with William D. Parker and Friends
The following is an interview between Rachel Skerritt and me. Rachel is the Principal of Eastern Senior High School, a D.C. Public School. She was also the Principal Ambassador Fellow for the U.S. Department of Education. My goal in posting…
Our teachers have been preparing our students all year for the testing window we are now in. Many of those strategies included best practices like bench-mark testing, curriculum mapping, or introducing literacy standards across all subject areas–to name a few.…
This is a guest post by Justin Baeder, Director of The Principal Center. He writes about productivity for school leaders at Eduleadership.org. We all want to improve student learning in our schools. We want to achieve better results, create better…
The following is a Q & A between Justin Baeder and me. A few months ago, I was introduced to Justin first via a Twitter exchange. Soon afterwards, I discovered his free 21-Day Instructional Leadership Challenge. Although I was not…
I was talking to an assistant principal friend from a neighboring district who was telling me some funny stories from her middle school experience. She said her own mom and dad like to ask her to tell stories from school.…
We recently mourned the heartbreaking death of a second student this school year. She was murdered in an evening domestic dispute that resulted in a double-homocide. Her great-grandmother was also a victim. The day after her death, we had counselors…
The other day, I sat in a conversation with a student and a DHS worker who had come to take her into custody. She was no longer able to stay at her host home and would be moving back to…
One of my favorite college education professors would often start class with a provoking question. As we would grapple with how to answer and/or support our positions, he would stand there with his large hands lifted in the air, his…
Recently, I was inspired by the story of Diana Nyad, who made it a personal goal to swim from Cuba to Florida and did so at the age of 64. Her 100-mile feat came with many unsuccessful previous attempts, the…
The following is a Q & A between Steven Parker and me. Steven Parker is the principal of Cedar Lee Middle School in Bealton, Virginia. He was also named the 2013 Virginia Middle School Principal of the Year. My goal…