Reflections

After nearly 26 years in this field, I still feel like a novice.  As a teacher, I always wondered if I was doing my best. I moved into administration and realized the work I had been so quick to evaluate as a teacher was even harder to do as an administrator. I've had the honor of serving in positions in many different levels and know that each has its benefits. Still, each of it has its struggles. We are conditioned to believe that great leaders aren't supposed to admit that. Well, I've never considered myself a great leader. You'd think after over 10 years in administration, I'd have it figured out. But, I don't. If I am entirely honest, I sometimes feel like I am playing the role of Chris Gardner in this clip. I've arrived to the interview in the wrong clothes and don't look the part of the position. "He said you're smart. I like to think so. And you want to learn this business? Yes sir, I want to learn this business. Ha...

If we considered the odds, he wasn't supposed to "make it". He was an active, athletic youth who had little interest in schoolwork. He could easily do the work, especially math, but there wasn't a reason to excel at it. Over the course of his school years, he collected numerous behavior referrals.  In elementary school, teachers labeled him a smart mouth. I can still recall the memory of walking by his fourth grade classroom and seeing a desk in the air. It wasn't the student who had thrown it. It was his teacher, acting out of such frustration. In high school, things got tougher. People on the outside assumed he was too deep in trouble to stand for. He eventually dropped out of school. Since the age of 15, he had always been employed (had those soft skills that employers wanted but maybe schools didn't quantify at that time), so he worked. A year later, he decided to return to school. Imagine the bravery that took back in the late 1980s. The merit of...

"All still means all, right? Doesn't mean some of them , or the easier ones, or the ones with only great manners. Can't just mean the ones without difficult learning needs or who protest they can't stand our efforts. It means all. That all is so important to our work because once we let that all mean only some, we run the risk of failing students, some whom could be our very own children. We'd never let that be ok. So, how can we let it be ok for the kids with other parents? And, if we let it be ok, how do we decide which ones are worth saving and which are…" These are the words I wish I had said, as an Assistant Superintendent, as I considered a recent interaction. There were some recent conversations around specific students that were presenting with major defiance and beating us at launching more obstacles than we could appear to meet. But, the words didn’t come to me as eloquently. I reassured the person in my conversation that we were on the right tr...

I watched as she just stared at the present. This young lady, invited to an after school Christmas party for her and some of her classmates, was mesmerized by the bows and glitter. She took in every moment of all things beautiful. She methodically moved the packages on all sides and smiled at every turn. She said something about not wanting to unwrap it. It was all so pretty and she was looking to keep it in tact. She eventually relented and peeled away the papers. She smiled the biggest of smiles at every present found within. Her head lifted and she watched as the invited classmates had already enthusiastically opened their gifts. She smiled with them. She smiled for them.  She must have thanked the adults in the room at least ten times with her own quiet words and thankful glances.  It was in these moments that the adults gathered in that room were reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.  She prompted us to take in the memory before us without regard for all...

When I was still a teacher, many years ago, there was a book series for students where they could choose "their own adventure".  Readers would read to a certain point and then depending on what they thought the protagonist should do, they would skip ahead to certain pages and continue reading.  I remember them being wildly popular for some of my most voracious readers. My mind has been skipping back to thoughts of this series as I process recent conversations with colleagues in district and beyond. Some of these conversations are sound bytes from my current role and some are sound bytes from networking sessions outside my formal role. In some ways, the words blend together as I think about the collective work "of school" and evaluate my own contributions within. In my mind, I see our protagonist as the school leader, district leader, or even a teacher. Someone who is juggling way too much on one plate and works desperately to keep children at the center of the d...

In my position, I have the opportunity to sit in on a number of conversations that turn to the topic of school improvement. These conversations are with a variety of stakeholders including teachers, support staff, parents, principals and even colleagues in other schools. The topic is often handled differently. For some, improvement can be stated in terms of the new. This might be new positions, new reading materials, or new policies. All of these actions happen outside the organization and are brought in. The chance for improvement is postponed and dependent on outside influences. For others, improvement is stated in terms of purposeful change and coordinated efforts within a building. An example of this approach can be found within a solid Child Study Team. Some CSTs have this process down pat.  Identify a concern, create an intervention plan which is developed (with teachers) and implemented by a team , and then monitor for progress or lack there-of. Re-meet and readjust. M...

When I was completing coursework to become an administrator, I saw leadership (and its inherent responsibilities) in an incomplete way. I was certain I was cut out for the job and could do things differently than I was seeing them done around me. If only I could secure that just right position! I will forever be thankful to the first administrator that took a chance on letting me jump from the classroom to a district level position coordinating elementary special education services. I made many mistakes those first few years and still, to this day, remember two of the many lessons he taught me. I had the opportunity to pay forward his advice by sharing it with newer administrators (and administrators in training) this week. His advice from 15 years ago still works. Lesson #1 This work is a marathon, not a sprint. I remember lamenting out loud to anyone that would listen to me in my new role about "all I had to do" and if only "there were more hours in the day...