with William D. Parker and Friends
: Play in new window | DownloadIn episode 15, I share leadership lessons from a championship team. In this case, the team is three men and horse found in Laura Hillenbrand’s classic biography, Seabiscuit. The lessons from this amazing book…
This week is Spring Break. Unseasonably warm days have pushed green into tree boughs, and Bradford pears have blossomed white. Asparagus shoots are sprouting in our raised beds, and fescue already needs a first mowing. It really seems like winter’s…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode, I share reminders why educators are such a powerful influence in the lives of children. I start with stories from two men who lives were significantly shaped by a teacher and…
The Apollo 13 mission is one of my favorite stories of endurance. On April 11, 1970 when Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise set off for their mission to the moon at speeds equivalent to 20,000 mph, they had…
Last week I flew to the NASSP annual conference in Orlando with connecting flights in Dallas. As I boarded my flight home, my mind was filled with new ideas about school, and I began comparing the process of flying to…
: Play in new window | DownloadBecause one good deed is worth more than a thousand good intentions, you can never overestimate the power of showing others they are appreciated. In episode 11, learn seven simple ways to show appreciation…
The other day I was talking to our high school choir teacher, when she told me about a fascinating brain study involving music. MIT neuroscientists have discovered that music triggers an auditory cortex of the brain that doesn’t appear to…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn episode 10 of Principal Matters Podcast, we dive into some of the practical ways to make school leadership more effective. Dealing with difficult people is often one of the hardest and most frequent…
In Chapter 4 of In Praise of American Educators: And How They Can Become Even Better, DuFour outlines strategies that actually work for high-performing countries. He then explains why those strategies make more sense than the false assumptions embraced by…
One of the strengths I appreciate in my team members is their ability to voice concerns or raise red flags when something important is affecting our students. I am so thankful for helpful feedback. Of course, there is a big…
Talk to almost any politician about education, and you will often hear suggestions for improvement that include words like accountability, portability or choice. Very few suggest adequately funding schools or implementing measures that can really produce results. In Chapter 3…
As educators in my own state of Oklahoma continue to face pending cuts to school funding, and as advocates of public education attempt to remind their neighbors that our schools are worth the investment, it is a good time to…
: Play in new window | DownloadSchool leadership is not for the weak-kneed or thin-skinned. But no matter how long you are in leadership, it is still easy to feel overwhelmed. In this podcast episode, I share some of the…
There are many things I love about the state of Oklahoma: the open sky, painted sunsets, small towns, and grass prairies. There’s such unique beauty in the art deco of Tulsa’s downtown, the brilliant sands of the Great Salt Plains,…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn Episode 4 of Principal Matters Podcast, I share some of my own background growing up in rural West Tennessee. Learn how your own story can inform and influence your leadership today, and how…
During Christmas break, my brother Jesse, and I took a long walk behind our parents’ house. He showed me places where they had cleared fields and brush–adding more pasture to the acres where the cattle graze. As we made our…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn this podcast episode, I share some helpful research on how business strategy is more profitable when you understand the meaning in your product. How does this relate to education? And how can school…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn the 2nd episode of Principal Matters Podcast, I share an inspiring story from a world-record swimmer and discuss the essential elements leaders need for serving others. Then I run through a typical day…
: Play in new window | DownloadI recorded this first episode at the beginning of school so that I could remember that important steps to take all-year-long for a successful school year. I describe two separate scenarios for students during…
When I was a boy, my father rigged up a large water barrel to use as a solar-heated hot water source. He wasn’t environmentally friendly. We just lived a simple life in the backwoods of West Tennessee. Until we had…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
: Play in new window | DownloadAs we wrap up the last days of our school year, it helps me to keep things in perspective so I wanted to share the following video clip of one of my favorite educators,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…