This is the time of the year that is hardest for me. The children have left for the summer and now so have the Teachers. Today I am reminded that the work I do in the summer matters. I will hang on to the notes of kind words, the bright moments of celebration and the…
Almost a year ago I attended the National Institute for Urban School Leaders at Harvard University. When I had applied I thought I had enough time to save up for it because for sure it would take me a couple years to get it in. I have never been so happy to be wrong in…
Equality
by Dr. Maya Angelou
You declare you see me dimly
through a glass which will not shine,
though I stand before you boldly,
trim in rank and marking time.
You do own to hear me faintly
as a whisper out of range,
while my drums beat out the message
and the rhythms never change.
Equality, and…
I am a 360 leader. I value building capacity throughout the school so that children can grow, develop and contribute to our world. I visualize leadership like climbing around a spherical jungle gym- you know the one playground apparatus that every child ran for at recess time. I also loved the gigantic tractor tire that…
I believe that we are missing the point with regard to standardized testing. I understand that everyone has an opinion about testing and I know that there are ramifications to eliminating testing BUT we have to do better for our students.
I believe that our current system of accountability is muddled. It is muddled with too…
After I arrived at the state capitol and met the other participants, we were asked to think about what we wanted to talk with our legislators about- what was important to us. Honestly, I hadn’t really thought much about it because as a school administrator because I wasn’t sure if I would actually get out…
Two weeks ago I ventured out of my comfort zone and attended a lobby day at the state capitol. At the beginning, I didn’t really know why it was good for me to be there. I guess that I had always thought that was ‘someone else’s job’ to talk with legislators. I took the approach of…
This week we have celebrated National Foreign Language Week at VVMS. I am really proud of our teachers for promoting this week and global awareness. Our teachers created posters, ads for our messaging system, and a unique idea that I really loved. Our teachers gave each teacher a blank name badge on which we could write something…
Recently I was asked What personal characteristics define an excellent administrator? My short answer: I believe an excellent administrator is a learner, enjoys children and is effective at leading adults. Additionally, being visionary, strategic and having a growth mindset as a leader is important.
In order to have a strong academic culture I think that we have…
Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset may be the most influential work on my parenting and career to date. Last week I found myself in our Middle Level PLC meeting changing a survey scale from not true to not yet in my mind. I did it without intentionality, it has just become part of who…
