When I first got into teaching, my principal’s role was very clearly to manage a building. Making sure staff showed up for work, the building was kept clean, and school rules were followed were the things he seemed to focus on—not what was being taught or how it was being taught. How students felt and getting parent support also did not play into the daily activities of my principal. (more…)
School of Thought Blog
Three Keys to Principals’ Changing Roles
Hindsight is 20/20: Using Personal Reflection to Shape Your Focus
Hindsight is 20/20, or so the saying goes. I’m not sure if it was a clever optometrist who originally coined the phrase, but I’m certain every school principal can relate. Personally, I’ve had many moments in my 10 years as principal I’d like to redo. And with the blank canvas of a new year ahead, I can’t help but wonder what the next year has in store. (more…)
A Team Approach to Master Scheduling
Most of us are a couple of months away from the daunting task of master schedule construction. Although this task is highly time-consuming, it can set the following year up for success. With this in mind, there are a few things I have learned over the years to help in schedule construction. (more…)
The Principal Advocate: 5 Ways School Leaders Can Support Students, Teachers, and Communities
Americans trust principals to care about others, provide fair and accurate information, and handle resources responsibility. A Pew Research Center survey shows that Americans have an even higher trust for school leaders than police, military leaders, and less surprisingly, journalists and members of Congress. This trust brings tremendous credibility when advocating for students, teachers, learning, and your school. (more…)
Advocacy Update: NASSP Advocacy Leads to Big Increases for Programs Benefitting Principals and Students
After months of tumultuous negotiations, Republicans and Democrats finally struck a deal for the FY 2020 budget, avoiding a possible government shutdown right before Congress’ scheduled holiday break. Earlier this week, lawmakers reached an agreement and President Trump is planning on signing two different omnibus packages that contained the 12 appropriations bills that fund the federal government. Education funding was a big winner in this final package, with many of NASSP’s priority programs seeing increases for the first time in several years. Overall, the package provides a total of $72.8 billion for the Department of Education (ED), $1.3 billion above the FY 2019 enacted level. Some of NASSP’s highest-priority programs received substantial funding increases in the FY 2020 package, including: (more…)
Incorporating Social-Emotional Learning Into a Freshmen Seminar
To better support our students during their critical transition year for ninth grade, I developed a character education class that incorporates a mentoring program. The class was developed to assist academically at-risk freshmen intellectually, socially, and emotionally during their transition into high school. (more…)
Our Experiences Influence Our Leadership
Thirty years into my public education career, I am still in awe every day of the power of what we do. In 1848, Horace Mann claimed, “Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance wheel of the social machinery.” At a personal level, education can be a game changer, and principals are leading that charge. We level playing fields, remove barriers, and create hope. (more…)
Building Relationships Between Students and Administrators
Many articles have been written about the importance of building relationships with students in the classroom, but what about us? How do we, as administrators, build relationships with students when we do not have them in class every day? It can be a little more challenging, but with some creativity, we can forge positive relationships just by having fun! (more…)
Helping Students Affected by Trauma During the Holidays
For most of us, thinking about the fall and winter months conjures up happy memories—hayrides, big family dinners, and presents galore. However, the holiday season can be difficult for our students affected by trauma. (more…)
Dirty Hands, Engaged Minds: Passion-Forward Project-Based Learning With ‘Intensives’
At the Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria, we have made innovation a part of our model. As a grade 6–12 all-girls public school in New York City, we pride ourselves on leading the way for the next generation of leaders with real-world learning, in real time, with real experts. For two weeks, our regular courses stop, and we “Intensify.” My virtual tour provides a look at our “Intensives,” which strive to integrate 21st-century skills in a 1:1 tech environment that offers students multiple ways to display mastery. (more…)
Lessons Learned About Tolerance From a Walk in the Woods
There we were, crouched down on the side of a mountain, mesmerized by the view of a bull elk through the trees. My husband and I were about two feet apart, neither of us moving and both of us holding our breath in fear of alerting the majestic beast to our presence. And then, as only a married couple could, we started to argue.
“That’s a big bull,” I whispered. “It’s okay,” my husband replied, shrugging.
“It’s looking right at us,” I said. “No, it’s not,” he replied. “Its head is down, and he’s eating grass.”
“No, he’s looking right at me,” I asserted. (more…)
Building Momentum, the Jack Way
With the Lumberjacks as our mascot, the pride of R.A. Long High School dates back to 1927. Ninety-two years later, we have lifted the minds and spirits of our lumber town’s community with a true 97 percent graduation rate, with many students the first high school graduates in their family and the first to go on to college. We built that momentum, with little in the way of additional resources, through a coordinated series of programs and activities we call the Jack Way. Here’s how: (more…)
Building CultureCollaborative LeadershipCurriculum, Instruction, & AssessmentsLeading LearningResults-Orientation
Your Voice Matters
During the annual 2020 NASSP Advocacy Conference, hundreds of principals, administrators, teachers, and other advocates from across the country storm the Washington, D.C., metro area to fight for better education—and you don’t want to miss it. (more…)
In Teaching, You’re Not Always Saving Lives
The administrative team in my district recently engaged in a ritual that we have performed for as long as I have been here. We renewed our certification in CPR and basic first aid. It takes about two hours, and the training is usually provided by a few of our staff members. (more…)
Leveraging Technology to Foster Gratitude
November is the month we most associate with gratitude. Giving thanks, spending time with families, and giving to others coupled with the natural opportunity to associate with a gratitude practice—it is woven into our personal and professional culture. It’s the time of year we hear the question “What are you thankful for?” more than ever. We ask it, and we share with one another our appreciation for their time, love, actions, and more. (more…)
Building CultureCollaborative LeadershipInnovationLeading LearningOtherTechnology & E-learningWellness
The Intentional Principal
The best advice I ever received about working as a school administrator came from a great friend and colleague in Idaho’s Treasure Valley. My friend had attended a retirement reception for a gentleman that had been in education for over 40 years, 30 of which as a building administrator. My friend asked him, “How were you able to keep this fire and passion day in and day out in a job that can be so negative and draining?” The answer changed how I thought about my role and what faces me every day at school. The outgoing administrator said, “Discover what gives you energy in your work and do it every day. Be intentional about what you do.” (more…)
Update: What PPE Reporting Data Means for You
As principals, you are focused on myriad issues that impact the daily function of your school. Are school buses arriving on time? Did the cafeteria receive its delivery? Are your students safe? Despite all that you attend to, it’s natural to face some scrutiny from parents, administrators, and community members about how your school is doing. Starting next year, a significant change in available data about school funding could affect questions that you field about your school’s resources and its salaries for teachers, staff, and administrators. (more…)
Sometimes, It’s Personal
Each year as a secondary principal brings about new challenges, experiences, and opportunities, and this year in particular is very personal for me. My eldest daughter is a senior, and as cliched as it sounds, time has flown by. Just yesterday, my little girl was a month old as I took my first teaching job. Today, she is a senior walking the hallways on a countdown to graduation. It’s personal because while I need to be a principal for the 335 students at Milford High School, I also want to be a dad and enjoy all of the experiences that come with having a senior. (more…)
Making SMARTer Professional Development Plans
As building administrators, we observe staff and work with them to define clear goals for professional development, but how much time do we take to complete our own professional development plans? As building leaders, it can be easy to think of professional development plans as just another piece of check-the-box compliance. But I urge you to take the steps to create a proactive and engaging professional development plan that will be rewarding for you and your staff and students in turn. (more…)
A National Principals Month for the Books!
Throughout October, NASSP, the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA), and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) continued the annual tradition of highlighting principals across the nation during National Principals Month (NPM). All month long, students, parents, teachers, fellow school leaders, policymakers, and even entire states celebrated the impact that principals have on school communities and thanked them for their unrelenting commitment and hard work. (more…)