During this Thanksgiving week, I’d like to share a story from my childhood that left a profound impact on me. I’ve learned many lessons from my parents, this one being one of the greatest. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families and loved ones! Picture this, I’m about 13 years old and…
It really bothers me when I hear people say, “there’s nothing I can do.” Really nothing? We as school leaders are faced with many decisions each day. Some are easy, and some have great challenges. To me when someone says “there’s nothing I can do,” they’re giving up way too easy, or they might just…
I recently had a paradigm shift which has helped me in so many different ways. Start with the image of a toll booth in your mind. A wide one with 7+ openings. There are E-ZPass lanes, cash lanes, truck lanes, etc. A lot of different ways to get through the toll. As I approach those…
Through the power of the #PLN and meeting with other great educational leaders worldwide, I was able to connect with Daniel Bauer. Daniel is the creator of Better Leaders Better Schools. Better Leaders Better Schools “is designed to connect world-class leaders in education and promote their development.” It is an honor to be featured in his…
During this week, Halloween 2019, kids and adults across the country will be putting on masks and costumes and pretending to be someone or something else than who they really are. Young and old love this holiday and the tradition of dressing up and taking on another identity. After the party, or after the trick-or-treating…
I’ve always liked baseball, yet the older I get the less I watch. I’ve also enjoyed coaching my son’s baseball team over the years, but he has now switched to lacrosse, so my exposure to baseball has really been diminished in the last couple of years. My sister Suzanne (Suzy Pinstripe) is a huge Yankees…
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…