Trust Me

One of the most important elements in the principal-teacher relationship is trust.

Without trust, there is no collaboration.
Without trust, there is no communication.
Without trust, there is no growth.
Without trust, there is no unity.
Without trust, there is no innovation.

Trust is arguably the foundation of every relationship, especially so in the realm of education.

It is understandable that a teaching staff may not fully trust a principal who just joined their school. Additionally, the staff may not trust a principal who fails to prove themselves as a loyal, valued member of their school community.

Likewise, if a school principal is brand new, it is unlikely they'll walk into their school with established relationships of trust with their staff. Also, if they've observed a staff member repeatedly make choices that are of a concerning nature for the students and school community, it can be hard for a principal to depend and trust this staff member.

But when there is a principal who has chosen to stay a bit longer to help build something special and they're surrounded by a teaching staff who are focused on doing what's best for students, a school community can benefit from a singular focus and vision on improving the school experience for their students. The teaching staff trusts that the principal supports the work that happens every single day in the classroom. The principal trusts that the staff understands the complexities of the millions of daily decisions we may make to keep the school moving forward. There is a mutual trust.

But trust is hard. 

Because we are human and we make mistakes.

And I shared one such mistake I made at a recent staff collaboration.

The mistake centered around a sixth month conversation regarding overlapping graduation/promotion dates between our middle school and the local high school district. As the worst luck would have it, somehow our graduation dates landed on the same day: June 7th.

When I first saw this conflict during the summer, I immediately began to brainstorm possible solutions. Could we move our graduation events a night earlier? Could we add a professional development day in March or May that would push our graduation date one day later? Perhaps the high school district would consider moving their graduation time to a different day? I spent countless hours looking for a solution.

In working with our local high school, there were conversations where they may have been willing to move their graduation events to the night before. Our sister middle school was exploring the idea to move their graduation to the night before. I was very clear in my resolve to keep our graduation night as close to our scheduled last-day-of-school 6 pm start time as possible.

In the end, the high school would compromise in moving up their start time for graduation to 4 pm on the shared last day of school and we would move our promotion ceremony an hour later to 7 pm. I felt it was the best outcome of so many bad choices.

During the six months of reflection and negotiations, I reached out to our Home and School Club parents for input. I spoke regularly with fellow administrators about the predicament we were in. I had brief conversations with various staff members, seeking their advice on the issue.

But what I didn't do was sit down with our 8th grade teachers.

After all, our 8th grade teachers are expected to attend graduation and I didn't check in with them to brainstorm solutions beforehand.

This was my mistake.

And, with the encouragement and support via a reflective conversation with a valued staff member, I realized I needed to make things right during our next staff collaboration.

And so, later that afternoon, I led a conversation about the decision to keep our promotion ceremonies on the same night. I explained why I didn't want to move graduation to the night before (do the 8th graders come to school the next day? what if they do? what if they do but decide to leave halfway through the day? what culture does it create if kids see other kids cutting school or making bad decisions since they've now graduated?).

I shared why I didn't want to have graduation earlier in the day (we intentionally moved our graduation dance to immediately follow the graduation to combat a variety of student issues; to have graduation at noon and the party that evening would return to those complicating issues).

I went over every step I made, reflecting along the way, pointing out secondary issues that may have been created through the best of our intentions. I made the "how" regarding the decision to move graduation an hour later as clear as I could.

And I apologized to the staff, specifically our 8th grade teachers, that I did not officially sit down with them to discuss the issue and gather their input. Speaking without notes and little rehearsal, I gave an honest recounting of how I wished I would have, even if I was unsure that the final outcome may not have changed.

I then addressed the issue of trust.

I shared how, as the site principal, I have trust for them as the Union Middle School staff and the work they do with our students every single day in our classrooms.

I then asked that they have the same level of trust in the decisions I make as the site principal. Trust that I don't make decisions haphazardly. Trust that I'll do my best to do right by our students. Trust that I work extremely hard to support them and their interests.

I asked them, especially in a moment where they may not agree with me, to trust that I will always make the best possible choice for our students, for our school community, and for them, even when faced with less-than-optimal outcomes.

I asked for their trust. They have mine. I hope to have theirs as well.

Hire the Best (pt 3)

If you're still following along, I've shared an inside look into how a principal builds the best staff possible for the upcoming school year.

The first post shared how we had experienced the loss of an incredibly talented young educator to one of our feeder elementary schools.

The second post detailed how sometimes the stars align and a former staff member may somehow rejoin your staff through a bit of luck and timing.

This post shares how we were able to fill the our last open position for the upcoming school year... it's about always having a plan.

With Ms. Starr's impending departure for Noddin, we now had a 6th grade math/science core position to fill. I needed someone who had experience with 6th grade students, who was both an expert in mathematics and science at the 6th grade level, and who would understand our school culture and community from the minute go.

Over the next few days, I explored a variety of options for this now-open position. I attended the Santa Clara County Job Fair and met a few prospective candidates, all eager to find an educational home. I spoke with principals outside the district about any teachers they had who were ready for a possible change in their professional career. I would check in with our Human Resources department seemingly hourly for an update.

Despite all of these conversations, nothing seemed to make sense. There didn't seem to be a perfect fit.

And that's the thing. I won't accept anything less than a perfect fit for our students and for our staff. I fully expect to be able to hire the best possible educator to join our staff. I've shared my thoughts about our school community before. Our kids are awesome. Our parent community is supportive. And the staff is second to none -- it is easily the best staff I've ever worked with. No other staff puts kids first like the staff I have the pleasure of working with at Union Middle.

And that's when I got a random text, completely out of the blue, from a former UMS teacher.

This educator has left two years prior for an administrative position in a very wealthy district about 20 miles north. Unbeknownst to her, I kept close tabs on her progress as an admin. I only heard good things. Unlike many new-to-administration educators (including myself), this individual immediately and successfully blended the constant balancing act we administrators have to face in our daily routines. She was fantastic with kids. She supported her staff. She worked closely with the parent community.

And while I can't speak for her, I do know that being an administrator is a lonely place to be sometimes. You miss the classroom every single day. I still do myself.

You're viewed differently. The public figure aspect of the job is just bizarrely uncomfortable.

And maybe, to her, no matter where she was, it just wasn't home. It just wasn't Union Middle.

So we conversed over text and that quickly switched to a phone conversation.

She was looking for a change. No doubt in her mind. She wanted to come back to Union Middle. Did I have a spot?

Yes and no.

To make the spot in 8th grade science, a hard conversation had to take place with a current staff member. They would have to shift to Ms. Starr's 6th grade assignment, opening up a spot in 8th grade science. The move made sense. The now-6th grade teacher had taught at this grade level before with much success. The opportunity to have her rejoin our 6th grade team and create the opening at the 8th grade science level just made perfect sense.

During these frantic days, I would regularly check in with our superintendent and assistant superintendent of Human Resources. In some districts, a principal may not have the support for such out of the box thinking. Here, in USD, our district team was heavily invested and working hard to help make this entire project a reality almost overnight.

Fast forward a few days and it was a go. This actually could be happening. The plan was slowly coming together.

The hardest part about everything that was happening was not sharing the good news with our staff. While I dropped hints in various conversations with inquiring staff members, I knew that I needed to allow all of the dominoes to fall in a timely fashion. As more than a few of my staff will share, I'm not a big fan of secrets. I just prefer to be upfront and honest about everything; it's easier to keep track of the truth this way. Sadly, in education and many other work place environments, that's just not possible.

Finally, today, I was able to share the good news with our staff: Mary Martin was coming home to Union Middle.

At first, the staff didn't believe me. One teacher even said, "wait, is he serious? he can't be serious... is he serious?" Another staff member, someone who may have already known, confirmed that the news I was sharing, that Mary Martin was returning to Union Middle, was the truth. Smiles started to break out at every single table. The noise got a bit louder. I too stood at the front of the room, smiling at finally being able to share such good news.

After all, Mary has close to twenty years classroom experience. She has been at the forefront of our transition to a balanced implementation of technology in the classroom. We have co-presented at conferences. She's even been the president of our teachers' union and, in my opinion, performed extremely well to support the USD staff and students in this role. Mary is someone who sees the bigger picture and works collaboratively with all parties to make the goodness happen.

As I shared previously, she's one of those "I'll do whatever I can to support kids" kind of educators. She's expertly training in AVID. Her experience in teaching students how to love science is something district and noticeable when speaking with her students. I've often referred to her as the glue that kept our science department together.

Simply put, she's one of the best educators I've had the pleasure of working with in my 15+ years in education and we are truly blessed she's coming back home to Union Middle.

In my conversation with her on the phone, we discussed how happy she was in her present administrative role. She shared how amazing her students were, how friendly the community was, and how she'd build solid friendships with her staff.

But the difference is no matter how amazing those friendships are, she really missed her family at Union Middle.

And, without a doubt, the most important thing in and out of our profession is family.

Welcome home, Mary. 

Hire the Best (pt 2)

In this previous post, I shared some not-so-great for Union Middle School news that we were losing a teacher to the elementary school. This staffing loss led to another aspect of our "Building a Better Principal" presentation: Always have a plan.

And yes, I did have a plan.

The plan was to move forward by looking backwards.

We do have teachers leave for various reasons. It happens at all schools. Other opportunities. Just needing a change. Sometimes even a promotion of sorts.

With Alyssa's departure and a second opening in 6th grade core, we were looking for two top notch educators to join our team.

The second opening was filled first. Last year, Monica Silva shared with me that she would be leaving Union Middle to pursue an opportunity elsewhere. The job sounded amazing and I knew her departure would leave a huge hole at UMS.

Reason being, Mrs. Silva is a champion for kids. She loves them. She devotes every breath she takes to ensuring that they feel welcome in her classroom and on our campus. She's the den mother every school needs. When she left, the loss was noticeable and a challenge for our school culture.

Somewhere along the way, sometime around late Fall, Mrs. Silva reached out to me and just checked in. I shared how much I missed her on our staff. She shared how much she missed being a part of our staff. I suggested she come back. She laughed.

Fast forward a few weeks and what had at one time started as a silly conversation was slowly becoming something that could happen.

Mrs. Silva did want to come back to USD. She was ready to make it happen. Add in some details about the teacher shortage, the continued need to hire great teachers, a forward thinking superintendent and Human Resources department who understood how to make these out-of-the-box ideas happen... and Mrs. Silva was going to be a member of our school district again for the upcoming school year.

However, there was no guarantee that her eventual placement would be at UMS. Dominoes had to fall, not just at Union Middle but elsewhere in the district.

Earlier this week, I was able to officially confirm that Monica was going to be a part of our #teamUMS staff for the 2017-18 school year (and hopefully many years beyond). I was able to announce the news to the staff at our collaboration time this afternoon.

To be able to hire the very best for your students... that's the goal of a principal. With Monica, I've guaranteed that whatever students end up in her class for the 2017-18 school year will have an amazing 6th grade at Union Middle.

But if you're reading along, I still had Ms. Starr's position to fill... This would be a bit trickier.

(and yes, it's continued in part 3)

Hire the Best! (pt 1)

A few weeks ago, Jackie Knudson, a kindergarten teacher at Noddin Elementary School, and I presented at Annual CUE in Palm Springs. We had spent a few weeks preparing our presentation, titled "How to Build a Better Principal", and decided upon five key elements therein.

One of the five ways to Build a Better Principal was to only hire the very best. The best teacher. The best office assistant. The best assistant principal. The best basketball coach. The best everything. The "Better Principal" wants to have the very best educators interacting with their students each and every day.

I should briefly pause to share what I mean when I say "the best educator" as it may mean different things to different people.

To me, the best educators care about kids deeply. They give second chances but are also firm when necessary. They know that sarcasm rarely works with kids, especially not until a solid student-teacher relationship is built. They're also hard working and yet always looking to improve. They're the teachers you can ask something of and you'll probably hear a response that starts with "yes"  and ends with "always willing to help". They're the current leaders of your school culture and the future administrative leaders of your schools.

One such teacher is our very own Alyssa Starr.

Alyssa schedule has her listed as teaching 6th grade Math & Science, but that's not what she does; she teaches kids how to be advocates for their own learning, guiding them from the perilous transition of elementary school to 7th grade. She's nothing short of fantastic. She's a silent leader on our campus. In the years I've known Alyssa, I don't think I've ever received a parent or student complaint. She's a true asset to Union Middle School.

Recently, Alyssa shared that she's looking for a bit of a change and would be applying for a kindergarten position in our district. Ironically perhaps, she's now scheduled to be a teaching partner of my CUE partner, Ms. Knudson. When I spoke with Jackie tonight about Alyssa's departure from Union Middle, she said, "Well, remember... we did say that the secret to building a better principal is to hire the best... we were just following your advice in having Alyssa join our team!"

And she's right. A principal needs to hire the very best... and if your teachers are on board with making it happen, even better.

So good for Noddin. They just got a top notch educator, a future leader in our profession.

And they left Union Middle with a huge staffing hole to fill...

But another rule about Building a Better Principal - Always have a plan.

(Part 2 shared a bit of the plan... read on)

No Words

(Note: I wrote this blog entry a few weeks ago... but just didn't bring myself to share our experience from that week just yet. I think it's ok now. Thanks for reading.)

I don't have the words to describe last week.

It started with a random news alert that a plane had crashed in Riverside, California. It was a Monday. My wife and I had been discussing our challenging days at each of our middle schools. I quickly skimmed the news report of the place crash and slightly paused as I read that they were traveling back to San Jose. Weird, I thought, that's pretty close to where I work.

I then read a bit more about the story. The individuals on the plane had been at a cheerleading competition over the weekend. This was another odd coincidence; our two middle schools had just performed at a cheerleading competition. 

The news shared that the competition had been at Disneyland. Again, a weird coincidence. Our cheerleaders had just performed at Disneyland and had actually finished first out of seven teams. Perhaps there were other divisions or other teams who participated in the competition that I didn't know about. 

Then I received a text from our cheerleading coach. 

A bit of backstory on our cheerleading coach.

First, she's awesome. She "gets" kids. She's also our Mental Health Counselor at Union Middle. We're very lucky to have her on our site. As far as irreplaceable staff members go, she's definitely on that list.

She shared her beliefs on what had happened. That the crash may involve families from our school. That while she didn't have any facts, she was just as worried as I was. I asked her to repeat to me more than just a few times: None of our students were on the plane. All of our students came home on the bus. All of our students were safe.

Despite a flurry of false information from our new organizations, the picture started to become a bit clearer. Names of the victims were eventually confirmed. Based on what we heard, it became very clear, very quickly that two UMS families were going to need a lot of support from us and our community.

The following day at school was a challenge. Our district sent extra administrators and mental health services to our site for as long as we needed them to stay for the week. Our superintendent graciously sent breakfast and lunch for our staff. It was an "all hands on deck" type of day for our staff. We were all on the lookout for that student or students who may need support.

And it wasn't just students we were worried about. It was our staff too. The teacher who had all of the siblings in her class over the past few years. The other staff member who spent countless hours with the family, discussing how to best support their student. Or perhaps our mental health therapist herself, now having to serve as a mental health support for the students in need but also needing time to grieve herself.

For the most part, it was our cheerleading team who were struggling throughout the day, the week, the month... and rightfully so. Our cheerleading team is comprised of a very tight group of friends first, students second. They practice everyday. They hang out together. Most of their free time is spent with each other. These emotional events were not something we'd want any middle school student should have to endure. It was only with the support of our staff and each other that we were able to progress through the week.

More news about the tragic loss within our community spread on Wednesday. Our cheerleading coach and I reached out to the families throughout the week. Both affected families have former UMS students, all of which I spent lots of time working with during their UMS tenure. All of the kids involved are just flat out amazing. None of this seemed fair. It just doesn't seem fair.

We have a community who wants to help. Gofundme (included below) and meal support accounts were set up to support the families. Neighbors and friends have taken over car rides to school, homework help, and just a listening ear as students transition through these difficult times.

A week later, things still feel unsettled. The funerals for the family members are upcoming. I try to check in with the students myself every single day. When our eyes connect, I can see a level of sadness that no 11 year old should ever have to endure. I wish there is more I could do. I wish I had the words to help them.

But I don't.

I don't have the words to help.

Instead, I listen.

I offer my time, my heart, and everything else they need to help them get through the day.

If you want to join in and help as well, there are links below.

Take care of yourself and each other.

-Todd

https://www.gofundme.com/stacey-pierce-family-relief-fund
https://www.gofundme.com/farelas-family-fund

Roller Coaster World of Education

Unless you've been in education, I'm not sure one can fully understand what it is like for educators during the 180+ school days. My best analogy would be akin to a roller coaster on repeat.

You sit down and prepare for the ride. Everything is calm. There is a bit of excitement in the air for the upcoming school year. You know what the year will bring. You've seen it before. The safety ride workers come by to make sure you're securely fastened. They spend less than two seconds on this very important part of the trip. Just a quick look, perhaps they pull on the harness a bit, and then they move on to the next person.

You're sitting next to a friend but it just as well could be someone you've never met. You give a "here goes nothing" glance to your seatmate. They smile back. Perhaps they're a veteran for this ride. It could be their first time trying it out. Somewhere amidst the seats, there's a rather talkative individual, sharing their excitement and how they always love the roller coaster experience. Their examples of this "excitement" are beginning to make you question whether or not you want to take this ride after all. Before you can make up your ride, you start to move. The first day of school has begun and the kids are piling into your classroom. It is too late now. Hold on.

It's a slow climb to the top of the tracks. Everyone is pretty excited. The clicking and clanging of the climb is helping build the excitement. Everyone is still getting along. There's a sense of energy in the air. The first time rider is a bit clueless for what's about to begin. The veteran teacher is hinting about the upcoming fall. You're not questioning yourself just yet. This is one of the nicer parts of the ride.

And then it happens. Since you're sitting a bit towards the middle, you see the the riders in the front disappear. You're not sure where they went. You can only hear their screams. Maybe it's the first test they gave with the follow up flood of parent emails about why their student received a B- on the assessment. Maybe it's the departure of a beloved assistant principal who has announced they're leaving the district for a promotion elsewhere. Maybe their three month old twin boys aren't sleeping through the night and they're running on less than empty. Whatever their reason, you're quickly approaching the drop and know you're going to experience the same shortly.

You do. The roller coaster crosses the apex and falls fast toward oblivion. You have your hands clutching the side rails, just hoping for a bit of life-saving security. Your seatmate has their hands in the air and is screaming loudly, perhaps with excitement, maybe with a bit of fear. Who is this guy? You look past ahead of the bouncing heads in front of you and realize that the drop is about to end. You breathe a bit and think you'll be able to catch your breather. You're wrong.

Next thing you know, you're at a forty five degree angle as the roller coaster speeds through a turn. You look to your left and realize your head is about four feet from a murky swamp. Truthfully, you consider your options at this point. How bad would it be to slither out of your harness and drop quietly into the brownish-green waters? You could always say it was an accident and no one would think twice.

Before you can make your decision, the roller coaster is picking up speed and is entering the corkscrew portion of the ride. Your head jostles back and forth. Your eyes react as if they've been struck by a taser. Your mouth and chin tense, giving the impression that you're trying out to play the role of the Joker in the next Batman flick. In the education world, we call this the month of March.

There's a short lull during the ride as you begin to climb once more toward the final descent. The other riders are in various states of euphoria and chaos. The veteran to your right begins talking about how they're never going to ride a roller coaster again. The first time rider a few seats ahead of you is looking around, wondering if their feelings of helplessness and hopelessness are normal. You just continue to hold on, brave through the requests for last minute extra credit, and progress toward the finish line.

Finally. It's here. The roller coaster pulls into its final destination, a place that looks oddly familiar to where you began your ride. True educators, however, don't always get to get off this roller coaster. They've got an upcoming conference next weekend to learn about the new math curriculum. There's an administrative retreat to help you start your planning for the upcoming year. Next year's master schedule needs to be finalized and have all 1,050 students imported into their classes for the next roller coaster ride.

This year, however, it's a bit different for me. I'm getting off the roller coaster for the next few weeks. I'm logging off, powering down, and spending a few extra moments with my family and also just by myself. This year's roller coaster ride was a long one with lots of twists and turns. As a principal who tries to provide 24-7 support through late night email responses, texting replies, NextDoor support, constant community communication, and just everything else I can during the school year, I'm going to take what I think is a much needed and well deserved break from it all. I'm posting my "away for the summer" vacation response for my work email and doing my best to limit my work-related activities over the few weeks. I hope every other educator out there gets their well-deserved rest from the roller coaster world of education we live in. You've earned it.

How I know it's the end of the May...

I can tell when there are three weeks left in the school year. I don't even need to look at a calendar. Based on the behaviors of our students, the communication from our parent community, and the exhausted looks from our staff, I can pinpoint the last week of May with 100% accuracy.

Summer is a very perplexing event for many of our fragile students. They know they should look forward to having three months to play, to be silly, to explore their interests. However, for many of our students, they're scared and have no idea how to voice their concerns. School is their true stability. They know we're here for them. They know the start time, the end time, and everything that happens in between. Once summer hits, their schedule shifts and it scares them. 

And when the stress of summer approaches, students behave in a variety of ways. Some will shut down completely. Why finish the school year strong if they're leaving? Others will emotionally collapse. What do you mean I'm going to be somewhere else for the next three months? For our departing for high school students, it's often worse. These students don't know how to handle the goodbye that comes with their promotion to 9th grade. Instead of celebrating their successes and honoring the relationships they've built, they actively seek to destroy their progress. They know they're leaving for high school. They know we're not following them to 9th grade. To make their departure a bit easier, they'll look to doom everything they've built. This practice is heartbreaking for the staff. Close to three years of notable successes are darkly colored by the failures of the final three weeks. It's hard for us. Crushing.

For our parents, the last three weeks of school are a stressful time. If their student is headed off to high school, they face a constant battle to remind their kid to run through the academic finish line. There's an increase in missing work, significantly more poor decisions made, and an unlimited number of "we were just messing around" comments shared in the assistant principal's office. This is increasingly frustrating for our parents and rightfully so. 

Here lies an opportunity for our parents. Do they (A) schedule a meeting with our teachers, counselor, assistant principal, or principal to look for a loophole to protect their student's grades and/or consequences (B) hold their student accountable for their bad choices and focus on how their student can make better choices in the future? Truthfully, for Union Middle, most of our parent community opts for the right choice: B. 

Logical consequences could be the best thing for a student who has made a bad choice. Some parents choose to excuse their student's behavior and instead battle our staff on an assignment, a bad choice, or the final grade. Perhaps they're nervous about private school. Maybe they are worried about their child losing an end-of-the-school-year activity. Some have even indicated that there is a school-wide conspiracy against their student. Whatever the concern, these are true learning moments where a parent can show their student that the bad decision they've made doesn't have an easy way out; that there are lasting consequences which don't necessarily evaporate as easily as they'd like. I wish our parents knew that their child is watching extremely closely during their office visits. If a student sees their parents excuse their school behaviors away, the wrong lesson will be memorized. Difficult days will resurface down the road. While it's hard to allow your student to accept consequences for the mistakes they've made, it can be the best lesson you'll ever be able to provide your student to learn.

For our staff, I try my best to not count down the remaining school days. I want everyone to continue the learning opportunities within their classrooms up until the last day of the school year. However, with students becoming increasingly challenging and the emails from various members of the parent community nitpicking their student's grades, any staff member can't help but count down to the final day of the school year. At all of my previous schools, I've counseled many staff members on these student and parent concerns, often surrounding a random assignment from mid April that wasn't turned in or addressing any requests for extra credit when the student hasn't turn in half of the daily homework throughout the quarter. Our staff truly loves and supports our students. There is a strong desire to work with our parent community as well. But now, during the last few weeks of school, it becomes increasingly challenging to make everything work and still find the strength to push through to June 9th.

It's the last three weeks of the school year. I just know it. The students struggling to keep it together. The parents who are hoping for a last second hail mary A-. The teachers looking like they're auditioning for a role as an extra for the Walking Dead. Everyone is exhausted. It's the last few weeks of the school year. 

And in 70 short days, we'll do this all over again. 

My One Word for 2015

Across the Twitterverse, there is a challenge to choose one word that will inspire you in our classroom or school in 2015...

To be fair, I've struggled with my selection of my word for 2015. I've thought about the idea of choosing the word "sprint" because of how fast it feels we're moving as a middle school. Conversely, I've thought about choosing the word "slow" as we often need to shift down during our days and appreciate the blessings of being able to work with kids (and people who work with the kids!). Ultimately, I've chosen the word "perfect".

But not "perfect" as a noun... instead, "perfect" as a verb, specifically: "make something complete, free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible."

At Union Middle School, I feel we are in the "sweet spot" of education. We have possibly the most innovative CTO in the entire county in Mr. Andrew Schwab... We have an incredibly supportive district office and parent community... And perhaps most importantly, we have one of the best school staffs in the state of California. 

Union Middle School already offers so many incredible opportunities for our students. We have Project Lead The Way, Design Thinking, Minecraft, and more. There is a flourishing music program with an incredibly supportive band boosters behind it. 97% of our kids have reported that they have not been bullied due to an academic or social disability. And perhaps most telling, over half of our staff has been hired at Union Middle within the last five years, including yours truly.

So my one word  for the upcoming year is the verb form of "perfect".

My goal is that we begin to improve and perfect everything we're already doing. 

I don't want to add more electives to our staff. I don't think we need to switch how we experience our days with our students. We already have so many opportunities for our students, staff, and parent community to become involved at our school. What we can best improve upon is perfecting everything we're already doing... or as close to such a condition as possible.

How do we do this?

1) Time - Provide as much time as possible for our staff. Time to prepare for the Next Generation Science Standards. Time for our Tech 2 staff members to assist their peers in improving their classroom experience. Time for our leadership team to meet with students, with parents, and with teachers to hear feedback and augment what we're already best providing.

2) Experience - The best gift in the teaching profession is experience and it's only something that we can receive through walking through our daily lives in and out of the classroom, learning from our own mistakes. We are on our third year of Project Lead The Way, our second year of Champions, and our first year of Design Thinking and Minecraft. The gift of experience provides confidence and a reassurance that we're providing the best curriculum and school experience possible for our students.

3) Reflection - I'm not going to assume that everything we're doing is the best way to accomplish our goals. As you've possibly heard before, the phrase "because we've always done it this way" has become our enemy mantra. We need to evaluate our administrative choices and determine how we can best serve our students and best propel (or perfect) our school educators to achieve greatness. We will reflect on our current practices to best improve future performance. 

So the one word I'm going to focus on is perfect as in how to take the amazing work we're already doing to the next level and how to support our staff therein. Here's to an exciting 2015.

Too Much, Too Soon... Or: How to Create Teacher Stress on Your School Campus

OH MY... WHAT A YEAR

It's hard to believe that we are just 25% through the school year. It's been such an odd year. It's my third year as a site principal, fifth year at the school. As a third year principal, this is the year the magic should happen. I've followed the traditional administrative path of 1st year listen, 2nd year discuss, 3rd year implement.

And so we've implemented.

New classes. New Common Core Math Pathways. New (amazing) staff. New opportunities for Professional Development. Increased enrollment. Bond passed.

That's a short list and it doesn't include the biggest change of all: Increased Access to Technology.

So let's back up a bit and take a wider lens at the conversation.

If you ask almost any teacher today what they'd like more of, technology in the classroom will surely be in the top five comments they'll share.

Our district, knowing a strong deficit in this regard, created a new position of Chief Technology Office and hired what I often call the best hire by USD over the last decade: Andrew Schwab.

Andrew was exactly what our teachers and administrators (especially me) wanted: someone to centralize and support all of our technological needs. He started slow, met with teachers and administrators, and did everything a new staff member should do. Yet, teachers and administrators clamored for more. They asked for 1:1. They asked for updated computers. They wanted improved wifi.

And Andrew delivered everything and more.

-Our school has received a minimum of tenfold in access points for individual and improved wifi connection.

-A new MacBook Air for every staff member

-A shift to GAFE tools for education

-1:1 in every 6th grade classroom

-A dozen additional ChromeBook carts for check out

-Ten staff members labeled Tech 1's or Tech 2's, able to provide support and professional development

It was everything our staff (including myself) had been clamoring for over the past five years. And yet, the collective teacher stress increased exponentially.

Here's why:

Technology cannot just be given to a teacher without professional development and more importantly time.

The professional development gives them a chance to explore how to best implement the technology into the classroom. If a student takes notes with pen and paper or if a student takes notes on a Google Doc, there's no difference. The added benefit is how the technology allows collaboration and other sharing opportunities through its implementation.

Time is perhaps the most important ingredient. The tech-ready teachers won't need the time. They'll figure out how to best implement the gift of 1:1 Chromebooks immediately. For the rest, however, there needs to be an understanding that they'll have time to implement the technology into their classrooms.

Sadly, this time isn't something that can just happen during a staff development day, a trip to #fallCUE, or on a random prep period. Our teachers need the time to play and explore. They need days, not prep periods, to figure out how to best implement the new technology into their classroom. They need release days to observe other classrooms. They need the opportunity to get comfortable with the technology.

And I'll be honest... despite our best efforts, this didn't happen.

Our teachers weren't given enough time to work with and work through the added technology in their classrooms.

Fortunately, our staff has been amazingly supportive in how they've dealt with the situation. We have had teachers open up their classroom prior to the school day for other teachers to get technology help. Our assistant principal has arranged for classroom subs to allow for random observation days for teachers looking to see how the technology is being implemented in other classrooms. I've given time for staff development during our weekly Wednesday meetings.

Still, it's not enough.

And it's because we went too much, too soon.

To me, it wasn't that fast. To many staff members, it wasn't that fast either. But they aren't the average staff member.

To those teachers who didn't want to exchange their hard drive MacBooks for a new MacBook Air... for those staff members who don't fully understand the benefits of labels in gmail... To the teachers who were frustrated with the initial limitations of Google Classroom... It was just a rough start.

And it led to increased stress levels among the staff.

A disclaimer about the UMS staff - They want to be cutting edge. They will work hard to provide a better student experience. They are always willing to go above and beyond.

But for whatever reason, it was just too much. Perhaps it was the insecurities of not wanting to disappoint our students, their principal, the new CTO... Perhaps it was just influx of Chromebooks and self-imposed expectations on how to incorporate the tech into their classrooms.

Whatever the reason, the message that our staff was a bit overwhelmed was received.

And so we slowed down. I communicated that the tech infusion was not a sprint nor a marathon; it was an opportunity to break down walls and encourage student interaction in their classrooms.

The expectation wasn't that they'd implement everything yesterday but instead slowly feel comfortable on incorporating pieces into their daily lessons as they saw fit.

And yes, I have offered professional development through #fallCUE, weekly staff meetings, or upcoming staff development days. That's not the message though.

The point of including an influx of technology into the classroom is to have a very slow expectation of how the tech will be implemented. However, even if you let your staff know that the pace will be slow and supportive of all, there will be an increase in stress among your staff.

The reason is simple: teachers don't want to disappoint. They know they have just received a Chromebook cart worth close to $20,000. They want to show their appreciation through results that truly aren't possible just yet. They need time to review, reflect, and implement. They need support. They need professional development. They need time.

And so I've tried to temper expectations and tried to share that this isn't a race we're trying to win. We were already winning. All we've done is provide something to enhance the amazing delivery of content and connection our teachers are already providing.

It's a very timely example of just too much, too soon... and how it leads to teacher stress. Perhaps unavoidable, but a worthy tale of how to best support one's staff during these implementation times.

What Happens After The Principal Says "No"

"I'm sorry, but the answer is no."

"I really would like to make this change for you, but it's not going to be possible right now for a variety of reasons."

"I understand that you are unhappy with the decision that was made, but it is in the best interest of our students and the school as a whole."


One of the biggest challenges as a school principal is telling one of your staff members that the answer is no. It's something that principals really hate to say. I actually enjoying saying yes to our teachers' requests, whether it is to try a new elective, to venture to a conference, or to just switch up their teaching style. These moments are so incredibly important to our educators, especially after they've achieved "veteran" status on their school campus. It's a great way to take a different look at the classroom experience and to reinvigorate oneself.

Sometimes, however, there are reasons why the answer is no. Often, we can share these reasons with the staff member. Perhaps it would create a secondary effect that our school community would have to endure. It's possible that the timing of the request complicates matters just a bit too much. The request may not be in line with our district policies or the teacher-district contract. As much as I can share, I always do. I want to maintain the level of professionalism and respect that I have for each staff member as their site administrator. Plus, I want them to know that if I could truly say yes, I would... but for the reasons explained, it's just not possible right now. And I wish that the staff member would understand and our relationship would actually strengthen based on this conversation. Sadly, this is not always the case.

As a third year principal, it has been a trying year. A teacher resigned a few days prior to the start of the school year. Three math teachers already or soon to be out on leave to spend time with their newborn babies. We have had an influx of students at our school, closing in on 1000 middle school kids, up from 750 just a few years ago. This means more teachers sharing classrooms, more new staff members joining our team, and a strain on every resource possible from previous years. Add in a gradual shift to the common core curriculum in our classrooms and you have quite a busy year.

It has also been a difficult year because I've had to say no to a few teachers and their varied requests. Even more challenging is that I'm a huge fan of these staff members. They are some of my "above and beyond" educators. I regularly spotlight their work to our parents and staff. I love visiting their classrooms and watching the amazing learning taking place by our students. I've attended conferences with them and do my best to always reply with a yes. Unfortunately, for each of these staff members, I'd had to recently tell them no. And sadly, I think that our relationships have suffered because of it.

Before I informed them of my decision, I worked tirelessly behind the scene thinking of every possible way that I could say yes to them. That's something I'm not sure teachers know about their principals: we work relentlessly to turn an inevitable no into a yes -- when we actually have to say no, it's not without us putting forth much effort and contemplation to come to a different and more positive conclusion.

When I met with the staff members, I could see their disappointment. Inside, I felt ten times worse. I wanted to rewind time and spend another week trying to figure out how to make their request happen. This was despite knowing that I tried every possible avenue to find a way to say yes before this fateful conversation. I explained to each of the staff members the reasons behind the decision. Truthfully, I shared more than perhaps I should have. I want our staff members to be as happy as possible to be at Union Middle. Looking ahead, I led these staff members on a journey how the current outlook could always change for the next semester or next school year and that they shouldn't give up hope. I also stressed how beneficial it was for us to have this conversation in anticipation of future changes. But in the end, the answer was still no.

So now, months into the school year, I'm working on trying to rebuild the hurt I see in these staff members' eyes based on the hard decision that was previously made. Even if they maintain that we are "ok" and everything is good, there is a lingering sense of disappointment in our relationship that feels very prominent to me. I check in regularly, profusely express how blessed I feel to have them as part of our staff (which is very true, for the record), and hope that we are making small steps in getting back to how things were.

It's just really hard to say no.

And it's ten times harder to work through the aftermath after the no.

But I think we're getting there.

Being Grateful

In my recent exploration of Twitter, I have begun to follow some amazing and talented educators. One of my more recent follows is a current high school assistant principal who happens to be a former colleague of one of my close high school friends who now teaches in Marin. In a recent tweet, the assistant principal posted a picture of his staff room with books made available for his staff. Coincidentally, over the past few weeks, I've been purchasing selected books from amazon for our staff. These are books that they've either requested, books I've discovered via twitter, or assorted books recommended by respected educators. I've provided these books individually to staff members in hopes of encouraging them to explore deeper into their teaching practice. Thus far, all of these gifts have been very well received and I'm excited to hear the positive initial feedback.

Inspiring by the above linked picture, I set out to purchase 15-20 books covering all aspects of education and child development. The main purpose behind the purchasing and providing of these books were to recognize the desired professional development among the staff and to help provide the opportunity to expand their teaching practice. I felt that these gifts would be looked upon favorably. With my plan to introduce the books at a staff collaboration, I anticipated I'd have to stand aside as the entire staff fought each other gladiator-style in order to acquire their favorite book from the available selection. Instead, the opposite happened. Silence.

I continued the staff collaboration meeting for a few more minutes and then left to join one of the 8th grade teams as our teachers regrouped for the upcoming team collaboration. When I returned to the staff room, all of the books remained lined up along the wall. Not a single book had been borrowed.

Earlier in the staff meeting, I had shared a video on being grateful and showing compassion to others. Within the staff memo emailed out earlier that day, there was an article included on how blessed we all are to be living in the Bay Area  and working at Union among friends and family. With such a focus on gratitude and thankfulness, I was surprised at the lack of feedback and support of what I felt was my generosity. I even suggested to a few veteran staff members that they may like one of the book selections I made, hinting it was purchased with their interests in mind. Almost every teacher said "no thanks" to the offer. I was stunned.

Later that day, I spoke, perhaps even vented, with our school counselor, wondering aloud at the reaction by our staff. While perhaps it was a little much to expect The Hunger Games to break out in an attempt to get a book on Falling in Love with Close Reading, I had secretly hoped that all of the books would have been spoken for by the end of the first day. As always, our school counselor listened and offered some feedback, all of which was completely true. Yes, our staff (including our leadership team and perhaps our students and parents too) are quite busy right now and cannot commit to reading a book on the Common Core over Thanksgiving break. Yes, a few staff members are already reading a book I've lent them and didn't want to take a second book until finished with their first book. Yes, the teachers were in a rush to get to Team Collaboration as there's a lot to discuss during this limited and sacred amount of time. All of this is true, but to me it still stung a little.

I spent the end of the school day outside in the rain, trying my best to usher cars into the parking lot and then match said vehicles to their correct student. Given that it was a rainy day, we experienced at least twice as many pick-ups in the front parking lot as a normal Wednesday. I afterwards returned to the office and made plans to depart a bit early for the day after the lengthy Math Meeting the evening previous. At home, I shared with my wife my experience from the day. Much like the school counselor earlier that day, my wife rationalized the staff's response and remained positive about my project. She reminded me of something I would always say to her: "You can't control how someone else will respond to your gift." She continued to share that this doesn't mean you shouldn't give the gift. It just means it's not about the reaction; it's about your generosity and kindness. And she's right.

The following morning, I received an email from a parent. It said:

Good morning,

Yesterday was pretty crazy with the rain and I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you being out there. (Her student) and I drove by and we saw you helping a student get into his car to help with the outrageous traffic and I said to (my student )how awesome it is to have such a hands on principal. Thank you for being ready to do whatever it takes to help things run smoothly. I really appreciate that you are out there and so visible to our kids. We are a lucky school to have you!

Have a great day--should be a bit easier no rain today.

Where I thought the appreciation would come from ended up not being my generosity with educational books for our staff but instead from a parent for something I enjoy doing and did so without any expectations. Today, after receiving this email, I made a few decision on how my Thursday would proceed. After all, if this simple email made such a difference in my day, shouldn't I follow its lead and attempt to encourage others to feel just as positive about their daily routines?

First, I was going to acknowledge as many staff members and school volunteers as I could today. Our staff puts in so many additional hours and takes on very challenging assignments, many of which are outside the public's eye and only privy to the principal - they deserve this recognition. Second, receiving this parent email invigorated me to have the best day possible and I set out to pay it forward for as many staff members as possible. It is very important to appreciate the efforts of one's co-workers, something I know I need to improve upon. Third, I've always struggled with thanking someone for just doing the job that they're expected to do. Surely this stems from my childhood and needs to be explored through professional means at some point, or so my wife, also a middle school counselor, tells me. That said, I don't think it's about mindlessly thanking someone for just doing their job requirements but instead acknowledging them for everything they do that truly makes a difference in the lives of their students, their own professional growth, or for the betterment of our school community.

Thus, my daily goal is to be more thankful of our students who stop to help a peer pick up their dropped pencil box that exploded open in the middle of the quad (yes, this happened today); our staff who did select a book and stopped by to specifically thank me for my efforts (there were more than just a few who did today), or our parent community who truly sees our relationship as collaborative efforts to raise socially responsible and academically prepared young adults (and I'm very lucky this is the template for my daily conversations with our school community).

I have more plans for the book wall. I've already set them in motion. I've also begun to "take requests" (some unsolicited) from our staff on which books they'd like to see added to the available selection. I hope to achieve my vision of a staff Reading Wall and I'll be quite thankful of everyone who borrowed, reviewed, or encouraged a colleague to check out a book. And for those who make a difference in my life along the way, I will be extremely grateful.

Classroom Observations are not the Enemy

As a classroom teacher, I used to encourage administrators to visit our room as much as possible. While it was likely that their visit may occur during study guide review or other less-than-exciting lessons, there was also the chance they'd see a behaviorally-challenged student participating with the utmost excitement in the classroom activity. I relished having other adults in my classrooms and witnessing the daily routines of our community. When it came time for my annual observation, I planned nothing special for the occasion and instead provided the usual lesson plans for the observer. My students rarely reacted to the extra adult in the classroom. I should point out that the administrator's visit didn't prevent them from misbehaving, but overall all of my official observations were a positive experience where I gleaned a few bits of advice from the experienced administrator. Fast forwarding a decade later, I've found that not all teachers share my welcoming perspective toward classroom observations.

During my decade as an administrator, I've experienced many unique perspectives on the observation process. Most of my teacher colleagues fall into one of the following three categories: (1) excited for the visit, (2) dreading the visit, or (3) extremely cautious of the visit. Given that I fell into the first category, I at times struggle with understanding a teacher's reaction to the observation that falls under category 2 or 3. No matter how many times I reassure one of my category 2 or 3 teachers that the observation will be a fun experience, I'm repeatedly told at the sickness and stress these staff members experience in the days leading up to the classroom observation. If you are one of these teachers at any school, please allow me to share with you my sincere goal as the site administrator in scheduling and proceeding through the observation process.

To me, the classroom observation is an opportunity to celebrate the amazing work you're doing in the classroom. Our administrative schedules are quite busy, just as your classroom days are. The chance to spend a class period with you and your students is a mandated blessing. I enter the experience with excitement and a welcomed, refreshing change from the oodles of paperwork and budget transfers that occupy the other parts of my day.

Throughout the observation itself, I watch the delivery of instruction by the classroom teacher but also closely follow how the students interact and adjust to the lesson. More often than not, our students are enthralled in the lesson and fully engaged in the magical journey their teacher has begun to share. When I see the dynamic methods of instruction by our teaching staff, I feel both dazzled and jealous of the hard work they've put into the successful delivery. Currently, at our middle school, we have teachers operating light years ahead of their Bay Area peers in creativity, delivery, and content. To be able to spend a class period with our students as they are confronted with rigorous learning opportunities is a blessing. The observation itself feels more like a formality at this point.

That said, my goal of every observation is to provide authentic, sincere feedback for the teacher on the successes they've presented and any areas of growth I've noticed. I am also aware of those colleagues who dread these visits and try my best to make the observation as effective and positive as possible. There is much to gain from the observation process; I don't believe in "gotcha" moments. I want to help provide reflection for our staff and allow them to self-select opportunities from the observation to grow.

Despite my best efforts, there are still a few staff members who stress heavily about the observation process. My hope is that, over time and through much trust, we work together to prove that these classroom visits are a positive growth opportunity for all of those involved. I feel we've made much progress, as a staff, toward this goal, but truthfully we still have a long way to go... and that's okay. I don't expect multiple decades of unfortunate observation experiences to be cured with my promises and words. Improving the observation relationship is something that takes many cycles to improve and it's a constant goal of mine to work toward. I think we're getting there.