This is one of my mom’s go-to catchphrases from my childhood; I can still hear the knowing way in which she’d say it.
I guess I still have an issue with loading my figurative plate up.
We can walk into our schools with one plan in mind, and by the end of the day we have done about twenty laps around both floors of the building, but still not accomplished that one task that we set out to do. I read this piece about the importance of mindfulness in leadership, and I know that mindfulness is necessary for everyone, but I believe a principal must be mindful about how he or she leads or the school will go nowhere because it will be very difficult for his or her faculty to be mindful.
There are a lot of areas in the realm of a school’s leadership that interest me. My interests cover the gamut of LKES standards. If I had to identify my strengths, they would probably be in instructional planning, planning and assessment, and professionalism. My immediate interests, outside of my strengths, would focus on school climate.
From my vantage point, that of someone with his foot still in the realm of the classroom, there are so many things that I want to work on: authentic assessment, blended learning, collaboration, standards-based grading and instruction…the list goes on. I know that it is in my own best interest to choose one or two areas and focus on just them, but how does one determine which is the top priority? Do I need to know the school vision before I can choose an area of focus? What happens if my school does not yet have a vision?
I know that this is different depending on my role. As an AP, I will need to make determine my areas of focus base off of how they align with the school’s vision. As a principal, I will need to make sure that the school’s vision and mission are relevant to the school’s current context in order for others to approach their respective duties and responsibilities in a mindful manner.
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