Panther Connection

True leadership cannot be done in isolation. It takes a team of people, and we must surround ourselves with positive and dedicated stakeholders--those that complement our skillset as well as push our thinking. The action to engage is one for all. We must engage our educators, staff, parents, community members, and ourselves. Community and business partnerships create a network of support, resources, and care for our students. Sometimes leadership can be daunting. It's easy to get swept into the craziness of long days, heated debates, unpopular decisions, or even all of the logistical tasks for running a classroom, building, or even a district. We must remember that relationships and people are what it is all about and take time each day to engage in the important work of making connections and being both invested and committed to the people we serve. This helps us keep our focus, our purpose at the forefront of everything we do. Engaging others, soliciting support, and creating a s

  “As the leader, part of the job is to be visible  and willing to communicate with everyone.” -Bill Walsh While this is a part of my leadership vision, it is my biggest growth area. I have to really work to be present and visible. However, sometimes the daily grind and workload get the best of me. As an administrator, I go to games, concerts, and events, and I am in the classroom, lunchroom, and halls, but it is never enough. We all know relationships matter; people matter. Being the Type A person that I am, I sometimes need to put myself in check. Being viable is a must. I learned a lot about my leadership style through the book and questionnaire Strengths Based Leadership. If you have not done this one, I highly recommend it. My top five strengths are three from the executing theme: achiever, responsibility, and discipline and two are from the relationship building theme: connectedness and relator.  I really have to work about making sure that my executing skills do not overpower my

  “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”  —Sydney J. Harris My dissertation chair, Dr. Gary Marx was the perfect chair. He asked a lot of questions to help me find my way and come up with my own conclusions. This is an approach that I teach and model in my mentor trainings and coaching sessions. The purpose behind mentoring is to help mentees find their own ways, not to create a replica (or mini me). Dr. Marx was brilliant with this, making my work truly my own, and the learning behind it that much more powerful. This made the process harder and longer, but the outcome was a product that I could be proud of putting my name on the cover page.  We must make sure we are asking a lot of questions to help staff get to where they want (or need) to go. It is essential, however, to inform staff that these questions are not used to deter or question what they are doing. A servant, transformational leader practices shared leadership. We must use a great deal of inq

  “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”  – William Arthur Ward "To add value to others, one must first value others."  --John Maxwell   Education has become extremely challenging, and educators are responsible for more than they have ever before. People are quick to judge and criticize, and because of this, we need to work to provide tribute and praise for the work our teachers and staff do. The magic ratio is 5:1. It takes five compliments to offset one hurtful or negative comment. The same is for feeling appreciated. We need to pay tribute and praise staff for their hard work, progress, and successes.  Servant leadership is the best leadership style for paying tribute and building morale. Being in tune with staff members and taking care of their needs will create a better work environment for all. Showing gratitude is such an important aspect of a caring and collective culture. Positive reinforcement works and is one way t

  “If leaders want people to try new things,  they have to openly show that they are willing to do the same.” ― George Couros I first heard George Couros speak at the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) conference in 2014. I took a big punch to the heart that day when he stated that if we were an educator and not on Twitter, we were becoming illiterate. While I had opened a Twitter account in 2011, I didn't really use it, or for that matter know how to use it. Motivated by Couros, I learned more about how to use it, but it did not go as planned. I started my re-engagement to Twitter as a means to communicate to parents, but parents were not following me--even with a public relations campaign and school and district hashtags. My parents were using Facebook. We did have a good following there. However, I started to really get engaged and followed other educators and administrators and found myself smack in the middle of one of the best PLNs of my career. I w

  Welcome to 21-22: #MakeConnections It’s not been an easy couple of years, and I wish that I could offer you some assurance that this year will be easier. I do, however, firmly believe that we get the most out of life by putting the most into it. While this does allude to hard work, this notion goes beyond work ethic. It’s about making connections, creating a sense of team, working together, and inspiring the best out of ourselves, each other, and our students.  These first two months will set a foundation for a successful, safe, and happy school year. I challenge all of you to spend these first several weeks focusing on relationships, routines, structures, and to #makeconnections that will set not only the climate but also create an inclusive, innovative, and safe environment for our students to excel. Students feel more invested when we #makeconnections by truly getting to know them, their interests, and their talents. Students also find value in their learning when we #makeconnec

  "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be,  and you help them become what they are capable of being."  --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Support usually comes down to resources, but there are many of those that don’t cost as much as you might think. I have found that time is one of the best resources we can use to provide people the support that they need. Teachers need time: time to learn,  time to see each other teach, time to have reflective dialogue, time to collaborate, time to review data, and time to plan. The more we can maximize scheduling and contractual meeting time to allow for collaboration, the better. We must support teacher learning and also allow this community of learners to support one another. Another way to support is through feedback. Robyn Jackson’s will/skill model is the best way to determine the type of support our staff members need. Assessing staff and their will and skills levels will improve the type of support and feedback we need to

  Not all of our children come from loving, supportive homes where their basic needs are met. Some of our students are faced with domestic violence, trauma, and poverty. Learning is the furthest thing from these students' minds. They are more concerned about personal safety, where their next meal is coming from, or if they will have a bed to sleep in at night. They may be exhausted from taking care of siblings or working to support the family and have little time to spend on learning and even less on homework. Sometimes these situations, hardships, families, or even students can fall under our radar as needing extra support. In today’s world, we, as educators and school staff, don’t only educate our children, we have to care for and love them as well. PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) is one way to teach students empathy and expectations, but then we can also support the message with positive reinforcement and important dialogue.   COVID and the last two years ha