I Was A Real Principal Today!

As ridiculous as it may sound, I was a real principal today - you know, the one I talked about being in my interview, the one I thought I was going to be every day. Yep, I actually sat with a teacher and talked about her future plans. I know. It sounds so ridiculous.

Of course, that's something I should do every day - mentor, lead, guide, share, encourage. But, over the past few years, I have been so focused on trying to make sure everyone was seamlessly integrating technology, following the district's strategic design, aligning 21st century skills, disaggregating data, attending the mandatory workshops, pulling apart the new state math standards, using balanced literacy, spending time in writer's workshops, meeting with design coaches to coordinate with the design team... Well, I guess you get my point.

Focus was lost of what my individual teachers want/need. I was too busy giving, well, shoving kinda - "building the plane while it's in the air."

Well, the partially-built plane has landed (safely I might add), and it's time to do some redesign. The new plane will be a hybrid fighter jet!

The new "plane" will still give professional learning opportunities and still align with state standards; however, this hybrid design will include a well-thought out plan that will allow for data collection and collaboration. It will allow for thoughtful planning AND risk-taking.

I am completely committed to 21st century learning. I am also committed to ensuring that all students master fundamental academic skills like reading and writing and number sense. Of course, that's an entirely different blog post. :)

So, today I talked to a teacher about her personal vision. As ridiculous as it sounds, I walked to my car today and smiled. I wasn't thinking about the benchmark scores or the kid who peed on the bathroom floor; I wasn't thinking about rescheduling Open House, updating the school's Facebook, Instagram, and website. I was thinking about the how excited I was to see a young teacher thinking about her future.

It was a good day. Now I just need to figure out who keeps peeing on the bathroom floor! ;)

photo rights to http://i.vimeocdn.com/video/351682061_640.jpg