Mrs. Cromer: Leading & Learning

This past school year I had the opportunity to return to the classroom.  Our division wanted to open up a pathway for students interested in becoming educators, but we did not have a teacher available to teach the Teachers for Tomorrow course.  Since I still considered myself a teacher and had been missing the daily interaction with students since moving to the central office level, I eagerly volunteered to take on this new course. I immediately remembered the joy that comes from planning engaging learning opportunities and building relationships with students as well as how quickly one can accumulate a stack of papers to grade. This experience had an enormous impact on me as an educational leader so I wanted to share some reasons why I believe every school leader should get back in the saddle:  Be an instructional model How best to model the instructional expectations you expect from faculty?  Walk the walk.   There have been several teach...

My paternal grandfather was an amazing man.  He and my dad hunted and collected "Indian Rocks" which he displayed in a "museum" that he built in his yard.  The community would come for tours as well as students from the nearby elementary school. My sisters and I with my Pa Ted on Easter Sunday in Kentucky. My Pa Ted was an extremely religious man.  He loved Jesus, his country, and his family dearly.  He was a pillar in his small community - serving on the fire department for 60 years.  He was a Kentucky Colonel and grew one of the grandest vegetable gardens in the southeastern United States.  He has been gone for three years this December and I miss him so much. We often quote his pearls of wisdom since my dad relayed many of them to us as we grew up.  In high school, I remember complaining about having to go to work and my Dad correcting me to say, "No, you get to go to work today."  He had experienced the same correction from my grandfa...

Winter break gives many of us time to slow down, catch up, and recharge.  If you are like me, it also gives you time to read that ever-growing stack of books that you keep ordering!  While I probably should be cleaning, organizing, or engaging in other baby preparations, I can't resist perusing the pages of books that my PLN has recommended.  Seriously.  I am on my third book.  The Four O'Clock Faculty: A Rogue Guide to Revolutionizing Professional Developmen t by Rich Czyz has been on my wishlist for a few weeks.  So when it arrived, it naturally skipped to the front of the line as we are currently working on revamping our professional development structure for the coming year. The book did not disappoint with plenty of suggested activities you can implement tomorrow to supercharge your professional learning.  Unfortunately, we know there are schools and administrators out there who are not supportive of revolutionizing professional learning,...

October is Connected Educator Month (#cem16) and if you are here, you are probably participating in our Connected Educator Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge.  :) What does it mean to be a connected educator?  This might be a loaded question... The above quote defines the term 'connected educator' for me.  The world we now live in is more connected than at any time in the past and we are less connected now than we will be at any time in the future.  If we are preparing our students today for successful tomorrow's, we must reach past the walls of our schools and lines of our districts. Social media has connected us in ways we never thought possible.  While arguably some choose to use these tools in unhealthy ways, the possibilities for connecting classrooms to the real world are endless.  No longer do we need to rely on only a textbook! What amazing times we live in!  What does the term 'connected educator' mean to you?

There is a familiar excitement in the air and the school is filled with students and staff who are optimistic about the coming year. If you are an educator, you know the feeling well and it never gets old. I am beginning this year similar to how I have the past three - sharing a book with each class.  Scheduling time to read to each class gives me the opportunity to get to know our new students, give teachers a brief break from teaching during the exhausting first weeks of school, set the expectation for when I enter classrooms, and, most importantly, share my love of books. Literacy has been the focus in our division for a year now and we are happily kicking that into high gear at CES.  Sharing a love of books and reading aloud to students is an easy way administrators can model the importance of enjoying a good book. A few of my favorite beginning of the year reads are: Have You Filled a Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids How Full is Your...

Discussion/Reflection Questions: React to the following statement: Most teachers don't give themselves enough credit for the work they do and the skills they have. What are some of your greatest strengths as a professional? Consider both in-class and other professional tasks. How do you know you're good at these things? How dependent are you on others' approval? How well do you self-assess? How safe is it in your school to be proud of your work? How do others in your school react when someone receives recognition? What's your definition of a great teacher? Be specific. What do they do? How do they sound? What would their students say about them? Suggested Activities: Create a list of the things you do well as a teacher. Give an example of each. If one of the mind-set shifts outlined in the middle of this chapter is something you could work on, try it out. Create a measurable goal and tell a colleague about it. Have your colleague check in with you perio...