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

5 reasons you should join #TCEA…TODAY! (you don’t want to miss reason #5!!)

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I love techieness. I love learning. I love organizations that focus on TEACHERS and SUPPORT. TCEA, my friends, does BOTH!

 

I’ve been a TCEA fan from way back in my teacher days, and they just keep expanding and adding more resources to their memberships to make it worth your while. My first TCEA conference I attended b/c as my principal put it at the time, “you deserve to surround yourself with like-minded people because of all you do for our campus.” what kinda intro was that?? It was destined that I would always be a fan!

Especially with what we have experienced this past year, you can’t stress enough the importance of having a community to be connected to, and @TCEA is a great one! It is so very important it is to have a variety of voices, in a variety of roles sharing perspectives and experiences.

We need our “edtech” voices in all educational spaces.

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Conferences are offered regularly, support is at a variety of levels, and this week, there’s a bonus reason to join!

5 reasons you should join TCEA right this minute:

  1. Educational, Easy to Access Webinars – Learn how to use Google Calendar to optimize your time, discover YouTube features and content that can enhance your classroom, or stay in the know about the latest trends like esports, STEM activities, and how to discuss digital citizenship with your students. They also have a PD library of all recordings going back three years! TCEA’s incredibly knowledgeable professional development staff hosts 35 Lunch and Learn webinars each year, so you can sharpen your skills and fill your toolbox with fresh ideas right on your lunch break.
  2. Access to Experts and Peers on the TCEA Online Community – Wish you had a veteran colleague on hand to answer your tech questions? Or are you looking to share your own discoveries about how to enhance the classroom experience? The TCEA Online Community has over 30,000 of your peers ready to listen and help!
  3. Professional Development – From the TCEA Annual Convention & Exposition to the Lunch and Learn Webinars, we empower educators by providing professional development opportunities tailored to their specific needs and learning styles. This year the conference was virtual and my goodness did they set the standard for what learning could like! No waiting, on-demand, and nationally renowned speakers! All from my couch!
  4. Online Resources – Learn about the latest iOS and Android apps, evaluate recent discoveries on their TechNotes Blog, or explore fresh ideas for educators on their TCEA eBook Library.
  5. And last but not least, for teacher’s appreciation week, IT’S FREE TO JOIN! How can you pass up FREE?? Even if you just join b/c it’s free, the resources that will float your way, the connections you make, and the opportunities above will more than prove that TCEA is a worthwhile membership you need as an educator!

Go here to join!

 

TCEA fanN,

Amber

Where do you earn your validation as a leader?

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Every leadership role has its own unique way of measuring what it meant to be a “success”.  As a principal, one of my biggest struggles was always feeling like success was a moving target.

If I made the teachers happy, was I still challenging and empowering them to grow?

When the students were happy, did that mean the teachers were in a good place?

If test scores were high…were they high enough?

If you’re hitting a leadership bullseye, make sure you are not hitting it on the wrong target.

Making a difference for those you truly serve doesn’t always come with a “yes”, sometimes it is a “yes, and” or a “yes, but”. That macro view of your campus, district, or position speaks to your position. You HAVE to see things differently as a leader and sometimes that means you have to dig deeper into the difference between success and mastery.

Sarah Lewis, author “Rise” says,  

Mastery requires endurance. Mastery, a word we don’t use often, is not the equivalent of what we might consider its cognate — perfectionism — an inhuman aim motivated by a concern with how others view us. Mastery is also not the same as success — an event-based victory based on a peak point, a punctuated moment in time. Mastery is not merely a commitment to a goal, but to a curved-line, constant pursuit.”

I can relate to this personally — this is the urge that drives me on to find new ways to explain things, to understand things, and identify new relationships and concepts. There is no endpoint. There is always someone who comes along to challenge us, nudge us, and let us know that there is always more to know, more to consider. This TED talk makes it OK to feel that there’s so much we don’t know, as long as we keep seeking and exploring. The difference Adam Grant might say is between knowledge and wisdom.

May this Friday find you seeking the next mountain top, friends!

 

Challenging and

Have you joined our Facebook groups? Are you ready for FAB FRIDAYS IN FEBRUARY??

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Don’t forget we also have:

Principal Productivity Group  <– Click to join

Over in the productivity group, we are sharing tips on saving time doing everyday things. Lots of suggestions for grocery shopping made easy and meal planning!
Hope your world is moving along! What’s keeping you up at night?

 

 

TECHnically yours and celebration ready,

Amber

Leaders, how do you break over a break?

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We’re closing out the first of a couple of breaks we have this season. How do you turn off all that goes through your leadership brain, when you’re supposed to be “not” thinking about work? I think when you lead the way that we all lead, it’s almost impossible to separate your everyday thoughts from your every day “I’m still a leader and responsible” thoughts, right?

Here are three ways I’ve found to “let it go” when you are able!

Plan activities that you can do while you’re off.

From a massage to a manicure to a latte with a good friend…make sure you have something to look forward to.

YOU are a person outside of your role.

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You need to focus on what you are going to do instead of working. Create a plan for your time away from work. (Principal self-care, perhaps?)The more you can do that reminds you of that, the better leader you will be. It’s been an interesting month for me, leaving one position and remembering that SO much of what I did and how I did it was defined by my “principal” title. Who are you when you’re not that person anymore?

Turn off notifications and RESIST your email.

If your problem is that you’re constantly worried about missing an important email or something important, try going a night without checking your email — and discover that all of the work you need to do is still there in the morning. Then increase the amount of time you leave your email unchecked. Try to get through an entire day of the weekend without checking. Then — gasp! — an entire weekend. You may find that many people manage to answer their own questions if you don’t get back to them right away! The more you check email, the more you have to check it. The harder it is to regulate impulsivity, the more you self-distract and flit from one thing to another. Plus, in 2020, when things happen, they seem to be happening BIG, so you’ll more than likely get a PHONE CALL if someone needs you. I learned, in all my years, my to-do list always rolls over.

Surround yourself with the people that deserve the BEST of you, instead of the rest of you. 

You deserve quality time with the support system that keeps you sane. This may be friends, family, or even coworkers that are like family. Spend your weekends relaxing with them, as they may not be used to getting 100% of your attention. While we’ve had more “home” time than usual, I really think the stress of being an educator in 2020 means we haven’t actually stepped away from thinking, planning, worrying, and thinking some more.  Jobs, titles, coworkers are going to come and go…but building memories with your family can last forever. Take advantage of not knowing what’s going to happen when you get back, by actually not worrying since it will probably be different anyway! 

It’s ok to take a REAL break and it doesn’t make you less of a leader. 

Yes, there is a lot of overlap and intermingling between work and home these days, thanks to technology and our dealing with #allthethings. It’s not always possible to get the separation we need, but the goal isn’t perfection. It’s creating enough space to allow ourselves to feel refreshed and like we are more than what we do. 

 

Here’s hoping that if that didn’t happen this break, you can get a do-over in December, 🙂

 

Rest seeking &

Starting over as a leader… and a Thanksgiving staff freebie!

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This blog has always been a place of reflection and a sharing of my professional growth and struggles. It started as a tool within my 4th-grade classroom, became a place that exploded with my tech integrationist days, and then where I shared all I learned as a campus leader. Adding another change to the pile will allow me (and thereby, you!) to share a different perspective and once again, catalog what a different lens in education can teach us.

When I was named principal in 2015, I was very clear in my 3-5 year plan and knew even then that my next step would be off of a single campus. I thought that 3-5 years would allow me enough time to see if I was any good at it, but also, to be able to create systems that were sturdy enough, and grounded enough, that they would last past my tenure. That being said, I had no idea what the next step would be or how it would come about.

2020 though, seemed the perfect year to not only change jobs, but also districts, homes, and my realm of experiences doesn’t it?

Sheesh, y’all. It’s been a month. Bear with me as I document this, if no other reason than to be able to look back on it later and think, o\h yeah, that ALL happened, 😉

August 23- made a joke to one of my softball momma friends that we were thinking about listing our house

August 30- started packing (it escalated quickly!)

September 11- House goes on the market

September 16- Hey Amber…there’s a position in Crandall ISD, you should apply!

September 25- Interview. 2 pm: house goes under contract; 3 pm offered the position

September 28- Tell the Wolves. (cry, smile, cry some more)

October 6- Say goodbye to Wylie ISD! Say hello to Crandall ISD!

So now this journey has taken me to this new role, the Director of Technology and Innovation, which seems kinda apropos, doesn’t it? It takes all my techie-ness, all the years of supporting and working with teachers on #ALLTHETHINGS that made my lil’tech heart happy, and combines it with my leadership experiences, and ta-da! A whole new district to support, empower, and engage!

In the same way that I felt my teachers were my “students” in my class, this central office role feels similar.

Acclimate. Listen. Learn. Support. Encourage. Empower.

Learning all new systems, verbiage, all while only seeing 1/3 of people’s faces has made for some fast-paced days, but it has been fun! I look forward to supporting campus leaders (and all y’all!) with ways you can support your staff, but on-campus and virtually…in a pandemic and hopefully, out!

 

For those who read this far…yay you! Here’s a FUN & FREE Thanksgiving activity you can use with your staff! A turkey hunt! Get creative and let teams decorate their turkey with feathers found in their classrooms or homes if you are virtual!

 

I’ll still be sharing admin friendly tips, tricks, and of course, make sure I share all the thing that go wrong, 😉 so you can learn from me as we go along!

 

Here’s hoping this Wednesday finds you thankful!

Gooble GobbleN & oh so