One Hour As A School Principal: A Tribute to Leadership and Cold Coffee

The best I have I give to my school. That is the reality and nobility of selflessness and sacrifice that forms the measure of every great principal that I know. Though teachers get a lot of credit for the great work that they do (and they should), principals are too often overlooked or mischaracterized as school building managers. Not the principals that I know. The principals that I know and admire are true believers, deep thinkers, innovators, problem-solvers, teachers, motivators, mentors and care-givers to the children, faculty and staffs in their schools. For those who have never been a principal, let’s take a look inside a school to better understand what is happening this morning. School Principal: The Most Demanding Job in Education 7:28…

All great instructional leaders worth their weight have to know what great instruction looks like when they see it. There is simply no way to successfully lead school improvement and turnaround initiatives if you don’t know what you’re looking for when you walk into a classroom. The problem is that we often have different definitions of what those things are and it begs a myriad of questions related to a principal’s role in guiding teacher growth. Instructional coach? Mentor? Evaluator? Visionary? This debate found its way onto the internet the other day and that made for some frustrated school leaders who chimed in on the discussion. For me, the discussion provided some deep thinking about what we mean when we say that our principals should…