Leadership, like life, is a journey best taken along with a healthy dose of self-knowledge, social conscience, empathy, compassion, and humility. What is taught and learned in administrative preparation programs are the nuts and bolts: the law, finance, labor relations, supervision, governance, the details of the daily responsibilities. These are all necessary knowledge and skills for the administrative role, but they are not all one needs to know. The successful ones, the ones who…

One of the facets 21st century schools have in common is partnerships with business and higher education.  Many schools and districts already have partnerships that can be maximized with a willingness to recognize that:

• Students continue to fail to see a connection between what is happening in their classrooms and their future lives.
• Teachers do not have experience working in the fields of their content area.
• Targeted professional development that…

The phrase 'tough on crime' sits atop a silent undertone. It is not about early intervention or after school programs or drug prevention programs. It is about punishments and putting "them" away.  Steven H. Cook, a former police officer who became a federal prosecutor based in Knoxville, Tennessee, has just been appointed as a top lieutenant in Attorney General Jeff Sessions' administration.  According to the Washington Post:

"Sessions and Cook are preparing a…

Schools reinforce societal values...but should they?  It is part of the intention of public schools, isn't it? Preparing children to grow into contributing citizens in our society is certainly part of the curriculum. Educators carry with them the limits and biases of the society as well as the mores that make us a civil society. Without realizing it, and with no bad intention, schools reinforce the effects of racism and send graduates off who are holding those very societal values we…

We have an obligation to be mindful of how we teach and use the use of technology in learning. If you are wondering whether this applies to you or not, try spending a day without your phone attached to you, not checking your email, or looking for news alerts or suggestions for purchase. We would struggle to do that ourselves. Look around during faculty meetings and see whether there is focused attention or whether some are looking at their phones and iPads. Ask yourself if you've…

We have discovered over the past election cycle that it was getting more difficult not to get dragged down. The more hateful the language, the more distasteful the attitudes, the more troubling the policy, the more invisible the values, the more we were challenged to stay optimistic. A school is just a building without those human qualities living within it. We do know, however, that our business is one of hope and of optimism and of…

Leaders become mired in the work of getting all of the required evaluations of faculty and staff completed.  Once finishing becomes the objective, all potential value is in jeopardy. But at this time of year, that is the weight one feels, to finish. Evaluation is intended to serve two masters: one is accountability and the other is professional development. Some might think that is an irreconcilable duality. One might say it is an impossible one. But it is a fact of life in schools. So…