Attention to the success of ALL students focuses on curriculum and standards, differentiation and intervention, assessment and evaluation. All of that stands on the shoulders of the social emotional health of each child and adult. Whether we can take full responsibility for social emotional health of our students, and the people who work in our organizations or not, we must pursue it in earnest.  No one, child or adult, can bring their best selves to any task, if…

How can an open mind and an open heart be maintained in the heavily contentious environments educators find themselves in these days? Professional development can happen in a variety of forms.  It can come in structured learning from a instructor, reading a book, participating in a professional learning community or from witnessing an exemplar of a behavior and making a personal choice to employ that behavior or develop that skill. Here, we are writing about the…

Groupthink can be a powerful destructive force. Easily misunderstood as the values that sustain the organization, groupthink is more tied to the "view of the predominant group" and is "characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent." In this time of stress as standards and testing are being challenged, evaluation methods are questioned, schools are confronting failure to prepare every student for their future, and financial…

Drs. Adelman and Taylor write, " Anyone who has spent time in schools can itemize the multifaceted mental health and psychosocial concerns that require attention so that schools and students can succeed. As a result, many stakeholders are interested in enhancing how schools address such concerns. The question is: How should society's schools address the many factors interfering with teaching and learning?" …

Clearly, teachers are no longer purveyors of information, but schools can still be incubators for learning.  Schools are places where questions are raised and answers explored, experiences are shared, and collaboration can be expected.  It is the work of schools to develop students as learners, thinkers, and knowers, all with the goal of preparing them to be independent, informed, college and career ready.

In that spirit schools have adopted texts, software, methods,…

Leaders often play the role of investigator, and are always playing the role of decision maker. Whether in an elementary school or a secondary school, children break rules or behave in unkind ways that require intervention. Often if student's discipline has been raised to the level of a hearing, or a faculty or staff member has made a misstep, central office leaders are called to investigate. Listening deeply, asking the right questions, and remaining clear about the influence of bias are…

Creating chaos is not the path to a reinvented ...or even stronger...educational system. It is not fathomable to consider the mess that will be caused by the requirement for school leaders to leave their buildings to provide "objective" observations in other buildings and districts. Who believes that changing the location makes one a better judge of effective teaching? Are leaders that malleable or under the thumb of the local union? Hardly. And, by the way, what about the important…

The concern over the education system in the United States has taken off with a life of its own.  Can anyone identify what is wrong anymore?  Is it teacher performance, outdated curriculum, lack of staff, supplies, and technology, underperforming pre-service programs, limited resources, or ineffective leadership? Is it a lack of school design to meet the needs of 21st century learners? Is it our lack of capacity or will to educationally overcome the effects of poverty? Is it the federal…

It is not uncommon when focusing on good communication to think of it as an exchange...something that comes from us to others or others to us.  Communication is related to how things are said, what medium is used...verbal or written words, personally or in a group, memo, email, letter, webpage, blog, article, phone call and so on. Word choice, tone, pacing, and intention are aspects of communication. But, we contend the best attribute for a school leader to develop as a good…

An interesting awareness has arisen recently with the movement to put the face of a woman on U.S. currency. Women have made political and social contributions, certainly. But, none has yet been president of the country. How do we take hold of the change in attitude, policy, and opportunity for the young women in schools, and the teachers and leaders in charge of them? What are the policies and practices in schools that shape the way young men and women are…