Just Breathe!

Posted on August 13, 2024 Written by

If you’re reading this on a screen, you’re probably holding your breath or breathing shallowly … and don’t even realize it! Former Microsoft executive, Linda Stone, calls this “screen apnea.” And according to science journalist, James Nestor, this kind of shallow breathing can send stress signals to the brain. In addition, this phenomenon appears to be even more significant when you’re already stressed. (And what educational leader isn’t these days!)

This article offers six tips to better breathing that can help you become more aware of your breathing patterns at work and how to adjust those. The authors claim that once you develop better breathing habits … so that they become second nature … you’ll not only become more productive, but also begin to notice improvements in your health and well-being!

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Five Ways to Boost Confidence

Posted on July 30, 2024 Written by

Executive coach, Joel Garfinkle, shares five specific strategies that highly-successful business leaders often employ. And those insights are a perfect match for educational leadership, too!

For example, you can increase your team’s engagement and productivity by working on your own confidence in communication, decision-making, and risk-taking. When they see that you are not deterred by failures (as part of the “try, fail, learn, repeat” cycle), they will be better equipped to focus on the end goal instead of being side-tracked and defeated by any bumps along the way.

Simply put, the more comfortable you are with this natural part of the growth process, the more willing your team will be to persist … regardless of the challenges they may face and the problems that inevitably arise with any form of school improvement. And as you have seen from other posts, type of leadership often results in highly effective schools.

BTW, don’t forget that Garfinkle’s article offers four additional strategies that you should find useful as well!

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Improve Attendance!

Posted on July 16, 2024 Written by

In the post-pandemic era, many schools face major challenges with chronic absenteeism. But this ASCD Blog article suggests that using strategies that teach, reinforce, and support students in meeting attendance goals can lead to a significant transformational change.

Of course, changing the culture of attendance in a school requires a collaborative effort among staff, families, and the broader community. But making the shift from a punitive to a proactive approach can greatly reduce chronic absences.

Note: A recent poll found that many parents simply don’t understand the seriousness of chronic absences. That highlights both the problem and the solutions suggested above.

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Six Strategies for Mentoring

Posted on July 2, 2024 Written by

Great mentoring not only nurtures authentic connections and supports professional growth, but can also instill district values and enhance and expand school culture.

In this article, two successful principals share specific strategies that can help you build trust, offer inspiration, and make a meaningful difference for your students, colleagues, and community. As they point out, effective mentoring “creates space for leaders to reflect on the past, confront the present, and make plans to shape the future.”

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