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Not rocket science
“If you want to be a good reader, read, or a good writer, write. But if you pass thirty days without reading and turn to something else, you’ll notice the consequences.”-Epictetus The mastermind is about exposure. Exposure to great leaders. This encourages and...
2020-2021 Mastermind Book Reading List
In the mastermind, we read one books every two months. We also only read outside of education. This choice is intentional: School leaders read enough about education.Many education books “sound” the same. We don’t need an echo chamber effect in the...
Amy Platt: Climbing Big Hills and Navigating past critics
Amy Platt is delighted to be the Head of School at the Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School. Amy is passionate about excellent instruction and working with teachers to be the talented professionals they are destined to be. Amy holds a PhD and an MA from the...
How to make better decisions
A few reasons we make poor decisions: We let our emotions get in the way of our logic.We surround ourselves with “yes men” or we don’t expose ourselves to a diversity of thought (e.g. the echo chamber).We have blind spots and do not work to eradicate them with...
Checking-in
Right now there are roughly 100 leaders I serve in the mastermind, roughly the size of many school faculties. Checking-in during this crisis is very important, but maybe not doable at scale with intention. So what could you do? Use the org chart. As principal, focus...
When they come back to school
Right now the best leaders are devoting time to getting their online schools up and running but they are also planning for the return to school. They have one foot in the present and at least a big toe in the future. School will be back to “normal” someday and you...
Optimism, Pessimism, or Realism?
Optimists say “We’ll be back to school in May.” Pessimists say “The world is over. Everyone will be homeschooling from now on.” Realists say “I will give the best online experience to my kids right now. This sucks, but we’ll make the best of it. I hope we return...
Chris Jones: Communication Tips for Principals
Chris has been an educator in Massachusetts for 19 years and just finished his 11th year as a building administrator. He is currently the Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, Massachusetts. He’s passionate about continuous improvement and the...
Communicating during a crisis
When a crisis hits we meet the real leader that is you. How do you want to show up? We see this playing out before our eyes as leaders around the world choose different approaches to communication. Observing these different styles, here is what works and what doesn't:...
