Y’all, I may need to take a break from FB. I use FB and other social media platforms to catch up with friends and share things that make me happy. My timeline has been overloaded with COVID19.

I KNOW this is a very serious time in our lives. I get it. I want everybody to heed the warnings and directions for staying safe. The thing is – I really don’t need to see a play by play of what people are doing. I had to remind myself that I am in charge of my social media AND more importantly what I feed my head and my heart – what goes in comes out. (that’s a leadership lesson we taught our kids! 😊) So keep on posting, I’ll just keep on scrolling. 🙂

 
I continue to pray for the leaders of our country and state, and especially the leaders of our schools, as I have done EVERY DAY. Their jobs are so very difficult in these unprecedented times. I can speak of the last few years in Texas as being some of the hardest as a leader, hurricanes – where our neighborhoods were devastated, school shootings close to home, social media that has taken over, – and not necessarily in a good way. I pray. The critics are ALWAYS there for our leaders. They need our prayers and support now more than ever.
We’ve been rushing and rushing, chasing our own tails for so long now. And what are we getting from this? More anxiety, more guilt for not “keeping up”, mental health concerns, more, more, more…………. If this doesn’t make you STOP or at least SLOW DOWN, get outside and look for the beauty around you, spend time-QUALITY time- making memories with the ones you love, then we all need to pray a lot harder for a lot more people.
I’ve been asked “What would YOU do, as a parent,  if you had kids at home right now?”
(Before I give my thoughts —I want you to know I understand this will NOT be a popular post 😊 I’m cool with that. )
Do we REALLY need schedules with times for learning?? I am ALL for routines – getting up at a certain time, getting ready for the day, eating at a certain time – retirement has taught me this 😊 But as a parent with kids at home – what an AWESOME opportunity to focus on mental health and things that are most important. And, sorry to all you Calculus teachers – but that just isn’t most important TO ME right now…… I also get the point that making a schedule may be the best way to gain buy in from kids, so if that is the reason for the schedule, I’m all for it. I think the content of what you are doing is the key.

Here are my thoughts – mostly for K-8:
1) READ – the number one activity/life skill that ALL ages need to know how to do is read. Reading is the #1 thing I would do. Read with your kids, read TO your kids, listen to your kids read, you get it. For older kids, model reading, you can camouflage this by reading something out loud and then engaging them in a discussion. There are so many awesome resources for this. I wouldn’t put a timeline on this either!! And – I really don’t care WHAT they read…… reading is important!! And PLEASE – don’t give your kids a list of low level questions to answer……UGH
2) WRITE – the other important activity/life skill that our kids and young adults need is writing. It’s such an critical part of communication. No writing prompts, do some free writing. Perhaps go outside and write. Make a journal – write about feelings, thoughts and concerns about what is going on in the world. This can open up discussions too. If needed, after READING (#1) a book or selection from a book, perhaps respond to what was read with open ended questions. “What if?” “What would happen if?” “How would YOU?” etc.
3) WATCH A MOVIE/older tv show – WITH your kids and TALK!! The cool thing is you can pause the show to talk! Now is the time to bring in some of the older shows that we grew up with! My favorite…..Andy Griffith😊 PBS has some really great shows for younger kids. The main part of this is to interact WITH your kids. I’ve got older Disney movies on my list 😊
4) PLAY GAMES – you can get SO much math in by playing card games!! Go outside and make a hop scotch board on your patio or driveway. Play basketball, jump rope, MAKE UP GAMES!!!! The whole point is to get moving and move TOGETHER! Don’t call it recess…….. play is a critical part of what we need to slow down and be healthy!
5) GET CREATIVE – don’t forget the arts!! I have a friend whose kids are making a corn hole game! I love it! THINK of the math going on to make these – and the art design! Paint, paint rocks, just draw on a piece of typing paper (my chosen activity when I was in kindergarten) – and my favorite activity – put some music on and DANCE!!
6) SERVICE  – What CAN we do for others. TEACH them how we can ALWAYS help others. Perhaps make cards for first responders, local nursing home residents, hospital workers. Closer to home, WRITE (#2) a letter to family members. Even if these family members live near you, what an opportunity to brighten someone’s day! KIND WORDS COST NOTHING! Meet the needs of those around you ❤

Part of service right now, might mean supporting local businesses in some way. TALK to your kids about what you can do. There are so many stories I could share of friends and family who are currently struggling because of being small business owners. The ripple effect is huge. If you have the ability, go online and order something from their company. Talk to your kids about the impact and WHY it is important for us to support our neighbors. We have opportunities to step up and help. I do intend to support them in all the ways I can. (Sorry hubby )

What I hope you didn’t hear me say is — go on Google and download a bunch of packets and worksheets. For years, as educators, we have been talking about how “worksheets don’t grow dendrites” so WHY would we turn to packets and worksheets now?? ** I am not criticizing anyone here. I do not know all of the expectations of schools for continuing education – I am simply addressing what I would not do as a parent. Schools have soooooo much more to take into consideration. 😊 *****
I also would NOT call a teacher – who is now at home with their own family going through exactly what you are going through – for help with problems.
In fact, I would NOT get frustrated with this “homeschooling” and allow it to cause bad feelings between me and my child. It is NOT worth it.

We have had time off from school before and we have survived!! Hurricane Harvey had us off for two weeks (much of the time without electricity) and we still also had all of our holidays. Our kids were the helpers in the communities. We will get through this and so will our kids.

As a former high school principal, my heart IS sad for our seniors. The spring sports and activities have been totally disrupted or worse, cancelled. BUT, they WILL be ok!! They are so very resilient.   We taught so many leadership lessons that I hope they are thinking about – the three buckets (what you can control, what you can’t control, what you can influence), pop quiz (how do you respond when something unexpected happens) among others. Just remember parents, it’s going to be important to gather together as families and communities to support them. Just don’t let YOUR sadness bring them down too. The “SO what, Now what” lesson…….  Help them to understand how EVERYONE is sacrificing right now.  Is it fair?  NO! But, it’s how we respond to our situations that will determine our future.

I think we all need to remember, for our older kids, they may be the ones taking on additional responsibilities right now because a parent has significantly affected by shutdowns. High school students are working extra hours at local grocery stores. Yesterday I was checking out and asked the young girl if I could bag my own groceries. I thought she was going to cry. She said “YES – THANK YOU – it’s been so stressful here and people just aren’t very nice.” That made me sooooo sad. She doesn’t need to come home to more work. She’s learning life lessons right now. Many of our older kids are watching the younger kids that are also off of school. PLEASE keep this in mind as planning is happening to keep education going. Let’s not forget the emotional toll that our youth may be going through too.

I have FAITH in our educational leaders. I’ve been observing my former district and how they are responding and I am so proud. I have friends who are leaders in all areas of the country and I am very proud to call them friends. One such friend, Darrin Peppard, Superintendent at West Grand School District in Colorado may have said it best when he said:
“In the end, it will be impossible to know if we overreacted or did too much, but it will be QUITE apparent if we under reacted or did too little.”

Bless you all. Take time to take care of yourself so that you can take care of others.
Much love,
Julie

Happy New Year!!  WOW — 2020 — where in the world did the last decade go? Now that it’s the middle of January — I thought I really should reveal my word.  But first, a review of last year’s word…..

This past year brought many changes for me. My word last year was PONDER. It truly helped me navigate my journey, making decisions which aligned with my purpose (to help people grow and add value to others).

I chose four areas to ponder:
1) My FAITH– I now have a room (and porch) dedicated to this ∗
2) My FAMILY and FRIENDS(relationships)– We built our new home so that our family and friends have a safe place to come to get away from the busyness of their lives – if only for a short time.
3) My FUTURE-this was a big one for me. I spent time PONDERing in my heart what God has in store for me. I loved the journey I was on – but in my heart, I felt I was being called to share my experiences with more people.

My word this year is CULTIVATE.

CULTIVATE: VERB
1) to prepare and use
2) to foster the growth of :

*to improve by labor, care, or study
*apply oneself to improving or developing
*to foster friendship or favor
(Synonyms: try to develop · work hard at · foster · nurture · encourage)

Something that author Lara Casey said about her book, CULTIVATE, really resonated with me: “We can’t do it all, and do it well. But, we can choose to cultivate what matters. It’s in the imperfect—the mess of the dirt–that good things grow. Peonies grow through the dirt, and so do we.”

Growing up in Iowa, I saw the cultivating of the land that farmers did before planting crops. It took work. It took hard work and this work could not be skipped. There are no shortcuts in farming. They took the time to invest in the land to get crops to grow. I want to invest in the things that matter.

I’m in a new place this year – literally. We have a new home, a new hometown, I’m working for two organizations whose missions align with mine. With one I work with and help develop school leaders. With the other I work with teachers and students developing school culture. The work of both is very near to my heart and allows me to share, nurture, and encourage.

I have lots of things to cultivate. This journey is exciting. Cultivating myself, however, will be my most important task. To cultivate is to grow what I’ve been given, (developing, nurturing, encouraging) right where I am with what I have.

I’m looking forward to seeing where my journey takes me this year.  Cultivating what matters along the way. I’ll be cultivating my faith, my relationships – old and new, myself and those with whom I’m working. Do you have areas in your life that you could cultivate?  What is your ONE WORD for this year?

“I will get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

I was recently asked what advice I would give someone considering applying for a principalship.  I think the most important thing I can share is to get ready. Get yourself ready. Be ready.

Get Ready by answering the following questions
Why do you want this position? What is your own definition of success – a definition NOT tied to position, titles or even numbers?

Do I want this position because “it’s just the next step”? Do I want this position because it’s closer to home? Do I want this position because I’m tired of my current position? Does someone else want me to have this position?

These are all answers I’ve heard when I was a supervisor to college interns and also when talking to individuals considering a principalship. I’m not going to tell you those are wrong answers; I am going to tell you to think about some things a little deeper.
In my own journey, I was blessed to participate in a training on Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People at the very beginning of my career. It’s still probably one of the best events I’ve gone through for both personal and professional growth. In the training we did a lot of work on our purpose and also the legacy we wanted to leave –again,  both personally and professionally. We identified 7 areas of life and began with the end in mind – how did we want to be remembered? What did we want to be known for? Then we were challenged to live our life EACH day so that the people we identified as our inner circle would be able to say these things. I’ll share two of mine:

1) I wanted my own children to be able to say, at my 80th birthday, that I was a great mom. I have always said that it doesn’t matter if I was highly successful in a career if my own kids couldn’t say this about me. Yes, decisions were made all along my journey that put my family first. I was questioned sometimes, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
2) I wanted every individual that I came in contact with to be better because of meeting me. This is tough. It’s about adding value to people. Sometimes people cannot see the forest for the trees. AND, I didn’t get it right all of the time. You cannot have a goal of being loved by everyone if you want to lead. Sometimes you are going to make people mad. Collin Powell said, “As a leader there will be times that you are going to piss people off. Just make sure these are the right people.” If my decisions were made for the good of the organization and not because of personal reasons, I felt I did my best.
I chose to go into the principalship because, identifying my own purpose (to help people grow and add value to others), my impact would be larger and I could reach more individuals – both adults and students. Be careful if you find yourself saying, “it’s the next step.” Make double sure the path you are on aligns with your identified purpose or you’ll find yourself somewhere you never intended on going.
Get Ready by identifying your strengths and your weaknesses.
Know your strengths and know your weaknesses.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you have weaknesses! We ALL have them. Find a position where you can work from your strengths.
Do your homework. Find out what the organization needs that you are considering leading. I understand in education sometimes applicants are put into a “pool” and may not know what position they are being considered for. Yes, this makes “Getting Ready” a little more challenging. HOWEVER, there are certain areas that are important in every leadership position I have ever held. Learn as much as you can about these. Practice them in your current role.

Let me share the top five that I have found – these are in no particular order, they are ALL important and they are all interconnected:
1) RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS – did I say that loud enough? Being a leader is all about influencing others. You can influence others in two ways – to work with you and help you or to work against you. To lead effectively, you need others to trust you and have confidence in you. Once they do, they will go through walls for you.
2) Communication
3) Culture and Climate
4) Instructional Leadership
5) Problem solving

(I’ll go into more detail on all of the above in future posts 🙂
Get Ready by seeking out others
Find two people – a mentor and a coach/advocate. Lean on them.
A mentor is someone who you can call on who has more experience than you have in the position that you are in. A coach is someone you can call when those days come when you just don’t think you can hang on any longer. Those days WILL come, so be ready.

My mentor would walk me through specific challenges that were occurring. I bounced things off her and she bounced things back. She shared how she might handle the situation, but she NEVER solved my problem. She asked questions and let me figure things out.  My coach, on the other hand, would hear things I didn’t want anyone else to hear 😊 He encouraged me, kicked me in my pants sometimes, and put me back into the game.
Please understand that you need others to be successful. You need others to fill your bucket when you are so busy filling the bucket of others. Leadership can be lonely, but it is oh, so rewarding!  Find people you can lean on.
So, my advice for someone considering applying for a principalship? Get Ready. Get Ready right where you are. Don’t wait. Start now.

PS.…This was written from my front porch. A new perspective….. it’s easier to look back on a career and see how things worked out than to look ahead and wonder how things will work out 😉

Tomorrow my son graduates. He’ll be walking across the stage to get his master’s degree in accounting. Pretty proud mama here. Last year, he walked to get his bachelor’s degree – with honors.
My son didn’t take AP courses in high school. Nope. As an educator I’ve sat through SOO many meetings and conferences where I was told that “Your success in college is a direct correlation to the number of AP courses you take in high school.” I cringed every time I heard that…..
Before I get too far—please know that I think there are definite advantages of Advanced Placement courses. I do believe that many students need the challenge of these courses and it can definitely help save money in college. What I believe MORE is that we cannot communicate that this is the ONLY way to be prepared for college. I think it also becomes a problem when educators start to believe that these are the only kids they can teach.
I’ve taught at risk students and gifted students. EACH type of student brought out the best in me. When a teacher would come to me and tell that they just couldn’t teach students who weren’t gifted, or students who weren’t “AP” (please don’t forget, AP is a curriculum, not a kid), in my mind I always said, “Well, how can I help you be better?” but…. I wasn’t brave enough to say this. Instead, I always replied, “Well, then you would never teach my kid, he’s not “AP”’. What I really heard, between the lines, was, “It’s scary and hard to teach kids that may not have the skills they need.” As a principal it was much easier for me to hear this than, “I can’t teach “those kids.”’
OH!!!! I bought into the whole, “Your kid needs to be tested” too. When my son was in first grade, he was tested for GT. I was the principal and got caught up into it! Oh my, he was “labeled” GT……. what does that even mean??? To me it meant he just had more experiences than others. We always read to him, we watched tv together, we TALKED, we took family trips…… all those things go soo far in school success.
Fast forward to middle school…. I was his principal again…yeah…poor kid. 😊 The first Parent Curriculum meeting I sat through, a counselor told all the parents that setting kids up for success in high school meant they needed to take pre-ap classes……. I cringed.   Yet, I put my son in Pre-AP classes…. UGH.      HE started noticing that “regular” classes only did problems 1 – 20. The “Pre-AP” kids did 1 – 35! How could I respond? It was true….
We did start, as a school, to work on plain old GOOD TEACHING – get this – FOR ALL!! Teachers were amazing. Teachers who had traditionally taught Pre-AP also began teaching “regular” kids. Their PLCs became stronger. It was tough for some. I totally understood that support would be needed to make a change like this. See, when you’ve only traveled first class, it is hard to go coach. But, it’s sooo possible – and it’s sooo worth it. You get to meet so many interesting people. Kids like Jim, a high functioning student who happens to have autism, or Jenny, the most adorable little girl with Downs Syndrome.
I finally began standing up to the conversations that there is only ONE way, to educators and also to parents. I’ll never forget the evening I was talking to a father, a doctor, about his daughter. To his dismay, she did not want to apply for the medical academy that our district had. She wanted to go to the high school she was zoned to instead. I understood he wanted the best for her. I understood that he had lived through the medical journey and he wanted more than anything for her to be successful. I asked him one question, “What is your definition of success?” Before he could answer, (I really didn’t want an answer, I only wanted him to think about it), I continued with….. “I’m thinking that I’m probably not a success according to your definition. I only have a master’s degree. I don’t make a six-figure salary. I don’t save lives….at least not the traditional way.” Then I asked him if he and his daughter had ever the conversation of how they each define success. He smiled, gave me a hug and said, “Thank you.”
Then came my son’s high school years. Oh dear…. his first year I bought into what everyone was telling me…. He’s smart, put him in at least two pre-ap classes so he’s ready for AP classes. What about….. so he’s ready for life? Where have we put this on our “list” for kids? He took Pre-AP….. what a crazy year. He was also really involved in baseball – so time was precious 😊 We weren’t taking the baseball away because that was where he shined. After his freshman year, we dropped the AP route. It just wasn’t the route he needed to take to get into college. I felt like I got my son back. No, he didn’t finish in the top 10% of his class. But he did enjoy his high school experience, kept up with his athletics and had over 200 volunteer hours with an organization that served special needs friends. To me THAT was success.
Again, please do not hear that taking the Advanced Courses isn’t a good idea. It’s a GREAT idea for many of our students. It’s just not a GREAT idea for ALL students. It’s tough not to get caught up – I understand. It’s especially tough when your state makes participation and completion in AP part of its accountability system. We all really know what that’s about.   Sometimes you do have to “play school.” Just don’t play at the expense of kids.
The follow-up to the conversation I had with that dad…..his daughter went to her zoned high school, graduated and has just started med school. 😊 Pretty sure he’s a proud dad.
Tomorrow my son graduates. 😊 He’s worked hard and it’s paid off. He’ll also be starting his first career in September with one of the Big Four Accounting firms. They offered him this job last year, when he graduated with his bachelor’s degree.  He may not have taken the AP route to be successful in college – but this mama is proud of the path he DID take.

This past month I have been cleaning and organizing items from my 33 year career in public education. Believe me, it’s going to take awhile!! What keeps going through my mind is when I went into this career — I honestly had no idea what lie before me. I just remember being a young girl, from Iowa, who loved kids and wanted to “change the world.” I THOUGHT I wanted to teach in my home state or at least a state near my hometown, however, there was not a job for a young girl, without any experience or a master’s degree. So, I headed south. OR should I say, I interviewed at the University of Iowa with HISD and was offered a job on the spot. Looking in the review mirror and reflecting on my journey……the disappointment that I felt about not working in Iowa was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. The next few months I will share some of the highlights and lowlights of my career as I reflect on my journey.
I experienced a lot in my career but I would NEVER say I experienced everything. One thing I know for sure, you never know what the next day will bring. As I was organizing, I came across an orange folder. In the folder was a speech that I had to write….or rather a eulogy, for one of my favorite students of all time who passed away after a long fought battle with a brain tumor. Speaking at his funeral was absolutely one of the hardest, most emotional times I went through. I wasn’t doing this for me, I was speaking to all of his classmates, his family, and I wanted to honor him the best that I could.
I’m sharing this eulogy because there are no scripts for you to turn to when something like this happens at your school. By sharing, it is my hope that someone might find it and it will fill a need.
“Good Morning,
I would like to say what an incredible honor it is for me that the Allen family asked me to speak today. I know there are so many emotions and so much love in this room. I am glad that we have a chance to come together to remember Jordan’s life and what he meant to all of us.
I have know the Allen family for almost ten years – since Jordan enrolled in kindergarten at CWE. WHAT a cute kindergartener too – his smile was infectious! I was his principal while he attended CWE and then we came to middle school together the same year. I was the only principal Jordan ever knew……
The Allen family has been on a journey these past 17 months. It was the first day of school, of Jordan’s 8th grade year, August 23, 2010, that they came to my office to tell me about his tumor. It was on Monday, January 9, 2012, as Mrs. Boiteaux, one of Jordan’s favorite teachers, was reading Isaiah 40:28-31, when God came and wrapped his arms around Jordan and took him home…… “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
As a teacher, we can only hope that the lessons we have taught our students last. I also believe, with all my being, that teachers can learn so many lessons from our students. This morning I would like to share some of the lessons that Jordan taught me.
*****Jordan taught me about LOVE, COMPASSION and KINDNESS. He taught me that these words are action words. I don’t know another young man who loved his family the way Jordan loved his. Rosalyn, Sam, Bear, Paige — he loved you all so much.
1. I remember in the 4th grade that the writing prompt for his TAKS writing test (our state test) was to tell about a time that you helped someone. Jordan wrote about how proud he was that he helped out at home. He wrote that he GOT to do dishes and help with the laundry. He GOT to help his dad do yard work and cut grass.
2. He also took such good care of his little sister Paige. He would make sure that she got to school safely in the mornings. When Paige was still in elementary and Jordan was in middle school, he would ride his bike with her to school in the mornings and then ride back home before he got himself to school. I remember looking out my office window and seeing this. Paige shared with me that on rainy days he would hold her umbrella. On Paige’s first day of middle school – he made sure SHE got to her first period class. He cared about her immensely.
3. On one visit, when Jordan was ill, his mom and I were talking about a Spring Break trip to Washington DC that kids could participate in through our school and that he could possibly go on when he got better. Jordan said he didn’t want to go because he didn’t want to leave his mom at home. We laughed when he called himself a “ momma’s boy.” He had such a precious relationship with his family.
*****Jordan also taught me about RESPONSIBILITY and HARD WORK. I’ve known a LOT of kids in my career in education, but I’m being totally honest when I say Jordan was the HARDEST working student that I have known. School was not easy for Jordan. Throughout elementary school he came in for extra tutorials and in middle school he took extra math and reading classes, attended tutorials in the mornings and after school, and NEVER complained…EVER, because he knew that he needed to do this to be successful. He worked soooo hard to meet his goals. One of those goals was to be on the FSMS FALCON football team in 7th grade. He met that goal!!
*****Jordan taught me about GOD and FAITH and COURAGE. I think he taught a lot of people about believing, even when it seems like there is nothing to believe in. Last March, on the Opening day of our little league season, the league did a fundraiser for Jordan. We waited and waited for Jordan to arrive. A little later Rosalyn called me and told me that Jordan just didn’t want people to see him in his wheelchair. Something must have changed his mind, because a little while later – there they were – mom, sister and Jordan. I KNOW that it took SO MUCH COURAGE for Jordan to show up. He hung out for a while, toured the new facilities, then thanked the little league for their generosity to him. What a courageous kid.
*****Finally, Jordan taught me to ALWAYS be THANKFUL no matter what your circumstances and to express your thankfulness. I will NEVER forget when we had a pep rally that we dedicated to him. We all dressed in blue — we BLUED OUT for Jordan. When he got to school and I told him what we were doing – he asked me, “Why blue?” I told him that Paige had said it was his favorite color. He said he told her blue just to shut her up. His REAL favorite color was GREEN! We laughed so hard. At the rally we didn’t tell the students that we were all wearing the wrong color, Jordan didn’t want them to know. Back in my office he told me how much he appreciated everything we did for him. He said we didn’t have to do anything for him – but it meant a lot. That touched me forever…..
I’m sure everyone here today in some way, has been touched by our amazing Jordan. Miracle Man as the doctors called him. We ALL prayed that Jordan would be healed and live here with us, play football and just be a teenager. Jordan fought very hard for this – physically and emotionally. And now, of course, Jordan IS healed and alive. He’s just not here will us. There is an ache and a sadness in all of us because we so miss the physical Jordan.
So, today, Jordan, YOU are the teacher. The teacher that effects eternity, we’ll never know where your influence stops.
I’d like to share a quote that I carry with me at all times. It is from the book, TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE. Morrie Schwartz was a professor at Brandeis University, who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease at 76. He said the most beautiful thing that has gotten ME though a lot of loss:
“As long as we can love each other and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on- in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here……Death ends a LIFE, NOT a RELATIONSHIP.”
So now, friends, it is our job, our duty, to keep Jordan’s memory alive. Last night Paige shared with me that the song, “Live Like you were Dying” by Tim McGraw was Jordan’s favorite song. The point of the song is to live your life to the fullest. Paige didn’t know that Tim’s father, Tug McGraw, passed away from a brain tumor.
Spread love, kindness, compassion. Live responsibly, work hard, and trust God. He has a plan for all of us.  Live your life….I know Jordan would not want anyone to be sad. We’ve still got a relationship with him…..it’s just a little different.
Thank you”