Category: Leadership Lessons

Schools are a busy place and when emotions heighten, we tend to push past the mental speed limit. Instead of hearing sirens and getting pulled over for going too fast, we end up increasingly rushed, reckless, and often in the proverbial ditch on the side of the road. The area I think this happens the most in is school discipline. As soon as a child makes a mistake such as disrupting class or breaking a rule on the code of behavior, everyone wants to know what we are doing to do about it. Right. Now.  But before we …

What’s the Hurry? Checking your discipline speedometer Read more »

Great leadership must start with effective management, which can lead into preventative discipline, ultimately being more present to deal with issues before they become massive problems.  In this blog post and podcast episode, I’m excited to collaborate with Dr. John Gratto, one of my former professors at Virginia Tech. John is a really smart and experienced school leader. He has a wealth of wisdom to share with us on this topic! Watch the full interview on YouTube. Listen to the podcast at the end of this post.  Tips to Complete Big Projects (like dissertations!) When you stay focused working …

Preventative Management and Discipline, with Dr. John Gratto Read more »

In this episode, I’m bringing in my friend – author, speaker, middle school award winning principal Jessica Cabeen. We’re talking the ins and outs of classroom informal observations. What works, the challenges administrators and teachers face, and ways we can take these moments to the next level. If you are a teacher, this is real talk behind the scenes from too experienced principals that may give insight into how it all works. A powerful way to helps kids improve is to give meaningful feedback to their teachers! Administrators, you know how hard this is, so let’s get real …

Constructive over Critical: Informal Observations & Teacher Feedback – with Jessica Cabeen Read more »

A year from now, would you have wished that you started today? Maybe you are worried about starting, because you feel like you should have been doing it already – so why start now? But just because we didn’t do something before, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it now. Many of us, our colleagues, or our students struggle with staying focused and starting things even when we know we should be doing them. For kids with ADHD, it’s especially challenging. They have a significant challenge in starting tasks, staying focused on it through completion, and in general with …

Fighting Information & Task Overload Read more »

A tweet is just a thought, not a manifesto. But tweets can make you think. This week, I had a special opportunity to substitute in a classroom and experience teaching kids in person and at home via zoom at the same time. Not only did it make me realize how challenging it is for teachers, but it also helped me understand a few ways that we could help them. I tweeted out a message of appreciation to my teachers and check out the response online:  I subbed for a teacher this week & had to teach both kids …

Learning from Real Experiences Read more »

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 the anxiety builds when we can’t figure out a way to make something work.  Have you ever thought about what you are thinking about before these stressful moments occur in your life? We can accidently fall into the trap of panic and fear instead of preparation and planning. That fear can wreak havoc with us both professionally and …

Panicked or Prepared? Read more »

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 we can use practical strategies like backfilling our schedules, being purposeful in our planning, and empowering others along the way. Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Google Podcasts.  Backfill Your ScheduleIn the podcast, Kip presented this idea and I thought it was fantastic. Take the time to reflect on your day and week to see …

Tough Choices Read more »

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 come out of the middle of nowhere? We stopped to get gas and he asked to get out and help pump the gas. This was a little thing, and really wasn’t that big of a deal to me, but for him this was such a cool experience. He felt empowered and special. It took longer of course to …

Slow down & give leadertunities to others Read more »