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In my presentations about teacher leadership, I often return to the idea that strong schools do not grow from leadership that sits in one office. They grow when leadership is intentionally cultivated, shared, supported, and sustained throughout the organization. I have also asked participants to consider whether we are truly creating more leadership or simply distributing more work. That distinction matters. Teacher leadership should not be about extracting more from capable

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

When I used to observe sample lessons from teacher candidates, I always watched for something that was not written into the lesson plan. I watched for presence. Not performance. Not volume. Not charisma in the showy sense. Presence. Sometimes the lesson itself was not the strongest part of the interview. The objective might have needed tightening. The pacing might have been uneven. The materials might have been ordinary. Yet, there were moments when a candidate walked into th

When a child is angry, defiant, overwhelmed, shut down, sarcastic, tearful, impulsive, or explosive, the behavior is often the loudest part of the moment. It gets our attention first. It can feel personal. It can make adults want to correct quickly, raise the volume, tighten control, or demand compliance. The fundamental truth is that a dysregulated child does not usually need an adult to join the dysregulation. They need an adult who can remain steady enough to help them fin

We spend time speaking about the Portrait of a Graduate. We name the attributes, we celebrate the language, we point to the vision. We do not always examine the studio that makes that portrait possible. A Portrait of a Graduate does not develop in abstraction. It is shaped by the conditions we design: the resources we fund, the adults we prepare, the spaces we curate, and the expectations we normalize. The studio is not just a room. It is the ecosystem that tells students whe

One of the most important lessons teachers help students learn has little to do with content standards or assessments. It is the lifelong skill of accountability. Learning to make one's own choices, reflect on actions, and understand consequences is part of becoming a responsible member of any community. Teaching accountability in schools rarely happens in a simple environment. Teachers work at the intersection of student needs, family expectations, school leadership prioriti

Rewriting the Script on Parent Partnerships As educators prepare to launch a new school year, a familiar narrative is resurfacing across...