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...

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...

We all know those people who never respond to the question you ask, almost never return an email unless you hit them up a second (or third) time, and generally do not follow through on their statements.   There are a million reasons why these questions go unanswered and emails do not get a response, but the bottom line is that it is frustrating for those of us who are trying to accomplish the many tasks at hand.   While organization has always been one of my strengths, as an educational leader organization has now become paramount to my very survival.  The days are too hectic to spend time searching for that lost paper or to read two emails from a teacher because I forgot to respond to the first one.   If you are struggling with the never-ending demands of the job, I strongly encourage you to do two things.  First, sign-up for the Instructional Leadership Challenge .  The suggestions offered are simple, easy to implement tools that will giv...

This morning I officially completed The 21 Day Instructional Leadership Challenge. It only took me 30 days.  :) If you have seen/heard about the challenge through your PLN, I HIGHLY encourage you to take part.   Justin Baeder shares time-saving resources and tips that will get you in classrooms more often and giving purposeful feedback that will help your teachers grow. What you can expect... Daily emails that highlight the video and accompanying action steps.  The videos are short (3-7 minutes) and detail research-based practices that help instructional leaders get organized and create habits that will give them more time in classrooms.  (There is also a transcript if you are unable to watch the video at that particular time.) Baeder does promote the use of the TeachBoost program, but I found the challenge just as beneficial without getting the free-trial that was offered. I already find myself in more classrooms and getting more tasks completed during th...

The scene outside my window allowed me to finish a book today. It is a well-known fact that I am a huge fan of educator and author Todd Whitaker  ( @ToddWhitaker ).  Not a day goes by that I don't find myself using a tip or idea from one of his books.  One of the most-used books in my Todd Whitaker library is The 10 Minute Inservice , which he co-authored with Annette Breaux. So I was ecstatic to see that Whitaker and Breaux had teamed up to write another gem, Quick Answers for Busy Teachers: Solutions to 60 Common Challenges .   The book did not disappoint.  It was loaded with tips for dealing with students, adults, classroom management, instruction, and professionalism. In classic Whitaker style, it is straight-forward and easy to apply to current practice. Our school hired five new teachers this year and two more are teaching a new grade level for the first time.  I have marked several pages to share with these teachers, as well as those who ...

The extra hour of sleep over the weekend gave me just enough time to finish Eric Sheninger's book, Digital Leadership .   For me, the book affirmed by beliefs about technology use in education. I was inspired by the story of New Milford High School and encouraged by the struggles of other educational leaders that were highlighted in the book.  The book is a wonderful start for those educators who are not yet sold on the idea of digital leadership.  Eric does a great job of explaining the need for change in our schools while keeping the focus on sound pedagogy and student learning.   "It has nothing to do with devices and has everything to do with rethinking what our students need to prepare them for the rapidly changing real world behind school walls." - Sheninger The book is also jam-packed with resources to get you started or to further your efforts to become a digital leader.  I would highly recommend it to any educational leader and will b...

Connected Educator Month has came and went and to no one's surprise, not a single post has been added to this blog since July. But that doesn't mean I am not connected. I'm what you call a lurker.  Not in the creepy sort of way, but in a shy, cautious sort of way. When I participated in my first Twitter Chat way back in 2012 (it was an #edfocus chat where Todd Whitaker joined in), a member of my newly created PLN sent me a direct message to encourage my increased participation.  He said, "Take your time, lurking is learning." Those words have stuck with me as I am still "lurking and learning" two years later. That's what makes Twitter so amazing.  We can all connect in a way that is comfortable to us.  While I don't regularly participate in Twitter chats or reflect on my experiences on my blog, I do regularly check-in on my Twitter feed and Feedly reader to learn from educators who are sharing the great things they do everyday. Althou...

This post has been in "draft" form for almost two months.  I'm officially declaring myself the worst blogger ever. I would use the excuse that it's summer, but that would mean I regularly update this blog during the school year. It is summer though and I hope that everyone is finding some time to relax and renew their spirit.  If you are like most educators (at least this one), your job is your passion and it can suck every drop of life out of you.  Summer is a time to reconnect with yourself and those that you love.  Take advantage of the slower pace. Of course, summer is no time to rest all of your laurels.  There is still A LOT of work to do in preparation for the upcoming year, the urgency level is just slightly lower than it is when teachers and students are in the building. I have thoroughly enjoyed the additional time at home and on the farm.  I have also managed to get in some reading, although my book pile is growing at a faster rate than I...

Whoa, what's that in your newsfeed?  A new blogpost from @MrsJCromer?! Its only been since February people, don't be so surprised. I've been just a little busy with my first year running a school and have not been the best blogger.  But have no fear - all of the learning I've experienced over the past year has made for a pretty decent blog post for all of the new administrators out there. Here are five truths that you need to acknowledge as a new principal and five ways I have found to help digest the reality of school administration: You do not control your day.   You might as well get used to a full calendar.  And by full, I really mean overflowing.  While it is nice to not write lesson plans, the sad reality is that you don't really plan anything anymore.  Everyone needs you in a meeting, needs to ask you a "quick question," needs you to call them back, and needs you to just BE THERE.  You have a huge to-do list, and it seems the whole wor...

Thank you for venturing into the digital world for our book study!  After reading pages 33-71, take a moment to reflect on the questions below.*  Comment on the post with your answer to one, two, or all of the questions - even add to a comment by a colleague!   "I can't do that.  I'm not as creative as you are."  Dave Burgess suggests that creativity is calculated and learned.  Is he right? What are the "right questions" we should be asking ourselves when lesson planning?  Ex. Can this lesson be delivered outside? Have you developed a system to capture your creative ideas?  Digital, pen and paper? What is your ideal classroom vision? What can you do THIS WEEK that will set that vision in motion? Do you have any lessons that you could sell tickets for?   "If you do nothing else but ramp up your enthusiasm, you will be far ahead of the game." How can your enthusiasm transform the class? "When we model enthusiasm it rubs off on everyone...

As a first year principal, I am always hungry to learn about new resources and strategies.  So when I heard that my favorite educational leader was publishing a new book, of course I pre-ordered a copy. www.tower.com The Secret Solution: How One Principal Discovered the Path to Success is a fictional tale that follows "Roger Rookie" through his first year as principal.  Along the way he encounters the typical school characters and undergoes several leadership transformations. The Secret Solution is an easy read and administrators are sure to identify with Rookie as he faces familiar issues with faculty, staff, and parents.  Although the struggles were simplified, the message was clear; the path to success is a mix of climate and accountability.  Oh, and the illustrations were a nice bonus. I would recommend this book to any current or aspiring administrator.  As a collector of Todd Whitaker books, it was nice to see his concepts put into practice, ev...

There is nothing better than a great professional development session.  One that really ignites your passion and sets your wheels spinning about how it will impact students. There is also nothing worse than bad professional development.  Everyone knows what I'm talking about and unfortunately everyone has experienced their fair share of bad PD. thecornerstoneforteachers.com As a new principal, I want to take advantage of every moment that my staff is gathered together.  The days are so busy and our time together is a precious commodity.  Below are a few ways that I try to keep staff development relevant and inspiring for my teachers. Flipped Faculty Meetings I had some success with flipping meetings in my previous position and knew that I would utilize this strategy at my new school.  At least one week before our scheduled monthly meetings, I send out all of the pertinent announcements in a presentation video.  (I've used Screenr and Screencast...

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 ...

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...

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 ...