Farley, who leads Brookfield East High School in Wisconsin and the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ 2024 National Principal of the Year, is often described as a student-first leader, dedicating most of his initiatives to the academic and emotional well-being of his students.

In one example of student-centered leadership, he’s established a principal’s cabinet, a group of 65 kids who he meets with every other week to discuss goals and opportunities to improve the student experience.

“Seeing the day through the eyes of kids can be really impactful and essential for high-performing schools,” he says.

TGIF Timesaver: More buses are going green; team teaching endorsed

In addition to student-centered leadership and well-being, he shares with us his personal strategies for staying on top of his own wellness and ensuring he comes to school reminded of his purpose and passion for education.

Listen to the podcast below, or on Apple, Podbean or Spotify.

The post ‘Talking Out of School Podcast’: The principalship requires student-centered leadership appeared first on District Administration.

“Everyone represents a different culture, based on things like food, what they like to wear, what they like to listen to—that’s what we celebrate,” says Johnson, New York’s 2024 principal of the year. “When you have a strong sense of confidence in yourself and where you come from, it helps you understand where you’re going and it helps you develop empathy for other people.”

Johnson, who took the helm at the school four years ago, has launched a Culture Fest and a “Heart program.” The latter is an afternoon where students and educators practice honesty, empathy, attitude, respect and teamwork. “I believe relationships drive everything,” Johnson asserts. “If you build positive relationships you are going to go far. If you make your students feel safe, they are going to go far.”

Self-confidence and strong relationships add up to the school’s word of the month for April: grit. It’s also a keyword for Johnson, who explains that he grew up in poverty and as a child experienced or witnessed drug and alcohol abuse, physical abuse and other ordeals. Grit also anchors his motto—’#Every day a better you’—which is repeated every day during morning announcements and emphasized as a growth mindset in the school’s classrooms.

“Every day you have a chance to get better, and it’s not about being better than the next person but better than who you were yesterday,” he asserts. “I don’t think I’m a bad principal, but I’m always thinking, how can I get better?

“What’s the point of working if you don’t want to grow and get better?”

VIDEO: Principal Farid Johnson talks about the time, thanks to an old family friend, he played basketball with Barack Obama. Note: He is likely the only principal in the country who has fouled a sitting president. 

Johnson also strives to lead by example, and that means he stays visible by visiting classrooms frequently and being a regular presence at arrival, dismissal, lunch and recess. He says he also helps out by cleaning the lunchroom, taking out the garbage and even putting Band-Aids on students at the nurse’s office.

“That kind of leadership is contagious, when your staff sees, ‘Oh, if he’s not bigger than any job, why would I think I am?'” he contends.

The people-centric focus is paying off academically. Johnson sees a direct correlation between students’ strong test scores and the lessons teachers are delivering. Each of the four years he’s been at the school has gotten “bright and brighter,” he says.

“When you walk into any of our classrooms, our students are focused and ready to go,” he concludes. “From K and up, when you talk to them at recess, on the playground, and in the lunchroom and classrooms, the things they say and how they articulate themselves—it’s just phenomenal.”

The post Why relationships “drive everything” for this Principal of the Year appeared first on District Administration.

“Every morning we spend the first 25 minutes in homeroom learning about leadership—what it is and what it looks like for 9- to 11-year-olds,” says Colbert, whose grade 4 and 5 school is part of the Park Forest-Chicago Heights School District 163.

“If we have a community event, we have our student leaders be tour guides” adds Colbert, who was named a regional elementary school principal of the year. “We give them opportunities to help out after school and on weekends, and we have a broadcast studio that is student-led.”

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Colbert embraces one of the leadership roles she calls one of her most important as principal—an instructional chief of her teaching faculty. One of her key strategies is setting weekly goals as she meets with fifth-grade teaching teams in their professional learning communities. During those meetings, she and the teachers dive into learning data, and Colbert follows up with formal and informal classroom observations as well as conversations with students.

The team then reviews their progress toward the weekly goal in the following meeting. This informs the additional resources and PD teachers will receive. “We are not where we want to be or need to be when we look at state testing,” she points out. “We have to make sure we have a solid plan to get there.”

Being an instructional leader is a key part of building a positive school culture, which jibes with her other roles of being an innovator and helping everyone have fun. “If I don’t have a good culture in my building, I don’t know if anything good is going to happen,” she explains. “We coined a phrase a few years ago as a district admin team: ‘We want our schools to be such that students are literally running to get into the school, instead of running to get out at the end of the day.'”

The Barack Obama School of Leadership & STEM is considered by the district to be an innovation school. It features a STEM lab and a full greenhouse along with programs in horticulture, communications and art.  “I love being a leader but I don’t do it by myself,” Colbert concludes. “I tell my staff every year that I am one person—I don’t have all the answers but together we do. I rely on staff to help create the vision they want for their school.”

The post What this principal prioritizes in leading a ‘leadership’ school appeared first on District Administration.

District Administration recently sat down with Walker to learn more about her leadership philosophy and celebrate her prestigious award. Here’s what we learned.

Outlining priorities

Over the last five years, Walker says she and her team have prioritized improving student outcomes by collaborating with teachers on data-driven instruction. ”This year, our goal was to improve our professional learning opportunities in a way that empowered teachers as leaders in our building,” she explains.

We also quickly discovered Walker’s passion for creating educator PD that’s engaging, meaningful and personalized. This made it even more critical to invite teachers to the table.

”Their feedback to us was that we offer differentiated instruction for our students and our teachers are no different,” she says. “They all have unique needs and areas they would like to grow in.”

The 5 professional learning pathways

Walker and Carrollton’s teachers created five new professional learning pathways that reflect the mission of the high school and revolve around the importance of relationship-building and improving literacy. This year’s five pathways include:

• Professional knowledge and instructional planning
• Instructional strategies and differentiated instruction
• Assessment strategies
• Positive learning environment and communication
• Academically challenging environment

The second pathway, for instance, covers strategies for reaching English language learners and struggling readers using the SEE-KS model, a framework for reflective practice and measuring student engagement.

”They video themselves teaching in the classroom, but the video is not of the teacher but the kids,” she explains. “It’s looking at who’s engaged, who isn’t engaged and what can we do to increase student engagement.”

More from DA: How to prepare your school for new Title IX’s Aug. 1 debut

Redefining PD as an administrator

Nationally, less than 15% of teachers report that their PD opportunities offer expertise on instructional materials, RAND Corporation data from the 2021-22 school year suggests. This is a significant predictor of whether teachers say the PL benefits instruction and student learning.

Walker believes it’s an administrator’s job to remove barriers for teachers and listen to their needs so they can best serve their students. ”At the end of the day, we’re in it for kids,” she says. “Anything I can do to support them in doing that to the very best of their ability is what matters the most to me.”

During her first couple of years working at Carrollton, she says much of the PD opportunities were district-driven. However, conversations with leadership led to a shift where teachers became the primary voice in the decisions surrounding these PL pathways.

”We sat down to write our school improvement plan as a collaborative team rather than our administrators developing that and our teachers drove its development,” she says. “Out of those conversations came this need for personalized professional learning.”

Reflecting on this award

We asked Walker if the award provided a sense of reassurance that she and her staff are making things happen for their students. She says it confirms that she’s exactly where she belongs.

”The application process lets you tell your story not just as a leader, but your school’s story as well,” she says. “For me, it was affirming that I’m in the right place—a place that really cares about kids by innovating and looking at new ways to best serve students.”

She says her next step will be incorporating student voice into the professional learning equation. “I think our teachers can learn a lot from listening to kids,” she says. “If we can figure out how to get the student voice to improve the teaching and learning process, we’ll be in a great spot.”

The post How 2024’s AP of the year is redefining PD for teachers appeared first on District Administration.

“Something that makes Sesser-Valier so special is the family atmosphere,” Page says. “Kids know they are seen and cared for and that we want what’s best for them.”

Students who transfer in from bigger schools often comment on the higher levels of attention they get from Page and her team, whose building is part of Sesser-Valier Community Unit School District 196.

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“When kids move in from slightly bigger districts they say, ‘The teachers there didn’t care if I was failing, but you guys are all over me,'” Page explains.

The school’s size and rural location mean she and her team are creative in meeting students’ academic and extracurricular needs. “We don’t have an abundance of money, we don’t have an abundance of teachers,”  she notes. “You have to teach English and you have to teach math, so how do you fit in those extras?”

Page has partnered with the local community college on a new CTE program in manufacturing. She is working with the college and other institutions of higher education to encourage her teachers to get certifications in additional subjects so the high school can expand its course offerings.

She has been able to hire an additional social worker to take some of the load off the school’s guidance counselors. It’s one of the main reasons she feels her school is returning to normal after the disruptions of the pandemic.

“Having that extra person has led to less triage and more consistent treatment because it’s somebody for our kids to go to,” she says. “Our kids are falling back into following rules, and I think this year our teacher felt better because it has not been as chaotic.”

Advocate for educators

Her overall leadership philosophy is more about offering help and guidance than giving orders. She strives to be a unifier who keeps the team focused on tasks such as continually improving the high school’s program to better kids’ needs. “I don’t see myself at the top of the pyramid with everyone under me, I see myself under everybody, holding up a big board and supporting them,” she says. “I am not doing the most important work—the teachers and the kids are doing the most important work.”

Page also has her legacy in mind as she moves into the latter part of her career. Right now, educators are feeling pressure from all sides as some parents bash schools on social media and education has become embroiled in political squabbling. On the one hand, certain parents are eager to push back when their children face discipline or academic interventions while, on the other hand, elected officials continue to push unfunded mandates on school districts, she contends.

“I want to go out being an advocate for educators, for people to know how many fantastic and caring people go into education just to make the world a better place,” Page concludes. “I hope educators are treated like professionals—they need to be trusted more because they know what they’re doing.”

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Another of his maxims for self-care is that you don’t have to be an expert to have hobbies. “I like to do woodworking even though I’m not very good at it,” he notes.

Lori Colbert, principal of the Barack Obama School of Leadership and STEM near Chicago, says she relies on a positive attitude.

“I am a very happy person,” says Colbert, whose building is part of Park Forest-Chicago Heights School District 163. “That’s a choice I make every day—I’m going to get through this day and have a smile on my face.”

Shying away from self-care?

The student mental health crisis and high turnover in K12 leadership have tilted the spotlight toward the wellness of K12 leaders. This fraught climate has left many superintendents, principals and other administrators seeking to devote more time to self-care. “The job is isolating,” says Daniel L. Frazier, a former longtime superintendent who is now an assistant professor of educational leadership at Midwestern State University in Texas. “At the pinnacle of the organization, you don’t have a peer group. You’ve got your team but they’re subordinates.”

He acknowledges that the growing politicization of education is one of the leading causes of stress. Schools have become a political pawn and some states, such as Texas, are not providing sufficient funding for K12 at a time when student needs are growing and teachers are demanding higher pay. Superintendents often bear the brunt of staff and community discontent, he suggests.

“The blame that is being heaped on superintendents is a real issue right now,” he warns. Frazier, who was a superintendent for 26 years, encourages his educational leadership students to form peer networks and participate in professional organizations. Such groups can make clear to school boards, communities and other stakeholders the challenges faced by superintendents and other administrators.

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He also recognizes that leaders are often reluctant to ask for help or make time for themselves for fear of showing vulnerability. Leaders may also have trouble delegating authority as they worry about having subordinates “outshine them,” he contends.”Good team leaders know to shut up and let other people talk,” he adds. “The longer I was in leadership, the more I encouraged team dialogue.”

McCord, of Gilbert Public Schools, follows this strategy and hires “really good people” to share the workload. “I’ve surrounded myself with phenomenal people who know what they’re doing,” he states. “When we have an initiative going on, when things need to get done, I go to sleep at night knowing our district is surrounded by phenomenal adults whose primary concern is kids.”

Sharee Wells, superintendent of Whitehall City Schools in Ohio, says her greatest joy is spending time with her kids. So, she tries to be present and shut out work as best she can when she’s with them. “A lot of times, as a district or school leader, you’re gone all the time,” she concludes. “The last thing I want to do when I’m home is be mentally gone.”

The post Staying sane: Leaders share the ways they de-stress and decompress appeared first on District Administration.

If you recall, the National Association of Elementary School Principals recently named 2024’s recipients of the “Outstanding Assistant Principals” award. These innovative leaders were recognized for demonstrating exceptional leadership traits and contributing greatly to their school communities.

In addition to this celebration, the NAESP asked each leader to share the best practices that helped them achieve such success.

As this school year nears its end, District Administration wants to help you begin thinking about how you can make next year even more successful. Here are a couple of the most common ways assistant principals are setting students up for success through best practice:

Student leadership

Student leadership is a common priority among these assistant principals, including Nicole Vibert of West Woods Upper Elementary School in Farmington, Connecticut. In her testimonial, she writes that it’s her responsibility to lift her students’ voices to ensure continuous improvement and promote a positive school culture.

For instance, she’s helped develop what’s called The Wildcat Pack: a student leadership team that’s “learning-focused and action-oriented.”

“Upon selection, their first experience is participation in the CAS Leadership Conference,” she writes. “They then continue to study the habits and dispositions of leaders as fifth graders, before putting that into action as sixth graders, through peer mediation, grant writing, instructional rounds and a number of other opportunities that showcase their voices as positive peer role models.”

More from DA: Start a successful grow-your-own teacher program in 5 steps

Chantel Black of Ptarmigan Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska, shares this student-centered approach. She writes that they’ve recently implemented a student council, which requires its members to serve as ambassadors to new students. Black found this to be a necessary initiative after seeing the results of their school climate survey, which found that students perceived low levels of care from their peers and staff.

“Our student council holds meetings twice a week,” she writes. “Many of their topics involve upcoming events, celebrations or assemblies, school spirit ideas, fundraising, recycling and problem-solving concerns that come from their peers. Students that have had behavior issues in past years now serve on this team. Their sense of confidence, sense of worth and even their increase on test scores has been very rewarding to witness.”

Teacher and staff development

At Cantwell’s Bridge Middle School, Assistant Principal Kelyn Marmolejo writes she values having a dedicated and dynamic staff. Knowing your staff wants to learn and grow through effective feedback is reassuring.

At the end of the 2023 school year, Marmolejo said 83% of her staff was leading in some form or fashion, whether it be PLC lead, advisor, coach, etc.

“This shows our staff’s passion and commitment to the work,” she writes.

To achieve this, they’ve planned out professional development at both the district and school levels. They set high expectations but provide the support necessary for teachers to gain the skills relevant to their lessons.

For instance, if they want to prioritize student discourse, they might provide PD on collaborative structure strategies to promote discussion among students.

“Then, administrators would visit classrooms and provide feedback on the strategies staff implement within their lessons,” she writes. “With this intentional planning, coupled with teacher and staff input, we have received positive feedback on the professional development offered.”

These examples merely scratched the surface, though. Click here if you want to view the complete list of best practices shared by the NAESP’s 2024 “Outstanding Assistant Principals” award recipients.

The post These best practices create effective assistant principals appeared first on District Administration.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals recently announced its “Outstanding Assistant Principals” of 2024, a cohort of 27 educators who have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities.

“We celebrate the exceptional role of assistant principals, catalysts for positive change and vital architects of schools,” NAESP Executive Director L. Earl Franks said in a news release. “They stand as pillars of support, cultivating a nurturing environment that fosters both academic achievement and emotional well-being.”

This year’s class consists of 20 elementary school APs, six middle school APs and one K8 AP. These leaders—who were nominated by their peers—have at least two years of experience in their roles and “have set high standards for students, colleagues, parents and the community,” a news release reads.

Meet this year’s “outstanding” leaders:

• Michele Hewlett, Chickasaw Elementary School, Alabama
• Chantel Black, Ptarmigan Elementary School, Alaska
• Randi Fielding, Magma Ranch K-8 School, Arizona
• Kristen Barnett, Eastside Elementary School, Arkansas
• Erin Hodges, Douglas MacArthur Junior High School, Arkansas
• Lauren Major, Wildflower Elementary School, Colorado
• Nicole Vibert, West Woods Upper Elementary School, Connecticut
• Kelyn Marmolejo, Cantwell’s Bridge Middle School, Delaware
• Hannah Gomillion, Van R. Butler Elementary School, Florida
• Amanda Smith, Black’s Mill Elementary School, Georgia
• April Smith, Lee County Middle School West, Georgia
• Jennifer Pimentel, Lana’i High and Elementary School, Hawaii
• Robert Bielawa, Henri A. Yelle Elementary School, Massachusetts
• Nicole Manning, West Springfield Middle School, Massachusetts
• Amy Blackledge, East Jackson Elementary School, Michigan
• Brett Lobben, Prairie View Elementary School, Minnesota
• Lindsey Millbrooks, DeSoto Central Elementary School, Mississippi
• Leanna Mackelprang, Shirley A. Barber Elementary School, Nevada
• Kelli Glisan, J.V. Washam Elementary School, North Carolina
• Josh Kitzman, Edison and John Hoeven Elementary Schools, North Dakota
• Andrew Kirby, Lionville Middle School, Pennsylvania
• Tomeka Love, Red Bank Elementary School, South Carolina
• Melissa Seaver, John Sevier Middle School, Tennessee
• Michael Joannou, Van Raub Elementary School, Texas
• Megan Thompson, Thoroughgood Elementary School, Virginia
• Nicholas Davies, Ogden Elementary School, Washington
• Megan Park, Gannett Peak Elementary School, Wyoming

‘Talking out of School’ podcast: Why authenticity is so important for Principal Kafele

The post 27 assistant principals are this year’s ‘outstanding’ leaders appeared first on District Administration.

“You get them feeling like ‘You got this,’ and your students need you, and your staff needs you,” says Kafele, a former middle and high school principal. “But you remind them, you’ve got to make sure there’s harmony in your life, there’s balance, so you don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re not just that leader, you’re also a human being away from the school.”

He continues to stress authenticity and fervor as key traits for successful leaders. “If you allow certain situations, certain circumstances, certain politics, certain environments to undermine your being, then you’re going to be operating as something that would be a stranger to yourself if you saw it in a mirror,” he explains.

Read more from DA: 5 leaders share their uplifting secrets to self-care

But he also warns that stress burnout among principals and assistant principals remains a significant concern. The years since the return to face-to-face learning have presented many new challenges. “It’s like they’re learning all over again their craft of leadership, dealing with young people, adults, staff, community, parents—the world has shifted and it has implications for effectiveness as a school leader,” Kafele points out.

District Administration’s Talking Out of School podcast is where superintendents, principals and other key educational figures share their experiences, strategies and forecasts for K12. Hear what else Principal Kafele has to say to senior writer Matt Zalaznick and reporter Micah Ward about the principal’s increasingly important role of instructional coach, culturally relevant pedagogy and his latest book, The Assistant Principal Identity.

You can listen to the full podcast below, on Apple, Podbean or Spotify.

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This year’s finalists were nominated for their success in providing high-quality learning opportunities for students. Meet the candidates:

Jeffrey Horstman, Mililani Middle School, Mililani, HI

In his fifth year as the school’s assistant principal, Horstman began his work with middle school-level students more than 15 years ago. His journey began as a YMCA youth program director until he found his way into the classroom as an English teacher.

He prioritizes fostering a fun and fulfilling school environment by giving students a voice, strengthening student-teacher relationships and creating a safe and nurturing place to learn.

“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized as a 2024 National Assistant Principal of the Year finalist,” he said in a news release. “There are so many amazing school leaders in Hawaii and across the nation who share a common vision of providing students with safe and nurturing campuses where learning inspires and empowers them to make positive contributions to our nation and global society.”

Sheri Murphy, Frederick High School, Frederick, MD

Murphy has been the assistant principal of Frederick High School since 2018. Now in her eleventh year with Frederick Couty Public Schools, she continues to advocate for equity and access for all of her students.

Before entering the principalship, she served as a licensed clinical social worker providing school-based mental health services to students in both public and private schools.

“From spearheading initiatives to enhancing student engagement to fostering a culture of equity and inclusivity, my tenure as an assistant principal has been marked by achievements aimed at empowering our students and nurturing their success,” she said.

Courtney Walker, Carrollton High School, Carrollton, GA

Walker is the assistant principal of teaching and learning at Carrollton High School where she oversees master scheduling, remedial and gifted programs, student awards and recognitions, school improvement initiatives and professional development.

She’s assisted in the implementation of professional learning pathways and common course teams which embody her commitment to empowering teachers as leaders and enhancing student outcomes by leveraging data-driven instruction. Additionally, she supports school counselors by developing personalized academic plans that are tailored to students’ interests and their ability to ensure they graduate either enrolled, enlisted or employed and as engaged leaders in their communities.

“I genuinely believe in shared leadership, so this honor is a testament to the collective efforts of the teachers, counselors, administrators and support staff within my school and district,” she said. “Together, we form a cohesive team, engaging in daily collaboration aimed at enhancing our ability to nurture, prepare and empower students to excel as leaders both academically and personally throughout their high school journey and beyond.”

The winner will be announced on April 5 joined by National Honor Society Scholarship finalists and state assistant principals of the year.

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