Mrs. Cromer: Leading & Learning

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...

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 ...

Twenty-four days into the new year and I have finally narrowed it down to #oneword. I love words, quotes, and all of the wonderful blog posts that members of my PLN have written sharing their #oneword for 2015.  I appreciate  the thought and effort that went into those posts and the wheels that turned in my head as a result. I appreciate  the fact that I am just now reflecting on my own word because it means that my life is full of activities that keep me busy. I appreciate the phone messages on my desk, students and teachers waiting outside my door, and the emails that steadily poor in because it means that people are interested in what I have to say. I appreciate the noise in the Cafeteria because it means our students are happy and enjoying the time with their classmates. I appreciate the mud in the hallway because it means it was warm enough outdoors for our students to enjoy recess. Throughout 2015, my goal is to pause and appreciate more.  It is...

Last Wednesday Education Week ( @educationweek ) showcased the daily activities of building administrators by encouraging principals to tweet and post images to Instagram about their day using the hashtag #APrincipalsDay .  Here is a sampling of the photos from my day:     It was hard to remember to photograph or document all of the things that were happening that day. Just like any other day as a building administrator, multitasking is the norm and many actions could not be shared with a tweet or photograph.  Student discipline, IEP meetings, phone calls to and from parents/central office/maintenance/transportation (LOTS of phone calls fill a principal's day), and a truckload of emails are just a few of the activities that were not shared Reviewing the posts from that day it was awesome to see the many similarities to my day in rural southwest Virginia.  Although hundreds of principals are in my PLN, I enjoyed the glimpse into their daily routines...

The word "vision" was prevalent throughout my educational leadership coursework.  I actually got quite sick of hearing it and could not understand why it seemed to be something every professor wanted to talk about.  At the time I was finding lots of success in the classroom of a school that lacked a vision.  I couldn't quite grasp why it was so important that a vision be present, much less "shared." Fast forward four years and it is all I can think about. Vision, vision, vision, vision. Such a small word that means so much for schools, businesses, organizations, even families.  Where are you headed?  What direction should you take?  What do you stand for?  How will you grow and get better?  What unites us?  How do we move forward together?  What's our target? I frequently wake up in the middle of the night wondering if I am taking our school in the right direction.  Have I made sure every...

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...