Who’s In Charge of Your Day?
Are you running your day or is your day running you? How do some people seem to get things done and look like that are in full control, even now in the midst of a chaos? It is possible and
Blog Posts
Posts are written to provide insight from the classroom and the principal’s office. Some lessons learned through success, but some are only understood through the struggle. The struggle helps us learn. The success helps us keep moving forward.
Discipline Done Differently
Inspiring and improving excellent student behavior is at the heart of a successful school. The posts below reflect on strategies that have worked and reflections on the importance of reaching and teaching every single student.
A Detour Doesn’t Mean You’re Lost
Just because you take a detour doesn’t mean you’re lost. Some journeys take longer and are more challenging. But we can make it. In life and in the classroom, our perception of our ability to affect the journey is what really matters.
The Problem with “Perfection”
The Problem with “Perfection” – A reflection on perfectionism by a perfectionist. Something I’ve known for a very long time is that I’m a bit of a perfectionist. Not a big surprise to those that know me well, but it made
Leadership, Life, and Lessons Learned Along the Way
Every day presents itself with new opportunities to reflect on leadership opportunities. The more we look inwards to what we can do better, the more we will be able to inspire others to do their best.
Panicked or Prepared?
Every so often, we are faced with a difficult and sometimes scary situation. Each new problem feels like one that will never be resolved and there are no solutions in sight. Especially as a leader, we take this on and
Tough Choices
Life is full of tough choices that tug at our time. How do you decide what is important and then schedule your day accordingly? I discussed this very thing with Professional learning expert and school leader Kip Lynk (@kiplynk) about how
Who’s In Charge of Your Day?
Are you running your day or is your day running you? How do some people seem to get things done and look like that are in full control, even now in the midst of a chaos? It is possible and
A Detour Doesn’t Mean You’re Lost
Just because you take a detour doesn’t mean you’re lost. Some journeys take longer and are more challenging. But we can make it. In life and in the classroom, our perception of our ability to affect the journey is what really matters.
The Problem with “Perfection”
The Problem with “Perfection” – A reflection on perfectionism by a perfectionist. Something I’ve known for a very long time is that I’m a bit of a perfectionist. Not a big surprise to those that know me well, but it made
Engage Your Community with Staff Introduction Videos
Maya Angelou stated, “People forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people never forget how you made them feel.” Remember this great advice when introducing yourself on your websites and class pages. If pictures are worth
See Students as Solutions Instead of Problems
Every child has gifts and values. Some of those gifts take longer to figure out than others. Great teachers make enormous efforts to connect with every child and look at them as a whole child with relative strengths and weaknesses,
Ideas for Classroom Sensory Kits
I posted an graphic of quiet breathing strategies that you can use in the classroom and in the post I mentioned that we are adding calming corner kits in every room. Well, that came back to me with a million
9 Breathing Breaks Strategies – Graphic Takeaway
Here is a graphic I made with nine strategies that you can use with your students today. Make sure to model, be serious about it, teach, and practice these strategies if you want them to be effective. The more you
Behavior Tip: 6 Breathing Strategies to Relax Students
Students are stressed. Teachers are stressed. And it’s understandable and should be expected. If you do this job right, it takes a lot out of you and drains you emotionally and physically. There is so much that we cannot control
Behavior Tip: Sensory Toys & Tools
Many of our students have sensory issues and we need to provide them with extra tools to address these needs throughout the day. This post and video helps explain some of the ‘why’ behind these toys and a reflection in
Behavior Tip: Sensory-friendly supports and alternatives for intense lessons
There are times where some of our most interesting and engaging lessons are just too much for some of our students. The lights, sounds, and excitement can cause a lot of anxiety that ruins the amazing experience and all the
Slow down & give leadertunities to others
A little moment today with my son helped me rethink our work with teachers and students. Random Saturday morning. I really should be thinking about anything else after a long week. Does anyone else have these random leadership thoughts that
The Call to Reduce the Use of Email
The first email was sent on a local network in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson. He sent this to a computer sitting right next to his computer and the message was “something like QWERTYUIOP” in the email. Tomlinson
Sensory Friendly Haircuts
For many families like mine, even simple things can be very stressful. When our son was little, the barber shop and a tight haircut, one of my favorite things, was way too much and very overwhelming for him. I had
Enhance Mail Communication through Augmented Reality
Our annual tradition of mailing postcards home for information and to notify parents of students’ teachers saw an innovative twist the last couple of years by adding augmented reality.
Using the Technology SAMR Model to Rethink Educational Leadership
In the instructional technology circles, the SAMR model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) has provided a way to rethink how technology is not only used, but how it can enhance instruction in the classroom. Ruben Puentedura began creating this model in
Tech Tip: How to Sync Outlook & School Messenger Calendars
Make sure to take any opportunity to save time and energy in your schools! Here is a quick how to video on pushing out one of your Outlook calendars onto your calendar on your website through School Messenger. Both Outlook
Tech Tip: Bookmarking Favorite Tweets
Did you know you can record your phone screen while you model how to do something new and innovative? I met Ryan Foran @RyanPForan at the #NSPRA2018 conference and we hit it off right away. He’s doing amazing things in
Five Tips to Maximize Video Communication
There are a handful of key considerations when using video to maximize engagement in your school community. These concepts are important because they will help others share in your journey and success in a way that is meaningful and interesting
Video Introductions
School is about to begin again and there is nothing is worse than an excited parent that goes to the school’s website to meet the administrator or teacher and all they see is a boring letter, or even worse, the
