I had two amazing opportunities this past weekend, Columbus Day weekend 2019. I was able to be part of two celebrations and recognition ceremonies. In reflection, a couple of days later, I am filled with joy and awe. The first was to be present as part of the receiving party welcoming a group of returning…
There are so many components that make up a great educator leader. One could write 100 blogs about all of the components, yet one thing I think about often is this simple concept: How can I help you? versus What do you want? We have hundreds of requests throughout our work week: communicating with students, parents,…
It was a late Friday afternoon in the fall, and I was running the cross country loop at a local school. One of those beautiful, yet warm afternoons where it still feels like summer. There was a field hockey team finishing up their practice by running laps around the track as I passed by on…
Another story from my excellent trip to Montreal in August 2019: I’m a bit old-fashioned in some ways, and one of those is to send postcards to loved ones from the places I visit. I was on a summer trip to Montreal with my college buddies, and I wanted to send my children and my…
We are so fortunate in our roles as school leaders to be able to have a significant impact on the lives of others each and every day. I had an amazing experience over the weekend of September 13th and 14th, 2019. It was the 50th anniversary of my in-laws Patricia and Eugene Grimes. They are…
Experience can be extremely valuable. I have been at my school, Port Jervis High School now for 15 years. Seven as Assistant Principal, and eight as Principal. I have met tremendous educators who have provided different perspectives, opinions, and certainly advice to me over the years. One of my favorites was from my friend, former…
Blog #77 I got the best students You always want to have the right story at the right time, for the right audience. This is a copy of the story I told on opening day at my school to our staff in Port Jervis, New York. There are several takeaways from the story, and it…
School is opening up any day for you now. You may have already started, or you may be able to squeeze out a couple last days of summer! I was fortunate enough to not only present at the National Principals Conference’s this summer in Boston but also attend a number of awesome sessions. There were…
I’m not a huge soccer fan yet I like the World Cup, and certainly the international matches. I was very happy for the United States Women in their World Cup win, yet I did not watch any of the games. I recently visited Montreal with some friends and it was the last night of our…
A few weeks ago we received this postcard from Rome. It was authored and sent by my son‘s fourth-grade teacher from last year, Mr, Ed Sokolowski. What a thoughtful gesture, and it got me thinking. What a great thing to do for kids and families! It checks all the boxes: building relationships, saying thank…