Okay! I am ready and I am just going to Blog It! After attending Innedco at Keystone this summer, I have come to realize that administrators need to be more involved in conferences that support personalized learning. I was surprised to see so few administrators at the conference. As educators, we are always looking for ways to sharpen our skills.  At the conference I was able to listen to  George Couros and Eric Sheninger,  whom I have been following for a few years. I was very inspired with their messaging.

After listening to George Couros, it reiterated how vital it is for us to use technology to support our students. We cannot prepare our kids for the future when we hear facts such as, “we are getting our kids ready for jobs that don’t even exist.” If this is the case, how much time do we provide our students to be creative and innovative? He also stressed how important it is for us to share our ideas as educators. Unfortunately, we are not prone to sharing ideas. Every minute of the day is accounted for, and we don’t seem to have time sit and reflect.  Nonetheless, as school leaders we can be creative with our schedules to give our teachers and students time to explore new ideas and drive their own learning.

Later in the conference I was able to listen to another principal, Eric Sheninger. He equally inspired me to share ideas and start blogging. He emphasized the importance of being transparent with staff and intentionally surrounding yourself with the smartest people you know. As educators it is essential to be transparent, give our teachers consistent feedback, and support lead teachers while branding and marketing our schools. His words rang true to our work, yet where do we learn about and how do we prepare to brand our schools? As principals and school leaders we are responsible for providing our teachers supports in order to differentiate the programming for every student that walks through the door.

His last comment struck home for me. He said there were “no excuses for not blogging”. If you don’t have the time, find it. If you struggle to write, get better and if you don’t know how, learn it. These statements are what we always tell our teachers and expect from our students. Therefore, I am just going to Blog it!

Here are my takeaways and resolutions for the school year.

• Blog creativity: All of us have incredible teachers that are doing outstanding things with their kids. I plan on blogging ideas I hear or risks that we have taken to support student learning.
• Be transparent:Teachers are constantly under the microscope and being measured for everything. I plan to change the evaluation process to a coaching process. All of us should get small bite sized feedback from coaches. This year I plan on coaching my coaches while they coach their teachers and staff.
• Communicate the brand:Several years back I did not have a brand, now we have three pillars around blended learning, extended day enrichment programming, and student leadership through character development. I will be posting throughout the year on the progress.
• Learn more:To avoid getting complacent with our programming, it is essential for me to continue learning from others and hear new ideas.  I often get caught up in the management of the building and forget about leading the building. I can only lead by what I know. Therefore, I need to continue learning.

Thanks, George and Eric for inspiring me to share ideas and continue my learning. See you on the next post.