Once a Bobcat, Always a Bobcat

At the end of the school year in May, I asked our teaching staff to answer the question in the title of this post.  There were a number of eyebrows raised and foreheads crinkled; however, they completed the highly reflective task with great effort on the last day of school.  It is several months later, but it is only fair that I answer the question that I posed to them. This is my twelfth year in education and fourth as a building administrator.  Many of my views have changed as I have experienced new thoughts, fallen flat on my face, and grown with each passing day. I used to think it was all about results, and I now I have discovered that the process is much more important. We live in a data driven society, particularly in the educational field within the last 15 years especially.  Results are extremely important, and we are all aiming for increased levels of student achievement by developing strategic plans, SMART goals, and learning targets.  The real ...

Change is such a hot topic in the educational realm and gets a great deal of attention in the national media. We have all heard, "We must change by increasing the rigor within instruction to meet the Common Core State Standards." "We need to change our assessment systems to ensure that students are learning the skills that will allow them to be productive citizens in the future."  The rhetoric within the national media at this time is more centered around testing, more accountability, increased levels of rigor, and punishment to schools not meeting the targets.  I will not disagree that change needs to occur within our business; however, the changes must be focused on the right things that can lead to significant improvement throughout the entire system. Within this post, I will highlight three areas where we must change as educators.  Video credit to Dr. Justin Tarte Give up control and trust kids.   The vast majority of my K-12 experience was spent in the lat...

What's the best thing that's ever happened to you as an educator?  Is it when your first class walked across the stage on graduation day?  When a student came back to your class ten years later and said thank you for making a difference in his/her life.  Or watching one of your students accomplish an incredible task such as competing in the state wrestling finals or earning an academic scholarship to a prestigious university?  I have had the opportunity to witness all of these things and many more throughout my career as a teacher, principal, and coach.  All of these events hold a special place in my heart, and continue to drive me to do what I do each day; however, none are the best thing that has happened to me as an educator...not even close.  The best thing that happened to me as an educator is the day I became a dad. Something amazing happened after my first son was born in 2009.  I started thinking like a father within my teaching/coaching a...

I had the opportunity to attend the National Association of Elementary School Principal's (#naesp14) Annual Conference in Nashville last week.  This was the most rewarding professional development opportunity that I have ever been a part of for a number of reasons.  I was honored to deliver a presentation about communication and public relations for 21st century principals , assisted in the Social Media Lounge, and made connections with members of my Personal Learning Network (PLN) that I will remember forever.  I attended a number of sessions that enhanced my knowledge of branding, productivity, instructional and digital leadership.  The sessions were great; however, they are not what I will remember the most.  The face to face connections that I was able to make with members of my PLN made the difference in this conference, particularly my work with Melinda Miller , Jenny Nauman , Joe Mazza , Vicki Day , Sandra Trach , Tony Sinanis , Kathy Melton , Erin Simpso...

A couple of months ago I spent about eight hours on the road traveling to #edcampiowa in Bettendorf before heading to Des Moines for the state girls basketball finals on my way back home all in one day.  As I was traveling, I had the opportunity to listen to quite a few episodes of The Rockstar Principals' Podcast , and was very intrigued by one of their segments where Jon and Nick compared the leadership styles of mob bosses to school leaders.  I have always been fascinated with the mafia, organized crime, and have read several books about John Gotti, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, and the Gambino Family.  I have seen all of the classic mob movies like Goodfellas, The Godfather series, A Bronx Tale, and many more.  Naturally, when Jon and Nick started talking about this segment, my ears perked up. The Rockstar Principals referenced the Godfather II and a scene where Hyman Roth has a conversation with Michael Corleone about the death of Roth's friend, Moe Greene. ...

Over the past couple of weeks I've been talking with a number of teachers, administrators, parents, and other members of the school community about what the best educators do differently than everyone else.  I know that there have been a number of books written on this topic including What Great Teachers do Differently by @ToddWhitaker.  This book has informed many of the thoughts within this post however; I will explain the six things that I feel the best educators do better than everyone else. The best educators invest more time into their work.   The best educators are not clock or contract watchers; they realize that their responsibility of educating students never stops, regardless of the time commitment.  The best educators are passionate about their students, the subject they teach, and most importantly in the connections that they make with their kids. The best have high expectations for students but even higher expectations for themselves. The best educ...

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut with four other administrators from my school district.  There is a lot of pride in this town and school community.  I don't know if I have ever felt more welcomed anywhere in my life.  Dr. Mark Benigni and his staff pulled out all the stops on this trip by providing us with welcoming gifts, fantastic, unbelievable meals, comprehensive plans for every minute of each day, excellent resources to take home, and even provided us with world famous "steamed cheeseburgers."  This trip was full of learning opportunities as we were able to see a successful school district that is intentional with every move.  The key learnings from my trip have been captured below. Expanded Learning Time Two of Meriden's elementary schools (Casimir Pulaski) and (John Barry) have implemented 100 minutes of additional learning time each day equaling over 40 additional school days per year.  This t...