Join the Club

The photo is of my child and her teammate waiting to hear whether their names would be called for the semifinals. They had competed against one another. They both wanted the same opportunity. Yet, while they waited, they held hands. This is what it is about. We talk often in education about social-emotional learning. We create lessons about empathy, sportsmanship, self-regulation, kindness, and responsible decision-making. We build character education programs and identify th

“Youth sports are not only about building better athletes. They are about building young people who know how to work hard, handle disappointment, celebrate others, support a team, and keep going.” ~Dr. Catherine V. Addor We often measure youth sports by scores, placements, trophies, titles, and advancement. We ask who won, who qualified, who made the team, and who earned the highest score. Those things matter. Young athletes should be encouraged to set goals, work hard, compe

Leadership can become surprisingly sedentary. The meetings pile up. The emails keep coming. Problems arrive at the office door. Before long, leaders can spend most of the day sitting behind a desk, responding to what is directly in front of them while becoming increasingly disconnected from what is happening around them. One of the most valuable leadership practices I developed was also one of the simplest: taking a walk. Whenever the weather permitted, I took a 20-minute wal

Ballet often looks effortless from the audience. What we do not see are the hours of practice, repeated corrections, sore muscles, missed steps, and moments of frustration that came before the performance. Ballet teaches us to pay attention to the smallest details. The placement of a foot, the direction of the eyes, the position of a hand, and the timing of a breath all matter. There is mindfulness in that level of focus. A dancer cannot stay stuck on the step they just misse

The other day, someone walked past me wearing a T-shirt that read, “No Risk, No Story.” It was one of those simple statements that stays with you long after the person wearing it has disappeared into the crowd. I immediately thought about classrooms. Every day, students are asked to take risks. They raise their hands without knowing whether their answer is correct. They read aloud when they are unsure of a word. They share an idea that may be different from everyone else’s. T

Thoughtful Thursday “It is nice to have valid competition; it pushes you to do better.” ~ Gianni Versace Competition has the power to bring out the best in us, but only when we allow it to inspire rather than intimidate us. Valid competition is not about hoping someone else fails so that we can succeed. It is about recognizing excellence, respecting the work behind it, and allowing it to challenge us to raise our own standards. The strongest competitors are often the ones who

The Last Four Minutes We all have routines. Some are obvious, while others quietly become part of who we are without us even realizing it. For years, mine was simple. During the last four minutes of my drive to work each morning, I would make sure Have It All by Jason Mraz was playing. It became much more than a song. It became my transition. Those final moments allowed me to leave behind whatever I was carrying from home, mentally prepare for the day ahead, and remind myself

When we are little, adults love to ask us, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” For a while, the answers are usually a mix of fantasy, imagination, and whatever feels exciting in the moment. Astronaut. Singer. Veterinarian. Teacher. President. Broadway star. Professional athlete. Sometimes all of them in the same week. For me, the answer did not really begin to solidify beyond fantasy until middle school, when I met Mr. Clausen, my 7th grade science teacher. He taught s

Social media has changed the way students communicate, connect, disagree, joke, and build relationships. It has also changed the way words land, because online comments arrive without the things that help us understand one another in real life: body language, facial expressions, voice intonation, pauses, softness, hesitation, and repair. In a classroom, a student can usually tell when a joke has gone too far. They can see someone’s face fall. They can hear the change in someo

“Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy.” ~John Denver There is something beautifully simple about this line. It does not describe a grand achievement, a perfect day, or a life without problems. It captures a small moment of warmth, a pause, a feeling, a reminder that happiness can sometimes arrive quietly. Sunshine on our shoulders is the kind of joy we often overlook. It is the few minutes outside between responsibilities. It is the warmth coming through the car window. It

After the Fireworks There is something magical about fireworks. The anticipation, the color, the noise, the way everyone stops for a few minutes and looks up together. For a little while, the sky becomes the center of our attention. After the fireworks, there is a different kind of beauty. There is a quiet walk back to the car. The sleepy children wrapped in blankets. The folding chairs being packed away. The smell of summer grass. The soft conversation after the big celebrat

When you walk into an interview, you are not just answering questions. You are telling the story of who you are, what you bring, and why the people across the table should be able to visualize you in the role, thriving, contributing, and solving problems they may not even know how to name yet. That is the power of a well-told professional story. It helps people see beyond the resume, beyond the title, beyond the bullet points, and into the real human being who can lead, build

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” ~Nelson Mandela Mandela’s words remind us that freedom is not only something we claim for ourselves. True freedom asks us to consider how our choices, words, leadership, and actions affect the people around us. It is easy to celebrate freedom with fireworks, flags, and family traditions. It is harder and more meaningful to ask whether we are creating

As we celebrate the Fourth of July and look toward the 250th anniversary of the United States, it is worth pausing to think about what freedom really asks of us. Independence is not only a historical event, a fireworks display, or a long weekend. It is an ongoing responsibility to participate, to listen, to learn, to question, and to help build a country that lives closer to its ideals. The story of America has never been simple. It is a story of courage and contradiction, sa

Being Part of a Team Being part of a team is more than showing up in the same shirt, standing in the same line, or working toward the same goal. It means understanding that your energy, your attitude, your effort, and your presence matter to everyone around you. A team works best when each person recognizes that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Sometimes that means leading, sometimes it means listening, sometimes it means stepping up when it is hard, and som

Sometimes the most difficult leadership moments are not about one behavior, complaint, meeting, email, or conflict we can see. They are about the pattern underneath it. The coercive cycle of interaction occurs when two people or two groups become locked in a repeated back-and-forth pattern in which behavior escalates, reactions intensify, and eventually someone gives in just to make the moment stop. In school leadership, this can happen between administrators and teachers, ce

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” B.B. King On the last day of school, we often think about what is ending: the routines, the lessons, the classroom community, and the moments that filled the year. But the beautiful truth is that the most important parts of learning do not end when the school year does. Learning becomes part of who our students are. A skill, a new idea, a moment of confidence, a spark of curiosity, or a deeper unde

“Nothing is as important as Broadway.” — Frank Sinatra There is something about Broadway that asks us to pause. Maybe it is the lights. Maybe it is the music. Maybe it is the way an audience collectively holds its breath before the first note, the first line, the first step. Broadway reminds us that beauty is not accidental. It is built through rehearsal, revision, discipline, creativity, collaboration, and courage. What looks effortless from the audience is often the result

Years ago, I was standing in line at the "happiest place on Earth" with my kids. We were away. We were together. We were supposed to be in one of those rare pockets of time where the outside world fades and your full attention belongs to the people right in front of you. My phone rang. It was the middle school principal calling about grant applications. Not a crisis. Not an emergency. Not something that needed to interrupt a family trip. I still do not know why I picked up th

Last Friday, my daughter went to her 8th-grade dance. There was the dress, the pictures, the friends, the excitement, the small moments that somehow become big memories before we even realize it. Watching her step into that milestone brought me right back to my own 8th-grade dance. Not because of the decorations. Not because of the music. Not because I remember every detail of what I wore or who stood where in the gym. But because of the boy I went with. Years later, when I w