The International Principal

Teachers work hard.  No, they really do.  And, they care!  The walk through that I just did, confirms that. You see, as principal, something I've done every year is walk the halls on the night before the doors open to our students.  It's the only time, all year, that the building is empty and you can truly see all of the hard work that teachers have put in to ensure a great start to the school year.  Personalities are on display and hopes and dreams for the year are visible. This evening, as I popped from one classroom to another, I took notice of the classroom libraries, the little notes left on the desks for when the students arrive, the perfectly crafted message on the the board, and the words of encouragement posted throughout classrooms.  Amazing. This week, teachers have been bouncing between meetings and work in their classrooms.  As an admin team, we worked really hard to strike a balance between the "need to know" information at the start of the year

This summer, I had a number of books on my reading list that I selected in preparation for the upcoming school year.  While in the midst of a few other books, a new release, The 4 O'Clock Faculty: A Rouge Guide to Revolutionizing Professional Development came across my Twitter Feed.  Knowing I wanted fresh ideas for staff meetings, professional development and motivating staff, I immediately purchased it.  Thanks to Amazon, it showed up in my mailbox in just a few days.  Teachers return to campus in just one week and needing inspiration for our upcoming meetings, I put the other books aside and moved this book to the top of my list.  I'm sorry I did.  It wasn't horrible, but I finished the book with very little in terms of ideas and inspiration.  A majority of the tips the author gives for "revolutionizing" professional develop were all tips I've either heard of, or took part in. That being said, there were a few nuggets that I found useful and will consi