So, here we go...The Need for Non-Seasonal Leadership

Yesterday was the first day of school for the 2014-15 school year at OHS. A teacher laughingly said last week, "The kids are going to show up whether we are ready or not."  Well, we were ready.

All of the usual back to school jitters and excitement accompanied the 2000 plus students that came through the doors. Teachers were more than ready and received them with enthusiastic smiles and welcomes.  The building had been lovingly prepped for their homecoming - squeaky clean, organized and invitational in tone. It was, and is, the perfect storm. When I used to dream of being a teacher, and then a principal, I always imagined being in a happy school with happy people - one in which all things good were possible and probable. That is how it felt yesterday - the shining moment of a school year beginning.

A friend of mine who is a principal in another state used to say, "The moxie of a school is tested in winter and proven in spring."  I understand.

I wish I could bottle the positivity and hope that characterize the first few glory days of a school year. It is so tangible, one can almost feel it. Authentic school spirit, hope, forward-thinkingness - all of these become the modus operandi at the onset of school. I would love to keep it in reserve for the times in the year where energy and enthusiasm wane - you know, that period of time when no one can imagine the school year ever ending.

We have all been through those times in school - when everything is predictable and routine, when nothing is inspiring or fresh, when it is a matter of showing up and going through the motions. Studies on teacher resiliency and teacher retention have carefully studied the trends in teacher attitude. For veteran teachers, the dip in attitude happens in early November, with ebbs and flows throughout winter. For new teachers, the slide happens more gradually and later, often falling to a dangerous low in February. For students, it varies - dependent on grade, on academic achievement, on personal situations - but it happens.

The challenge is to sustain each other throughout the year.  I know that we have enormous influence on one another and the way we perceive our work and our use of time. The goal is to inject enthusiasm throughout the year through our own conduct and through the subliminal messages we send with our demeanor. Also helpful is to design refreshing and inspirational school projects, initiatives and events during the times most notorious for being "down" periods.  The point is to keep our "eyes on the prize" - student achievement, student learning, student growth - that happens daily, no matter the season. The tactic is to revel in relationship-building through the small moments that come from spending time with one another through familiar and comfortable routines we have created on a daily basis, in good times and bad.

Big plans for the Eagles - all year and every day. We need to value time - no matter the season - and not waste a second or squander any opportunity. Making the most of every moment is our mission, because graduation WILL happen, whether we are ready or not...

Hiring teachers that will save the world... one student at a time...

Summer is often devoted to staffing. It is one of the most rewarding parts of an administrator's work. It is also one of the most difficult. I am not interested in hiring warm bodies - I want to hire rock stars. I want to hire teachers who LOVE learning, teaching, the business of school. Mostly - I want to hire teachers that "get" kids, genuinely like them and who are willing to meet them where they are at the moment they enter the classroom. Then, lift them up. All kids. Not too much to ask, right?

Interviews are always structured. Formal. Questions most often address content, pedagogy, preparation, background. Most candidates are able to answer the questions with fluency. Most candidates are able to interject tidbits about themselves into the questions asked so that interview panels are able to score, rank, assess. Today's graduates from teacher prep programs at our colleges and universities are far more poised than I was at age 21, that's for sure. Many have impressive resumes with a wide variety of experiences that defy their age and newness to the teaching profession. When I first started interviewing for teaching positions, I didn't even own a suit - still plagued by a college wardrobe. Somehow, someway, a principal saw something/enough in me to give me a chance back in 1978 ~ they must have thought I had that something to offer. I hope I lived up to their expectations.

So, now, as the principal responsible for inserting great teachers into the lives of our students, the tipping point is the "IT" factor. This is not something that can be scored or charted. It is not something that can be answered in a question. It is something that just IS.

The "IT" factor is the feeling, the "vibe", that the candidate generates. It is the energy, enthusiasm, confidence, optimism, and inherent work ethic that are fundamental parts of the candidates' being. Some are things they have learned or qualities they have striven to develop, but mostly IT is just who they are at the end of the day, every day, when no one is looking.

For me, the "IT" factor is a hybrid of characteristics from all of the amazing teachers I had in my own educational journey, as well as from the outstanding teachers with whom I taught shoulder to shoulder for over twenty years. I have known so many unbelievable teachers over my career. I like to think that I have hired a few too.

IT is a teacher who is deep in their own content, so deep that they are able to extend knowledge well beyond the pages of a textbook. IT is a teacher who makes learning relevant, important, meaningful - who finds a way to ignite excitement and passion to students who think and learn in sound bites and who are used to being entertained. IT is a teacher who truly believes that learning IS fun and designs their classroom to enhance positive interactions. IT is a teacher who conducts themselves with a moral sense of purpose and who sees the big picture - that the net effect of their work is building capacity for our students to change the world.

Sometimes I find IT. Sometimes I don't. IT matters though and I try to never settle until I find IT. I want OHS to become a symphony of rock star teachers. Our kids deserve IT. And I think we have hired some fantastic teachers who are smart, hard-working, fun, and student centered. I think they can change the world one student at a time... I think they have IT....

I can't wait for the school year to start!