3 Lessons In Managing Under Pressure
When I was in high school and college, my brothers and I worked part-time diving for mussel shells in the Kentucky Lake area. We would sell them by the pound at local markets, and those shells would in turn be…
Principal Matters
with William D. Parker and Friends
Category School
Read More3 Lessons In Managing Under Pressure
10 Digital Tools For Enhancing Your Communication
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…
Planning Ahead For What Matters: 7 Tips For Time Management
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…
10 Steps For Publishing Weekly Student Newsletters
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…
3 C’s For Navigating A New School Year
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…
4 Cues To Remember For First Days Of School
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…
The Power of Gratitude (Who Is Packing Your Parachute?)
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…
A Visit to the Capitol: 4 Lessons in Advocacy
Last week I had the privilege of attending NASSP’s summer advocacy conference for State Coordinators along with our state association President-Elect, Renae Dozier, from Grove, Oklahoma. Renae and I spent a full day visiting our representatives and/or their legislative staff…
The Importance of Public Relations: 4 Tips
I know a lot of people who love Chick-fil-A because of the quality of their food and service. If you’ve eaten there, you know how friendly they are to customers, you’ve seen the fresh flowers on the tables, and you…
Transformative Principal Interview, Part 2
Even with the rewarding moments of of being educators, I’m not sure I can imagine an occupation (unless it’s customer service reps or pastoring) that involves the inevitability of dealing with difficult situations or people. In Part 2 of my…
Elementary, My Dear Watson: 8 Solutions for Oklahoma Lawmakers
Educators face many similar challenges throughout the United States and across the world. This week, however, I want to address some issues close to home. Perhaps they will apply to other states as well. Twenty-one years ago, I was a…
5 Tips On Preparing For Your Next Launch
I’ve never been on a cruise ship, but I have lots of friends who tell me you couldn’t find a better vacation choice. Although I’d love to try one, I’ll have to take their word for it. With my four…
Honoring a Hero At This Year’s Graduation
This week is graduation at my school. Our band will play Pomp And Circumstance, our graduates will line their way into their seats, and thousands of family and friends will fill our activity center for the special event.But one graduate…
Thank You For Being Givers
Yesterday I was privileged to hear one our senior boys do a presentation at a neighboring school. Jesse Haynes is a recently published author of young adult fiction. He was talking to groups of middle school students about his experience…
Making the Most of Learning Moments
Last week I drove a group of students to the State Superintendent’s Arts Awards ceremony in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Before we arrived at the event, we stopped in downtown Guthrie to see the historic buildings. Guthrie was the original state capital…
Starting Next School Year Strong
We’re a month away from the end of school (sorry friends not in North America). When I’m asked if I am excited for the end of the school year, I usually say, “Yes!” But the truth is that I don’t…
7 Communication To-Do’s For Managing Student Discipline
If you had asked me to describe my greatest challenges during my first years as a school administrator, I would have quickly said managing student discipline. When I talk to prospective principals, I sometimes ask them to think back to…
The Power of “Entanglement”: Implications For School Leaders
Recently I was listening to a January 29, 2015 episode of Invisibilia, a podcast about the invisible forces that affect us without us being aware. Specifically, the reporters narrating this episode were talking about a phenomenon known as “entanglement.” They…
10 Tips For Interviewing For An Education Opening
As hard as it is to work through the hiring process, nothing is more important to the success of school than finding quality educators. And if you are looking for a new position, it is essential to know how to…
The Power of Strong Teachers
Yesterday I participated in a presentation to a group of teachers who are aspiring to become principals. We talked about what it means to transition from the classroom to administration, the roles of school leadership, and the to-do’s of interviewing…
Why Do You Lead? 3 Responses To Consider
A few nights ago as I let the dog out one last time, I noticed an eery glow in the night sky. A blanket of fresh snow was covering our neighborhood, and the all-encompassing-white was casting a hazy light on…
Supporting Oklahoma Education
This has been a tough week for Oklahoma public education: Yesterday a bill moved out of committee to the full state senate that would legalize vouchers. If passed, this would allow public funds to be used by private schools. Earlier…
Encouraging A Culture Of Acceptance
Last Friday our basketball teams played at home. Unfortunately, we lost both varsity games. But the night was not a loss. At half time, our athletic directors introduced a team of student athletes who had returned with medals from their…
3 Heads Up On School Testing And ESEA
Education news is a buzz with talk of the federal government taking up the issue of reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The issue will continue to be a hot one over the months to come, so here…
Research Supports Positive Engagement: 5 Ways To Improve Yours
When I was teacher, I would often hear my students talk about their other instructors. It didn’t take long to discover who were the superstars. They were the ones whose lessons were both rigorous and engaging–the ones who greeted students…
Making Good Memories–For Yourself And Others
Many of my childhood Christmas memories include sharing big dinners at Grandma’s, story-telling with family members, playing on the frozen pond with siblings and cousins, or just singing carols together. In reality, not everyone has nostalgic memories this time of…
4 Lessons Learned From Daring Greatly
Last weekend, our high school football team came home with a silver instead of gold trophy from their state championship contest. Their experience reminded me of this quote: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points…
Going For Gold: An Essential Ingredient
Our high school football team is headed for the state championship game this coming weekend. Two years ago when these senior players were sophomores, their team won no games. It was a painful experience for everyone. But the coaches and…
A Reason To Be Thankful
Last Friday night, our school hosted a second-round football playoff game. Just days before, the opposing team’s community of Guthrie, Oklahoma had suffered a devastating fire at an apartment complex that destroyed the homes of several students and resulted in…
What Can We Accomplish Together?
The European Space Agency’s historical comet landing of the space craft Rosetta last week has my head spinning. First of all, imagine organizing a team of scientists and space engineers who design and launch a space craft with the goal…
The Hard Realities of School
Last weekend I attended the memorial service for a former student. His family members and friends took turns sharing how he had touched their lives with his kindness, curiosity, and creativity. It was an outside gathering, and the cold November…
The Other Side Of The Moon: 3 Tips For Handling Misunderstanding
When I was a boy, I loved to lay on the front porch at night. With no streetlights or neighbors, our house was enveloped in darkness, surrounded by swampy creeks and woods, accompanied by the sound of crickets and the…
Why Invest In Growing Leaders? 7 Free Resources
Last week I had the opportunity to share with a graduate class of educators studying school leadership. We talked for about an hour about essential roles of school leaders, and then I fielded questions from class members for another half hour. At one point, a…
Let’s Celebrate Our Profession
Across our state, schools have seen shortages in certified teaching applicants. The causes for this dilemma are numerous, but instead of focusing on these challenges, I’d like to celebrate some of the young men and women who have answered the…
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…
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…
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)…
6 Basketball Tips For School Leadership
I am not a basketball coach, and I don’t pretend to be one on TV either. Over the years, however, I have watched a lot of games, and sometimes I’ll still shoot baskets with my kids until my legs give…
Learning To Predict School Climate
The other day my elbow was aching. I have a scar there from when I broke it falling from a horse almost twenty years ago. When it aches, I can usually be certain the weather will turn stormy. And it…
5 Essential Ingredients For Learning (SPLAT)
I was listening to a fascinating show by Pat Flynn, blogger and podcaster who was interviewing Bryan Kelly from What The Speak on the neuroscience behind great presentations. As I thought about the research Kelly had done on what makes…
Key Responsibility Areas Part Two
This has been a busy summer of hiring new teammates and preparing for the school year to come. In one of our recent interviews, I was asked to give some feedback on some of the responsibility areas in our office…
7 Reasons Why Documentation Is Still A Good Leadership Tool
This week I have spent a lot of time with to-do lists as well as pulling together with my team members to coordinate important end-of-school-year activities. If you are leading a school, organization, or a team, you know the challenges…
Interview With Rachel Skerritt
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…
Encouraging Positive Attitudes About Testing
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.…
A Conversation About K-12 Schools
A couple of years ago, I had the privilege to participate in a ten day tour of four cities in China. On one leg of the trip, I sat by a woman who was fluent in English and on her…
3 End-of-the-School-Year Reminders
Last Saturday I drove my daughter to the local lake dam spillway to meet her teammates for a weekend track workout. After twenty minutes of warm-up running on the grassy path to the spillway and back, they lined up for…