Month: August 2020

Unleashing the Power of Distributed Leadership

Unleashing the Power of Distributed Leadership

We are preparing for our journey through the start of the school year during a pandemic. Staff have been back for two weeks, and I officially began my role as a new principal. There have been numerous typical leadership responsibilities, but there are also unique responsibilities that have come through leading during a pandemic. As a staff we have covered expectations for teachers, students and support staff during our virtual start. We have begun our journey around social justice and equity, and we have covered the standard operational expectations to starting the year virtually. It has been a good two weeks and as a new principal there have been some points where I have been overwhelmed and anxious. The feelings of anxiety have been normal and healthy as we approach the start of the year...
Viewing Students Through an Asset-Based Lens

Viewing Students Through an Asset-Based Lens

Last week I participated in a professional development session that focused on viewing all students through an asset-based lens. It is evident that viewing students through an asset-based lens allows teachers to maximize the potential of all learners. The idea of the self-fulfilling prophecy transfers to teachers, and if a teacher views a student through a deficit-based lens it is guaranteed the student will start viewing their self in the same way. As a group we agreed that this was important, but we started our discussion around why this is challenging.  Every teacher can think about that one kid that gave them a run for their money every day. The one kid that never follows the rules, never completes work and most importantly never misses school. In my first year as a dean of stu...