Life is Good!: NASSP Day #1 02/27

Recent purchases from Life is Good Store!

Sometimes we forget how GOOD we really have it.  Jake and Rocket from the "Life is good" company seem to have it all figured out, and have made a multimillion dollar enterprise out of those simple words.  After having a great breakfast in Old Town Alexandria with a couple of Iowa Administrators that I knew from back home  I had the opportunity to do a little shopping and stumbled upon a Life is Good Store.  I love going into these stores and reading the simple, but powerful messages portrayed on their products.  We often forget how good we really have it, and these messages are an opportunity to remind us how good we really have it.  As I sit in our nation's capitol, I can't help but be reminded of how good life really is.

During the day, we had some free-time to explore DC and all of it's historical grander.  I have been blessed with the ability to visit this area twice before, but haven't been here since 2005.  Most people know that I am always wanting and willing to try new experiences and learn new things.  I went to one monument and two museums that weren't opened the last time I was here.  I hadn't seen the MLK Memorial on the National Mall, and what a beautiful and majestic monument it is.  The Newseum dedicated to the history of news, was the museum I visited before lunch.  Seeing the wall with news channels broadcasting live in 199 different countries at the same time was an amazing sight to see.  After lunch at the famous, Ben's Chili Bowl  I also went to the National Museum of Crime & Punishment devoted to the history of major crimes and the various punishment methods used throughout our nation's history.   For dinner I met back up with a group of Nebraska Administrators for dinner at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood House.  The crab-cakes were excellent!  Both of these administrators were visiting DC for the first time, so it was fun to hear about their journey and experiencing all of the monuments for the first time. Overall a great day of learning new things and creating new experiences.  Looking forward to Breaking Ranks School Presentations on Thursday. 

I am always amazed at what a snow day, holiday break, or a summer vacation can do for the culture and climate in a work place.  The renewed energy and attitude that is personified through each individual stakeholder in a school after a break creates a powerful and positive learning environment.  How do we get more days like that?  How do we  restructure time and provide everyone an opportunity to have an experience like I am having, a time of new learning, reflection, and revitalization of the body, mind, and spirit.

Back to Blogging: Arrival @ NASSP Conference

Wow, I can't believe that we are so close to completing the 3rd Quarter of the 2012-2013 school year.  I haven't been on  blogger in a long time, the beginning of the school year to be exact.  I am not proud of it and not going to give excuses for not blogging regularly this school year like I planned.  I am just going to change, refocus, and be optimistic about doing it more regularly from here on out.

This is the perfect week to restart.   The LCC Schools are strong supporters of growth and continual improvement of all stakeholders in their districts, and have given me the privilege of attending the NASSP (National Association of Secondary Principals) Conference in Washington DC at the National Harbor http://nationalharbor.com/. I have been to Washington DC twice before, but this will be the first time I have attended a National Principals Convention.  I am so excited about the opportunity to gather ideas and network with administrators from across the country.


I plan to write at the beginning of each day about my experiences at the conference from the previous day.  New things I have learned, ideas I may consider trying, and fun things I had the opportunity to experience.

On Tuesday, I flew out of Omaha, the flight was delayed due to weather, but had a great time socializing with the group of Nebraska administrators heading to DC at The Hanger while waiting for our flight.  Everyone on the plane agreed it was the roughest plan ride any of us had ever been on as we arrived late into Washington International Airport.  I felt like I had ridden a bull for 2 hours and 8 minutes, instead of the typical 8 seconds.

The Nebraska group is  staying in the Aloft hotel which is two blocks away form the conference center.  It is a very modern, 21st century hotel with technology and modern amenities abound.  We all went to Cadillac Ranch last night to eat after settling into our rooms, the grilled buffalo chicken flat bread was amazing.  At the center of the eatery was a mechanical bull, which seemed to be appropriate after that wild flight.  Nobody felt like getting on the bull last night, but hopefully George Loofe from Neligh will give me some pointers and I will try it before the end of the week.

Wednesday, the day is free for us to explore the history of Washington DC.  I am excited to have breakfast with some friends from Iowa in Old Town Alexandria in the morning, and then off to see some new monuments and museums that have been put up since my last trip to Washington.  

Please follow me throughout my journey this week!  I will be writing daily!  

Administrators: We Gotta Walk the Walk & Talk the Talk!

As I sat in my office in June and at the lake in July, I spent many hours reviewing and reflecting on my first year as a high school principal. I went back over my staff meeting agendas and presentations, took a look at the modes and means of communication I used with staff, tallied up the amount of paper I put in staff mailboxes, looked back over the type of feedback I was giving during walk-throughs; and I realized I was talking a great game!  I was asking teachers to be 21st Century Teachers that use technology in their classes daily, to present and teach to multiple learning styles, to attempt to use a web 2.0 program in one of their classes each week, to provide constructive and meaningful feedback on student work, and to attempt to go more paperless in our 1 to 1 initiative. 

When I looked in the mirror I wasn't reflecting and modeling what I wanted teachers to do with students in my own interactions and meetings with staff.  We weren't conducting business as a staff, the way I envisioned the classroom would operate.  I realize it was my first year and I had all I could to keep my head above water as I learned about what being a principal was all about (not just in theory).  I was a first year principal in a new state and trying to learn about the dynamics of a new district.  Unfortunately, that isn't a good excuse.  I was comfortable!  I knew how to use Power Point to present at staff meetings.  I knew that I could send out weekly bulletins by creating them in Word and saving as a PDF.  I knew that having a nice big organized binder full of 500 pages of all information the teachers would need for the school year would show I was organized and knew what teachers would need for the school year to run smoothly.

As a principal I would consider myself in the upper echelon of tech savvy administrators, I should be at 28 right folks!  I was on Twitter, I had a Google Calendar, I could get e-mail to come up on any device with WiFi, I usually had a little cartoon or You Tube video to start or end my meetings.   I didn't have a blog, I didn't have a my own website, I didn't use multiple web 2.0 tools in my interaction and work with teachers, I didn't use programs like Animoto, Sliderocket, Prezi, or Powtoon to present to teachers.

 

I have got to be about it!  I turned that old three ring teacher information binder that we give teachers at the beginning of the year into a password protected electronic LiveBinder on our server.  I have created my first staff meeting presentation using Sliderocket.  I am working on my 1st day student presentation this week using Powtoon.  I have obviously started a weekly blog.  I went to two workshops and read a lot about providing more constructive feedback to teachers.  

I want to challenge all administrators to practice what you preach.  As my introductory cartoon illustrates we can make a difference, we have to be the leaders, we have to show teachers that it works in our staff meetings and can work great in the classroom as well.  We must show that we are willing to think outside the box and try new things; and that they can too.  We need to show that some things might not work well the first time, we may have issues, the technology may not work the way we expect; but we don't give up and revert to the way we have always done it and may be most comfortable.

What can you do before the start of the school year starts for your staff that would reflect what you want teachers to do with their students?  

 

Successes and Learning Experiences not Successes and Failures

Cartoon shown during Murray Banks keynote at NCSA Administrator Days

This cartoon shown during NCSA Administrator Days in Kearney this past week made me  remember when I interviewed for the Laurel-Concord/ Coleridge High School Principal job last spring at 27 years old.  I was sitting in the school's board room with three other potential candidates; all much older, two with prior administrative experience.  One seemed to know everybody in the school already, and I later found out that he was originally from Laurel.  I felt really good  about my interview, but on the way home I had already called my mom and told her to chalk it up as another learning experience because of the experience level and the hometown connection that the other applicants had.  To my surprise I was called the next day and offered my first administrative job.

I know that first year I strived to make everything go perfectly and I spent every waking minute of the year focused on my job, but many things that we tried as a district and I tried as an educational leader were chalked up as learning experiences.  The hardest thing for a perfectionist to do is to understand that not everything is going to go as planned and be an absolute hit.  Murray did a great job of reminding me that we should all have way more learning experiences tallied up than successes; and a great administrator is one who can take those learning experiences and turn them into successes.

I have spent a lot of time this summer looking at those learning experiences and trying to find ways to turn those into successes.  I am excited to bring my students and staff back for year two; and prepared to show them some new things we are going to try and some changes we will make to a few of those learning experiences from last year.  I am sure they won't all be successes, but hoping some of the decisions and plans developed will impact learning and teacher effectiveness in my district.

I like that the cartoon has called things that don't work out learning experiences and not failures.  Failures are things that you totally give up on and never workout.  Hopefully all initiatives and  changes being made in our schools are based off of the vision, mission, and goals of the district.  We should continue to adapt and take the learning experiences and tweak them so that we are continually striving to meet our vision, mission, and goals.