Once a Bobcat, Always a Bobcat

Image Credit: monologuedb.com Imagine that you are not an educator, and do me a favor.  Close your eyes and think about what comes to mind when I say one word... principal .  Most of the people that I know outside of the educational field will mention one, if not all three of these names: Richard Belding, Richard Vernon, and Edward Rooney. Last weekend, I had the chance to spend some time with a few of my friends that I haven't seen in a number of years.  The conversation was pretty typical, as we caught up on each other's work and social | family lives.  Within this conversation and on two additional occasions in the last week, I was asked about my job and what exactly I do as an elementary school principal.  When I explained my job and responsibilities to my friends, I don't think I highlighted the key points as much as I would have liked. Image Credit: savedbythebell.wikia.com "So are you like a modern day Mr. Belding, or what?"  This was the first

*This post is a compliment to an article that I wrote for  NAESP's May/June edition of Principal magazine . The full article can be found  here .* A few weeks ago, I wrapped up my third year as principal of Epworth and Farley Elementary Schools , and cannot thank our students, staff, families, and community members enough for another fantastic experience.  Being the principal of two elementary schools is extremely rewarding, and like all educators at this day in age, never short of daily challenges.  I consider myself a connected educator, and about three years ago, I made a conscious effort to connect with educational leaders to build my skills while learning from great minds in the field.  The platform that I chose to utilize was (and is) Twitter which I tried to aggressively push upon fellow administrators and teachers within my district. After three years of connecting with my Personal Learning Network (PLN), I have learned a few things and altered my approach. Image Cre