Rebecca Nicolas
Ten years ago, I had twins. They were premature by several months, and suddenly my entire world became the NICU and the hospital waiting room. As I gradually emerged from the haze of new parenting, I read parenting books and blogs about how to reintegrate into real life after having children. One piece of advice seemed particularly ludicrous to me, as I was covered with babies 24 hours a day: “Put your marriage first, and your kids will prosper as a result of it.” Read more
School Improvement
Playing “Yes, And…” to Support Women in School Leadership
Categories: School Improvement
Based on Step In, Step Up
I first learned about women not supporting other women in leadership back in college. As my friend and I, duly-elected treasurers of our women’s dormitory, fought the cold winds of a January day in Minnesota, trudging the mile to the bank with heavy backpacks full of coins to deposit from the snack machines, we laughed about the feedback the dorm officers had just gotten. Read more
Repairing the Process: How to Fix a Dysfunctional PLC
Categories: PLC, School Improvement
Many of us have been members of a dysfunctional PLC, and unfortunately, some think it is advisable to wait for someone to address the dysfunctionalities. There is an abundance of issues that can plague a PLC. The best strategy is to identify the issue with clarity, own the issue with sincerity, and develop a plan with tenacity. Even if you are not in a titled “leadership” position there is a lot you can do. Let’s first address a few common issues and then consider a self-help guide to determine the next steps. Read more
#LoveMySchoolDay
Categories: School Improvement
I will never forget the day that one of my staff members came up to me after car duty and made this statement. “Mr. Wink, I am so tired of seeing people bash our school on Facebook. Those people have no idea about all that we do for kids, and it really frustrates me.” Now, this wasn’t the first time that I had a teacher say this to me. After all, I have had more than a handful of people gripe to me about how schools, teachers, and administrators rarely get a fair shake in the media or the political world. For me that’s the way it had always been, so I figured that there was very little that I could do to change the world’s negative perception about public schools and the educators that work in them.
But the next statement she made changed everything.
4 Reasons Why PLCs Fail, and How to Prevent Them
Categories: PLC, School Improvement
Schools and districts throughout the world claim to embrace the professional learning community process. Unfortunately, a term that is often used to describe some schools and districts is “PLC lite.” How can a school or district buy in to the process but not get the results? If you follow the steps, creating collaborative teams, answering the four critical questions, and accepting the three big ideas of PLCs, are you not guaranteed results? Why do PLCs sometimes not work? Read more