Mrs. Cromer: Leading & Learning

Merry Christmas PLN!  Thank you all for the gift that truly keeps on giving.  You have shared so many thoughts, ideas, and resources this past year - all of which have had an impact on my journey as an educational leader. I hope you are all taking some time to relax, be with those you love, and of course remembering the reason for the season! Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2014!

I love meeting educators.  I love being inspired.  I love attending conferences. So I was pretty excited to attend the Virginia ASCD conference last week. I brought back numerous resources for my faculty and a fresh pack of inspiration for myself.  My learning can be summarized into four main takeaways: What's green will grow, whats ripe will rot. This quote by Dave Weber sums up my feelings about professional growth.  While we would hope that all educators would be committed to lifelong learning, sadly we know that is not the case.  We can all think of someone who finds fault and makes every excuse for not moving forward.  The negativity broadcast by these individuals spreads like a rotten banana in your fruit basket. As a young administrator, sometimes I struggle with being perceived as too "green" to be a principal.  This quote reminded me that there is nothing wrong with being green.  As long as I remain committed to growth, I will ...

My cup runneth over. As I reflect on all that I have to be thankful for, I am amazed. It is also amazing how easily we tend to forget all that we are thankful for. I'm not saying it is easy to keep an attitude of thanksgiving all year.  There are many days I quickly complain about a problem and forget about the many blessings I have been given. So how can you maintain an attitude of thanksgiving throughout the year? It is easier for some.  By nature I am a positive, happy person.  I attribute that to a few awesome people in my life.  On the occasion that I am getting too caught up in "life" as I know it, I think of my grandpa and remember to be thankful. My "Pa" grew up extremely poor in the foothills of Kentucky.  He fought in the Korean War, worked his way up to manager of a textile plant, chief of his local fire department, survived cancer and is now battling the blinding effects of macular degeneration all while keeping his same calm, positive...

As you can see from the blog archive to the left, perhaps managing time is not my strong suit.  At least when it comes to blogging.  :) The problem with managing your time as a school administrator is you never know what your day will be like. There is no scheduling who will walk through your door or what issue is waiting on your voice mail or Inbox.  Anticipating the day's events is part of the excitement of being a school leader, it just wreaks havoc on your to-do list. Everyone is busy.  We all have items that need our immediate attention, items that we are excited to tackle, and items that we put off until the very last minute. The difficulty with time is that it is limited.  The to-do list is never completed, we just chunk away at it a little more each day. I saw the quote below on a blog several years ago and I frequently refer back to it as I am deciding which task to tackle. Everyone is busy.  (It was worth repeating.) But our jobs are f...

While completing my educational leadership studies several years ago, I got tired of hearing about creating a "vision" for your school.  Real tired. Now that I am an administrator...I can't stop thinking about my vision for our school. In Dave Burgess' best-selling book, Teach Like a Pirate , he details an exercise that encourages teachers to write about how their class is viewed by students. Change the topic to the broader topic of school and this experience can be equally as telling and inspiring to administrators. When I walk through the doors of Check Elementary School, I feel safe and accepted.  Learning is fun at CES and most days I don't even know that I am learning standardized content because the teachers do such a great job of crafting engaging lessons.  Their passion for learning is obvious and so contagious it has infected the entire atmosphere surrounding our school.  I wake up excited to come to school and see what exciting projec...

Our students returned this week.  It was chaotic, stressful, overwhelming, and WONDERFUL!   I had lunch with first graders, read a book to each class, went on a bear hunt with kindergartners, and enjoyed lots of hugs.  But it was a comment from a bus driver that made my week. "You were made for this job." Yes, I believe I was. I know the question "Why do I lead?" should generate a greater response, but for me it is really that simple.  I lead because I feel it is my purpose.  I believe God gives us each a talent and expects us to use it for the greater good.   www.strategicleadershipresources.com My passion for education is a blessing from God and looking back I can see how He used experiences and people to push me to this place.   I didn't start out on this journey willingly and I certainly don't take the responsibility of leadership lightly.  There were moments this week that I questioned my abilities and my vision...

The school has been cleaned, handbooks have been copied, and the class rosters finalized.  Just a few more finishing touches and CES is ready to open for the 2013-2014 school year. But we're already celebrating.   A few members of the CES team outside of historic Double Springs School. This past weekend the CES faculty and staff got together for a cookout and a hayride to a historic one-room school house in our community.  Everyone brought their families and it was a wonderful, relaxing time before the work begins again next week. Our school, like so many others, is a family.  And like so many families today, we do not get enough time to just enjoy each other's company and some good home-cooked food. While I am blessed to work in a school with a wonderful climate, as a leader I am always looking for ways to maintain and grow in this area.  I have a dog-eared copy of Todd Whitaker's Motivating and Inspiring Teachers  that never fails to s...

Source: jumpintheair.com Here it goes.  I'm jumping in. Next week marks the "official" start of my tenure as the Lead Learner at Check Elementary School. Although I have been the principal there since July, it will become real when I stand before the faculty on Tuesday. When I completed my Ed Leadership studies, I never planned on becoming a school leader.  In fact, each class I completed only cemented my belief that being a middle school social studies teacher was the best job ever. Fast forward four years and I still fondly reminisce about my classroom days. But now I have fond memories of many classrooms.  I have an opportunity to mold the minds of students and adults alike. Is there any other job that is more exciting and terrifying at the same time? I can't wait. I'm also jumping into blogging.  Social media has had an immeasurable impact on my journey as a leader.  Since joining Twitter in May of 2012, I have had the pleasure of building ...