There’s an underlying tension that many school leaders are carrying right now. The expectations are clear. Student outcomes must improve. Achievement gaps must close. Growth must accelerate across every subgroup. At the same time, the conditions inside our schools tell a different story. Staffing challenges persist. Teachers are stretched thin. Building leaders are balancing more […]
This weekend, I moved into my new home in Colorado. For anyone who has ever moved, you know exactly what that experience feels like. There are boxes everywhere, you are searching for things you know you packed but somehow cannot find, and you are trying to figure out new routines, new spaces, and a new […]
Whether you’re stepping into your first principalship, taking on a superintendent role, leading a new department, or assuming responsibility for an entire organization, you’ve probably been told the same thing: You need a solid 90 day plan. I couldn’t agree more. A clear plan gives you direction, helps you identify priorities, establish relationships, and begin […]
For many new principals and superintendents, July 1 feels like the starting line. A new title. A new office. A new opportunity to make a difference. I still remember those first days. When I became principal, I wasn’t new to the building. I had served as the assistant principal, so I already knew the staff, […]
For a long time, I believed I was practicing servant leadership. If a teacher had a problem, I stepped in. If an assistant principal was overwhelmed, I took something off their plate. If a parent was upset, I handled the conversation. If something needed to get done, I did it. I wasn’t trying to control […]
There I was in the Boise airport, walking toward my gate, when I stopped. Completely stopped. My flight wasn’t delayed, I hadn’t forgotten something, I wasn’t even being paged back to the TSA counter. Nope…I stopped because sitting across the ramp was the Alaska Airlines Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge livery. I wasn’t flying on it. […]
As I wrapped up a week of leadership work with one of the districts I support in Virginia, I found myself returning to one theme over and over again: The importance of intentional reflection. Not surface-level reflection. Not the kind where leaders quickly say, “Yeah, this year was good,” before immediately shifting into staffing conversations, […]
For a long time, I thought being a great principal meant being everything to everyone. I believed great leaders solved every problem, answered every question, handled every crisis, and somehow still found time to lead the building well. As a result, most weeks felt like survival. From the moment I walked through the doors each […]
There’s a moment every school leader reaches sometime in May where they stop thinking about “finishing strong” and start thinking about one thing: Let’s just land this thing safely. As a high school principal, I used to compare the end of the school year to being the pilot of an airplane. Everyone else on board […]
As a school and district leader, I occasionally found myself in situations where employees had made poor choices or simply were not following through on expectations I had clearly communicated. In one particular situation, I had several conversations with an employee over a period of time. We discussed concerns, expectations, next steps, and areas where […]
