Strong systems do not automatically produce strong public understanding. That’s one of the most counterintuitive leadership lessons I’ve encountered, and one I’ve watched play out in districts across the country. Some of the best-run schools I’ve seen are also some of the least visible. The assumption underneath that invisibility is almost always the same: If…
There’s a moment I still think about. I was standing in front of our school board. Slides ready. Data polished. Language precise. Huge, impactful initiative ready to share. I said the word interoperability, and I watched the room go still. Not confused. Disconnected. In that moment, I realized something uncomfortable: It wasn’t that they disagreed…
There is a moment in almost every leadership day when you realize: The work itself isn’t the hardest part. The explaining is. And explaining poorly is expensive. I felt this acutely when I discovered one of our coaches had created a “rogue” Facebook page because he was frustrated that practice schedules weren’t getting posted quickly…
I’ve been thinking a lot about the families who left our district. They didn’t leave because of what we did, but because of what they thought we did. One parent believed we had eliminated all dual credit courses. We hadn’t. We had actually partnered with a neighboring district to sustain one those opportunities while we…
I didn’t set out to write a book about marketing. I set out to write a book about survival. Long before I sat in cabinet meetings or analyzed enrollment reports, I learned a lesson no teacher prep program ever mentions: when you teach an elective, your job security is directly tied to enrollment. No butts…
How Story, Structure, and Systems Build Culture and Trust in Schools There’s a leadership myth I’m ready to retire: That communication is a soft skill.That it’s just about sending more emails or speaking more clearly.That it lives only in the hands of the PR person, or worse, “someone else.” In reality, communication is one of…
