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Influence Behavior through Intentional Modeling using Social Learning

Our Response to Behavior Makes all the Difference When we treat kids like they are out to get us, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think most of the times

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

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

Breathing Strategies to Relax Students

“Just Relax” – Yea Right! 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

Sensory Toys, Tools, Tips, & Kits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read Alouds & Book Talks

The Power of Read Alouds Reading to every classroom is by far one of my favorite things I do as principal. It is a fantastic opportunity to build personal relationships,

School Culture Building as Software Updates

Sometimes the most profound statements happen during random times. Today a guest speaker doing a keynote at the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals 2018 Conference was asking about how

Mobile STEAM Labs – Update

This year, our teachers At Ashland led by 5th grade teacher Jen Young, created mobile STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) carts that are housed centrally in our STEAM garage

Modeling Should Be Exact for Student Success in Lessons

As principal, I have the honor of observing classroom lessons to learn about instruction and student motivation. This week I was able to directly see the positive impact that specific

Kindergarten Readiness Top Tips Video

As Hannibal in the A-Team used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together!” This year our kindergarten team decided to create a new program to help communicate

Traveling Tips #dadsasprincipals

This year we took the plunge and the whole family to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. This is true both literally and figuratively since we all got wet flying down

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