Schools For Africa … serving 3000 Fulani children in Nigeria The Challenge: Fulani have herded cattle across Africa for generations.  Now they face drought, urbanization and fenced farms.  As cities and farms grow, deadly conflicts break out between the Fulani herdsman and landowners. Anti-Fulani hostility grows.  Their way of life is under constant attack and…

Lessons Learned … Culture of Care. My Window on Education As an active full time coach/consultant I have the privilege of working with:  Three superintendent cohorts representing 50 Superintendents and nearly 200,000 students; two leadership development teams; and a dozen 1:1 coaching relationships.  I see weekly and monthly a broad sweep of educational issues as…

Equity:  a Plan and Promise for Future-Ready Students An Interview with Dr. Paul Gordon, (outgoing) Superintendent, Wenatchee WA – May 3, 2022 For the last three years, Wenatchee has been on an equity journey initiated by Superintendent, Dr. Paul Gordon We Promise … is at the heart of our Strategic Plan Our strategic plan was…

Creating a Culture of Learning. Two themes. I hear two persistent themes through the pandemic. How do we build a culture of care; just to keep the wheels on and everyone functioning? And … How do we create a culture of learning to improve student learning? Both are needed.  Care and creativity.  Empathy and excellence.…

More on Leadership, Summer Reads, History, and Equity Leadership Risk: A User’s Guide by Stanley McChrystal and Anna Butrico | Oct 5, 2021 McChrystal’s Team of Teams book told how teamwork, communication and networks helped turn the tide in Iraq.  Here, McChrystal provides ten factors that are critical to risk reduction.  Adaptability, leadership, and a positive mindset help tip the…

Culture – Five Books on Growing Culture  “In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer “Strategy eats culture for breakfast.” – Peter Drucker Fitting it all together Sometimes you work on one section of a jigsaw puzzle…

Discernment – A Road Map Here is a roadmap to this double-issue of eight entries. The world has changed Less and less of our world is settled and predictable. More and more is unsettled and unpredictable.  Discernment—knowing when to hold, fold, walk away, or find a better way—is at a premium. Turnover Never have we…

Addressing Community Conflict … And Living to Tell About It When in doubt, reach out: collaborate. The answer is in the room. Invite the group to help resolve issues of the group. Polarized Schools have become the battleground for polarized views on COVID, race, books, and more. When in conflict, we have only so many…

Principals … Key to Student Learning School improvement rarely (possibly never) happens without great leadership. Principals’ building-wide impact makes them one of the most important forces in student learning. Earlier blogs have highlighted the power of principal pipelines and ongoing capacity development for principals. This blog focuses on discernment: what to do when a principal…

Budget Priorities: What You Value Most Spring brings April showers—and enrollment projections, staffing allocations, and budgeting decisions. Essentially, we are doing three jobs at once: finishing strong, celebrating with grads and retirees, and hiring for the coming year. As one colleague puts it, “God blesses educators with a forgetful memory; otherwise, we would never go…