my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

Can’t get to #ASCD16 this year? Have no fear! #thefirstyear

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It’s ASCD weekend!  ASCD is a global community of educators dedicated to excellence in learning, teaching, and leading. Thier innovative solutions empower educators to promote the success of each child. They’re also one of the BIG places I turn to for my own professional learning. From books to their Educational Leadership magazine…they are a great resource. I was also named an ASCD Emergent Leader last year, so that makes me even more invested in what they have to offer!

For the first time in 5 years I am not going to be there. (Carol Dweck, sadness! Mike Schmoker, eek!)

Whoa.

While I know my attention and focus is where it needs to be (#bestfirstyearprincipalinthehistoryoftheworld), I am super sad to be missing out on connecting with my PLN friends turned IRL friends, learning from the BEST speakers, and hearing high-quality sessions…I can take comfort in the fact it’s 2016, and I can STILL learn from home! Budgets are tighter than ever, and there are so many responsibilities on educators in the spring. Don’t miss out when there are many ways to connect and learn!

1st way I can learn from home- I can stay dialed into the #ASCD16 hashtag on Twitter. The thousands of twitter’ers that will be tweeting all their gems of greatness will be vicariously sharing their learning with me, far far away in Texas. I’ve set up an IFTT recipe that will send all tweets marked with #ASCD16 to an Evernote page, so I don’t have to worry about missing a one, and I can scroll with ease this weekend, knowing I am capturing it all! @ASCD will also be tweeting up a storm!

2nd way to learn from home- ASCD is on Facebook and Instagram. They’ll be sharing highlights, great quotes, and tidbits from the conference all weekend long. They’re a great resource year round, but their team kicks it up a notch during the annual conference!

3rd way to learn from home- If you look at the sessions being offered, many of them ar highlighted ASCD writers. Their professional development section has a plethora of titles, including the ASCD Arias’s which I love! Check out the session titles, connect with some great authors, and get to downloading!

4th way to learn from home- Have you used the app periscope? The amazing Steven Anderson wrote about it for ASCD several months ago. Search the app for #ASCD16 to see live what all is going on! I know many educators have been using this app to stream great things from PD they are attending and I doubt ASCD will be any different!

 

How else can you connect with a conference you can’t be there? Let me know so I can add it to the list of ways I’ll be tracking #ASCD16 this weekend!!

 

Amber

 

Spring interview tips and tricks

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I’ve had several people reach out asking if there are things they should be adding to their resume or experiences they should be seeking out while looking for a position. I think there are several key components that can contribute to landing an interview and ultimately, your perfect job!

Disclaimer: I FULLY believe that when you find the right fit for you, it will be the right fit for them. As someone who has interviewed and not gotten positions before, I know now that I am RIGHT where I needed to be, when I needed to be there!

Five tricks that can help separate you from the pack:

  1. Know your information. If you’re emailing, know who you are talking to and their role. Take the extra step to know more about the campus/district you’re applying too. A cut/paste generic intro letter looks just like…a copy/paste generic letter.
  2. Think on your feet! An interview is an opportunity to show you’re a quick thinker. Spend some time preparing yourself.
  3. Maintain professionalism. From your resume copies to your shoes. Bring your A game. YOu never know what little detail will separate you from the rest!
  4. Some key phrases that will stand out? “I’m a life long learner, always willing to grow!” “Feedback? I LOVE feedback!!” “I get the job done, no matter what it takes!”
  5. Examples, examples, examples…speak to specific examples from your experience that relate to the question asked. There’s a method called STAR that I’ve found to be really helpful, especially when I am nervous! The STAR method is :- S – Situation, background set the scene T – Task or Target, specifics of what’s required, when, where, who A – Action, what you did, skills used, behaviours, characteristics R – Result – Outcome, what happened?

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It’s never to early to let your places of interest know you are interested. Every district runs a different hiring ship! Send a note, and then a follow-up when you see a posting you’re interested in, with your resume/letter attached.

Good luck if you’re searching!!

Amber

How do you know if you’re doing a good job? #thefirstyear

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I’ve said before that there is no manual that comes with a leadership role. How very much easier it would be in life if every time you had a question or were presented with a situation, you could simply turn to the relevant page and see how it should be addressed. But we all know that is not true in life, and it’s definitely not true in leadership.

Recently I’ve found myself wondering how do I know if I am doing this whole principal thing right? What are the measurements in being “successful”?  Is it everyone being happy? Is it knowing all that there is to know? (gulp.) Is it happy kids? Is it happy teachers? HOW DO YOU KNOW?

The answer is…..

impossible to measure?

non-discernible?

based on assessments? (but which ones? State? Local? Common, formative? Rabbit trail, that one is…)

popularity?

definitely not easy.

In speaking to those infinitely more wise than me, I think that you just do the every best that you can and know that you are always growing.  Keep yourself surrounded by people that you can have heartfelt, genuine, reflective conversations with, on a regular basis. From your staff to your parents to district leadership…be open in discussing how they are feeling and how they feel the overarching principles that you want to lead by are being received.  Are you fair? Are you consistent? Are you doing things for the right reasons?  Have there been any misunderstandings? Is what you are saying what they are hearing? The answer to that may surprise you…but the only way to KNOW is to ASK. #lessonslearned

 

I’d be interested in hearing from you…what are the markers of you feeling as if you’ve done a good job? How do you know? This question has kept me awake at night lately, and would love to know what you think! And while you’re thinking about it, this post has now gotten THIS SONG stuck in my head. You’re welcome!

 

 

survey seeking,

Amber

Be a leader. Be open to learning. #thefirstyear

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Took advantage of connections today to visit three different schools to see how they are utilizing and maximizing their maker spaces. Completely different, all three of them. Different budgets, different people in charge, different spaces.

I loved it.

I love an idea that is SO broadly fabulous that it can’t fit into a mold. It was great conversations, great connections, and sparked many a thought on how we can fit the maker-ing into my Whitt world.

As I walked the halls of Sigler Elementary, the esteemed campus of one Matt Arend, I once again in life, realized how beneficial being a connected educator can be…one who is open to hearing the fun things others are doing, tweaking the suggestions that others have shared to make them work for you, and how much that makes me grow as a professional.

How very boring our world would be without the awesome of all of us.

How very boring our world would be without the awesome of all of us.

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Be open, friends. Be collaborators. Be sharers. Be someone’s spark.

I’ll write more about the excellent conversations I had today soon. After all, sharing IS caring!

Amber

In the moment… #thefirstyear

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My last post was about our Fabulous Fridays plans for this month. It was an all-inclusive staff celebration, thinking about them as a whole, and opportunities to celebrate together. It’s important to do things like that, but I also have to balance that with what each individual teacher needs to feel supported or appreciated. Learning each of their 64 styles and just how they need to feel supported is an ongoing goal, and one that can only be found if I take advantage of “moments”. I found out late Friday that one of most my instructionally sound teachers is also a HUGE sports talk radio fan, and that she has listened to the same morning show I have for about 13 years. What a HUGE connection piece that is for each of us!

Listening to hear, not to solve, or take action, but to understand…is easy to say in the big scheme of leadership things, but harder in the moment.

Sometimes your leadership can be strengthened, or weakened, in the moment. Someone in a leadership role must be adept at recognizing which moments are opportunities that allow you to build someone up, to reinforce someone’s strengths, rather than to prove a point. My thought now is that EVERY interaction is someone’s “moment.

One of the lessons this year has brought is how very important those moments are, and how really, it’s the little moments that make up the big picture.

My goal now is that I see each moment, each interaction, as an opportunity. Measuring each word is a skill, one that takes practice, and one that after seven months, I’m fine tuning.

May your moments be taken advantage of this week!
Amber