(Originally posted on School Administration Mastery.) By Sam Rangel Beyond the horizon, across the vast expanse of the ocean, the captain envisioned a new world. He was certain that a better world existed, but he just needed to get there. He knew he couldn’t get there without some help. As strong as he was, and […]
Lessons Learned From Hollywood Movies –
(Originally posted on ASCD EDge) By Steven Weber There are several movie quotes which provide food for thought. These are some of my favorite quotes that apply to teaching and learning. As an educator, we must strive to improve daily. When we stop learning and growing, we will no longer have the ability to […]
Personal Regard: Why Being Gruff Isn’t W
(Originally posted on Eduleadership.) By Justin Baeder The principalship is tough work, so it’s no surprise that it both attracts tough-minded people and makes people tougher over time. It makes sense to be increasingly realistic and pragmatic as you gain experience, but too often we forget a key element of effective leadership: personal regard. Our […]
Rethinking Professional Development: 5 “
(Originally posted on On Principal.) By John Falino Establishing a strong system for teacher learning and professional growth is now a “basic” responsibility for all school leaders at all levels. Given the radical changes and new innovations that continue to come our way, the need for strong instructional leaders who are creative, model best practice, […]
People Want a Boss – Michael Smith
(Originally posted on Michael Smith’s Principal’s Page) By Michael Smith It is definitely that time of year. And not just for resumes and countdowns (spring break and end of the year). Schools districts are in the process of hiring administrators for next year. More people will be joining me in this challenging profession (notice I […]
#Leadership: If everyone is happy, then ...
(Originally posted on Life as an Educator.) By Dr. Justin Tarte So, we’ve all heard the saying or a variation before… ‘If somebody isn’t upset with you, then you must not be doing anything.’ Leadership is one of those things that a lot of people think they are good at and think they understand. The […]
What Can We Accomplish Together? – Willi
(Originally posted on Principal Matters.) By William D. Parker The European Space Agency’s historical comet landing of the space craft Rosetta last week has my head spinning. First of all, imagine organizing a team of scientists and space engineers who design and launch a space craft with the goal of intersecting with a comet 500 […]
Don’t Have A Good Day – Walter A. Kozlow
(Originally posted on Servant Principal.) By Walter A. Kozlowski I don’t recall when or where I picked up this habit, but I do know why. Instead of kindly suggesting to somebody that he or she “Have a good day”, I prefer to suggest they “Make it a great day.” I, especially like to do this […]
Goldilocks Leadership: A Balance of Hard...
(Originally posted on Communicate, Coach, Care: The Central Purpose) By Bethany Hill We all know that in order to be successful in roles where networking with others is a necessity, there must be a fine balance between using technical knowledge to know what needs to be accomplished along with the emotional intelligence regarding the people […]
Trust – The Crucial Glue for Reform and
(Originally posted on Building our Learning Capacity Through Creative Collaboration.) By Beate PLanche. We use the words trust, trustworthiness and trusting rather easily in our conversations with others as we think about how to move things forward in our schools. Do we have a shared understanding of how to build it? I have experienced […]
How the Administration Lost Their Most A...
(Originally posted on SchoolAdministrationMastery.com) By Sam Rangel She was the most amazing teacher I had ever known. Her name wasn’t Diane, but that’s what I’ll call her. Diane was so full of enthusiasm. She was always smiling, and she never had a negative word to say about any student or about another teacher. She loved […]
Make it a Priority to Stay Engaged All Y...
(Originally posted at A Principal’s Life. ) By David Ellena As a new year begins, hopefully we have all set goals and determined things that we will do better this year than last. I know I have. I always say that I am going to spend more time in classrooms (is there ever a time […]
Six Reasons to Make Walkthroughs a High ...
(Originally posted on Servant Principal.) By Walter A. Kozlowski Sign posted to my office door. An eighth-grade student sitting outside my office nodded toward chart on the wall and asked, “What’s that?” I explained to him that it is how we keep track of the classrooms we have visited. His response: “That’s cool.” For years, I was […]
Leadership at Its Most Powerful is by Ex...
(Originally posted at A Lighthouse.) By Dr. Daniel L. Frazier I once knew an executive who routinely displayed displeasure and sometimes contempt for his subordinates. Meanwhile he would preach to his team how they needed to improve staff morale. Unfortunately, the lieutenants emulated the leader. His team may have been told what to do, but […]
How Does A School Move From Good to Grea...
(Originally posted on On Principal.) By John Falino The beginning of the school year is always an optimal time to engage teachers in some “big picture” thinking. Enthusiasm and energy are at a high as teachers are well rested and optimistic about the possibilities of a new school year. As part of our two-day opening […]