While reading an Education Week Blog by Jill Berkowicz and Ann Myers, The Importance of Challenging Our Comfort Zone   (August 6),  I was reminded of the need for school leaders, instructional coaches and teachers to create environments where staffs and students are comfortable with discomfort. Berkowicz and Meyers explore the need for school leaders to be […]

I had another of those weeks where several projects that I am working on run together or overlapped. I am preparing to facilitate a training for the Arkansas Department of Education for principals and coaches. They asked me to include partnership agreements as presented by Killion and Harrison in Taking the Lead: New Roles for […]

Many of the school improvement, coaching and leadership sessions that I facilitate at some point explore the definition of student achievement that drives the work of the school and teachers. I find two approaches that often emerge. Some schools and educators see the state standard as their goal. Others have a broader, richer picture, and […]

A recent advertisement in Training Magazine connected with an observation I made while facilitating a two day administrators conference for an urban school district. The ad was titled “When Technical Skills Aren’t Enough:6 Critical Skills Your Employees Need Today.”ESI International states, “Current business realities such as outsourcing, mergers, and the need to align technology with […]

I recently presented to school administrators at the Millsaps College Principal’s Academy(MS) and The College of William and Mary’s School Leadership Institute (VA). At both sessions, we examined the following belief statement. Increased teacher collaboration produces increased student achievement.As principals, how does that belief fit into your approach to school leadership? As a teacher, how […]