“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. - William Foster I participated in a workshop recently where everyone in the room watched the same videotaped classroom lesson. We were then asked to rate the lesson on a standard A-F scale. The...
OK, so I know that you can all identify with this. Sometimes, we run into people who do not share our propensity for positive thinking. They enjoy spewing negativity when things do not go their way. How you react to these situations is critical! A misstep here could result in a major headache, one...
The other day @BostonHistory posted a link to a bloghttp://edge.ascd.org/_Would-I-Want-My-Child-In-This-Classroom/blog/2696133/127586.html which said that educators need to ask themselves the question, would they want their child to be in a class that: “1. A majority of the instruction is focused on memorization and recall 2. If the teacher uses a single textbook for history and does...
On a crisp, sunny Saturday morning in October, approximately 400 passionate educators congregated at New Milford High School for the Tri-State Educational Technology Conference (TSETC). The brainchild of Schoology and myself, we set out in mid-August to plan an unprecedented free conference that would provide educators of varying experience with practical strategies to successfully...
The title of our staff’s latest shared Google presentation was, “Go Team Brecknock!” I’m not sure what compelled me to name it that, but I think it’s because the first hour of our morning (before we provided teachers with sweet freedom to collaborate with their grade level peers for the remainder of the day),...
During last night’s #edchat, educators from around the world discussed how teachers are observed by their administrators. The chat led to a discussion on walkthroughs. I have been a principal for seven years now, and each year I have tried to design a walkthrough template that was meaningful to me as an administrator, but...
Five months ago if you asked me about Twitter my answer would have been, Yeah I heard about it but it really isn’t for me. I probably would have answered the same thing if you asked me about started a blog and blogging. That all changed four months ago when I began following educators...
In an effort to connect with more administrators while also providing resources that will help new, current, and aspiring leaders, the Connected Principals group has created a few more ways to connect. You can now follow Connected Principals on Twitter! You do not have to a Twitter account to see the resources that are...
Like many participants here at CP, I find myself fascinated by innovation in our schools, in two ways: how can our schools be more innovative in the way they facilitate learning, and, even more importantly, how can our schools facilitate more innovation in the life-long mindset, habits, and actions of our students? These topics...
On a recent post about empowering students, Gary Kern asked me a question in his comment: What are your thoughts on the structures and changes needed for teachers, especially at the older grades, to be able to foster higher levels of participation in their learning? What we really need are structures that both develop...
This past week we have had some difficulty with cyberbullying in our building. These events, combined with yet another high-profile national example of how social media can be used to cause very traumatic harm, has promted us at PCHS to consider how we are working with our students to show them the proper ways...
If you could choose, what work environment would you work in? An organization with vision for a preferred future, or one that is happy with maintaining the status quo. A place where everyone is a leader because of the gifts they bring, or there are a few managers based upon position. An environment that...
This is a post I wrote a while back on why so many schools who have the resources choose to take students on adventure trips for the day or overnight. Hint: It’s not physical endurance but a focus on learning. And you don’t need expensive equipment and you don’t even need to be outdoors to...
Most principals became administrators because they are passionate about education and they love to teach. Why, then, does the system make it so difficult for principals to teach? How can we change the current structures in a way that would encourage principals to have the flexibility to do more of what they love? Last...
There has a been a lot of negative energy surrounding education in the states over the last two days as a result of NBC’s Education Nation. It is funny that the series has been touted as a means to advance the cause of education in the United States. However, I cannot see how a...
Thanks to all of those that attended the first Connected Principals Elluminate Session on September 26th! We really enjoyed working with each other, while also hearing the comments and suggestions from other educators who are not in administration. It is important that we work and share together. The next session will be held on...
It is imperative, that at the end of the day, the focus of the principal is on the success of each student. A typical day for a school principal is anything but routine. Schedule changes, surprises, an unforeseen crisis, unexpected discipline issues, and much more force an administrator to deal with many different situations...
As a new assistant principal, I discover each week something new..some new path that I am challenged to walk down . I taught for a number of years. Now, on a campus as a leader (well, as the assistant leader…), it amazes me how much of my walk is different. The shift of perception...
For an elementary principal, enrolling in a course titled “Secondary Education Seminar” was a bit intimidating. Little kids = Awesome; Big kids = Scary. (Kidding.) But it turns out, learning is learning on any level, and our class spends the majority of our time discussing learning. Last night we explored the topic of “ownership”...
After a month of planning, we are excited to announce our first ever Connected Principals” Elluminate session this Sunday, September 26 from 5:30-6:30 p.m (EST). We are thankful for the help of Shelly Terrell to make this possible and we are thrilled that she will be moderator for our first session! We hope that...
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