Principles of Principals

Schooling is dead, long live Schooling. My child is doing school online...what are my rights, roles and responsibilities? Private, Independent, Charter, or District, so much has stayed the same with schooling, while so much continues to change. Here are some things on which to reflect, ponder and pray... Parental rights ; Your rights have not changed as a parent. You are entitled to access premium curriculum that is focused on promoting the American culture. You have the right to know your child's teacher and administrator. You have a right to observe and listen to the lesson. You have a right to access the very best resources for your child. Parental   roles ; Parent - setting and keeping loving, healthy boundaries for and with your child. Care-giver - reasonable financial support, food, shelter, clothing. Professional - modeling and facilitating meaningful conversations, and critical thinking skills. Listener - asking questions like, "What are you hoping to accomplish?...

  In the coming weeks, our children are collectively going back to school. Thing is, no one gets to the see the new kicks or the latest fit they got. Remember, new kicks, one pair, for the entire school year? New school outfit? Those were the days. Across the nation, parents are leaning into choice as an option for their child to return to the semblance of normalcy.  The School-Choice menu includes;  Charter Independent Private Public/district Activists will shame you by saying that Private, Charter and Independent are stealing resources from public districts and that they don't serve marginalized populations. They will virtue signal and name call, like the private school leader who is a  socialist  for requiring masks, and then a  Trumper  for facilitating face to face instruction - talk about a no win scenario. Lies. They do more with less. Reach more children, provide more services, and have zero public funds. Did you know that in the heart of th...

In the past week we've received several emails and phone messages from the school districts where our children attend. The pendulum swings from one side to the other, often within 24 hours.  If you're like us, head scratching, teeth grinding, and confusion swarms what might have otherwise been a normal day. But, these days are anything but normal. As our girls shed tears about the loss of connection around their friends and teachers, cancelled sports, postponed extra-curricular and arts programs, we try to find solutions to these challenges. First, let me unequivocally say that I do not, nor will I ever, apologize for working for and acquiring the resources to support my family. It has never been, nor do I expect it to be, easy (whatever that means). I only know that it is worth it. I know that it is my responsibility as a father, and I do the best that I am able under the circumstances. Here are seven point five ideas for parents who have students who are forced by unelected o...

As a child, I was often deployed to spend my summers on ranches near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Before you say, "Oh wow! That place is beautiful!", which by the way it is, understand that this was very much a working vacation .  I love my family. I loved my time on the ranches. I was outside. I was free. I learned by doing. I was tutored by experts who cared deeply about me and about the work. The ranch and the animals treated everyone equally . There was diversity of experience and life. We were all included in the tasks. My grandpa's sister, Eula, kept sheep. Lots of them. This day was my day to help, while the others cut, raked, and bailed hay. One day while we were riding around in the flat bed Chevy, checking irrigation and fence, as we headed back to the pens, she was telling me about how she knew each of her sheep by their voice. I was inwardly incredulous, as they all sounded alike, echoing one another with their baa-ing. As we wound our way up the dirt road tow...

Today, we are honored to host a recognized professional educator, Mr. Bill Denham.  Mr. Denham holds a Bachelor's from Northern Arizona University, and a Master's from Marshall University. He is is Veteran of the Arizona Army National Guard. Bill teaches Spanish at Riverside High School of Kanawha County Schools , he is a father of 4, active in local politics, a published author, devoted partner, an award winning barbecue chef,  and an exceptional friend.  All of the resources we discuss today are found on his site, profedenham.com for free. Dr. J: When it comes to virtual classrooms: as a high school Spanish teacher, what do you want parents to know and do?  Profé Denham : I want parents to know that one of the best things their students can do to learn a second language is to read . I would also add that this is true of all levels of language learners, even the most novice of them. With proper scaffolding, such as providing vocabulary in context or reading materi...

Arne Duncan now promotes local control . As a professional educator, this comes as a terrible surprise to me. During his service as Secretary of Education, he used the national government to force feed common core down the throats of wh*#e suburban mom's who didn't know how to make informed choices about their children's education. Common Core, much like its similarly legislated predecessors (ESSA, NCLB), has grossly failed to address; Marginalized populations. Globally competitive high school graduates. Globally competitive competencies in public school attendees. Now those Moms know best? Why now? Didn't Arne participate in the federal funding of public education from the national level, even threatening to withhold school funding from those who didn't meet federal mandates? Yeah. He did. I was there, in the room, when as a local leader , felt the incomparable weight of the tentacles tightening around my waning lack of control, as I fought migh...

Big picture to small, here are 5 key questions that can guide nearly every single leadership scenario a school administrator will encounter. Every. Single. One. Seriously? Seriously. What is it that I want my (district, charter, staff, parents, students, child) to be able to know and do? How will I know that my (district, charter, staff, parents, students, child) is able to do it? What's one thing that I can do, or have done, that contributes to the success of the (project, lesson, assessment, evaluation)? When I reflect on that one thing I did, how can I improve? What happens when my (district, charter, staff, parents, students, child) doesn't perform? Let's scaffold shall we? Question one is pretty simple, straight forward. It emphasizes doing.  Taking the proper tools and acting. Question two demands some form of accountability . For the classroom, this might look like an artifact or assessment. At the 30,000 foot view, we could be talking about a...

While serving in the military, I was introduced to the terms force multiplier and force mitigation. Permit me, dear reader, an explanation. I served as a Forward Observer, 13Foxtrot, or FISTr. FO's are fire support specialists who have the ability to arrange for extra artillery, close air, mortar or naval gun ship ordinance when things get really dicey. We do this job with one tool, a radio. That radio has two critical  parts necessary to it's function, without which nothing will happen. Antennae and batteries. With those two accessories, the radio is a force multiplier .  In other words, when compared to a weapon (pistol, rifle, tank), it has nearly limitless capacity to incapacitate the enemy. A weapon is limited by the number of bullets in a magazine (clip) and the number of bullets one soldier can carry. It's not an efficient nor is it, in my opinion, a very effective tool of war. Even more effective than a radio in war is an outward mindset - or that ...