Originally posted at SchoolAdministrationMastery.com Hello amazing school administrators. This is the fifth installment in the series of posts that I am calling, It’s All About Morale. The previous posts can be found here. In the last post, I shared about how our school is using Kudos cards to allow the staff to recognize and show […]
A Leader’s Most Important Tool? Their St
(Originally posted on Front Office Leadership) By Jeff Krieger Can meaningful leadership exist without quality communication? Do great communicators always provide great leadership? What comprises a great communicator to you and your campus? Should communication be a priority for campus leaders? Why all the questions about communication? The above is meant to illustrate the […]
Why I Want To Be Invisible – Walter Kozl
(Originally posted on Servant Principal.) By Walter A. Kozlowski Principals should be visible. This seems to be an agreed upon ideal, to which I also subscribe. However, there are two things I know about being visible as a school leader. First, I will never be able to be as visible as I want to […]
Top Ten Things to Not Forget as a Princi...
(Originally posted on Love the Learning.) By Jessica Hanson Embarking on a new journey to become the principal of an elementary campus has already had it’s highs and lows and I haven’t even started the school year yet. I have already been faced with tough decisions that required me to “Move people’s cheese” and “Dip […]
Principals and Other Humans – Bjorn Paig
Originally posted on Skins of Ill Shaped Fishes.) By Bjorn Paige It was simpler as a teacher. In my thirteen years in the classroom making meaningful connections with students was my first priority. Sure, we had books to read and papers to write, but I knew that kids don’t learn from teachers they don’t like […]
What’s Most Important on Opening Meeting
(Originally posted at On Principal.) By John Falino It’s hard to believe that the start of another school year is quickly approaching. As school leaders are putting the finishing touches on a summer that was filled with scheduling, staffing, professional development, and a multitude of other tasks that go along with ensuring the successful start […]
Building Positive School Culture: 20 Ide...
(Originally posted on Principal Matters.) By William D. Parker School or work environments are like home environments–it doesn’t take long to figure out if you are in a happy, productive place or not. Last week I was in Oklahoma City for a meeting with OASSP, the Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Principals, when we were […]
Embrace the New Year and the New Teacher...
(Originally posted at Education, Leadership and 21st Century Pedagogy.) By Pam Gildersleeve-Hernandez The Back to School blog posts are appearing. They’re showing up in our in boxes, our Twitter feeds, on Google+ and our Facebook feeds. Where just a week ago, our social media was filled with pictures of smiling couples, groups of friends […]
Gathering Feedback from Staff for Person...
(Originally posted on A Principal’s Life.) By David Ellena As we approach the end of the school year, my thoughts inevitably begin to turn towards the next school year. It is like this every year. I start to look at what went well, what didn’t go so well and things I want to focus on […]
Key Practices of High-Performance Instru...
(Originally posted on Eduleadership.) By Justin Baeder What does it mean to be an instructional leader? Too many definitions contrast instructional leadership with “mere” management, as if the management work that administrators do isn’t related to teaching and learning. I believe that it’s all connected, and that an effective instructional leader is also an effective […]
On Becoming a School Leader – Steven Web
(Originally posted on ASCD EDge) By Steven Weber School leadership has changed over the past twenty years. The role of a building principal is similar to the combined roles of a chef, architect, tightrope walker, public speaker, supervisor, investment broker, and pilot. As a chef, the school leader stirs the right ingredients and takes risks, […]
Surviving Tuesday – Walter A. Kozlowski
(Originally posted on Servant Principal.) By Walter A. Kozlowski My wife and I usually do not see each other on Tuesday. In fact, we rarely even get a chance to talk. Her shift begins an hour before my day at school ends. I leave the building with barely enough time to pick up one […]
The Corrosive Side of Leadership – David
(Originally posed on DCulberhouse.) By David Culberhouse “Is the question being asked: Whose fault was this? If so, your culture is one that vilifies failure. Failure is difficult enough without it being compounded by the search for a scapegoat.” -Ed Catmull ‘Creativity, Inc.’ If we are going to build up the capacity for more creative […]
Advice for First Year Principals – Jessi
(Originally posted on Mrs. Cromer: Leading and Learning.) By Jessica Cromer Whoa, what’s that in your newsfeed? A new blogpost from @MrsJCromer?! Its only been since February people, don’t be so surprised. I’ve been just a little busy with my first year running a school and have not been the best blogger. But have no […]
The Speed of Innovation – David Steward
(Originally posted on One Administrator’s View.) By David Steward Recently, I was fortunate to engage in a chat on Twitter that accompanied a local district beginning to discuss innovation and change for their kids. The chat was extremely interesting (check out #ImagineSPS to see the discussion) and got me reflecting on change, innovation, and specifically […]