Creating partnerships with parents is sometimes extremely challenging. I’ve upset a few parents in my career as an educator, often inadvertently. When we think that we are “right” as a teacher or school leader, we sometimes push back trying to prove our expertise. After all, we are the ones with multiple advanced degrees, right? We worked hard to become experts in our field, right? We are the experts then, right? Wrong. What we really do is drive a major wedge into a r

As schools and school districts become more complex, more demanding, and more emotional due to all of the bureaucracy, politics, responsibilities, and expectations placed on professional educators, they need (now more than ever) to feel valued. The mechanism of this profession is that it is a human profession where assembly lines do not automate student outcomes like welding car parts to the body of a new Chevrolet, all in the same precise manner. When I say, valued, I don’t

His name was Jack. He was such a cool guy too. I didn't just know my superintendent when I was a kid, I liked him. I think lots of other kids liked him too. He wasn't invisible, you know, like OZ behind a curtain or something. He was everywhere. Walking around. Shaking hands. Kissing babies. But, not because he was a politician. It was because he was genuine. He didn't let paperwork or meetings rule his life. He let kids enter his life as a superintendent. That's