Blog
Burnout – Social Isolation: How Do We Help Our Staff Through the Covid Challenge
The term “burnout” was coined in the 1970s by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. He used it to describe the consequences of severe stress and high ideals in “helping” professions. Read more
It’s Time to Get R.E.A.L.
The start of the 2020-21 school year has been anything but business as usual. We have found ourselves navigating uncharted territory, tasked with reimagining teaching and learning amidst a global pandemic. Read more
Keeping Your Fire Stoked
If you live in Texas like I do, you know that anytime the weather gets below 80, we celebrate with all things fall! Pumpkin spice, boots, and s’mores around the fire pit! Recently, my family and I were enjoying... Read more
Assessing the Remote Learner
Shifting to remote learning over a weekend and then starting the fall semester remotely has been a challenge for many teachers. Read more
Saving Grace
I believe it is fair to say that we are going through a significant trial, and some may even say, a crisis. Experiencing a months-long school shutdown was not something I had ever . . . Read more
Our Mission Remains Clear: Focusing on Student Results
In this world of uncertainty, where everything is changing by the hour—wait, by the minute!—there are crucial questions that need to be answered. How do we continue to ensure that . . . Read more
Four Key Leadership Actions in Developing and Sustaining a PLC
I was first introduced to the PLC process in 2004, and in the last 16 years as a school leader, I have been in the “arena” at all points of the journey of the PLC process. My . . . Read more
How PLCs Guided Our Work Through the COVID Crisis
As the dynamics in education across the world changed in March and the months after, so did the thoughts of many educational professionals. Leading a large urban-suburban high school provided . . . Read more
Critical Issues for Guiding Coalitions
Change is messy. Change is hard. Change is unpredictable. These are the types of phrases I have heard over the past few months as educators around the globe prepared for several changes to the . . . Read more
In a Changing Time, Remember the Fundamentals
So much of the national conversation has shifted towards reopening school to our students and to our communities. Locally, you may be hearing conversations about reopening to full in-person . . . Read more
Even Now, It's About Culture and Vision
We have been through the wringer. Wait—certainly, we are still mid-wringer. With so much disruption and uncertainty over the past few months, it feels like we are trying to navigate a course . . . Read more
Everything I Learned About Leadership, I Learned at Summer Camp
I used to have the greatest summer job during college and my early years as a teacher. I spent 10 summers as a sports camp counselor in southern Missouri. I was fortunate to surround . . . Read more
Key Turning Points
I had read and memorized these words: “One of the most damaging myths about school leadership is that the change process, if managed well, will proceed smoothly” (DuFour, DuFour, . . . Read more
Growing and Utilizing Your Guiding Coalition
Change is hard, but inevitable. Schools are complex…I would argue they are extremely complex. Name another industry where you have as many variables (students, parents, teachers, bus . . . Read more
Finding the Opportunity in the COVID-19 Crisis
The 2019-20 school year will certainly go down in history as unprecedented. The COVID-19 pandemic turned all aspects of society, including school systems, upside-down. As schools were mandated . . . Read more