Mrs. Cromer: Leading & Learning

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...

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...