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We Were Warned, Then We Were Blamed In 1983, the United States was handed a warning label. The report was called A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. It was written by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, a commission created by U.S. Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell and chaired by David Pierpont Gardner. The commission was directed to examine the quality of American education and report its findings to the Secretary and the American peo

There is a familiar phrase we use when someone does not seem to fit. We say they are a square peg in a round hole. It is meant to describe a mismatch. It is meant to explain discomfort. It is meant to name the tension between a person and a system that was not designed with them in mind. In K-12 education, we use softer language, of course. We talk about placement, programming, intervention, readiness, compliance, acceleration, remediation, enrichment, behavior plans, service

The hallway is quiet long after the last bus has pulled away. A principal sits at their desk, staring at a list that keeps growing no matter how much gets crossed off. Emails unanswered. Conversations unfinished. Decisions waiting. Leadership can feel like this. Isolating. Heavy. Relentless. The truth that changes everything is simple and often overlooked. The people who truly want to see you win will help you win. In K–12 administration, that is not a feel-good idea. It is a

When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the foundations of schooling, many of us found ourselves looking up and seeing no clear direction....