Leadership — Page 19

I’m a font snob…or why the details matter!

July 21, 2014 by Amber 3 Comments

One of the hardest things about doing any presentation for me is choosing how I will deliver the message to the audience. I typically present on content that supports what I believe and have been doing, so it is easy to “say”. What isn’t easy is choosing the accompanying visuals. I spend a ridiculous amount of time choosing just the right pictures, layout, and yes, font. Why? Details matter.

At Luna, one of the first projects we undertook was transforming the front office and entryway. We were an elementary campus, and when you walked in that door, we wanted you go know what we were all about. Students and student learning. We wanted a bright and welcoming environment. There shouldn’t be any confusion as to whether you were at a school or a doctors office. A bright rug, a colorful kid friendly couch, and a display of what our Lions had created received more compliments from our families than one could have predicted. Why? Details matter.

Flyers that went home were approved by the office, who knew what our expectations were. Engaging, fun, and yes, fun fonts, became the norm. Teachers started paying more attention to the the details. Parent letters that had been going home for years were freshened up, looked at with a new eye. Being intentional to our audience Instead of it being “what we’d always done”, meant events were given new life. Something as simple as asking for a “fun font” meant that bulletin boards and hands outs took on the personalities of our incredible teams. Why? Details matter.

When looking at an iconic product, or person, you typically see the whole package. How market pervasive would Apple be if they didn’t spend just as much time on their logo and marketing as they did on their product? Movie sets are meticulous in their staging & arranging. Musicians know that lyrics matter as much as the musical arrangement. Authors spend days on finding the right words to describe a crucial scene, to help recreate their story in your mind. Why? Details matter.

Yes, I am a font snob. I want the nuances of my personality to be pervasive in my product. I want you to get “me” so that you understand what I am passionate about. In the same way I wouldn’t dress in a suit and wear tennis shoes…I won’t allow “details” to derail my intent. I have been called superficial in my attention to the smallest details in appearances, but I believe our school will take on the feel of what it looks like, ala the broken glass theory.

This also explains why you won’t ever see me without lipstick, 🙂

Why? Details matter.

Unapologetically,

Amber

Patience, the possible Principal eater…

July 12, 2014 by Amber 3 Comments

Patience is one of those skills that no one tells you is a critical component when you’re preparing for an administration position. It’s under valued and over expected. It’s a skill that has to be developed, nurtured, and like SO many other things…it has to be intentional.

Patience…

…when you think everyone understood what you said, but find out some didn’t.

…when you figure out people can’t read your intentions, just your actions.

…when that student is sent to you again.

…when you wish so & so would have handled that differently.

…when you wish YOU had handled that differently.

…when you see things moving slower than you think they should be going.

…when you realize that you can’t MAKE people change, but only inspire them to want too.

Patience is a virtue, but it can also be the difference between being respected and being ignored. Impatient leaders lose the ability to bring people on board. Patience makes you pause, makes you reflect, makes you not so quick to jump. Change requires patience. Communication requires patience. Collaboration requires patience. Patience allows others to share, others to feel heard, and you to think.

Practice more patience. I know it is a skill that is evolving in me as a mom, as a wife, and most definitely as an assistant principal. Can one ever be too patient? Let me practice more this year and I’ll let you know!

Zen-ly,

Amber

The topic for this post was inspired by a group of fellow PLN principals that I connect with daily. You can find each of their posts on Patience below:

Principals are people too…or why there should be more smiling!

July 2, 2014 by Amber 3 Comments

While at ISTE this week, I met several people whom I hadn’t yet had the privilege of meeting f2f . People like John Spencer, whom I admire and respect for being able to articulate and defend ideas on not just education, but living life. People like Tom Murray, who is ya know, was just testifying before Congress about what is really happening in education. Or like subway navigating Bill Selak, who just may be the coolest guy I’ve ever hung around with. His facets of fascination make me cringe in inferiority!

It always reminds me when I meet these twitter “friends” how much more there is to them in real life. They’re not just a bio and 140 character message. Voxer has certainly helped, adding nuances and full personalities to those screen names I know so well. (Ahem, Tony Sinanis.) But there is more. They are husbands, they are wives. They are teachers, they are administrators. They have personalities, and they can be hurt.

Today, Nick Provenzano, another virtual stranger turned friend shared an incredibly personal piece about dealing with anxiety and depression. Many people may claim that technology is dehumanizing relationships, but to me social media is the gateway to a connection that would have never existed. My heart just broke as I read what the amazingly effusive “nerdy teacher” was going through. We couldn’t walk to lunch this past week without being stopped by people wanting to take pictures with him or meet him in person…yet inside he was struggling.

My point here is one that I have, especially this past year, internally crystallized. Please don’t forget that we are all in this together. No one will thrive in an environment of criticism and constant critiques. Regardless of your role in education…say good morning to others! Be positive! There is more to doing what we do than making a point or always being “right”. Know what? Being right isn’t a change agent. Remember that we are in a people business, no matter what part you play in a school day. If your role is to support teachers, do it from a place of mutual respect and appreciation. If you are dealing with an administrator you disagree with, guess what? We ALSO have feelings. Being able to effectively communicate without alienating your coworkers is crucial for a cohesive working environment.

Just because you disagree with someone, doesn’t mean you have to disrespect them. As an extremely (albeit unhealthily) sensitive person, this was was a huge wake up to me. How can I deliver leadership in a way that I myself, the super sensitive sassy girl, could handle? It’s a daily challenge!

Adam Bellow challenged us all this year to post an instagram tagged with #TYIW (this year I will) and my resolve now, post ISTE, is to remember that everything I share, think, say or do, impacts PEOPLE. Not just strangers on the internet…but someone who may just be a conversation away from being a friend.

Use your power for good, people! (go crickets.)

For other Principals are People Too posts, see these from…

resolvedly,

Amber

Don’t have a professional summer slide!

June 7, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

With summer comes less of the demands on our time in education. It’s an opportunity to refresh, renew, and recharge. Never one to just sit by idle, I always look forward to this time of year. What other profession do we get to start over every year? There are so many simple things that educators can do, teachers & administrators alike, to stay ahead of the curve, and get invigorated for the next year.

Pinterest

Create an account on pinterest full of fun lesson ideas, technology integration suggestions or a board of inspiration for days when you are down. Want to learn more about digital citizenship? Start searching and pinning! Want to gamify your classroom or building? There’s a pin for that!

Pinterest tip: The more detailed and specific you keep your boards, the more likely you are to use them because of how easy it will be to find what you’re looking for!

Find a podcast that you enjoy!

One of my personal goals is to walk more this summer. I am NOT a fan of the heat. Or sweating. Or, um exercise. One way my walk is more enjoyable is when I listen to one of the podcasts I subscribe too. I get behind throughout the year, and am hoping I can get caught up this summer! My favorites?

Book Bonanza!

Find a book that can help you change the way you do ONE thing next year. I recently read “Leverage Leadership” and can’t wait to sit down with my new principal and implement the coaching piece that I read about. In the book, they talk about priority scheduling what matters most. As a teacher, I was most passionate about our campfire talks. It was an opportunity for my students and I to just sit and chat. If I remembered to write it on my lesson plans, then it was way more likely to happen. In the same sense, I am going to be very intentional with my teacher coaching. I’m going to create a schedule and stick to it! Developing a yearlong guide that will systematically–and systemically– be effective will make me more cognizant of my role, empowering teachers!

Need book suggestions? I highly recommend the ASCD Arias series. Short and sweet, and available in ebook format! Angela Watson is also starting a book study on July 1st on her book, Awakened. I also obsessively devour anything that Robyn Jackson writes.

Find a hashtag!

ISTE is having their national conference at the end of June, the Greater Clark Connected Ed conference in July, There will be hashtags related to both conferences that you could follow along with from home, just to come across lil’gems that can challenge your philosophy on what we do for a living. Edudemic just posted these 21 interesting conferences that you could also look into via Twitter or in real life.

Find an edcamp!

They’ve created a master calendar of edcamps all over the US, see if there is one coming by you! If not, what about creating your own? Administrators should think about adding edcamp style PD for their campus when making PD plans for the fall. According to #edcamp participant surveys, traditional PD was rated a 2.5 on scale of 1-5 & #edcamp rated a 4.5.

Find a blog, create a blog to start reflecting and sharing!

I have an account through Feedly that I have linked many of the blogs that I consider “musts” that I read regularly. Several I have signed up for through listservs, so I get an email when there is a new post. Extremely handy for the ones I just don’t want to miss out on! Justin Tarte just posted his “Top Ten Blogs to Read This Summer” list, you might find some inspiration there!

If you’re looking to start a blog, I can’t recommend Heather Steele, at Blue Steele Solutions, enough. From technical aspects, to platform support, she is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. With her social media knowledge, she can help you discern exactly what you want to do, and the best manner in which to accomplish it!

All of these tips are “saw sharpeners”, as Stephen Covey would say. One of his “Seven habits of Highly Effective” people is to “sharpen the saw”. This habit discusses self-renewal, self-care, self-respect and self-improvement.

Even picking just one of these from above will help keep you from having any “summer slide”! How do you plan on “sharpening” this summer?

Sharply,

Amber

Free and easy ways to connect with your staff & parents!

May 19, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

There are a variety of ways that teachers and administrators can communicate with their class, staff, and parents. Effective communication is vital to a schools success. Not just the typical teacher to parents way, but also in the campus to the families way. Good communication can prevent misperceptions and mismatched expectations, encourage parent involvement and foster a team approach to caring for your students. Families should feel welcomed, informed and as involved as possible.

Tim Lauer in Portland uses Instagram to share the good things happening at his school. Want to know what matters to that lead learner? Check out his feed.

Classroom activities, fun projects, assemblies…there are visuals to accompany all of the good things going on at Lewis Elementary.

Melinda Miller creates videos that communicate important calendar events happening. Her campus still sends home a paper calendar but also provides this link to her staff/families. She uses an app called Touchcast, to make this happen. TouchCast creates an interactive presentation that mixes video with web content. The app lets you record a video and overlay elements such as web pages, maps, photos, Twitter streams, polls, quizzes and more. Users watching the video can click on these multimedia elements and interact with them while the video continues to play. You start by recording a video using your iPad’s camera. You can pick from several themes like newscast or review that’ll insert titles and other elements to get you started. TouchCast uses a timeline to lay out the elements of your video and allows you to drag& drop extra content.

Tony Sinanis, known for his Bammy award winning and New York Principal of the Year ways, creates amazing videos with his students each grading period. Want to know what Cantiague students are learning about? Let them tell you. I think my favorite part of this idea is the relationships that are so evident between Mr. Sinanis and his students. As an administraor, it is impressive, but as a parent? I’m all in.

We use Remind101 not just with our students in individual classrooms, but also with our staff. This has been a HUGE tool for me this year, as I don’t have the personal relationships with our staff that I am used to, just being a year in on this campus. It’s always awkward when you get to the phone number/texting/connections aspect of being the lead learner…but no fear! I still have the capabilities to connect with my staff through Remind 101. We created an account and then utilize it to announce a couple of jeans days (ensuring campus wide participation;)) and have taken advantage of its one way mode of getting info to our teachers. From uplifting texts to snow day announcements, this has become our go to way to getting a message out to teachers. I can even choose individual users as well for grade level specific messages, if necessary.

Jay Posick creates a weekly Smore that he shares with his Merton families. I love that I can back to week one of his school year and see what they doing then. He adds pictures and short blurbs to let everyone know where and what is going on. As a parent, I think this would be incredible way to have the “what did you do at school today” conversation. It is free and easy to use. Promote school events, let students design flyers for upcoming curriculum, and you can even monitor the number of views and web analytics. Smores can easily be linked and shared to classroom blogs, school websites, Twitter and Facebook. Plus? a 2014 bonus…Smore ‘pages’ work flawlessly on smartphones and tablets!

Establish THE hashtag, THE phrase, THE saying that defines your campus. From the AHMO of Wylie high school that made it to Letterman, to the #GOCRICKETS that Joe Sanfelippo has permeating all of Fall Creek, Wisconsin, to the biggest and student led hashtag of #leydenpride from Jason Markey’s unifying campus culture, this is an opportunity for you to create an environment that extends past your physical location. Brand your vision for your community. Everyone wants to be a part of a team…this is why the collegiate traditions of A&M and Texas Tech are so popular, people want to feel connected and a part of something bigger than they are. Why should your campus not take advantage of that?

Twitter and Facebook are two popular ways to share information but in this day and age there is no reason not to find a “high tech” way to match your “low tech” efforts and meet the needs of your families. Worried about them getting on board? Showcase your students! Spot light the great things happening on your campus every day. That’s what parents really want after all! Then? You just sneak in the extra that you want to know as well.

BE INTENTIONAL in your attempts to involve the “village” that we all know it takes to have a successful school/home partnership. It’ll be worth that extra step or two to use any of these methods. Need help? Email me and I would be more than happy to walk you through getting started. Or? I can connect you to any of the excellent folks I get to call friends listed above to help ya too!

Communicatingly,

Amber