One of the formative songs I first heard in my friend’s basement when we were teenagers hanging out all Friday night playing records and ping pong was “Changes,” by David Bowie. It came up on my playlist the other day… Read more >>0 comments
You walk into the staff room, and one of your colleagues is griping under their breath about the broken copy machine or how students lose everything they're ever given. You notice you start to feel just a little more tense,… Read more >>0 comments
Pop Quiz: What do all these have in common? A pet you’ve left home alone for 12 hours is still overjoyed to see you when you get home from work. A sports fan who stays loyal to the team even… Read more >>0 comments
February: the month of Valentines and chocolate, love and flowers. For many educators, though, February is a long month spent in the slow descent towards testing season, and we can certainly feel tested! Typically, it is our patience and grace… Read more >>0 comments
It's January, and you might find yourself in multiple conversations that include the query, “So what's your New Year's Resolution this year?” You’ll wince at the thought, and wonder what's wrong with you that you haven't set one yet. But… Read more >>0 comments
To my husband, a musician and producer, feedback is a nasty word—think of that screeching sound which makes you cover your ears and wince in pain when the guitarist gets too close to his amp. It can ruin an otherwise… Read more >>0 comments
Jaime, a school principal, was working with a teacher around her grading system—she was wanting to make her grading more equitable and accurate, and had adopted a no-zero/minimum grade policy. Nothing about her course design had changed, however, so all… Read more >>0 comments
CarolAnn sat back in her chair and sighed loudly. “Oy vey,” she said. “Three words?!” I had just asked her to think back over her first year as an assistant principal and generate three words or phrases that might capture… Read more >>0 comments
Years ago, I worked with a principal who deeply believes he can develop the leader in everyone—in his staff, in his students, in his own children; everyone, he believes, has leadership potential. Daniel, we’ll call him, is a quintessential leader.… Read more >>0 comments
Many schools and school districts are coming around to the notion that instructional coaching is an important impact tool to raise student achievement, and with federal COVID funds available, principals are looking for coaches or for coaching models to implement… Read more >>0 comments
You Do What? A lot of people, when I tell them I am an Academic Leadership Coach, ask me, “What’s that?” It’s a fair question. In over twenty years as a high school English teacher, I never once heard of… Read more >>0 comments