First Impressions for your Interview

On the subtopic "Principals" within the rabbit hole that is Reddit, user micu25 asked the following question:

"I emailed the AP that interviewed me yesterday for a teaching job. It was a thank you email but in the email I had names of two different schools (one the same one different) I was tired and stressed and messed up. I sent a sorry email but I probably won’t get the job now huh?"

Micu25 was referring to the often-practiced "send a follow up email to the interviewing committee after you meet them in the actual interview to say thanks for their time."

For Micu25, they made a slight mistake in referring back to the name of the school they were interviewing for and were now worried that this accidental mistake would hurt their chances of landing a second interview or worse, the job itself. 

I've found this practice of sending an email of thanks to be a very interesting situation. You don't not want to do it if the person you've interviewed for is expecting it, but at the same time you don't want to make an error in the reply or seem too eager (read: desperate) for the position. 

Although I haven't applied for a job over the past six years, when I had interviewed for an administrative position, I'd always send the email to the principal or HR director afterwards. Now that I’m on the other side, I realize how little difference this email makes. 

Point being, I’ve made up my mind whether or not you’re a candidate for the job a few moments into your response to the first question we’ve asked you. Sometimes, it’s just as simple as how you handle introductions. By midway through the questions, you can confirm that you’re a candidate by continuing to do well or completely slip up and no longer be a top choice. 

While I don't use an actual point system in my mind, the following example may make a bit of sense: within the first 90 seconds of talking, you have a score of 1-100 with 100 being the best possible score. You may have walked in, been the most charismatic, caring adult we've ever encountered, started your response to the first interviewing question, and just knocked it out of the park. You'd get a really high score for this performance, right off the bat. Alternatively, you may have walked in, not made eye contact, used profanity during the introductions, and then just babbled about nothingness for the next three minutes, hijacking the interview before it even begins. This would be a score much closer to 0. 

This initial score is important. It's the first impression score. I've found that no matter what happens during the interview, a candidate can only shift a dozen of points or so in either direction. Essentially, whatever score you've received by each member of the panel within the first 90 seconds of your interview, it's going to be really close to whatever score you end up with, holistic or tabulated, by the end of the interview.

This means that if only candidates with a 70 point score are sent forward to the second round and you started with 50, there's a strong likelihood that you're not a candidate for a return visit. When this happens, we are both wasting our time with the interview: there’s no way for you to get to 70 for the second round. Likewise, if you start strong and in the 90’s, it’s hard to slip up and not get a second round chance. The first impression you make during an interview is that important.

Thus, sending that letter of thanks makes zero difference in your chances of making it to the second round or being accepted for the final position. The interviewing committee has already put forth the worthy candidates by the time you've hit the send button. If anything, I think it can hurt more than help. If you've already been forwarded to the second round and then send an email with a spelling or grammatical error (examples: use “your” instead of “you’re”, make "thank you" into "thank u" or heaven forbid put two spaces after a period), you could lose a bit of luster for your second round chances. 

This isn't to say it's not a nice gesture. If you're the top candidate and you send a nice, thoughtful message, it's definitely nice to see a "thank you" email. If I were to apply for a higher up position eventually, I’d probably send a “thank you” email too, even though I know it may not make a bit of difference.

But truthfully, sending the "thank you" email does nothing for your candidacy. You are either a second round candidate or not from within the first 90 seconds of the interview. 

First impressions matter. A lot.

Rookie Teacher, Expert Interview

Over the past 72 hours, I've met no less than three dozen student teachers looking for their first paid teaching position for the fall. Wednesday was spent at Santa Clara University, interviewing twelve candidates and today was the Santa Clara County Job Fair where I met another two dozen more.

I walked away from these interviews with a few key thoughts, almost all of which were extremely positive.

First and foremost, WOW, there are some talented future teachers out there looking for a district to join. Every candidate I met had distinct strengths that would be a value add for any district. There were so many truly skilled newly credentialed teachers who are going to make a significant impact in the lives of our students. It was reassuring to see and know that the next generation of educators are a solid group of forward-thinking individuals.

There was one re-occurring theme throughout the interviews. Almost every candidate I spoke with had the same stock answers to a few specific questions and almost always had the same response when asked "do you have any questions for me?" Throughout the days, I could almost predict what their answer might be and what questions they had for me at the conclusion of the interview.

I understand that they've received the same training from the same professors at the same credentialing program in the same peer group. However, if they truly want to stand out from the crowd, there are a few key suggestions that these "rookie teachers" could implement to raise up their interviewing skills to "expert" or even perhaps "boss" levels.

1) Prep for the interview

When you hear that you're going to interview for a particular district, find out everything you can about the district. Ask around. Google stalk the schools. Read up on all of the websites for each individual school within the district. Find their Twitter Hashtags and follow it. I'd even recommend driving over the district and visiting the school at off-hours. Get a feel for what the school is about.

2) Prep for the interviewer

And don't stop at just learning about the district and the school. Research the principals. Learn all you can about the superintendent or the assistant superintendent of HR. How long have they been in the district. Where did they previously work. Connect with people who you know who also may know them. Ask for a reference. Don't go into the interview cold; find out everything you can about the interviewer and be ready to show how you're a perfect fit for their staff.

3) You have to be on Twitter

Zero of the new-to-teaching candidates I spoke with over the past three days are on Twitter. Not a one. Twitter is a fire hose of information for today's educators. You should know who Lisa Highfill is and what Hyperdocs are. You should read up on Jon Corippo and everything #eduprotocol related. Be ready to share a story about a lesson idea that you found on Twitter. Mention an edu-famous book you've read outside of your credential program that drives your future practice. Let the interviewer know what Twitter hashtags you frequent and what Twitter chat's you've participated in. Even if your interviewer isn't huge with the Twitter world, you're going to impress them by demonstrating how you're always looking to improve your practice.

4) There is more to the classroom than Class Dojo.

Perhaps it is an elementary thing, but the love for Class Dojo amongst the teaching candidates was a bit surprising. I actually liked the idea of Class Dojo early on, but then I struggled with how public the negative feedback for students is and how much it feels like public shaming within the classroom. When I asked one of the candidates about the negative affects the public feedback may pose within a classroom, it was very clear that they'd never considered the possibility of this byproduct within the program. I'd recommend heavily researching every app you use within your student teaching classroom and be prepared to share how you promote the positives provided for your students while acknowledging how you limit the negatives it could bring.

5) If you're going to ask a question at the end of the interview, make sure it's meaningful.

Almost every inquiry I heard at the end of the formal set of interviewing questions centered on one of three things: What PD do you have for your staff? Do you support PLCs on your campus? How do you support new teachers? It was very obvious that the candidates had been prepped with a stock list of questions to ask at the end of the interview. After I responded, the candidate would just move on to their next question on the list. Again, quite clear that these weren't truly their questions but ones that they'd been encouraged to ask.

If you want to stand out of the group, you have to come up with your own questions or instead prepare a statement that summarizes your interest at the conclusion of the interview. Truthfully, the interviewer has already made up their mind by question 10 whether or not you're a good fit for their district. Asking them a question about the professional development in the district isn't going to tip the scales in your favor. Even more so, you should already know about the professional development we offer as you should be on Twitter and following our district hashtag.

6) And speaking of professional development, let me offer the following three letters...CUE. 

Look it up. Join. Attend a local CUE conference on your own dime. Learn amongst current educators and your future peer group. Meet administrators and take the initiative to introduce yourself to them. Don't rely on a district to provide you with the professional development you hope to one day receive. Start during your time as a student teacher or perhaps even earlier. Find a local EdCamp on a Saturday and join the conversation. When an interviewer asks you how you best prepare for your future educational career, be ready to share what you've learned at these conferences and how it will shape your practice in and out of the classroom.


It's been a whirlwind over the past few days and I'm excited to see which candidates join our district for the upcoming school year (and beyond). I suspect that almost every candidate I spoke with is going to find a placement for the fall. Don't be afraid to be a bit choosy. Make sure you find the best fit for you. If it ends up being in our district or better yet at Union Middle School, glad to have you aboard. You're joining an amazing team and couldn't have landed in a better place. (Disclaimer: I'm a bit biased) :)

How to Leave with Grace

March 15.

It's one of the most important dates within education. It's the date where non-tenured teachers must be notified that they're not returning for the upcoming school year. It's also the date where non-tenured staff (principals, directors, and other district administrators) can be told they're not coming back in the Fall. Often, if you're the individual on the receiving end of this conversation, you'll be given the chance to resign from your position.

After these decisions have been made, it can make for a tense three months until the end of the school year. After all, there is still a third of the school year left. This means that there's a lot of learning that still needs to take place for the remainder of your days together with the staff you're about to separate from. It's incredibly awkward; often, it goes horribly wrong.

One of my first memories of the March 15th date was during my teaching days. There was an assistant principal who struggled a bit in getting along with our principal. It was obvious in our staff meetings. The entire staff would watch as they bantered back and forth in the middle of a math adoption textbook conversation. A few days after the March 15th deadline, the assistant principal stopped by my classroom to talk. They were not in a good space. Given the various stages of grief, they were spending a lot of time on anger. In these ten minutes, I learned more about what it was like to be an administrator than the years I spent in my administrative credential program. This assistant principal felt betrayed. They were worried about their career and their family. They threw about half of the front office under multiple buses. I just stood on the ramp to my portable and listened to their words, offering support where I could. It was an example of how not to leave your job.

A second memory comes from my first few years as an administrator. As the assistant principal, I was tasked with evaluating our new teachers, determining within a 6 month period if they're suitable to return for the upcoming school year. It was late within the previous summer where we struggled to find a teacher for a position. In the end, we made a last minute hire and hoped for the best. Sadly, we experienced the worst.

When I evaluate my staff, I look at a myriad of elements to see if they're a good fit for our classrooms, our students, our staff, and our community. Do they positively participate in team meetings? Can they get along with the other staff members, no matter how challenging they might be? Do you get positive feedback from the students? How many angry parent emails do you receive? How often do they update their grade book? What do I see when I visit their classroom unannounced? While I don't rely too heavily on one of these qualifications, it is possible that a new teacher won't be asked back if there's something alarming therein.

For this one late-hired teacher, it wasn't just one thing. It was a bit messy throughout the first 6 months of the school year and it was very apparent that they weren't a good fit for our school. The meeting went fine. Very little was said. The next three months weren't too awkward. They continued to perform at their previous levels, only with a slight increase in unhappy students and parents. However, things changed one random day in May. I was stopped by the first floor classroom and happened to see a student halfway out of the top window. It was about 10-12 feet off of the ground, The student climbed onto a shaky bookcase and then propelled themselves out the window. Outside the window was the same 10-12 foot drop.

I immediately called for the student to come down from the window. I looked around for the teacher. She was sitting at her desk, grading papers. After the student was safely back in the classroom, I asked the teacher if she knew what was going on just a few yards from her desk. She replied that she did know that the students were jumping out of the window and that she didn't see anything wrong with it. I was floored. Not only was she not using instructional time wisely, but she was actively putting her students' health at risk by allowing these behaviors. I immediately spoke with my principal and the district office. I ended up spending most of the last 3-4 weeks in their classroom. These were this teacher's final days in the classroom, as they've since left the profession.

My third memory was my own experience. It had been a rough 18 months as an administrator in a very challenging district. I knew I wasn't going to return for a third year. My health wouldn't allow it. After a conversation with the superintendent, it became official: I'd be elsewhere for the upcoming school year. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. It was very clear to those close to me that it was a change for the better. Looking back, they were absolutely right.

The next three months as a "dead admin walking" were, without exception, my most effective days in this position. Even with the hospitalization of one of the other assistant principals, the work load seemed to ease. The dozens of angry parent emails we'd received weekly didn't sting as much. I felt it was easier to say "yes" to student requests. Most of my days were spent in classrooms, watching the talented staff work their craft.

This isn't to say there weren't some challenging days. With things going so well, these positive days sometimes made it a bit hard in knowing that I'd be departing shortly. There were awkward moments where current colleagues asked for advice on their application for the job I was leaving from. I had bonded with a few leadership and journalism students who I wasn't going to be able to support during their upcoming Senior year. I really enjoyed working with my administrative and front office team. But in the end, it was a good thing to leave. I'm not sure I would have survived another year in this position without significant life changes.

There have been countless other examples over my past fifteen years in education. Every individual has had a very different reaction to departing their educational home. Some leave mid April; others just don't show up the first day of school. In the end, it would be my suggestion to always run through the finish line and not let one's impending departure color the job they were hired to do. After all, the legacy you leave is often formed from the first impression you've made coupled with the final impression as you depart.

I know I myself didn't do everything right as I was departing each of my prior positions. It's a difficult place to be in as you're transitioning to somewhere different for the upcoming school year. That said, I tried my best to support my colleagues and, of course, our students. It's not always the easiest thing to do... but often the hardest thing to do and the right thing to do are the same thing to do. After all, it will be our students who suffer if we don't leave with grace... and leaving with grace and dignity is very important, no matter the impetus for the change. Our students deserve our very best.

Get Your Principal to +1 You in Five Easy Steps

One of the biggest struggles of a classroom teacher is to have a negative relationship with your site principal. Sometimes, you may just not see eye to eye. For other moments, you may not understand why they're making the decisions they do. Hopefully, you often agree and can work together to best support your students.

Most teachers want to be liked by their site principal. That said, many teachers don't know how to be liked. Often, they assume that their principal may not trust them or have concerns about their status as a staff member. This couldn't be further from the truth. We want you to be nice to kids. We want you to respond in a timely manner to parents. We want you to give us the benefit of the doubt, just like you want us to trust you as the expert in your classroom. Here are five ways to get your principal to "like" you as a classroom educator.

First and foremost, be that teacher with the best lessons. Have them be dynamic. Include current events or risk-tasking opportunities that incite a learning love for your students. We compete with YouTube, KIK, and every other non-classroom activity for our students' attention. If you have great lessons, you're going to win over your students. After all, the best behavior management system is a talented classroom teacher with stellar lesson plans. We principals don't just love these teachers; we flock to their classrooms and praise them uncontrollably in the community. Fewer kids sent to the office is always a good thing. Don't be the teacher who sends kids to the office frequently. This speaks volumes about your classroom talents. Develop the best lessons you can. Trust me: there's a teacher at your site doing just this right now. Visit their classroom and learn everything you can.

And yes, there's going to be times where you'll have a problem that will need to be brought to your principal's attention. Don't just arrive with the problem. Make sure you have a solution to share as well. We don't mind problems. They happen. Join your principal in figuring out a solution. Be careful to not pre-marry or excessively champion your idea; just suggest it and let it marinate. A good principal will listen but still may not adopt your suggestion. Often, teachers will approach us with solutions that benefit them, the teacher, and not their students. We see through the "hey, maybe I should have that period for my prep" that only serves you and your lunch schedule. Don't be that teacher. Come to us with viable solutions that put students first and support your colleagues. We listen.

At every school site, there's a group of negativity centered around some students, a parent subset, or even part of the teaching staff. Don't get warped into the negativity. These individuals love to add new members to their group. Perhaps they're upset with the math pathways. Maybe they don't like how the principal has set up the master schedule. It's even possible that they're discussing ways to undercut the principal's effectiveness with snide lunch conversations. I've seen a lot of great teachers get brought into these conversations and it can take years for their career and colleague relationships to recover. Give your principal the benefit of the doubt. While not true of all educators and principals, assume that your principal likes kids and are sincerely trying their best to make your school the best it can be. There will be gossip and maybe even some staff members who constantly spew hate. Don't buy into it. Your principal will notice if you do. I've been fortunate to work with amazing teaching and classified staffs where these issues don't always exists. However, if you're at a school site where these negative factions reside, be careful to politely avoid their black holes of negativity.

When you do have a concern that you want to bring to the principal, don't hesitate to do so. It doesn't matter if you're a long term veteran staff member or it's the first month of your teaching career. What matters is how you address the concern. Even more, it's okay to disagree with your principal but be careful how you share your thoughts. Publicly? At a staff meeting? Figure out how your principal wants to hear the constructive criticism and approach through that lens. Challenging a practice publicly may have the opposite result that you're hoping for. These public disagreements divide staffs and alienate your principal. Instead, figure out how your principal wants to discuss these topics and go that specific route. Be respectful of their wishes, just as you want them to be observant of yours. Just know... your principal may listen but, in the end, they might disagree. Just because you think it's best for the school doesn't mean that your principal will concur. Learn how to accept that you'l disagree with some decisions that your principal makes. Don't take it personally because it isn't personal.

And most importantly, don't "throw shade" (as the kids would say) toward your principal. Speaking ill of your site principal only damages the work the entire school tries to do every single day. It creates a hostile working environment for those teachers who may want to support the principal. Sharing these often flippant comments with the parent community can create a huge division for your school. It also paints you, the dedicated staff member, as someone who complains. Don't assume whomever you share your concern with will remain silent. Assume they'll speak with the principal. Once, when one of my staff members make a "not nice" comment, I had close to a dozen staff members and parents let me know within the next 48 hours what was said. You don't have to agree with your principal. If you badmouth them, however, you're going to possibly permanently damage whatever professionally relationship you could have had with them.

It isn't hard to have a good relationship with your principal. Have great lessons. Care about kids. Arrive with solutions. Avoid the negativity. Figure out how they want to hear feedback. Don't be mean. Truthfully, it's what we expect from our kids. Try hard. Be nice. Communicate well. Be kind.

Words to live by... and words to get the +1 from your principal.

Developing Teacher Leaders

One of the biggest compliments I've received during my 11 years as a school administrator came from this past school semester. It occurred via the chat feature within gmail one evening, far removed from the school day. This staff member shared, "I've grown more as a teacher and as a leader while working at Union than I've ever thought possible. Thank you." 

I leaned over to my wife and had her read the teacher's comment. I was beaming with pride at the compliment. It was at this point that I realized one of the main elements of my vision for school leadership is the responsibility I have as a school administrator to develop the best teacher leaders possible for our school and for our community.

How does a school administrator create teacher leaders? It's not easy. Here's what I do.

1) Create an environment where it's ok to take risks. 

I want my teachers to feel comfortable to try new ideas in the classroom. I want them to be ok with a daily failure or three. Just as it is important to teach our students that Failure is the First Attempt In Learning, we need to take these same risks as educators. Once, looking for a better delivery system of our weekly Meeting in a Memo, I attempted to use Google Classroom to push out the weekly information to our teachers. I gave it two weeks before abandoning the process entirely. It was a complete failure. I didn't stop, however, looking for a better solution and now have a running google document that seems to work best to share this information with our staff and allow for collaboration as well. If your teachers see you take a risk that results in a failure, they'll be watching you to see how you respond. Fail forward into a better solution.

2) Say YES! as much as you can.

One of our 6th grade teachers approached me a few weeks ago, inquiring about the possibility of a field trip for our entire sixth grade class to the local Tech Museum. We hadn't experienced an all-grade field trip (outside of the annual 8th grade Great America trip) in a long time. This teacher asked if I would be ok with her researching the idea. Yes was my response. 

She later returned with more information about the possible field trip than I would have expected. I sensed she was becoming a bit excited about the possibility of the field trip. There were a few hiccups in her plan about buses, organization, and cost. This is where the principal can help. I directed her to our amazing bus guru / admin assistant to schedule the two separate bus companies' availability. I encouraged her to speak with our activities director about how to best organize the trip. Most importantly, I told her I'd cover the cost of the buses and entrance fees for the entire sixth grade. When I get the sense you're excited about student learning, I'm going to do everything I can to say YES to whatever it is you want to do. And yes, the kids had a blast.

3) Encourage their growth through all means possible.

Over the past four years as the principal, I'd like to think that almost every staff member has attended at least one conference. Many of our teacher leaders have attended multiple conferences each year. Our school district has even brought the CUE experience to our staff development days. Sometimes, however, you need to pull your staff along. Tap them on the shoulder about an opportunity. Offer to help write their introductory letter to an invite-only conference they want to attend. Sometimes, you need to push them. Two of our teachers presented at the annual CLMS conference without signing up to do so. I did it for them. Of course, I let them know that I had turned in a presentation request on their behalf after I had clicked "submit." I had seen them present at a previous conference and knew that they had something amazing to share with a larger audience. They ended up having a packed room of eager teachers, all of whom were hanging on their every word. I think at this point they began to realize that they may actually be the #edurockstars I kept telling them that they were. 

4) If you want them to grow, you have to take the first step.

One of my least favorite things has always been to speak in front of large groups of people. This may sound odd coming from a middle school principal who presents in front of 50 staff members weekly and our parent community quarterly, but it's always something I never felt comfortable with. Over the past few years, I've slowly begun to break free of my admitted fear of public speaking. It began with a small presentation alongside my then-principal Erik Burmeister followed by a presentation with three teachers in celebration of our Schools to Watch award. Next, a small push from our district's CTO to present at a conference. I then partnered with the amazing Adam Welcome to combine our presentations at a local CUE event. It then grew to a larger #FallCue presentation with fellow administrators and various superintendents in the audience. If I expect my staff to take these risks and conquer their fears, I've got to be very public about doing the same. 

5) Attend conferences with your staff

Let me clarify: Please don't be the administrator who invites your "best friend" teachers to the conference so you have a great social experience. Truly look at the conference and try to judge who would benefit most from the experience. Try your best to offer the conference opportunity to all of your staff members, even if you have to tell some staff members no. If they trust you, they know they'll have a second opportunity somewhere in the future. 

In attending the conference, check in with your teachers frequently. Help create a shared google document to take community notes on the various sessions. Hear about a great presenter? Attend that presenter alongside your teachers. Learn with them. Continue the conversation through lunch and dinner meals. Sit together and enjoy the time you have to get to know your staff a bit better. The conversations that happen during the conference but outside the sessions might be the best learning opportunity your attending teachers will experience. Use this time wisely.

6) Hire well and develop better.

We have been incredibly fortunate to have hired amazing teachers over the past four years. At Union Middle, we've built a teaching community that is second to none amongst middle schools in California. It's a challenge to think of my next venture in education, knowing that I can't bring the Union Middle School staff with me... not to say I won't try. Hiring well is one of the most important jobs of a school administrator. When you add positive and dynamic energy to your already-acclaimed staff, you create something special and have the opportunity to build true teacher leaders. And that's where the teacher leader development enters the conversation. 

My goal is to give these teacher leaders a stronger voice in how our school continues to develop and grow over the next few years. We have slowly begun to implement optional instructional leadership team meetings where we discuss data and determine how to improve our practice. I solicit constant feedback from our staff in the form of google form surveys, individual conversations via email/chat, or weekly check-ins. It can be daunting and challenging to relinquish the opportunity to say as a school principal "This is my vision and this is what we're going to do". What I've found, however, is that true teacher leaders don't need to hear my vision to become better educators; they just need my support, guidance, and encouragement to assist along their journey. 

One of my proudest (and saddest) moments over the past year was when three of our teacher leaders left for TOSA and administrative positions in other districts. I know I'm going to lose a few more talented teachers to TOSA and administrative positions in the near future but that's ok. I know they'll be well prepared and continue to be positive change agents for kids for those districts. Their departures provide our other staff members an opportunity to increase their leadership capacity and to begin their own ascent within the teacher leader ranks. 

Administrators - It is our job to build the next generation of teacher leaders. It's probably one of the best jobs in the world. Enjoy.

New Teachers and Talking Technology

The past few days on Twitter have been extremely challenging for me. The majority of my Professional Learning Network (PLN) departed for the Palm Springs Annual Cue Conference on Wednesday. They then spent the next 72 hours listening to amazing keynote speakers, being inspired by various session presenters, and having hundreds of informal educational conversations on how to augment the learning of today's students. Many of their discoveries were then shared via Twitter, providing those who could not attend with a glimpse of the past weekend and just enough jealousy to last until the Fall Cue Conference.

While there were more than a few reasons why I couldn't fit the weekend trip to Palm Springs into my schedule, the main reason was my desire to attend today's Teacher Recruitment Fair (TRF) at the Santa Clara County Office. I've attended for the past three years along with various other administrators in my district. At the TRF, you have a chance to meet eager individuals who could one day join your staff. In fact, I've met more than a few now-hired Union Middle teachers at this event; it's a great place to start the conversation, sometimes rather informally, with prospective employees.

At the TRF, I've found that there are usually four types of teacher participants. First, you have your "I'm finishing my student teaching this semester" individuals. They are often, but not always, just a few years removed from college and quite eager to start in their own classroom. Second, you have your "I just moved to the area from Texas/Colorado/Florida" group. These individuals usually have spouses who have relocated to the Bay Area and are experienced, talented educators. Third, you have your "I've had my teaching credential but just haven't landed in the right spot" contingent. These educators often have unique stories and are just looking for that one chance to prove they're the right fit for your school. Last, you have the "currently employed but just looking..." subset. Often, these individuals won't attend a TRF but may choose to with the intent on speaking with one or two key districts on the possibility of jumping to a new school.

Collectively, it was one of the most impressive groups of educators I've had the pleasure of speaking with. Many of the conversations centered around how other schools are implementing (or fighting not to implement) Common Core and the difficulties therein. As I stood listening to the various stories, I quickly scanned numerous amazing letters of references about the capabilities and talents of the applicants. There was only one thing that was missing from the majority of the conversations and applications today: examples of blended classrooms and how these applicants integrate technology into their daily practice.

Perhaps it's the specifics of the various groups; after all, many of them have only student-taught in the past. Perhaps it's their lack of opportunities to attend CUE-like conferences. Out of the 30-40 candidates I spoke with today, only two applications mentioned anything Google, one of whom just mentioned they enjoy using Google Forms as a hobby. The other application was stacked with examples of instructional technology, conferences attended, and presentations held. Perhaps not surprisingly, this candidate was at the top of my list for any future openings at our school.

So why aren't more teacher applicants highlighting their experiences and talents with technology in the classroom? An educator who can speak confidently about incorporating technology, whether it's 1:1 ChromeBooks, the participation recording of Class Dojo, or student-created Weebly websites, is an educator who administrators will want on their staff. Almost every teacher I spoke with today was very confident about teaching within their subject area. Assuming they all are, what separates one applicant from the next? It's how you deliver the content and how you encourage your students to explore in the classroom. Technology (and the professional development therein) is the key.

My advice for all current and future teacher applicants: Attend the Google PlayDates. Look into local (and perhaps not too local) EdCamps. Sign up for GAFE. Show up at  BrewCue and talk shop. Get a Twitter account and expand your PLN... And perhaps most importantly, don't get left behind when CUE 2015 rolls around. You can follow it on your new Twitter account, but trust me... It won't be the same.

Deal Breakers: Location and Entitlement

In an earlier post, I wrote about how to best choose your administrative home. My strong beliefs in choosing one's school community wisely stems from a challenging administrative appointment I endured previously. While these events could have occurred at any school (and surely have), there were two distinct challenges in a previous district that I could never fully address on a professional manner.

The first challenge was simply the location of the school in relation to where I lived. Much like the old joke in the Real Estate business that asks what the three most important factors in valuing a house are, "location, location, location" was something that I just couldn't overcome. As someone who lived just a few blocks from their place of employment, I seemingly couldn't escape the responsibilities of my daily and then nightly professional life. When I would go to the dog park in the evening, I would often be peppered with questions from concerned parents about school issues. Occasionally, one of these parents would have a student who we had recently suspended. Often, these conversations were quite challenging as I simply just wanted to play fetch with my dog. These community members had a hard time separating the assistant principal role from the dog owner at the park status I wished for. Worse, there was more than a few parents who discovered where I lived and would stop by my home with work-centered questions. Often, these visits happened past 8 pm and on weekends. It reached a point where we would be hiding out in a back room some nights with the lights turned off, just to avoid the parade of concerned parents in our neighborhood.

Often, it was just by chance that we would end up in a conversation about the school. My wife worked at our feeder middle school and was quite recognizable as their school counselor. More than just a few times, we would be out to dinner locally and would end up mid-meal overhearing a loud conversation from the next table over about one of our schools. It was a challenge to enjoy one's meal when misinformation was being broadcasted about your school just a few feet away. Our weekly Costco trips turned into twenty questions by the luggage aisle with various parents and community members about certain staff members and how unjust their grading practices were. Worse, there were school conversations from patrons behind us at the movie theater, in line to get our car washed, and even a few times at a local post-dinner establishment when we were just trying to relax. We just couldn't escape the location of our schools.

These days, when I say to my wife how disappointed I am that I can't see my school families on weekends given my 20 minute commute, she refers me back to the above comments and reminds me just how intolerable the situation truly was.

The second challenge was the entitlement. Let me preface with saying that every school has some level of entitlement and it can actually be a healthy thing for your school. However, in some districts, there is often a challenge to balance the demands and expectations of the parents at one's school with what's best for the educational and social-emotional needs of all of your students. I've previously written about the vandalism to our school site and the unique parent conversations thereafter. Sadly, this kind of parental response was all too common during my tenure at this school. Parents seemed more interested in the final grade rather than a life lesson or educational journey their student could experience.

One example would be a plagiarism incident that was brought to my attention by the English department chair. A student had turned in to the teacher for their final draft an essay that had been cut and pasted from Wikipedia and one other website verbatim. This student did not even bother to take out the misnumbered footnotes from his paper nor change the different fonts from each of the sources into one common format. When I asked the teacher if the student had met any of the deadlines previous for rough draft submissions (our teachers would often scaffold these assignments), I was informed that the student had only turned in the one paper, as described above, on the final due date. It was one of the more blatant plagiarism incidents I had seen in my administrative career. The parents of this student disagreed.

During our 90 minute meeting about this incident, the parents attacked the Academic Honesty Policy of the school (which had been written by students for students), disagreed with the grade the student would receive on the paper, and maintained that their student had not plagiarized at all. You see, they informed us that their student had turned in their rough draft by mistake on the final due date. While it felt odd that a student's rough draft would be copied directly from two websites, I asked if they had a copy of the true final paper with them. They said they did not. I asked them if they could produce the final copy upon arriving home. They said they could not. I asked if they could send it in within a few hours. Again, they said this would not be possible. Instead, they resorted to name calling, verbally assaulting the teacher about their treatment of children and threatened to take it further up the chain of command. And so they did, all the way to the district office level. The most unbelievable part of the story is not the blind defending of the student by the parents but how common these conversations were with our parent community in regard to their students' behaviors.

These may not be your deal breakers but similar ones exist for every administrator I've ever met. When I begin my search for my next administrative appointment (which I hope is not any time soon), I'll be asking certain questions to avoid such unnecessarily challenges. After all, as I say to our students on a regular basis, school is hard enough without making it more complicated. For me, enjoying how I spend my days is very important. Having a school community that works together on school issues while still respecting my out-of-school time is a blessing. Working with parents on student discipline incidents that can truly be a learning experience for their student is quite refreshing. Not every interaction is necessarily perfect, but I've seen the other side and I'll do my best to choose my school community wisely in the future.