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.
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
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
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
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.
Work all day. Exhausted. Finally sit down at the kitchen table to shovel in a late dinner. And…out…comes…my cell phone…Why?? It’s like an automatic reaction that I can’t even control! To check the emails that I have may have missed
April is the Month of the Military Child, but this takes on more meaning in our school. Secretary of Defense Casper W. Weinberger, in 1986, started this movement to remind others that military children also sacrifice and serve alongside their
A recent visit to Washington, DC reminded me of the importance of sharing our support for our military families outside our school community. Led by Amanda Woodyard, our Military Student Transition Consultant for our school division and housed at Ashland,
I originally wrote this reflection as part of an assignment for my Virginia Tech Government and Policy in Education class a few weeks ago. Recent decision-making regarding changes at the national level has provided excellent reflection on the skills and processes
Education does not have to be miserable. All of those things we complain about in the great system of education can be improved. It starts with us. With our thinking, planning, and effort. Recently, two or our 4th grade teachers,
Using new technology just because it looks cool or because it makes you feel innovative is not enough. Culture, instruction, and the needs of students come first, technology comes after. At Ashland Elementary, we have worked tirelessly to research and try
The #WeirdPrincipals effort is all about energy and starting movements that inspire others. Similar to #PrincipalsInAction and #KidsDeserveIt, we seek to unleash leadership potential by inspiring others to be themselves, do their very best, and run into school to make
Are you happy in life? Are you happy in your job? Do you even know the things that should make you happy? As a renewal of motivation in our school, I met with all of my school teams recently to discuss
Virginia Tech security just taught me a life lesson this week, but probably not the one you would expect!
For many, dyslexia is a mysterious and strange word of a disorder that sounds like it is really difficult to support in school. The reality is much different. Parents have been bringing this concern for their child to our schools
Usually, I’m looking for any excuse I can find to dress up and act like a nut for our students at school. If you follow anything of mine, you’ve probably seen that already, dressing up like Thor, the Elf on
Weirdness isn’t weakness! It’s a way to celebrate the unique ways we can engage our school community by any means possible. We try so hard in leadership positions to be what we think others want us to be, remembering the many,
When inspiration, reflection, and engagement comes together with your staff, this is an example of what you can accomplish. At our 1st staff meeting in January, we asked teachers to write what they believed for their students and then show
The easy. The obvious. Why are we spending so much time coming up with complicated plans and strategies when the best ways to connect are so simple? Before winter break, I asked all of our staff members to write a
My #OneWord2017 is focus! If you know me at all, you wouldn’t be surprised that this is my one word for the year. You may be muttering under your breath, “…it’s about time…” or “…that should have been your one
Sometimes inspiration for writing comes at the oddest times. As we were putting together a puzzle as a family for the holidays, I was struck with how much this was a powerful metaphor for life, leadership, and education. Forrest Gump
I was recently tasked in one of my graduate classes at Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!) to write a statement about my beliefs in the form of “This I Believe.” This style was founded through NPR as a series that is
What do you think? One more game or we done for the night? Can we see the ball? Yea? Then let’s get one more game in! Sometimes the best inspiration comes when you aren’t even thinking about it, and in
Finally! Robotics & Coding finally are far enough along to create amazing engineering lessons for students! This post is just a mish-mosh of visuals and ideas to help you think about using our Spheros with your students. These will create
He’s the MVP of the NBA right now for a reason! Of course this is a commercial, but these statements describe the attitude it takes not only to win, but to continue to grow and strive to be the best
Every school year the same thing happens. On the first day of school I tell my students the story of George the Gummy Worm. George is no ordinary gummy worm. George, like any other candy animal, decides to take
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