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.
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.
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
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,
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
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.
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
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
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
Read AloudsReading to every classroom every month is by far one of my favorite things I do as principal. It is a fantastic opportunity to build personal relationships, set the tone for expectations, and prioritize literacy as a leader. Reading
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 our ‘business’ was doing in our schools. He asked the
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 and checked out by teachers to use in their classrooms.
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 and direct modeling had on student performance in a 4th
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 to parents what helps students be successful in school. As
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 Splash Mountain! The trip was both fantastic and exhausting, and
I led an “Ask the Experts” session this week titled “Grow a Relationship-Driven School Culture” at the National Family Engagement Summit in Richmond, Virginia. This post explains some takeaways and shows the presentation slides.
It was fun to lead this presentation at the National Family Engagement Summit in Richmond, Virginia this week. The group of educators were so responsive and I can really sense a growing desire to get back to the basics. Schools
This guest post is written by my friend J. Kapuchuck. a super dad and a super principal in Rockingham County, Virginia. Follow him on Twitter @PrincipalKap In today’s society everything is changing at a rapid pace. However, the one thing
When you think of your “home team,” what comes to mind? Is it your family or your favorite sports team? Why don’t we put as much energy and passion into celebrating our family or our school as we do our
Principals need to be engaging with students in their classrooms for them to be an effective leader. It is imperative that we get a feeling of what the teachers’ and students’ lives are like in school on a regular basis.
I’m often asked by teachers and schools how to get started using Twitter. Our school team has been fortunate enough to help many other schools begin their social media journeys by providing social media workshops. At these workshops, we typically
A goal without a plan is just a wish. If it matters, follow through, work the goal every single day, make it a priority, and success will be inevitable. Don’t let your speed bumps along the way turn into stop
The ‘One Word’ movement originated by Jon Gordan and has been a fantastic way to retool every January, sort of like a more thoughtful New Year’s resolution. As I write this post about my #OneWord2018 for others so that it
Happy (Early) New Year! As you are wrapping up the last few days of 2017, taking in those last hugs, smiles, high fives, and waves for a few days we (Lindsy, Eric, Jessica, Andy, Todd, and Nick) wanted to challenge
It is critical that students know how they are performing and what they need to do to improve on their skills to be fully invested every day to achieve their learning goals. Student-led conferences are one way to support this effort, and research
If we don’t run our day, our day will run us. If you are a school administrator or educator, then you know exactly what I mean! We must set priorities and schedule them or other things will take their place
Recently I was cleaning out my office closet and noticed that most of it was full of my costumes and accessories that have accumulated over the years! I thought to myself, I wonder how many other principals’ closets look like
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