Daily Reflections

Weeks of 8-20 to 9-2:

1. What has gone well since school started and why?
   1. The joy and love we have seen and felt in our halls. We are majorly focusing on Relationships and Kids Deserve It and I have seen first hand teachers taking time to build relationships, allow students to have voice in their rules and expectations, and ensuring they are respected and feel respected. We also had the BEST back to school pep rally EVER!
2. What did not go well and why?
   1. So far what I feel like I fail at is the managerial things that a leader has to do such as the budget, CIP, paper work, etc. I want to be out in classrooms with kids and teachers not behind my desk. I have however used my Port a Cart this past week to still do those mundane tasks but just in the halls and it was SO fun!

7-10-18

What I am learning:

Man, I am learning a lot about myself and about leadership through two great books I am reading right now: Kids Deserve It and Lead Like a Pirate. Both are impacting my mindset for how I want to lead my school next year. I am also learning that fear creeps up on me when I sit and think of the weight of the principalship but I know I am not alone in this endeavor. I have an entire school full of talented people who will help me and lead alongside with me. That and knowing my Jesus hand picked me for this role are what is saving my life right now and creating courage and braveness inside of me.

6-8-18

What went well today?

Today I got to take the most precious, future 2nd grader to go bowling, laser tag, and eat at her favorite restaurant in Arlington. Our PTA had a silent auction and this little lady bid on this reward! And to top it all off, today is her birthday! Such a special day all around!

What did you learn?

I learned that when you TRULY have a vision of "Kids Deserve It", decisions come super easy to you. We decided on an Apex Fun Run fundraiser today and MAN it is going to be AWESOME because it is all about kids. It isn't chocolate or cookie dough, it is kids having fun and building character and oh by the way, raising money for our school. When you know your why, your decision making becomes a lot easier!

What are you going to do about it?

Moving forward the rest of the summer and next school year, I am going to make every decision with my why as my #1 driver. It helps prevent you from making any wrong or unnecessary turns.

6-7-18

What went well this week?

Wow! It has been a loooong time since I wrote and reflected on here! My hope is to get back into the routine of doing this daily. Anyways, what has been going well lately was our amazing professional learning we did on Monday and Tuesday of this week. I truly feel teachers left feeling inspired and rejuvenated to come back to work in August! We did team building, vision setting, and we are all reading the book "Kids Deserve It" over the summer. Such joy going on at Hill right now!

What did you learn?

This week I have learned that God chooses to reveal only parts of His plan for you, a little at a time, or else we would never go and trust Him. I am starting to see the full circle and the "why" behind my move to Hill in October, but there were some dark moments where I whispered and cried out to God "why?! Why am I here?" He is SO faithful though.

What are you going to do about it?

I am going to keep stepping out on faith and trusting God when He shows me a sign to move, even if I can't see the end. He always takes care of us and he is always reading to love us deeply along the way!

2-16-18

What went well this week?

This week I was able to interact and enjoy so many students here at school.. Whether it was being in their classrooms, observing them with their teacher, or just giving them hugs, their laugh, joy, and smiles kept me going!

What did you learn?

Today I read an article: https://www.rd.com/advice/parenting/stop-bullying-strategy/

It helped me see how one teacher took such a small gesture and turned it into a system to save the lonely students in her classroom. How often are we paying attention to those students? Could we do more? The answer is absolutely, 100% yes!

What are you going to do about it?

My goal is to share this article with our staff and see who we can inspire to make a difference, share an act of kindness, and get a pulse on their kids in their classroom. I also can eat lunch on Fridays with students who I think need extra love and support.

2-2-18

What went well today?

This week has been so busy but so productive. Instruction has moved and teachers are growing, decisions are being made for our kiddos to get the right support they need, and people are working together and collaborating to make the best decisions for our kids.

What did you learn?

This week I learned that things do not always go in the way you originally might have planned it to go. When we say yes to something, we don't always know the ending or even what might happen when you are in the thick of it. Trusting that the yes was worth it can be scary especially when you take a risk.

What are you going to do about it?

I am going to keep spreading joy, keep working hard, and keep focusing on students and teachers despite the fact that the plan looks different than what I expected.

1-12-18

What went well today?

This week has been quite productive. Today what specifically went well was the fact that I had time to eat lunch with some scholars who earned it, do walk throughs for some teachers and schedule some great feedback conferences next week, and finish the day with post it note walks and dismissal. Productive days are my favorite!

What did you learn?

Today I learned that the way you start your day and morning and how you greet people can set the tone for the rest of their day and yours.

What are you going to do about it?

I intend to start each day at work with a smile. I will make sure I don't come in the door demanding orders from people. Let them breath, set their stuff down, and ask them how things are going BEFORE you ask anything from them.

1-9-18

What went well today?

I have a goal for the new year to: Set Intention and Follow Through. Today, I started my way with that! I wrote 3 teachers from my previous school "thinking about you" cards. I visited every class this morning just to say "hi and welcome back!", and I did post it note walks in 4th, 5th, and resource. All of these are tasks that I wanted to do for January. Yay for intentions and following through!

What did you learn?

I learned more about staffing, which is something I will have to go to in February. I learned what they will be asking and looking for and how to advocate for what our school needs next year vs what our numbers and a piece of paper shows.

What are you going to do about it?

We are going to collect data, take notes, and I am going to show up prepared to argue my case of why we need to keep the teachers we have and not lose them based on our numbers. When you can explain your why and justify yourself in a way that makes sense with data to support your reasoning, it's harder for them to resist!

1-8-18

What went well today?

It was our first day back at work after the holiday. We had a great leadership meeting and were able to discuss key actions that need to happen at our next PLC with 3rd-6th grade to see an increase in our Masters % on the STAAR test. We have a plan in place and feel confident about moving forward for the 2nd semester!

What did you learn?

I learned that the % of At-Risk scholars and Low SES students has increased at the school I am at from last year to this year while the other schools in the district has decreased. This is definitely a change in the trend that is historically seen here so we know that as our students change, we must change too.

What will you do about what you learned?

Be intentional with the conversations and coaching situations I will have with our teachers moving forward. It is our job to help them see the "why" behind areas of where our classroom looks different and equip them with the tools they need to be successful. I will do this by giving strategies that WORK for all kids, but especially those who are in trauma or have adversities.

1-4-18

What went well today?

Growing and learning. Today I created space to read books I have had for years on leadership and gain new ideas for when I get my own school. I also was able to reflect personally so I can be my best self for those around me.

What did you learn?

Something that stuck to me today when I was reading Leverage Leadership, was the way you carefully map out your plan for creating school-wide systems for student culture. Whether it is morning routines, assemblies, lunch and recess, class to class transitions, or dismissal and after school, we should be asking ourselves and each other these 4 questions to work out every details:

1. What is the leader doing during this time?
2. What are the teachers doing during this time?
3. What are the students doing during this time?
4. What will immediately happen when a student doesn't comply?

These questions help drive out the details of every system you create. But don't stop there! Practice makes perfect. "Dress Rehearsal" is then done, a minute by minute walk through of the school's entire day, from morning breakfast to detention dismissal. Rehearse your systems in pairs, role play as the student, and offer feedback and advice before the students actually arrive!

What are you going to do about what you learned?

When I get my own school, I will create this system for my staff and students. But what I can do now is when we meet as a leadership team on the 8th, I will ask our team if there are any systems we want to go back and look at to tighten up after the new year and if we want to embed any time in our schedule to role play/practice with our staff!

1-3-18

What went well today?

Well, I am still off of work and enjoying my last few days! Today our pipes in our house unfroze and our hot water came back, yay for that! We also are having a rodent issue and we had a specialist come out today and he is giving us lots of solutions and remedies to our problem. So that's a blessing

What did you learn?

Sometimes you have to do hard stuff. Like talk to the rodent man and look in scary, dark places he is trying to show you, trusting a rodent is not going to pop out. I learned how to be more proactive in home ownership when it freezes or to prevent rodent issues from happening in the first place. I also learned from my devotional that being brave first makes other people want to follow you and be brave, too. So let's all go be brave people!

What are you going to do about what you learned?

• close up holes in and around our hose
• replace dry wall to protect our home
• replace back door to ensure our garage and house is rodent free
• run dishwasher, washer, and leave water dripping the next night it is expected to freeze
• look for ways to be brave today-I already was with the rodent man! But I am going to look for more ways because I learned it makes others want to be brave, too.

1-2-18

What went well today?

Welcome back world! After a very busy first semester and promotion to Hill ES as the Interim Associate Principal, I am back to my reflections as I start the new year with my new word, Intentional. So far today as I reflect before going back to work, what has gone well is my mapping out and planning of instructional rounds, walk throughs, post it note therapy sessions, and follow up feedback sessions to close the loop. It is a clean slate and I am SO excited to start fresh, intentionally spending my time each day in Quadrant 2.

What did you learn?

In my reading I did this morning, I learned that it is not the quantity of observations you can get to each week or day, but the quality and opportunity for genuine and effective coaching and feedback. May this reminder drive my work every day, not just the number of times I can get into a classroom!

What are you going to do about what you learned?

I will use the TTESS rubric to drive the type of feedback I give teachers in the second semester. I will also make sure that at least half of my feedback sessions are face to face. Most importantly, I will schedule follow up sessions where I can get back into the classroom to see the fruits of the implementation and student learning outcomes!

8-3-17

What went well today?

I was able to finish interviewing for our 2 open teacher assistant positions and am able to hire 2 WONDERFUL TA's for the upcoming school year. There references were AMAZING and I can't wait for them to join our Wood family. TA's, in my opinion, are the glue that hold this whole thing together if we are being honest. They are the ones who work tirelessly with those scholars who are trying, they serve in all types of locations and areas of the school, and flexibility is their middle name. They are the true heroes.

What did you learn?

I had an amazing conversation with our new music teacher and I learned that she is so techy! It literally made my day talking to her about the things she is going to utilize and implement next year in her music room that is aligned with technology. She inspired me and got me all jazzed up about a new school year!

What are you going to do about what you learned?

I am going to get to know our staff deeply this year. I want to know what their gifts are, what they are excited about for the new school year, the works! I can't wait to be surprised even more by what I find out.

8-2-17

What went well today?

Today, I was able to prepare all the folders for our incoming 504 scholars for the 17-18 school year. I even made sure our specials teachers have their very own binder with each sweet baby! I made sure that however many sections each scholar has, their teacher will have their information waiting for them! Being prepared in this way early allows me to ensure teachers have enough time to learn these babies so that they can serve them to the best of their abilities!

What did you learn?

Today, I learned the importance of reaching out to your staff for support in areas that you are not strong in. I need to get our bulletin boards ready as well as our emergency drill packets/schedules going but these are two areas that I just flat out STINK! I reached out to our entire staff for bulletin board help and got SUCH great responses back! I have my go-to teacher leader who is a future AWESOME administrator and asked her for emergency drill assistance. She was SO GLAD and willing to save the day. Man-when you humble yourself enough to show your weaknesses and lean in for support, the results are tremendous!

What are you going to do about what you learned?

I am going to keep building leadership capacity this new school year by reaching out and asking for a collaborative effort in daily or instructional tasks. What a difference it makes when you work in this way!

8-1-17

What went well today?

I was charged with finding new Teacher Assistants for our Able classroom and our PK classroom. I have heard so so much lately from educators that being an instructional leader is important and what can assist in that is hiring the RIGHT people who are dynamic people. As Todd Whitaker says, it's people, not programs, that move a school. Well today we had a FANTASTIC Able and PK interview with two different ladies. I am hopeful that their references will check out and our sweet students and families will benefit!

What did you learn today?

Two weeks ago, I was able to go to the Tots and Technology conference in Arlington with 5 teachers from Wood. Today, I played around with Adobe Spark and created a website for our Twitter 101 Session we will have in August. OMG it was FUN! I was able to insert really funny memes and make the presentation engaging and interactive. Sit and get no more friends!

What are you going to do about what you learned?

Well, I am going to present it on August 17th and my vision for the 17-18 school year is to increase our 21st century learning skills for our scholars and teachers. I will encourage other educators to allow Adobe Spark to be one type of cultivating platform for their scholars to create in their classroom.

7-31-17

Today is my first day back at work at Wood! It was a restful and rejuvenating summer and I am ready to conquer the new school year. Last week we were in our Instructional Leadership Academy and it reinforced so much truth for me and my leadership journey. We got to dive deep with co-authors from the book "The Principal Influence" and gain a better understanding of what pillars define our role as school leaders. This year I hope to self reflect more in action and on action, using these four pillars as my guide. My hope is that our scholars see myself and our teachers as learners and not just themselves. When we make an effort to grow and get better, it positively impacts our scholars. This year I plan to be intentional with my time and use this space as my virtual reflection journal. I want to be held accountable for my learning and growth. The questions I hope to reflect on are as follows:

• What went well today?
• What did you learn?
• What are you going to do about what you learned?

Stay tuned!