with William D. Parker and Friends
In a previous post, I shared Building Positive School Climates: 20 Ideas from Principals on ways to better serve school communities. Last week I attended a gathering of innovative school leaders when we were asked for ideas on what’s working…
When I was in high school and college, my brothers and I worked part-time diving for mussell shells in the Kentucky Lake area. We would sell them by the pound at local markets, and those shells would in turn be…
A few weeks ago, I received an email from a fellow administrator in Sydney, Australia, asking for permission to re-publish a recent blog post for their executive newsletter. Although he and I are literally sitting on opposite sides of the…
One day I was standing outside my classroom during a passing period when I suddenly had one of those Jedi-moments that teachers have–when I could tell something was about to happen. I could just feel a change in the hallway…
I grew up in West Tennessee where my parents raised the six of us on a small farm in the middle of nowhere. Gravel roads, winding creeks, swampy bottoms, large fields, and rambling woods were my playgrounds. We were so…
For the past two school years, I have put together a collection of updates, photos, highlights, and announcements that I email to parents in a weekly newsletter. As positive as this outreach has been, this year I decided to reach…
This summer I had the privilege of traveling to Washington, D.C. with my superintendent. At our district’s opening meeting with staff, he told a story about one morning when we decided to paddle a kayak on the Potomac near Roosevelt…
Imagine this scenario: Billy is a ninth grader starting a new school. His mother has dragged him through every store in town to find him new clothes for the first day. When the big day comes, he wakes up early—staring…
Last week I found a handwritten card in my box at school. It was from a student who will be a senior this coming school year. In the note, she was telling me thank you for the ways we had…
The following is an interview between Deborah Gist and me. Deborah A. Gist is the Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools. Previously, she was Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education. Before coming to Rhode Island, Deborah served as the…