When DeAnna Miller became assistant principal in 2019, she could never have anticipated the challenges pandemic schooling would bring. Looking back now, she identifies her most important lesson learned: “Real leadership is recognizing that we must serve the people we lead.”
Rather than label just some kids talented, we need a new approach that serves all children, writes performance coach Lee Hancock. Among his strategies: embracing failure as progress, spending time in deep practice, and fostering in kids a love for their own special interests.
Educators considering entering administration and those already there will find Kara Knight’s The Confident School Leader a useful guide to key elements of leadership. Reviewer Beth Hassinger found Knight’s discussion of social and emotional aspects particularly helpful.
By putting strong relationships at the fore, you can cultivate an environment in which each of your students can grow. Through her many years in the classroom Stephanie Farley has hit upon keys to encourage kids to thrive. At the center – kindness and getting to know each one.
Teacher-author Jacob Chastain has found a process and procedure that’s essential in his workshop approach to teaching literacy. He helps middle schoolers develop the habits of “reading like a reader” and “reading like a writer” – shifting into either mode with powerful results.
The 2021-22 school year came with all the expected sound and fury, and for many of us, weariness and low spirits. Now summer’s here and MiddleWeb has pulled together a diverse set of deep-dive PD articles you might have missed. They’re insightful, informative and actionable!
Gene Bottoms, a national CTE leader and secondary school reform advocate, discusses the inequities in opportunity found in current college and career practices and details steps to transform high schools into places that serve ALL students well, writes principal Frank Hagen.
What works when school leaders need to tackle complex challenges? Principal and author Matt Renwick suggests letting go of trying to control outcomes and operating with certainty on “fixing” problems. Pursuing 20 sharply focused questions helped his school gain momentum.
After another school year weighed down by a wide range of challenges, education consultants Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn offer school-based leaders a path to restore momentum in their school and revitalize their community’s commitment to a collaborative vision.
Any educator who leads in schools will find principal Matt Renwick’s Leading like a C.O.A.C.H. grounded in real boots-on-the-ground work and loaded with opportunities to reflect on and improve leadership practices. Instructional Walks are key, writes school leader Rita Platt.
