The First Year...

The first three posts of our NC Ed Leaders Summer Blog Series have offered excellent advice for school leaders, especially those who are just starting their first principalship. The post below once again offers practical advice for principals and assistant principals, written by a good friend of mine who has "walked the walk" at several different administrative levels. Leigh Jones is currently the School Support Officer for Learning Area 11 in the Guilford County Schools system. Leigh has also worked as a high school principal in Rockingham County and middle school principal in Asheboro. She was named the 2013 NC Region 5 Principal of the Year while she was the principal at McMichael High School. As Leigh mentions in her post, the advice she has to offer is great for a principal in her first year or 10th year! What I like most about this post is that Leigh's second and third points--asking for help and being willing to apologize--are often viewed as weaknesses when someone is a school leader. But Leigh is exactly right... asking for help when you need it and apologizing when you make a mistake are actually signs of strength and self-confidence. I hope you enjoy Leigh's post, the fourth in our NC Ed Leaders Summer Blog Series!

Boy, do I remember my first year as a principal. It was, indeed, as hard as everyone told me it would be. But, I was lucky enough to have a mentor who prepared me well for the challenges I would face. I’ve been so fortunate to work with great principals in their first year as a principal or even in their first year at a school. The first year can not only be overwhelming at times but also extremely rewarding. The first two posts on this blog were about the lessons of a first-year principal and the lessons learned from an assistant principal going into his first year as a principal. I highly recommend reading those posts as they discuss some of the most important aspects of being a first-year principal: collaboration, visibility, building relationships, being fearless, etc. These are so important when thinking about your first year as a principal or your 10th year as a principal. I want to discuss three more attributes that I believe are critical in your first year or in your 10th year; these attributes contribute tremendously to building those quality relationships, building successful collaborative teams, and being fearless.

1. Be Consistent

Consistency can be the hardest attribute to learn and implement during your first year as a principal, but it’s one of the most important things you can do for the culture of your school for both students and staff.

• Be consistently visible. Visibility is critical for building the culture of your school. Be visible in classrooms, in the hallways during transitions, at community events, and at school sponsored events. Most first year principals struggle with being visible during the school day. Let’s face it, school happens and principals can sometimes get caught behind their desks during the school day. Being mindful of the time you spend in your office is important and make sure you are in classrooms daily and in the hallways. Being visible will build a positive culture in your school.
• If you say it, do it. This is one of the simplest things yet something first year principals can sometimes forget. Trust me, your staff and students will remember just about everything you say. If you say you are going to do it, then go out and do it. If you require it, monitor it. All too often principals require teachers to do lots of things and monitor only a few of those things. If you are going to require it, make sure you monitor it.
• Communicate consistently. Communicate, communicate, communicate. And just when you think you’ve communicated enough, communicate more. Often times we think teachers should just know things, but they don’t know it unless we tell them. Principals have to over communicate their expectations, school/district information, and procedures/policies.

2. Ask for help

Too often principals, whether they are first-year principals or experienced principals, sometimes see asking for help as a weakness or they view asking for help as an admittance that they aren’t good principals. Well, asking for help shows your strength and your confidence in yourself. Guess what, you can’t know everything! The job of the principal is too big to do alone and the accountability is at such high stakes that support and help from others are critical. As a principal, I always made it a point to know my central office staff and to know who I should/could go to for help and support. Central office staff are there to support you and make sure you have what you need. Make sure you not only ask your colleagues for help but that you also access your central office staff.

3. Apologize

At times, you will make mistakes. You will miscommunicate and at times you will make the wrong decision. It’s imperative that when this happens that you acknowledge your mistake(s) and apologize. Apologizing will demonstrate to your staff and your students that you aren’t perfect and mistakes can be made.

Being consistent, asking for help, and apologizing are all lessons I learned during my first year as a principal. Making sure I demonstrate these attributes daily has helped me throughout my career not only as a principal but also as a principal supervisor while working in central office. I have always tried to make sure my sense of humor is bigger than my ego. When things go wrong, I look in the mirror, but when things go well, I look out the window.

Leigh Jones is a School Support Officer for Guilford County Schools.

New Kid in Class

The third installment of the NC Ed Leaders Summer Blog Series comes from Lora Tiano, principal of Kernersville Elementary School in Kernersville, North Carolina. Lora and I worked together at Glenn High School when I was just starting my teaching career and she was serving as the school's curriculum coordinator. She was always very supportive, organized, and energetic, so I was not surprised at all when she was named an assistant principal at Glenn in 2013. Lora just finished her first year as principal of Kernersville Elementary this past year, and her blog post below reflects on how she worked to build a positive school culture that focused on putting kids at the forefront. Lora is as authentic and genuine as they come and her blog post below speaks from the heart, reflecting on all of the difficult challenges and heart-warming victories that accompany the principalship. Enjoy!

I’m new…at least not too many months ago, I was. Somehow, it still feels new, but it also feels like I have been here so long. I think that in the sacred time spent in the whirlwind of education the years fly by and the days last forever. The risk of the new and unknown was terrifying. But the very best things come in disguise as challenges and impossibilities. In the newness, I also found renewed purpose.

I found children who need more and have faced more than I could have ever imagined. I found children who need to know unconditional love, but also high expectations. I found little faces looking up at me with blind faith that they’ll be taken care of on my watch and others who have never been able to trust in anyone. Then, I found “big people” who I’ve stepped in alongside that have open arms and steady shoulders.

I left two decades of people I worked beside who taught me something every day…and I miss them. But I found more people here…and it reminded me that the good news is there is no shortage of people who love and teach kids with all their hearts and uncanny strength every day.

I found new student advocates who need me in their corner for support because the world doesn’t appreciate the challenge at hand…people who may have spent an entire lifetime or only a rookie year answering the call to serve the most important people in the world…our children.

I found people who truly believe these are our children and do all in their power daily to build confidence, skills, and character…that build up little ones, so when they’re the big ones, they’ve known love that:

§  holds accountability in as high regard as it holds hugs

§  tells a child in word and deed, “I will do all I can to clear a path for you to find your best self”

§  says, “The world already has one of her. It needs the only you, at your best, to be complete.”

§  clears those paths strewn with abuse and neglect, low expectation, poverty, racism, closed-mindedness, entitlement, discrimination, and self-centeredness…and all of their effects

§  finds a way around those obstacles and builds up when the world tears down.

Administrators drastically affect school culture for the staff and students entrusted to us.  But it’s more than throwing catch-phrases around in educational circles. It’s getting your head out of the sand and looking at the culture that has shaped our students outside of the school’s walls and teachers’ reach.

It’s taking it in and taking it on…knowing the battle you’re fighting and working like crazy to empower people around you to overcome it all for every little soul who crosses the threshold.  Let the “big people” know beyond the shadow of a doubt that they’re safe to try, secure in taking chances, and that you love, support, and care for them as people too. Then together you work on behalf of those who haven’t yet learned to fight for themselves. Eventually, you can grow them to do just that!

It will cause you to work with an urgency…a fire in your belly for your kids (who do desperately want to read and write, understand science and math) to break away from the world’s limitations. The culture in our schools must be safe and provide opportunities for all of our children to dream of things that are beyond even our imaginations. School has to be a place where their parents’ paycheck, their skin color, and their address doesn’t limit their pursuits or potential.

My take on school culture is simple: For every conversation (even in the lounge), every decision and action, every lesson plan and activity, ask yourself (whether you’re a teacher, assistant, AP, principal):

§  Is this going to grow my kids?

§  Is it best for them or just easier for us?

§  Is it helping or hurting the potential of our school to build up kids?

If you can’t reflect and say it was all done for the purpose of growing children, your priorities are out of sync.

I’m still new at this principal thing. I was brand new 12 unbelievably short and gruelingly long months ago. But I’ve been reminded that the Lord truly does perfect work. So much so that my 26 years of working with my teenagers is exactly what prepared me to work with my “little ones.” Go figure, right?

I can look into a 5-year old baby face and a 7-year old toothless grin and see down the path to:

§  the worn down, jaded 15-year old already throwing in the towel because he’s never known school “culture” that pushes him in love… OR

§  the built-up, towering 17-year old ready to move on because he’s known school “culture” that takes risks and believes he’s worth it and that the world needs what only he can offer.

Create a culture in which your staff are safe to take risks and make plans that grow kids, even if it goes against the grain…and especially if you need to stand beside them in the line of fire if it doesn’t go so well. Create a culture that gives them a balance of freedom and structure, but always begs the question, “Is this what we believe will grow our kids into their best selves?”

When your head hits the pillow (if you ever get there), sleep comes more easily in the peace that your kids are your first priority and your staff are supported and expected to do whatever it takes to grow them into the very best version of themselves.

Sleep tight!

Lora Tiano is the principal of Kernersville Elementary School in Kernersville, North Carolina.

Today's VCR for School Admin - Lessons Learned from the AP Experience

The NC Ed Leaders Summer Blog Series continues with a post from Jon Williams, a 23-year educator who just stepped into his first principalship this summer. After serving as an assistant principal for the last three and a half years, Jon is taking over as principal of Dalton L. McMichael High School in Mayodan this fall. Prior to entering administration, Jon was a high school social studies teacher for almost 20 years, 15 of which he served at McMichael. Jon is also a Wake Forest guy (another reason I like him!) who won the WFU Marcellus Waddill Excellence in Teaching Award in 2013.

Be sure to connect with Jon on Twitter (@JonWilliamsEdu) and help him continue to grow his PLN. As he steps into the principalship this fall, Jon's blog post reflects on what he learned as an assistant principal that has prepared him for this new role. Jon sums it up with the acrostic "VCR" ... visibility, collaboration, and relationships. I hope you enjoy Jon's post!


Today’s V.C.R. for School Admin: We’re Not Talking About What Replaced the Betamax! - Lessons Learned from the AP Experience Going into a New Principalship

Experience! Experience! Experience! It’s all about the experience that makes you grow as a leader. Currently, I am entering my first principalship with only a few days behind me on the job. So, this post will focus on the practices I learned that made a difference for students at the two schools I used to serve (Ellis Middle School – Davie County Schools & Walkertown High School – Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools). These lessons are ones that will serve as a foundation for my leadership as the new instructional leader of McMichael High School. 

The Big Three – Visibility, Collaboration, & Relationships!

Over the course of the last three and a half years, I have discovered a different lens as a school administrator and a new kind of “V.C.R.” As an assistant principal, I experienced early on that to be a successful instructional leader required this new V.C.R. mentality, which includes Visibility, Collaboration, and of course Relationships! Here is just a brief look at what I am talking about.

Visibility

I put visibility first in my order of attributes essential to school administrators because I believe YOU have to be seen to accomplish anything for teachers, students, and other school stakeholders. It can be a very easy thing to sit in your office all day and take care of the managerial tasks that behold you. There are a multitude of tasks to accomplish that require your attention, but they don’t always require your immediate attention. Early on in my admin career, I was fortunate to stumble upon the “21 Day Instructional Leadership Challenge” on Twitter. I was intrigued. Upon further investigation, I studied and completed the challenge that was started by Justin Baeder at The Principal Center (great person to follow and a great organization to subscribe to - @eduleadership). The challenge is all about conducting classroom walkthroughs, giving feedback to teachers, and having conversations about improving lessons to benefit students. In essence, a school admin schedules time on his or her calendar and sticks to it. This, in my opinion, is the number one way to be “visible” in the schoolhouse. Teachers, students, and other staff see that it is a priority for you to be in classrooms, and this habit you establish will lead to numerous other benefits in your leadership practice.

By being visible in classrooms, discipline goes down. You are able to interact with students as they are participating and learning in the classroom. When students see you out and about, they are less likely to act out. Also, if teachers know you will be a regular in their classroom, the after effect is almost always them “stepping up their game” to ensure that they are doing a good job - a win-win for students and teachers. Being visible in the classroom shows teachers that you care for their success and being supportive is a priority to you. My goal is to get in to three or more classrooms a day, and this will again be common practice for me and my new admin team in the new year.

Another powerful practice in “visibility” is being in the hallways during class changes. If you are in the halls on a consistent basis, students know to look for you. Again, this helps to alleviate discipline situations, and this is a time you can get to know your kids. Visibility is key to being a strong and impactful instructional leader.

Collaboration

Collaboration comes next on the list. As a teacher, almost all of my principals stuck to an isolationist leadership style. They made decisions behind their desk with little or no input from others on staff. As many of you probably all know, this practice is not what is best for kids. In order for your school culture to thrive, a school leader must be inclusive and “collaborative.” I have seen how School Leadership Teams can be a powerful vehicle to drive change in your building. Great things happen for kids when a diverse School Leadership Team is working together, analyzing data, and working to make the classroom experience better for their students.

Other successful collaborations I have witnessed were through Professional Learning Communities. If organized and facilitated correctly, teams of teachers can talk about what is most important… the kids! And, they can look at data, talk about trends in their classrooms, and take some action steps to address individual student needs. While it is good to look at the “big picture” when talking about student data, PLCs must talk about specific students and what can be done to help them be more successful in one or more classes. Ideally teachers should be leading this work with the Admin present and available for support. Admin redirection is sometimes needed to keep PLCs on track for what they were set up for.

Relationships

Visibility and collaboration are vital components for the most important piece of the educational puzzle – relationships! Being seen in the hall during class change, getting involved with classroom lessons, going to ball games, attending concerts, riding the bus home with students, and just making time for the students you serve are all ways I have found to strengthen and build relevant relationships. Students notice this practice and you gain tremendous credibility. You also can meet your parents and community members by being present and attending various events. Word gets around very quickly that you are taking the time to talk to and interact with students and other school stakeholders at these school outings.

The same goes for teachers. I built some strong relationships with teachers at my previous school all because I was making classroom visits. In fact, when my classroom walkthroughs weren’t as frequent this year as the previous year, I heard about it! The teachers wanted me to be in there and give feedback and support to help them grow as educators.

So, today’s V.C.R. may be very different than previous years, but just remember that you will not go wrong with increasing the big three in your leadership style – Visibility, Collaboration, Relationships! I know these habits will serve me well in my first year as a principal.

Jon Williams is the principal of Dalton L. McMichael High School in Mayodan, North Carolina.

“No Joke!” - Reflections of a first year principal

Our inaugural NC Ed Leaders Blog post comes from Leslie Kinard, principal at Thomasville High School. Leslie, who just finished up her first year at THS, was named an "ASCD Emerging Leader" in 2017. Leslie has a very active blog of her own and is also a great follow on Twitter, so be sure to connect with her on social media. Leslie's post is a reflection on her first year as a high school principal and it will resonate with anyone who has been a school leader at any level. That first year can be so challenging... but it will be so rewarding as well! I hope you enjoy Leslie's post; it is a great way to kickoff our NC Ed Leaders Summer Blog Series!

As I sit reflecting in a random Starbucks preparing to write this post, I am filled with humility, honor, and awe. Thinking back over the first year of my principalship, I can say with both humor and candor that this year was “No Joke!” I won’t write a post of cliché phrases about how glorious the first year of the principalship can be. I will be transparent and honest with you and tell you that it has been one of the most challenging things that I’ve done in my career. I will give you that piece of honesty muddled with the inherent positivity that is my own personal leadership style. Through the challenge, it was also one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I don’t know that it gets easier, because part of me feels like to do it right, we are always reinventing ourselves and figuring out how to do the job better. That commitment to growth (for the sake of kids) is work - it’s HARD WORK. In thinking about that work, I’m left with three fundamental takeaways that have anchored me this year.

1. Be fearless. On a large picture in my office is written, “Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.” When I purchased it, I had no idea how important that idea would become to my work and personal mission. I found that in the first year, I had to stay anchored to the things that I loved about the work I get to do each day. I had to continuously come back to my “why” and continue to reconnect throughout the year. For me, it was the students and the idea that we get to change history with every life we touch. Coming back to that and finding ways to live out my “why” gave me not only the motivation to keep pushing, but helped me keep searching for ways to innovate.

2. Do it anyway. I felt like there was a duality to leadership. There were times when I was misunderstood. There were times when I felt unappreciated. There were times when I felt like I was on an island, but there were also times where I felt such a huge sense of accomplishment, fulfillment, and pride. As I moved through successes and challenges in this first year of leadership, I recognized the importance of having a strong core of beliefs that center around what’s good for kids. There were times when situations, advice, and others challenged those beliefs. I had to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and find a way to lead through the challenge.  I found that courage to lead in putting students first in every decision and trying to lead with positivity, fairness, love, and most importantly grace. Being able to forgive and move past difficulty when the people in my life and work made a mistake, but also extending myself the same consideration. 

3. Have some fun. This role requires extraordinary amounts of time. I just figured if I was going to spend that much time working towards something, I might as well have some fun doing it. Part of my leadership style is deeply rooted in finding ways to connect. Whether it’s through hand written notes to staff, playing music in the cafeteria, hosting a variety of student events, or adding spirit weeks for staff and some for students. I was determined to have as much fun as possible creating a school culture where students feel successful and staff too!

I could write countless posts about the takeaways from year one of the principalship. I learned a lot, but I also learned more about myself as a person and a leader. I accept the challenge and reward of being a school principal and I am grateful to all the leaders who have poured into my life this year and have helped me and my school rocket towards success. Our preliminary data shows increases in student achievement and huge decreases in discipline. I am excited to approach year two, but I know that my ultimate success was and will be because of the great people who help inspire me through their work in the classroom and beyond.

If you are a new principal or a veteran, I invite you to comment and share a takeaway from last year with us, so that we can continue to grow together!

Leslie Kinard is the principal of Thomasville High School in Thomasville, North Carolina.

Introducing the NC Ed Leaders Blog

I know several people who blog on a regular basis, especially in the field of education. I have always been a little envious of bloggers, because I believe in the value of writing as a tool to reflect and grow as an educator, but I've never been able to find time to start a blog myself. I also love reading and sharing blogs and blog posts from others, especially via Twitter. Social media has become such a powerful tool for educators to connect, share ideas, and build networks.

A few months ago, Bill Ziegler (@DrBillZiegler), a high school principal in Pennsylvania, invited me to participate in a blog series he was putting together. I was honored that he reached out to me and I was happy to submit a post for the series he organized (here is the link to the Chase Learning Blog).

Participating in Dr. Ziegler's blog series gave me a chance to reflect on my practice, share some advice with fellow educators, and connect with other school leaders from different parts of the country. This experience also gave me an idea... what if I tried to put together a similar sort of blog, with the goal of featuring principals, teachers, and district leaders from across the state of North Carolina?

I have worked in three school districts during my short educational career so far, and I have met numerous educators across the central part of the state while in graduate school at UNC-Greensboro. I have also "met" countless others via Twitter, so I have had the privilege of working and connecting with a large number of high-quality educators over the last 10 years.

To make the NC Ed Leaders Blog a reality, I knew I would need the help of my friends and colleagues from across the state... and they have been more than happy to help! I am excited to announce some of the awesome North Carolina school leaders who will be participating in this blog series over the next five weeks, including:

*Leslie Kinard, principal of Thomasville High School in the Thomasville City Schools district. Leslie is an ASCD Emerging Leader who has an awesome blog and is a great follow on Twitter.

*Lora Tiano, principal of Kernersville Elementary School in the WSFCS district. Lora is a former math teacher, curriculum coordinator, and assistant principal who was a great mentor to me when we worked together previously at Glenn High School. She can be found here on Twitter.

*Jon Williams, principal of Dalton McMichael High School in Rockingham County. Jon was just named principal of DMHS this summer, having previously served as an assistant principal at Walkertown High School. Check him out on Twitter here.

*Leigh Jones, School Support Officer in Guilford County and former high school and middle school principal. Leigh and I love to give each other a hard time, but she is a passionate, hard-working educator who wants to help principals reach their full potential. Connect with her here on Twitter.

These are just a few of the educators who will be featured over the next five weeks. I hope you will "tune in" to read the thoughts and reflections of these and other North Carolina educators as you expand your PLN this summer!