School leaders spend a lot of time developing strategic plans, setting goals and writing action plans. Often the best laid plans and intentions are often derailed and not realised owing…
Read More What are the key decision-making drivers in your school?
Knowing when it is your turn, or your time, as a leader is an important skill to master that if done well can have a significant positive effect on those…
Read More Leaders need to learn when to go first and when to go last
For those that don’t know, The $64,000 Question was a popular TV game show back in the 1950s. It was broadcast between 1955 and 1958. It is spring, and anyone in education knows that it is the season for hiring.…
The end of the school year is an extremely busy time of the year for principals and educators alike. Not that there isn’t a busy time at any point during the year, but in my opinion, the end of the…
Read More Principals: Are you looking ahead, in the rearview mirror, or both?
My school counselor asked me in the late spring if she could work with our school staff and present at some staff meetings on mindfulness. I was happy to oblige and provide some small windows of time for her to…
This past week, I was very busy working across many projects to get our school ready for opening day on August 30th. It wasn’t unlike any other week I have had prior to a school opening. Hallways had multiple pieces…
Quite a few years ago, my aunt once told me, “Tommy, everyone has free agency.” Basically, that means that everyone has the ability to make decisions for themselves, which may or may not best meet their needs, however, they ultimately…
It’s that time of year again when I am thinking about school a lot. Not that I don’t reflect on my work and the work of my school each day throughout the year, but particularly, at this time of the…
Read More What Stories Will You Make Possible This School Year?
My professional career for the past 23 years has been as an educator. I was an elementary school teacher and for the past 18 years, I’ve been a principal. For all intents and purposes, I generally tell people I am…
Read More Why I Create…The Principal as Educational “Artist”
I had a interesting epiphany yesterday while home on vacation, which really reinforced for me the importance of PLNs (Professional Learning Networks) and why they are so valuable. Indulge me for just a moment as I build some context about…
It wasn’t long ago that Nancy Atwell, a US eighth-grade teacher from Maine fought off competition from 5,000 educators from across the world to win a one million dollar global teaching award. I was particularly inspired having begun my teaching career… Read More ›
A little over a year ago, I published a blog post on ASCD Edge about what I termed the “Administrative Tightrope”. The post focused on the need for balance, and how it is very easy to get swept up in… Read More ›
