Mrs. Cromer: Leading & Learning

The same conversation plays out numerous times per day, with a very predictable script: “Hi! How are you?” “Doing well, just busy, how are you doing?” “I understand, I’m very busy over here too.” It’s like there is an underground competition to show that we are the busiest, most overworked professional within our spheres.   “I worked all weekend on (insert project here).” “I can’t meet today, I’m just too busy with (insert another project here).” Guess what? WE’RE ALL BUSY. It may look different for each of us, but we are all overwhelmed with to-do lists that are a mile long. Why do we feel the need to showcase that we are working ourselves to exhaustion? It's as if we have to defend the use of our time. I am a big believer that our words shape our mindset and demonstrate our belief system.  I don't want to believe in the system of "busy."  My work should speak for itself without me having to explain all of my tasks to everyon...

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...

February has left everyone in our building exhausted.  Unlike years passed, this winter has been mild and only two snow days have been used since Christmas Break.  Snow days allow everyone to take a break, rest, and gather the strength to finish out the year.  Where were these days that we so desperately needed to give everyone relief?! The need for a break was overwhelming.  Teachers, aides, janitors and secretaries all talked about needing a snow day.  Even the principal was heard wishing for winter weather. Wishes were granted as a major snow storm and chilly arctic temperatures have kept students out of school for the past week.  At this very moment, snow and sleet are once again pelting my windows.   Everyone should be happy now.  The relief has come and the time off has allowed us to catch up on the long list of tasks on our to-do lists.   But my gut is still reeling from the punch driven home by the first few pages of m...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...