Principles of Principals

Allies, friends, mirrors, social circles, check ins, check outs, special handshakes, hugs, high fives...gone? Outside the walled-off political fortresses, there exists real scientific evidence  regarding the impact of social isolation on children. What evidence?  Well, ask the World Health Organization what happened when the iron curtain fell and we got a look at marginalized children surviving in socialist/communist communities. In the anecdotal extremes, Romanian children held hostage in orphanages by a communist regime who rocked back and forth, presented as intellectually disabled, and grossly underweight/underdeveloped. What evidence?  In recent months, explore the exponential increase of children and adolescent anti-depressant prescriptions since March of 2020(check Utah County). See also the FDA warning regarding the increase of suicidal thoughts in children taking SSRI's. Particularly, when first taking the medication. ( source ). Air pollution incr...

  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...

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...

While sharing some insights with a friend, I was prompted to bring attention to how best to navigate the volatility and uncertainty surrounding what we call, Covid-era Education. The uncertainty is often promulgated by the news media, and unfortunately the advice being shared is often hijacked by those who think they know what's best for you and yours. Activists don't really have a place at the table when it comes to deciding what qualifies as medical or educational advice. I implore them to leave it to professionals. So, here are 8.5 tips for navigating today's educational challenges. Read this . On several levels, it speaks to me about self-care , good medical advice, and how to take responsibility for my own health and wellness. Run for school board. I say this a lot, and you can always contact me if you disagree; school boards are the most powerfully elected bodies in our nation.  If you don't want to run for school board service, attend every meeting. S...

Strike. Walk out. In my 22 years in education, I never thought I'd hear those words. I remember marching along McDowell near 35th Avenue, signs in hand, speaking out about the lack of support for teachers. It was 1997. I remember gathering in the cafeteria of Isaac Junior High and hearing our Superintendent tell us that there was no money, that the State's funding model for our zip codes was broken and that there was a law suit pending.  I remember veteran teachers voicing deep frustrations, tears shed, and wondering when I could just go lead wrestling practice....and then go home to my family. Fast forward to this morning, sitting in my rental car, in a Salt Lake City parking lot, on a conference call talking to my leadership team back in Phoenix about closing school for 3 days. Managing food services, where will the kids go, who's going to be open, should we cancel our neighborhood clean up, will this work, what other scenarios should we run? Then I get a text fro...

For-profit schools vs. For-learning schools I hear a lot of banter about how profits are bad , people who earn them are bad . Wait what?! Bill Gates...one of the world's most prolific philanthropists, has made A LOT of profit by creating something that a lot of people needed/could use and presenting it in an arguable user-friendly way. He made profit, which allowed him to grow, make more profit, retire, and give it all away. Profits allow us, the public, to play a role in the firing of people/services that we don't like, or to vote with our feet. Don't like those shoes, don't go back to that store. Disappointed with the Windows OS, buy an Apple. So what about government services? What's their incentive to provide excellent service? Profits? No. Back to the question...what incentive do government agencies have to give a superior product. They can't fired. They have no competition. So your telling me that they do it out of the goodness of their hearts? W...

School choice.   Hot topic at both extremes of the political pendulum.  Legislators and activists beat the choice drum with vigor, urging stakeholders to exercise their ability to choose, while some important criteria remain elusive to those of us who will find themselves facing a growing myriad of choices.  Whether public, private or district...the array is broad. So, how does one choose  a district, charter or private school?  It may be one of the most important commitments we make.  Here are 5.5 criteria that should help get you thinking: Vision - sounds cliche right?  Well, consider asking where the district or group intends to be 5-10 years from now.  If the word traditional  is found anywhere in their mission statement or foundational documents...I'd ask some tough questions. Awards  - not just the type of awards but from whence to they come?  Accolades can be indicative of the network the district or group belongs. ...