtiness.” I have a stark admission to make—I tossed them in the bottom of my desk drawer. (more…)
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‘My Voice, My Choice, My Future’: A Vision to Transform Learning
“Who is our customer? What do they expect from us as a school?” These two critical questions changed the meaning of “education” at Waipahu High School (WHS) in Oahu, Hawai`i. When we identified our students’ future employers as our customer, our mindset of “how to do school” changed, and so did the learning opportunities and experiences we needed to offer our students. (more…)
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Making Principal Preparation a Priority
As a newly minted school leader, one of the first challenges Mark Anderson faced didn’t involve teaching strategies or staff issues. Instead, students spilled water on the gym floor during a pep rally. (more…)
district supportsLearning Policy InstituteLPIPrincipal DevelopmentPrincipal pipelinePrincipal Pipeline Initiativeprincipal pipelinesprincipal preparationprincipal trainingprincipal turnoverprofessional developmentTurnover
Finishing the School Year Strong
As administrators and teachers, we spend countless hours each summer preparing for an epic kickoff to the new school year. We have themed professional development days and new school year themes in August—“Welcome back! All Aboard for a Successful Year!” Then come the hard months of January and February, then on to spring, during which we are all thinking: Our train has derailed! While this spring has been very different from the traditional end of the school year, we know it takes every ounce of gumption for our students, teachers, and families to finish strong while also keeping the focus. (more…)
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Purposeful Technology Use During the Pandemic
Can hear me now? How about now? Did my stream cut out? Or, more embarrassingly, did I forget to unmute myself? Today’s educators have taken on a task no other industry has accomplished. We completely changed our methods, our platforms, and our engagement from in-person to online in record time. (more…)
An Open Letter to School Leaders
Dear School Leaders,
None of us is doing ok right now, especially our black students. Each horrific incident of state-sanctioned violence against black Americans intensifies the trauma for black students, already suffering disproportionate isolation and fear from the COVID-19 pandemic. And you, leaders of the learning organizations that are central to so many of their lives, are reaching out to them with solace and support. (more…)
2020 Digital Principals of the Year Announced
In the wake of the education community’s shift to remote and virtual learning solutions, the importance of leveraging technology in education cannot be overstated. Through the Digital Principals of the Year (DPOY) program, NASSP honors principals who exhibit bold, creative leadership in their drive to harness the potential of new technologies to further learning goals. Each year, NASSP honors three member principals in schools that cover any subset of grades 6–12. Criteria for the award are based on the International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Administrators and the applications of those skills to further the Building Ranks™ framework for school improvement.
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The COVID-19 Self-Care Challenge
As educators, we love the flexibility in our typically tightly structured schedule that comes along with school holidays. But, if we are really being honest with ourselves, we usually function best with a schedule and a mountain of things on our to-do list. As we enter the summer months, it will be tempting to binge-watch television during our COVID-19 break, and while there is no shame in doing that, we will feel much better if we also feel accomplished. (more…)
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What the Pandemic Means for Summer Learning—And How Policymakers Can Help
RAND’s Catherine Augustine discusses a new report on the summer learning policy landscape and what lies ahead for summer programs
This article first appeared on The Wallace Foundation’s blog. It has been republished with permission.
This is a challenging and uncertain time for everyone. Schools are beginning to adapt to the realities of the current crisis brought on by the global coronavirus pandemic, but what about summer learning programs? Summer programs have always played an important role in supporting students who fall behind academically, but with so many young people across the country losing vital learning time, they may be important than ever. Yet organizers of summer programs face a host of unknowns, including whether they will be able to serve students at all in the coming months and, if so, how. (more…)
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Staying Connected During a Lockdown
Pandemic. Lockdown. Virtual Learning. Social Distancing. Social Isolation. Five concepts that few of us thought would consume our world just six short months ago. Yet, here we are. (more…)
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Effective Walk-Throughs in Our Digital Spaces
Even as schools have transitioned to online learning, it’s heartening to see that this crisis isn’t keeping school leaders from carrying out what I think is one of the true joys of school administration—classroom walk-throughs and visitations. Over the years, my thinking and approach to classroom walk-throughs have evolved and changed so much to where I consider it one of my best ways to build relationships with teachers and connect with learners. (more…)
For Meaningful Learning Experiences, Focus on Connections
On online platforms such as Google Classroom and Zoom, teaching and learning look quite different than our normal program of learning face to face on the school campus. Learning is a social endeavor, and we are working to think creatively about how to support meaningful learning experiences, understanding the developmental needs of our middle level students while also recognizing that we are in a crisis situation. (more…)