There are many ways in which we are guided in our jobs. I hope we all start with a sense of morality and ethics as we go about our day. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest influencers on workplace behavior, especially in public education, is the law. What is written in the school code, to a large extent, drives the decisions…
I came across an article last week that is incredibly practical. It highlights the importance of a specific skill in helping leaders navigate change. The skill is adaptive thinking. Most, if not all, of us want to be adaptive thinkers. We want to ensure that our decisions, connections, and experiences are not based on a rigid, brittle worldview. As leaders, our…
The General Assembly granted all school leaders in Pennsylvania a gift in January. I think we have to be real about this. It occurred when the School Code was changed to move away from 180 days AND 900/990 hours of instruction to 180 days OR 900/990 instructional hours. I can’t think of a piece of legislation that did so much by changing one word.…
I am going to share a story with you that happened multiple times when I was a high school principal. One part of the job that I loved as a principal was going into classrooms. Whether it was for a formal observation of a teacher, observing a student, or just to go in and watch learning happen, I loved the…
In the ever-evolving landscape of public education, stress and anxiety have become common companions in our professional journey. Yet, within these challenges lies a transformative opportunity for growth and satisfaction in our roles as leaders. The key? A commitment to self-reflection. There is something important that we forget about stress: we can overcome it. Regardless of the level of stress,…
Something to think about… Actionable Insights for School Leaders 1. Identify the Power of Ideas in Education – Reflect on the Origin of Educational Ideas: Consider where the dominant ideas in education are originating. Are they serving the best interests of our students and communities, or are they skewed toward the agendas of influential organizations? – Action: Engage in forums…
In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we often find ourselves caught in a relentless cycle of decision-making. It’s easy to navigate from one choice to the next without pausing to reflect on the deeper reasons behind our actions. By day’s end, we may feel busy but wonder if our efforts were truly effective. To break free from…
I was planning on writing a response to a blog post about managing change in an organization, but I changed my mind. Instead, I want to merge the suggestions from the blog with a new perspective. Imagine a world where we focus on helping our staff learn instead of constantly worrying about managing change. It would be an incredible place…
Like many people, I struggle with balancing short-term, micro thinking and long-term, macro thinking. Micro-thinking focuses on the “here and now” tasks and getting things done, while macro-thinking takes a broader view and considers larger trends and patterns. Often, I find myself stuck in micro-thinking, stressing about efficiency and tactics to manage change and complete my to-do list. I believe…
I spend quite a bit of my time thinking about how to make our schools better. More specifically, I think a lot about how to make schools better for kids, not just better in a general sense. Invariably, the concept of “change” gets intertwined with making schools better for kids. The “change” concept is where many an article, book, and…