What Are You Willing To Do For It?
A couple of weeks ago, I was standing in the high school commons when one of our military recruiters had set up a table to hand out items to interested students. For years I’ve watched recruiters talk to kids who…
Principal Matters
with William D. Parker and Friends
William D. Parker
3 Resources For Practicing Gratitude Year-Round
Having just enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday, I came across a number of helpful resources that still have me thinking about gratitude. One is from an interesting NPR story, another from a motivational speaker, and the third from an inspiring sermon.…
Great Lessons from Jimmy Casas on Hiring For Excellence
Last week I attended a great webinar presentation provided by NASSP with guest presenter, Jimmy Casas, on Hiring For Excellence. Jimmy is the current principal of Bettendorf High School in Bettendorf, Iowa. He was named the 2012 Iowa Secondary Principal…
3 Tips on Student Self-Reported Grades
Last week a teacher told me how excited she was to see the seemingly endless strategies teachers can use in helping students grow (see previous post). As we talked about John Hattie’s list together, I began to think about how…
What Factors Predict Student Success?
Over the weekend, I was having lunch with a friend who works in petroleum engineering. We talked about the kind of research and data that he uses to determine which sites are best for drilling or exploration. Investors are especially…
10 Easy Literacy Strategies For Engaging Students
This summer some of our teachers attended Literacy Strategy as part of our before school professional development. As a follow-up, we invited a Literacy specialist, Shannon Gaines, to spend a day with our teachers observing and providing feedback. We scheduled…
Providing Helpful Feedback—No Matter What Subject You Have Taught
All four of my children were taught to swim by a retired teaching couple that lives in our community. She was a kindergarten teacher, and he was a secondary teacher, coach, and principal. A couple of summers ago, I was…
4 Easy Steps For Making a Faculty Meeting Video
October is busy month for our school. In addition to regular classes, softball and volleyball regionals as well as football games, we just hosted after-school parent conferences. As I was also working on the state accreditation report, I realized a…
A Moment For Gratitude
Saturday I was up early to drive my fourteen-year-old daughter to band practice at the school. On our way, the pink fingers of clouds were stretching hellos from the eastern horizon, misty clouds were rising from the fields and ponds,…
The Power of Parent Support
When I was student teaching, I had the idealistic view that teaching alone was the most powerful way to influence the success of students. Although research shows that teacher expectations significantly affect the success of students in a classroom setting,…