RULE: Students become the stories they hear most often. Leaders must make sure those stories are true, affirming, and intentional.
In high schools, students are surrounded by commentary about who they are and who they’ll become, and far too often, that commentary is negative. They hear it from peers in the form of teasing, sarcasm, or outright cruelty. They hear it from adults who disguise criticism as “reality checks” or “motivation.” They even hear it at home. A teenager can be told several positive things, but one cutting remark can echo for weeks. And if it’s hard for well‑adjusted adults to bloc
Apr 202 min read
RULE: The messages we give young people shape how they see themselves — so choose them wisely.
Working with teens means navigating a world where emotions run high, independence grows fast, and the stories they tell themselves about who they are can shift by the hour. The way adults communicate during these years matters more than we sometimes realize. Our words become the lens through which students interpret expectations, relationships, and even their own worth. In essence, we are teaching them everything (not just academic content). When we offer clarity, empathy
Apr 92 min read
RULE: Perception shapes culture — so create the perception you want to become reality.
We often hear the phrase “perception is reality,” but that’s not quite true. Perception is simply the subjective reality of the person doing the perceiving. Still, in schools, perception carries enormous weight. It influences how students feel, how adults behave, and how the community understands who we are. When we intentionally shape perception, we’re not creating illusions — we’re building the conditions for the culture we want to see. When I became principal of my fir
Mar 302 min read
RULE: Research is a leadership tool — Awareness is the first step toward equity.
As leaders, we cannot correct what we do not first recognize. And when it comes to the experiences of students who have historically underperformed compared to their peers, awareness isn’t optional — it’s foundational. This week, I want to surface a bias that quietly shapes how some children are seen, treated, and disciplined in schools across the country. This phenomenon has a name: adultification bias . Research published by the American Psychological Association found
Mar 122 min read
RULE: Listen for the story before you decide the consequence – Justice comes from understanding, not assumption.
As leaders, we know that discipline is never just about the rule that was broken; it’s about the context that shaped the decision. Over time, I learned a two‑fold approach that fundamentally changed the culture of a school that desperately needed a reset. First, when a student’s behavior was pre‑meditated—planned, intentional, thought through—the consequence reflected that level of intent (which of course aligned with my legal training, think heat-of-passion crime). But whe
Mar 101 min read
RULE: Define “what’s best for kids” before you decide it.
We all say we want to do what’s best for students, but without a shared definition, that phrase becomes so broad that two well‑intentioned educators can reach opposite conclusions — and both feel justified. Consider a high‑achieving sophomore planning next year’s schedule. One leader might argue that maximizing AP courses is “best for kids.” Another might argue that Choir, Theatre, and SGA are irreplaceable high‑school experiences and that is what’s best. Both perspectiv
Feb 241 min read
RULE: Don’t just expect relationships — teach how to build them.
Most educators agree that relationships are the foundation of classroom success, yet when a teacher struggles to connect with students, leadership often recognizes the issue long before the teacher does — and still, we rarely give them the tools to fix it. Ironically, many school leaders are naturally gifted relationship‑builders. What comes instinctively to us can be incredibly difficult to teach, which means our guidance often sounds like: “You need to build better relati
Feb 173 min read