Colleagues,

On today’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast, I interview Taylor Crosby, an award-winning SC elementary school principal.

Taylor has done a remarkable job creating better outcomes for kids through a simple formula:

Efficacy + Urgency + Support = Growth

Efficacy is the belief that what we do matters.

Urgency is the feeling that we need to act now.

Support is what we provide to help people along the journey.

As a leader, if you can communicate to people that what they do matters, that what we do right now is important, and that you are there to help, that is a winning formula.

Thanks again to IXL for sponsoring today’s episode.

Today’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast is sponsored by IXL!

Cheers!

​Frederick

Colleagues,

​I sat down to make a call to kickoff some estate planning for my mom, who is 93. Stuff we should have done years ago.

I went to pull up the number, but remembered I hadn’t checked email all morning.

After checking email I responded to a text from my son Lance (about our need for a new heat pump😫).

Now, I’m writing this email.

And I still haven’t made the estate planning call.

I’m not lazy, I’m not undisciplined, I’m not even resistant to change.

I’m just avoiding doing something that feels harder than it is.

I’m human, like you.

I would love to hear from you - what strategies do you use to avoid doing what you need to do?

Awareness is the precursor to change.

Share by replying to this message.

Cheers!

Frederick

Colleagues,​

If you listened to this week’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast, you heard me get on a bit of a soapbox.

I was talking specifically about teachers being behind desks, but the broader point was that we all need to lean into the power of human connection.

AI and technology can replace a lot of what we do, but real relationships with real people can’t be replaced and they are MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER!

Sometimes it feels like our society has become engineered to isolate us, and other people are the only way to counter that.

Lean into people, be fully present, ask questions, listen. It is so valuable.

Cheers!

Frederick

Colleagues, 

What if nothing changed?

Actually, I mean what if we didn’t try to make changes?

What if your organization paused all of its Big Change initiatives?

Instead, what if we just tried to make what we already do work a bit better?

Cheers!

Frederick

Colleagues,

In yesterday’s podcast, Brian Martin and I discussed the four patterns of observation in the context of education but I’ll review them more broadly here:

1. Evaluative: observation for the purposes of making a job decision
2. Formative: observation as part of developing a specific skill 
3. Normative: inspecting implementation of a skill or function throughout the organization
4. Performative: watching to appreciate for our own benefit

Having a clear purpose for observation makes it easier to know what to focus on and what feedback (if any) to give.

There’s a free guide about the four patterns of observations if you’d like more details.

I’m happy to acknowledge Kaleidoscope Adventures as a sponsor of yesterday’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast! I appreciate their support and encourage you to connect with them if you are thinking about planning a school trip!

Cheers!

​Frederick