What should schools look like?  We believe there are some overarching concepts that should apply to all schools. They begin with purpose and what we know about children learning. We also believe that there are local visionaries who includes advocates and adversaries from within and outside of the community and wonders about what might be.    Read more...

Hate speech and actions are on the rise in our country.  It has long been our belief that leadership is first about who you are and how that informs your actions, and second about knowing how to perform the tasks of the job. Some are drawing a direct line between the words and actions of the POTUS and the polarization and extremism rising around us. We do, and that direct line is why.  Leaders, whether of  countries, states, towns, school districts, boards of education, schools,…

Teachers are returning to their classrooms and leaders are thinking about and delivering their orientation day remarks. Most leaders have, themselves, also been teachers. They know that some days can be really hard and they remember the days when they were frustrated. But, they also know the better days, the ones that captured a light in a child's eye or the joy of stellar test marks that made a difference in a college acceptance or a performance that was memorable. They also know that…

The values that built our country must be claimed and spoken out loud over and over again. A new school year has already begun in some parts of the country and we wonder what will be said about the weekend news. Schools cannot simply hope that this event and events like it will stay far away from our communities and outside of the walls of the school building. News enters our homes, pops up on smartphones and sends us alerts. In some families and churches and communities, there will be…

When adults and children work and learn in an environment that supports risk taking and celebrates even the small successes and views failure as an opportunity for more learning, the environment becomes rich and dynamic with teaching and learning. That is what schools reach for...engaged, dynamic, learning environments that invite all to be learners and changers, to be gardeners attending the growth of themselves and each other. Understanding the fear of failure in one's self and in…

There are two types of students. Those who do well and those who wish they did well. In mathematics, particularly, there is a societal acceptance when even college-graduated adults shrug their shoulders and admit, "I'm just not good at math."  Few would admit, "I'm just not a good reader." But some do reveal, "I don't enjoy or partake in reading except when I have to". As the focus on subjects and tests overshadow the objectives of developing life-long learners, these are the results. …

There is a continuing conservative direction expressed by the federal administration that feels to us to be exclusive while at the same time public schools struggle to be inclusive. Questioning beliefs is a good thing. Reexamining past practice helps to update, modernize, refine some things and abandon others. However, beginning with accusation and fear is not a productive path. As we've shared before, we believe what is happening in the world outside of schools will arrive within its…

We know of no leadership training program leading to certification that focuses on courage. What is courage? How is it developed? Does it strengthen in risk taking, in failure or success? And, we guess, an essential question arises of whether or not leadership calls for courage. Or is skill and knowledge enough? A lucky candidate may come across a professor who includes an investigation of courage in her coursework or who tells stories of experiences where courage was invoked. We…