Ask teachers what they would consider an optimal working condition and you will get a variety of different answers. However, one answer remains consistent: autonomy. In these days of high stakes testing, schools continue to micro manage instruction as well as the curriculum in hopes of achieving high test scores. However, this is counter-productive and can be very detrimental to staff morale, leading to uninspired instruction, which is unfavorable to student learning. Continue reading “3 Ways Principals Can Promote Autonomy”
Staffing Consistency is Vital for a School’s Success
Culture is king. Schools leap forward or jump back due to a positive or negative culture. This culture is built on creating positive, strong, long-lasting relationships. It is difficult to build these strong relationships when staff is moved around and in and out of the school every year. This is especially true in Special Education where students thrive on the connections they make with their Psychologist, Speech Pathologist, and Counselor.Continue reading “Staffing Consistency is Vital for a School’s Success”
5 Ways to Build a Strong School Culture
Great schools / districts all have one thing in common: great organizational culture. Dedicated teachers and a researched-based curriculum isn’t enough to make a school great. Culture is everything. Management guru, Peter Drucker wrote, “Culture eats strategy for lunch”. He is right. A poor organizational culture will send these amazing teachers straight into the arms of another school or district. Continue reading “5 Ways to Build a Strong School Culture”
Please Upgrade your Teacher / Principal Meetings
The summer months are ideal for educators to reflect, recharge and to begin planning for the next school year. I always try select one new idea, concept, tool, or program to explore during the first few months back. I have an idea that I would like to throw out to all administrators out there: rethink your meetings.Continue reading “Please Upgrade your Teacher / Principal Meetings”
The Modern Classroom
I’ve said many times that educators need to stop referring to classrooms with rich technology use, project-based learning, collaborative groupings and an inquiry-based pedagogy as 21st Century Classrooms. We live in the 21st century. All classrooms should contain the previous elements. After all, it is 2020. We are in the 21st century, right? Continue reading “The Modern Classroom”
5 Tips on Making Assessments Useful in Your Classroom
Assessment doesn’t have to be a “four letter word” in education. Assessments can be quite useful, informative, and purposeful when utilized properly. Unfortunately, assessments are often used to put a grade on a report card or as a district compliance measure that once given, the results are never analyzed.Continue reading “5 Tips on Making Assessments Useful in Your Classroom”
5 Ways for Principals To Be More Visible
The job of a school principal has evolved over the last several decades. It has gone from manager, to instructional leader, to transformative leader, to everything including the kitchen sink. With everything principals have to do throughout the day, one of the most essential elements of the role is visibility. Continue reading “5 Ways for Principals To Be More Visible”
The Principal's Desk 