All right I’ve been on vacation this past week so I missed out on dropping this on Tuesdays. However, I’m getting back on track and

In Today’s episode we’re discussing: 10 Things only Principals at a Sanctuary School constantly focus on

Just last weekend I went out to eat with my wife and our five kids. It was a local coney island that my wife and I often frequent because we know exactly what we’re going to get and the surprisingly high quality of the food. We brought the kids this time because it was her birthday. The number of us eating is important because what I’m going to say next isn’t based on a small sample size. The food wasn’t as good as it typically is. When we asked the server where the regular chef was she informed us that he had been picked up by ICE (immigration and customs enforcement). This got me thinking of our chefs family and especially his children. This man has been working in the restaurant for at least the last 15 years. Which means his children have established friendships and relationships within our school system. The following are 10 things only principals that are attempting to create sanctuary schools must focus on in a scary political environment for our students.

Promote a safe and orderly school environment for all students.

Have a robust ELL program.

Send out newsletters in more than one language.

Have a graduation ceremony that includes an interpreter.

Consistently celebrates multiple cultures throughout the school year.

The staff works towards cultural proficiency.

Minority students come to school at the same rate as the general student body.

Immigration and Customs officials treat your school as a “sensitive location”.

Multiple staff members speak some of the languages of your student body.

Students’ families bring food in to share with you and members of your staff.

While most schools may touch on these 10 components from time to time principals that are creating a sanctuary school must focus on these. What are other ways schools can demonstrate a commitment to all children? Share your views in the comment section below.

If you’re a principal make sure you check out the new grant/scholarship available that honors the hard work you put in on a daily basis. K12 principals click here to learn more

For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the howtobeagreatprincpal.com and/or pre order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies which also has quick and easily digestible pointers. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, new episodes weekly. To join the podcast as a guest email me at [email protected]. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group.

In Today’s episode we talked with National presenter, podcast host, Educational Leadership Coach, CEO of PerfectTime SHP and Author Dr. Sharon Porter, Dr. Porter is the author or co author of at least 1/2 dozen books. We discuss her newest one, Next in line to lead: The Voice Of The Assistant Principal. We get into the inspiration for that book a bit later in the conversation but before we do so. We get into her educational journey.

Summary of Dr. Porter’s Educational Journey:

She had an amazing fourth grade teacher and decided to become a teacher because of that fourth grade teacher. That teacher instilled love of teaching and the love of education. While Dr. Porter was a teacher she observed individuals around her and listened to the bios of individual and presenters that would come to the school.

What intrigued her was that they held so many positions. As she contemplated moving from assistant principal to principal she wanted to be able to have as many different positions under her belt as she could so she could have a more global perspective.

As an assistant principal she wasn’t sure she could do the job. Once she held two different central office jobs however one in which she was a regional instructional specialist her mind changed. It was this job where she assisted principals and the superintendent with principal issues, that she realized she could do the job of principal.

Her biggest challenge in the role of principal was dealing with the politics of the position. It really depended on where she was and what was going on in the community. If it was an incorporated town, if it had a mayor or town council. In her school district it really varied. So the struggle for her, especially as a new principal, was trying to make sure all the stakeholders were involved. She overcame the challenge of the politics by really focusing in on her communication skills and being transparent. She also made sure to include all stakeholders.

Advice for new principals:

Make sure you extend yourself and learn all that you can. All that learning isn’t going to come from your building. Be the aggressor and extend yourself to other mentors, other coaches, and other places. Build the relationship with stakeholders and the community it enables you to go so much further.

Her Plan for including the stakeholders include:

A monthly chat with the principal

An executive meeting with PTA

Extend invitations

Plan exactly what rolling out for each particular group

Have consistent structure

Tweetable Quotes:

Make sure all the players are involved. Dr. Sharon Porter

Don’t do anything in isolation include those stakeholders. Dr. Sharon Porter

You want to be inclusive and make sure all stakeholders are at the table. Dr. Sharon Porter

We are the leader of the school but not the only investor in the school. Dr. Sharon Porter

The children, the students, our scholars are our first priority. Dr. Sharon Porter

All decisions made in the best interest of our scholars Dr. Sharon Porter

Relationships are key. Dr. Sharon Porter

There is nothing that is going to prepare you ( for the principalship) until you get there. Dr. Sharon Porter

Words of Wisdom:

If you’re a high school principal you definitely want to have that student voice as part of decisions because they really bring to the table an insight that maybe you don’t have.

As a school leader you must build and maintain positive relationships.

It does not matter how many programs you have, in a school district or outside a school district. [when it comes to preparing assistant principals] What matters is that day to day mentoring and coaching that’s provided by that principal.

There is nothing that is going to prepare you ( for the principalship) until you get there.

When the principal sits down and really takes the time to be a mentor to be a coach that’s where you see the progress in the assistant principal.

Advice fo(continued)

When we think about how to become a great principal we often talk about the best practices. We discuss the power of shared leadership, strong school culture, safety, and efficient processes and procedures. But we also need to evaluate ourselves and make sure we’re not doing some of the worst practices out there. Some of these practices are built into our personalities and hard to avoid. These three worst practices should be avoided and rooted out at all costs.

Destroying Leadership Potential

Acting as if, and even worse believing, you’re the only one with the answer and the smartest person in the room is one of the worst practices a principal can have. Humans are wired to notice the negative aspects of life. Only providing negative feedback and blaming others when things don't work are two easy ways to destroy any type of self sufficiency in your building. Thinking you’re the only one that can solve the problems others are making adds to this poor practice. Additionally, taking the credit publicly when something is fixed will definitely get you the side eye and could lead to a full scale mutiny.

Neglecting Personal wellness

With the long hours and inconsistent eating schedule finding time to take care of yourself often falls by the wayside. Being at your worst mentally and physically will ensure your decisions will often be less than ideal. Having low energy will make you short tempered and you will have a hard time connecting with you staff. This will ensure that your building is a place in which your staff is worried, stressed and afraid to make mistakes. In an environment like that, discipline problems are bound to be higher than you would like.

Don’t do what you say

This can be a hard practice to avoid especially if your upper administration are poor communicators. Sometimes your can say one thing then everything changes without notice and you have to go back on your word. This is a key component in destroying your building culture. You can say, “all hands on deck” then stay in your office and let others try to handle the emergencies. Being above the fray will absolutely cause a lack of respect. You can also say you have an open door policy, then make it clear by being on your phone or on your computer that you’re not interested in hearing what your staff has to say.

These 3 worst practices, destroying leadership potential, neglecting your health, and not keeping your word can ruin your building. What other practice of poor leaders do you avoid? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

If you’re a principal make sure you check out the new grant/scholarship available that honors the hard work you put in on a daily basis. K12 principals click here to learn more

For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the http://www.theprincipalentrepreneur.com/ and/or pre order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, new episodes weekly. To join the podcast as a guest email me at [email protected]. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group.

I recently lost three of my staff members to a better looking, higher status, and more lucrative district. I have to admit that the only way I found out, wasn’t because they were displaying any outward tells, but because they were exposed. These were excellent members of the staff, hard working, creative, team oriented and dedicated to the students. Once one left however, some of the others followed suit. The following are three ways to tell if your staff is leaving you for a better district.

Misty Eyes and Far away looks

As teachers begin to contemplate leaving they may begin to display some of this type of behavior. You might catch them looking fondly at a kid they were furious with just a few days or weeks earlier. You might see them shake their heads and smile and say things like “That’s just Blankty Blank.” instead of correcting the behavior. As staff decides to leave behaviors that once got on their nerves no longer does because they know there is an end in sight for them.

Brilliant Students

Another sign of teachers getting ready to leave may be a sudden uptick in classroom grades. Teachers may begin to take less time grading the papers that are being turned in as they prepare for another assignment. Perhaps there is less focus on the correct usage of a comma, capital city or congruence of a triangle. Or another indicator could be a sudden adherence to grades being turned in on time and the grade book updated. These changes in behavior could be signs that your staff has found another prospect.

Mopey Colleagues

More than likely your entire staff will know before you do that one of their members has found another. You may hear more expressions of black humor or innuendo as you’re walking through the halls. There may be awkward silence as you walk into a room where three or four teachers are gathered. You may also notice hugs and the giving away of valuables like staplers, rulers or lined paper. Or suddenly, teachers who never got along are now cordial as they realize they won't be seeing each other anymore. If you notice this type of behavior a staff member may be leaving.

As principals we are often the last to know that one of our valued staff members is leaving. It’s not even us, it’s them. The other district just might have more to offer. However, if you see misty eyes, an increase in grades and depressed staff members be prepared to find another.

What are some other ways you can tell if a staff member is leaving? Share your insights in the comment section below. If you found this post entertaining and/or informative please share.

If you’re a principal make sure you check out the new grant/scholarship available that honors the hard work you put in on a daily basis. K12 principals click here to learn more

For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the http://www.theprincipalentrepreneur.com/ and/or pre order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, new episodes weekly. To join the podcast as a guest email me at [email protected]. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group.

In this episode we’re talking with Professor, national presenter, former principal and Author, Dr. Capelluti, Dr. Capelluti is the author of literally dozens and dozens of scholarly articles and of the book we're going to talk about today, The Savvy Principal: What Streetwise Principals Know.

From dreams of professional baseball and a school counselor's inventory report which suggested he join the clergy or be a mortician to a principal, speaker, author and professor in this episode we go on the educational journey of Dr. Jody Capelluti. We touch on that journey as well his book The Savvy Principal: What Streetwise Principals Know. In this conversation he provides valuable advice on what it takes to be a good principal.

Three of the main pieces of advice were:

Establish credibility

Everyone matters

Engage in Collaborative Decision Making

Find a district that matches your values

He also gives some insight into rapidly changing a school which included make sure you have a good rationale for the changes you’re making and have the data to support that rationale. Not only does he talk about strategies for changing school outcomes but he also gives some ideas for using staff differently so you get the best out of them.

As we get into a discussion about his book he provides some does and don’t on the whys and how of getting it published. As well as a numerous tips to think about as you organize and structure your school.

Tweetable Quotes:

“In a school nobody is more important than anybody else. We just have different jobs.” Dr. Jody Capelluti

“New principals have to overcome the confidence factor.” Dr. Jody Capelluti

“Your best employees want a say in significant decisions.” Dr. Jody Capelluti

“A principal has to filter out what’s real and what isn’t real what’s enforceable and what isn’t enforceable.” Dr. Jody Capelluti

“If you work together there’s a lot more bright people than just one person and a smart principal realizes that.” Dr. Jody Capelluti

“Don’t work for a superintendent who is way out of shape or has no out of school activities. If they’re not going to take care of themselves they’re not going to take care of you.” Dr. Jody Capelluti

“Communities are going to get what they want. They’re not going to change based on what you want.” Dr. Jody Capelluti

“The lack of definition in school policies (with regards to communicating with student families) is killing the balance between work and family.” Dr. Jody Capelutti

“If you’re at home doing emails on Sunday then something’s wrong” Dr. Jody Capelluti

Words of Wisdom for New(ish) Principals

Pick the right position.

Have the skills to stay at it

Principals are the key for teachers, students and schools to be successful

Thanks for taking the time to read or listen. Please share your feedback in the comment section below. For the latest updates click on the follow button up above.

If you’re a principal make sure you check out the new grant/scholarship available that honors the hard work you put in on a daily basis. K12 principals click here to learn more

For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the http://www.theprincipalentrepreneur.com/ and/or pre order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, new episodes weekly. To join the podcast as a guest email me at [email protected]. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group.

With the school year ended and most buildings empty of students, as principals we finally get a chance to take a breath. Once we do that a few times we know we gotta get back to work. When we reflect on our student count and think of ways to increase it marketing is the name of the game. In an era of increasing competition we know we have to stand out to capture the attention of families who have greater choice. How can we market our schools so that the values we stand for are represented? These three strategies can help support your enrollment goals.

Unique

This isn’t easy for a public school because we have to be everything for everybody. This makes it hard to stand out and be distinctive. One of the advantages that private and charter schools have is their ability to define their own niche. A private school can be religion based and focused solely on a particular faith or bring in a specific kind of athlete. Charter schools can have a specific theme or cater to specific ethnicities. As a public school finding your focus is essential to increasing school enrollment. This has traditionally been done through an emphasis on things like athletics or band. In today’s technological age, what are ways you can stand out from the crowd? Answering this question will help you be unique.

Remember, regardless of whether you’re a newly established principal or a veteran you are an expert at what you do. Your own particular values as the building leader can also help guide this search for uniqueness. You know exactly what the students need to do to be successful and you’re able to deliver it. The families in your community need you and your school’s particular expertise. Once you identify your one of a kind culture the next step is spreading the word.

So how do you deliver this information? The easiest way to do so is to use social media. Presumably your school already has a Facebook account. If it doesn’t, start one. According to Facebook stats, Facebook has the largest number of users between 25 and 35. That is a prime age for beginning families. Leverage your demographic data and use a social media platform to meet your families where they are.

While, as public schools we have to accommodate everyone, we can still specialize in certain areas. Using social media will help spread your unique characteristics and your school values. Even though school may be out for you reposting older content and reminding your families of your school’s unique qualities is a great strategy

Dependability

Another way to stand out is to be dependable. With every change in leadership schools lurch from one new directive to the next. This fosters uncertainty and parents aren’t sure from year to year what their child is going to get. Being uniform in what you offer to families and the community helps parents know what they’re going to see when they come in for their second and third child. With that consistent way of doing things the parents and the staff can confidently state what is happening year to year and promote your school. No one likes instability. Being unstable causes anxiety among your stakeholders and make choosing another option more likely. Be dependable and not only will families stand by you they’ll sell your school for you.

The most dependable assets at a school are also the greatest asset. The staff. Often we forget that they can do more than just teach. They have hundreds of contacts in their own email and social media accounts. Use them to help spread the word of how dependable and stable your school is. Once a month pass something onto them that they can share with those with whom they have influence. It could be as simple as a picture of them working with their students. Add a brief caption about how great the students are and send it to their friends and families asking them to share it with their friends. As the end of the year approaches have the teachers spread th(continued)

7/3/2017 The Principal Entrepreneur: The education revolution is here

The revolution is here. Education as previously envisioned is no longer viable. Public schools are over 200 years old They have been around so long and the thinking so entrenched that there is a belief that no one can do it better. Like The Big Three car companies of Detroit, MI were, public schools are stuck in an industrial age mentality. Schools are still run by the ringing of a bell, just like they signaled a shift change in old car factories. That mentality doesn’t work anymore, change is here.

As students age from early elementary to middle school or junior high age through high school respect is no longer automatically given to teachers and adults in authoritative positions. Why should it? The internet can provide the rote answer to any question faster and with seemingly more authority than a teacher. As traditional dispensers of knowledge we are obsolete.

Teachers, like the factory workers of the past are no longer in high demand, and as the demand lessens so does credibility, respect, and authority. Those of us in education have heard the false maxim, “those who can’t teach”. Is that becoming more real as each day passes? I don’t think so. But to those outside the daily grind it may appear to be the new reality. Why would anyone in their right mind want to teach. I’ve heard more educators than I can count discourage their child from becoming a teacher. Low pay, helicopter parents or their opposite seemingly disengaged parents, disrespectful students, and no status; who in their right mind would want to step into that?

As we chose to pick up the stylus and step into this field we know what we face and bravely stand in front of kids who have picked up society's disdain for our profession because we believe. We believe we can make a difference in the lives of our children. We believe we can show them how to behave appropriately in the very society that disregards us. We believe we are on the front lines of this education revolution.

To advance that line we must get off the pedestal and guide instead of lecture. We must demonstrate how to think and discern the fake from the real, how to balance our reality with that of another. We must provide multiple lenses from which to view an issue. We must show empathy by being open to the other. The world grows smaller as our ability to communicate globally expands. As educators we must let go of control and let the students show us what they want and let that be the entry point into a lesson. If we do these things they will learn how to think and in thinking change their world.

The education revolution is here. Do you still stand, do you still believe? Share your thoughts about the state of education in the comment section below.

If you’re a principal make sure you check out the new grant/scholarship available that honors the hard work you put in on a daily basis. K12 principals click here to learn more

For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the http://www.theprincipalentrepreneur.com/ and/or pre order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, new episodes weekly. To join the podcast as a guest email me at [email protected]. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group.

In Today’s episode we’re talking with Principal, Amazon Best Selling Author, and Founder of Elite Aspirations Educational Programs Mrs. Tiffany Stallings. Mrs. Stallings is the author of the children’s book GiGi and Mimi: Mommy Works Too Much and The Bounce Back Mindset: How to Bounce Back when Life has Screwed You. We dive into the inspiration for her books a bit later in the conversation but before we do so we get into her origin story.

She talks about her who inspired her to become an educator. How she crashed and burned out trying to juggle a career, a business and a family. Lessons she learned from that experience and what she's doing differently this time around.

We also get into how she successfully started two schools in two years, how her life experiences influenced her two books and the advice she has for other ambitious school leaders.

Three pieces of advice that stand out are:

Make time to take care of yourself. Have goals beyond school and career.

New principals do not ever forget your time as a classroom teacher.

Don’t forget the reason why you became an educator.

Two books that inspired her professionally are:

Handbook for teachers of African American Children

The Principal 50

both by Principal Kafele

To find out more about Ms. Tiffany Stallings you can find her on all the social media platforms @ ohtiffanywrites .

If you’re a principal make sure you check out the new grant/scholarship available that honors the hard work you put in on a daily basis. K12 principals click here to learn more

For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the http://www.theprincipalentrepreneur.com/ and/or pre order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, new episodes weekly. To join the podcast as a guest email me at [email protected]. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group.

I was recently reading the biography Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson. Issacson relates the story of Jobs’ feelings for one of his teachers. Jobs describes how that teacher saved him by stimulating his mind and making him feel unique and special. This made me think of all the great teachers that I’ve encountered and how, like parents, they make each student feel uniquely loved. As principals it’s our task to do the same thing for our teachers especially if we’re looking to do new and innovative things in our schools. If we’re to be innovative like Jobs, within our own field of education, we must prepare our staff for it.

Love = Trust

Without trust there can not be love. As the principal you gotta be the first one to take that step. Take a chance and be vulnerable. Ask for help in an area of weakness. You don’t have to know everything. Setting up and organizing community get togethers with the families of our students is not something that I’m good at. At the beginning of the year I made sure to ask for help from the staff members that I knew enjoyed and were good at that kind of thing. By doing so I provided them the opportunity to be experts as well as creating the groundwork for them to ask for help when they needed it.

Love = Collaboration

As the Principal you already know that collaboration is key. Identify those key influencers on your staff and encourage their input. Include as many stakeholders as you can including and especially the students. Use your student governing body to help guide policy. Get those students on board. Provide an end goal that you would like and have them come up with the means to get there. Having stakeholder participation and leadership t will help other staff and students buy in. Collaboration is also another way that you show trust.

Love = Transparency

Being upfront and clear about your expectations helps staff feel safe, one of the keys to feeling loved. When you’re doing things like going over the evaluation tool and breaking down the rubrics it lets the staff know what you’re looking for. Make sure students and staff know where their boundaries are. Jody Capelluti, author of The Savvy Principal says, “If you allow it you approve of it.” Being transparent in what you allow makes it clear what you approve of. Transparency is also part of a trusting relationship.

Trust, collaboration and transparency are demonstrations of love. Love is the ingredient that makes innovation possible. What are other factors that are needed to support innovation? Share your thoughts in the comment sections below.

If you’re a principal make sure you check out the new grant/scholarship available that honors the hard work you put in on a daily basis. K12 principals click here to learn more

For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at theprincipalentrepreneur.com and/or pre order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, new episodes weekly. To join the podcast as a guest, email me at [email protected]. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group.

The Principal Entrepreneur: Simple Social Media Marketing Tools for Broke Behind Schools

In the moments of spare time I have I spend it reading and thinking about ways to get the positive things my school is doing and how to connect with parents and families. At the high school level significant and consistent parent involvement/engagement, in the traditional sense, is a struggle. At least at my school. Often times when we try to make calls there is no answer or the phone no longer works. We believe that every parent wants what’s best for their child but often times life gets in the way. And they aren’t able to demonstrate this commitment in ways that we as educators can observe. In the face of this challenge we have newish tools that we can use to connect with families and market the great things we’re doing for and with their child. These social media marketing strategies are a simple free method to communicate with our families.

Talking/communicating with parents consistently is key. According to Statista, a website that tracks a multitude of statistics, Facebook had 1.79 billion active users as of the third quarter of 2016. Facebook should be the foundation of your social media strategy if you want to get your school, and the cool things being done, in front of parents .

Focusing on parents is the largest lever at our disposal when it comes to promoting our school and its culture. In Gary Keller’s book The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, he talks about focusing on a single aspect that will create a domino effect and how over time one small task can create the biggest change. Using Facebook as a conduit to your parents is the one thing you can do from a marketing standpoint that can impact your student count. It could help you retain and acquire more students.

Facebook is an option to have a slightly longer format of communicating your school’s events and post images of what your school is doing. Of course be sure to have permission from parents to have their child’s picture taken. This can be done at the beginning of the year when students signup for school.

Another social media tool you can use is Twitter. Twitter is a great way to give a distilled version of events. Where on Facebook there’s the opportunity to expand on updates, Twitter forces you to be concise. A great way to connect to parents in the Midwest is to have them follow you during the winter months. Let parents know that you’ll be announcing snow days via Twitter. I’ve also seen schools tweet out school events like band concerts and athletic contacts. In addition, because you have limited time you can simply grab headlines from your Facebook posts and tweet those out including a link back to your Facebook page.

Janelle McLaughlin, an educational expert in social media practice, recently said, that twitter is a great place for principals to start in social media. The reason for this suggestion was because of how little time it takes. She suggests setting up a separate account just for school and tweet from that account.

Posting that twitter account and tweeting out your classroom visits with the hashtag of your school is a great way for parents to find you and communicate with you.

Youtube can also be a great resource for parents. Behind Google Youtube is the most often searched for information. Often times parents have trouble accessing a certain section of a school’s website or they have difficulty logging into a particular app that the school district uses to display their child’s grades. By having “how to” tutorial videos on your webpage you can address some of those concerns. Youtube is also a great way highlight student work and their projects. Using your school’s name and the event are easy keywords for parents to search when they’re looking for you.

By integrating these three free social media tools you can increase the reach that your schoo(continued)