Currently Blogging: A Professional Update

01 November 2024

The past few years have been dedicated to countless hours of consuming and growing that I have not taken a moment to breathe and share how the knowledge, skills and experiences I have been exposed to have impacted my leadership style and ability. It has been close to five years since I have consumed a book that is educational in nature. Most of my reading has been dedicated to the lenses of history, biographies, self help and leadership. In fact, the audiobooks I consume are still in these four categories. As I reach the midway point of my third year in a leadership role, I am eager to share highlights, areas of vast growth and thinking around the return to texts that are educationally oriented.

18 April 2025

As the conclusion of my 11th year approaches, I am going to take the advice Dr. Bryant Shaw gave me: “The best way to know what is and is not working is to remove yourself from the system.” The two years under his mentorship have proven invaluable and I remain in touch with him today. After chatting with him on the Casey Middle School campus a few weeks back, I felt a rejuvenation of energy that I have been using to power through these final months at Kearney Middle School.

The multitude of systems and structures that we implemented, empowered others with and modified are numerous at the school my father attended in 1962. The December announcement that KMS will be closing in a year’s time led to my position being cut, an angsty energy from staff that rippled throughout the ecosystem and a paradoxical sensation of urgency and lack of the same.

Trying my best to analyze and reflect on everything from the eagle’s viewpoint, we were able to drive measurable changes around the following: PLCs, school-wide transitions and communication, norms during lunches, drastic decreases in disciplinary events and methods of tracking this data, advisory house system, weekly letters to staff and the community, teacher-led walkthroughs and standards based instruction. Systems in place that still give me pause are: school-wide use of Google Chat, learning centered v teacher directed environments, self-awareness around reflection and growth, deficit v asset thinking and ownership.