By Anna H. Surratt A Season for Change There is a season for every activity under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and we are in the throes of one of the most crucial seasons of our school year – the beginning of the year. As school leaders, we are setting the course for the year with purpose-driven goals, high expectations for faculty and staff, and deep hopes for positive student outcomes. If there is a time […]
Tag: Professional Growth
Starting with the Finish Line in Mind
By Jenny Brady How to help your community prepare for endings at the beginning “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under Heaven.”1 Whether you recognize those words from the Byrds hit song or King Solomon’s original statement in Ecclesiastes, you have likely heard them thrown around in times of change. The truth in these words can be hard for many of us to swallow. As humans, we are not always […]
Creating a School Culture That Fosters Intrapreneurs
By: Stephen Carter Few things are more important than crafting a culture. The culture established in a school (or business or church) is a key indicator of the organization’s overall health and is directly connected to student learning. It is wildly important and, unfortunately, widely overlooked. Given the choice, most school leaders would rather focus on the newest and flashiest “innovative” programming rather than take the time (and energy) to invest in culture. If, however, […]
Tov and Joy in the Classroom
By: Laura Barringer This is adapted from a speech Laura gave at the “Leading a Culture of JOY” event in Chicago. In October 2020, my father and I published what became a bestselling book called A Church Called Tov. It is not a story I could have ever planned to write. After all, I am a school teacher and have spent two decades of my career teaching primary-grade children. Writing a book at all and […]
Hopeful Leadership: Our Most Important Calling
By: Christopher Rutz In 1985 Marty McFly broke the time/space continuum and traveled back to 1955 and revealed a world so inconceivable to Doc Brown that he could scarcely believe such oddities like Ronald Reagan – the actor – was president of the United States. Of course, time travelers from this era of politics would say, “Ronald Reagan? Ha, that’s nothing, wait until 2016!” Now we are approaching 40 years after Back to the Future’s […]