Learning From Challenges
I remember my first year of teaching when I walked into a boy’s bathroom that was reeking of smoke. A couple of boys were standing at the urinals when one of them dropped a lit cigarette at his feet. I…
Principal Matters
with William D. Parker and Friends
William D. Parker
Building Positive School Culture: 20 Ideas From Principals
School or work environments are like home environments–it doesn’t take long to figure out if you are in a happy, productive place or not. Last week I was in Oklahoma City for a meeting with OASSP, the Oklahoma Association of…
Avoiding Pitfalls: 3 Leadership Tips From Good to Great
The other day I was going through my books when I came across a copy of Jim Collins Good To Great. It had been a couple of years since I had read it, but as I flipped the pages, I…
Are You Growing? 5 Questions To Ask Yourself
Recently, my junior high daughter began taking clarinet lessons from a private tutor. When I picked her up from her first session, she said, “I have been playing for three years, but I learned today that I wasn’t putting the…
Reality Check: 4 Suggestions For Observing Teachers
I have a lot of friends who are good golfers. I am not one of them. But I recognize a good golfer when I see one. He or she is usually the one who gets the ball in the hole…
4 Reminders For A New School Year
We just welcomed our teachers and students back to school. It was hard work to prepare for all the moving parts that make up master schedules, professional development, and schedule pick-ups. But there is also great satisfaction in having everyone…
3 Leadership Takeaways From A Relay Team
Last year I was attending a high school track meet when our school’s 4 x 400-meter-relay team faced a rival team with a runner known as one of the fastest boys in the state. Our four-man-team actually held the lead…
6 Tips For Setting Up School Email Campaigns
Last year one of my team members suggested I start emailing parents regular updates on our school. I started by using a list exported from our student information system. The effort soon turned into a habit, and I began receiving…
6 Ways To Avoid Making The Wrong Calls
I once knew a teaching couple who told me a funny story. They lived right across the street from a man who never seemed to go to work. During their breaks from school, the neighbor always seemed to be home;…
Keeping The Heart Of An Educator
I remember a story a good friend told me about her first year as an assistant principal. She worked with a teacher who frequently referred the same boy to the office for misbehavior. Although the boy (I’ll call him Billy)…