Category: School Leadership

Tribute to teachers, landscape

Posted on

There has never been a great orator who didn’t first learn to speak, just as there has never been an accomplished musician who didn’t first learn to play an instrument, and there has never been a gifted writer who didn’t first learn her letters. This is a simple way of saying that there is no shortcut to confidence, credibility, and wisdom. I have come to discover through some successes in my career and through many, many mistakes that (no matter our titles) we are not really leading if no one is following us, and that no one will follow us for long if we don’t know what the heck we’re talking about. Even as we preach the values of teacher leadership, most of our teachers…

Read More

leadership, education

Posted on

In an industry of teachers and leaders it comes as no surprise that we are also a community of readers and researchers, constantly in motion and learning from each other. It is one of our best qualities as educators. If a new book comes out, we read it. If new research is released, we discuss it. We are continually reaching for crumbs of information or inspiration that might help us find new and better ways to teach kids. Still, one point of caution is in order as we all run around quoting the same research, authors and each other. We can easily fall into the trap of “group think,” an uninspiring thought process that discourages creativity and individual responsibility. There is a fine line, indeed,…

Read More

student, achievement gap

Posted on

If we all dig deep. If we all search our souls for the true deficits that lead to the achievement gaps in our schools, we may find that race and poverty are only the physical manifests of what is actually at play here: low expectations. The psychology of all of this is as fascinating and compelling as it is sad and tragic. Since there are lives at stake here, let us keep our focus on solving problems and not just theorizing about them. Still, solving the true, discriminatory practices that lead to achievement gaps does require our school leaders to understand why and how these gaps reveal themselves daily in our classrooms. Let me be clear that I am true believer in teachers and schools…

Read More

Posted on

No matter what you think of President Trump, he taught us something long before he became president. Our name is our brand. As a school teacher and leader for more than 20 years, I have had countless discussions and mentoring sessions with young leaders, each of them searching for some morsel of advice on what they can add to their resumes or drop into an interview that gives them a leg up. Through those conversations and through interviews with hundreds of candidates in my career, I have come to find out that most of us have it all wrong when we think about advancing our careers. Becoming an instructional leader: Building your brand We assume that our first priority is building our resumes through better…

Read More

Posted on

Let me reiterate what has been said countless times. Leadership matters. This is especially true in schools and school districts where so much is at stake and where nearly everyone has an opinion about how schools should be run. Let me also reiterate my continued support for the dedicated and kindred spirits who each day stare down the awesome challenges of leadership in today’s public schools. They are heroes all. Still, despite our best efforts, academic progress in our schools is slow and we must own that. Blaming our shortcomings on politicians or public policy is not bold and is not leadership. Blaming teachers is cowardly, blaming parents naïve. What did Gandhi tell us?  “We must be the change we wish to see in the…

Read More