Whac-A-Mole Leadership -By Steven Weber @curriculumblog

http://edge.ascd.org/_Whac-A-Mole-Leadership/blog/6518322/127586.html

20 Questions to Ask Other Leaders- By Michael Hyatt -@MichaelHyatt

http://michaelhyatt.com/20-questions-to-ask-other-leaders.html

Four Ideas To Have a Successful First Year as Principal -By George Couros @gcouros

http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/4665

New Teachers at the Start of the 2014-15 SY | Caption This!

Three Ways Effective Principals Support Teachers- By Lisa Nielsen @InnovativeEdu

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2014/08/3-ways-effective-principals-support.html?utm_content=buffer36688&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer&m=1

Time Management Tips For Principals

http://edge.ascd.org/blogpost/beating-the-clock-time-management-tips-for-principals?crlt.pid=camp.ZqFPnvdZjU1b

If You See Something...Say Something! | Leadership Lesson From the TSA -By Kevin Eikenberry @KevinEikenberry

http://blog.kevineikenberry.com/leadership-supervisory-skills/every-leader-can-learn-tsa/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The Five Ws of Life

Ground Rules for Great Principals-By: We Are Teachers @WeAreTeachers

Teachers were asked to share what they believed to be important qualities in a school leader.

http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/08/08/ground-rules-for-great-principals#.U__UyZ77s2Y.twitter

What Truly Caring Will Do...

Cotton

This is really "The Tale of  'Two' Dogs". I must first share with you the back story of a dog named Cotton. I was in my second year as principal and my Office Manager asked if there was anyone who wanted a three-year old Bichon. The dog was too active for her parents and they were planning to take the dog to the pound at the end of the week. 

My husband and I had been discussing perhaps getting a dog, but we would never actually commit to the idea because of our work schedules.  I wasn't familiar with that breed of dog,  so I googled Bichon Frise. Let me tell you...I was so impressed with what I saw and read. We made the decision to get the dog. If you are not familiar with the Bichon Frise, I recommend you google it. They are absolutely gorgeous dogs that are similiar in appearance to the Maltese.  So you can imagine my surprise when I met the current owners to take her home. Her name was Cotton (pictured above).  She looked nothing like the pictures that surfaced when I googled Bichon Frise!  Nevertheless,  it was instant love.  I knew what the end result could be for little Cotton, I loved and cared for her from the moment I received her.

As a school leader we must take what we have and work to bring out the best. We must coach our teachers so they are able to bring out the best in their students.  It is an awesome feeling to see the academic, social, and personal growth experienced in a school year. The lesson learned for me is no matter what "it" looks like there is always potential for something greater. It takes commitment,  dedication, patience, and above all else (in my opinion) love!

We renamed her CoCo Cotton. This is CoCo Cotton about 10 months after joining our family.

CoCo Cotton

The Purpose for Learning...

Developing 21st Century Critical Thinkers

The ability to think critically is simply the ability to think rationally and clearly so that one is able to draw conclusions, ask appropriate clarifying questions, and formulate plausible hypotheses. 

According to Reynolds (2011), the list of core critical thinking skills includes observation, interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation, explanation, and metacogntion. 

References

Reynolds, Martin (2011). Critical thinking and systems thinking: towards a critical literacy for systems thinking in practice.  In: Horvath , Christopher P. and Forte, James M. eds. Critical Thinking. New York, USA: Nova Science Publishers, pp. 37–68.

10 Big Ideas of School Leadership

Principal Mike McCarthy of Helen King Middle School in Portland, Maine shares his thoughts on the effective running of a school.  He identifies ten ideas that he has learned in the 30 years he has served as principal:

1.  Your School Must Be For All Kids 100 Percent of the Time

2.  Create a Vision, Write It Down, and Start Implementing It

3.  It's the People, Stupid

4. Paddles in the Water

5.  Find Time to Think During the Day

6. Take Responsibility for the Good and the Bad

7.  You Have the Ultimate Responsibility

8. Have a Bias for Yes

9. Consensus is Overrated

10. Large Change Needs to be Done Quickly

Click on the link below to read further about  Principal's McCarthy's ideas!  Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments.

http://www.edutopia.org/stw-maine-project-based-learning-ideas-principal-leadership

Leaders See Things Differently...

Three Stories Leaders Need to Tell

Stephen Covey - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Collaboration is Essential!

Collaboration is essential to effective schools.  This means collaboration among ALL stakeholders.  One of the things I tried to to do as a sitting principal was to ensure that I had a strong leadership team.  The meeting of the minds is powerful.  I also made sure that those staff members not a part of the leadership team felt that their voice was heard as well. Being a part of the leadership team meant that you were charged with updating the respective team members as well as soliciting their feedback on topics discussed at leadership.

School Leaders must also make sure teachers have time to collaborate with each other. Common planning time is a MUST!  Teachers benefit immensely  from structured time with their colleagues. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have proven to be a major advantage in increasing student achievement. PLCs result in better teacher and learning.

Actually...Failure IS an Option!

I must admit, after reading Alan M. Blankstein's book "Failure Is NOT an Option" a few years ago, I was all for that concept....I even chose it as a theme one school year.  As I look back, I  see that I took on this theme without the true understanding of its meaning.  I now understand that Failure should not be FINAL...but it is indeed an option! Our mistakes  or "failures" are what allow us to grow, develop, and learn.  

Being a native of North Carolina and a true Michael Jordan Fan, when I don't succeed in the manner in which I would like to, I  always say to myself..."well MJ was cut from the varsity high school basketball team"...I move on, because I know that Failure is NOT final! I can still go on to be and do great things!

I still use the knowledge and information gained through reading "Failure Is NOT an Option", but I apply it differently now. The six principles identified in that book still guides my quest in developing leaders:

Principle #1- Common Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals

Principle #2- Ensuring Achievement for All Students: Systems for Prevention and Intervention

Principle #3- Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching and Learning

Principle #4- Using Data to Guide Decision Making and Continuous Improvement

Principle #5 - Gaining Active Engagement From Family and Community

Principle #6- Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity

Steering Great Leaders Into the Principal's Office

This panel of educators led a discussion based on the report "The Challenges of Principal Recruitment, Selection, and Placement at the Fordham B. Institute in Washington, DC on July 31, 2014.

Panelists included:

 Doug Anthony, Executive Director,  Office of Talent Development, Prince George's County Public Schools

Michael Casserly, Executive Director, Council of Great Schools

Mike Miles, Superintendent, Dallas Independent School District

Allison Wagner, Director of Growth, Schools That Can, Milwaukee WI

Moderator: Chester E. Finn, Jr

The primary finding was that principal-hiring practices continue to fall short of what is needed, effectively causing needy schools to lose out on leaders with potential to be great.  The research suggests that better hiring practices alone are only part of the solution.  It is believed that districts must also re-imagine the principal's role so that it is a job that talented leaders want and are equipped to execute successfully.

Leadership Habits

Below, is a list of leadership habits taken from "Lead From Within". I would like to add just a few more I feel are important as well:

Transparency- As a leader, it is extremely important that we are open and honest with our actions and decisions.  Setting clear goals and articulating your vision allows opportunities for stakeholder support.

Staying Connected- I cannot say enough about how social media has changed by mindset, knowledge, and leadership capacity.  Twitter alone has connected me with educators and leaders all over the world.  The plethora of information that is accessible is simply phenomenal.  Peer and Professional Learning Networks have allowed me to gain knowledge that in the past would not have been possible unless I registered and attended a conference.  I am so grateful for social media in this regard.

The Ability to Grow Leaders- Whether you are growing teacher leaders or aspiring school leaders, your ultimate goal as a leader should be to grow other leaders.  I read a quote that stated that the mark of a great leader isn't creating followers-but instead developing other leaders.  This takes me back to my days as a Regional Instructional Specialist.  The Associate Superintendent over that region was an incredible leader.  The expectation of those in that regional office and the principals that served in that region was to be incredible leaders as well.  Every person that worked in that office now holds a school leadership or district leadership position.  I attribute that to the leadership of that Regional Associate Superintendent!