All AboutFor Leaders

Thoughts for administrators, directors, coaches, and other leaders of gifted and talented programs.

A Leader’s Job Isn’t Giving Presentations

If I were advising folks who are new to a leadership position in education, I'd give one piece of advice.

Are you ignoring the most cost-effective feedback about your program's effectiveness? Talk to some past students!

I didn't learn by listening to speakers or reading books or going to conferences or by scrolling through lists of resources.

OF COURSE they don’t have cheap carnival rides at Disneyland! What would be equally unacceptable in your gifted program?

Endless 100%s tell us one thing: we are aiming too low.

If you’re hearing these phrases around the school, you are certainly alienating the parents of your most advanced students.

Any whole-group talk should either lead into a classroom demonstration or debrief a classroom demonstration.

Does your PD solve a problem? Or does it just give more information?

I was a very popular speaker, but then someone pointed out my big flaw.

You cannot make decisions by looking at a spreadsheet.

The message from teachers is pretty darn clear! They don’t need yet another differentiation framework.

A keynote presenter once told me, “Everyone should code!” But that person did not know how to code. Nor had they ever taught anyone to code.

Imagine a restaurant with one goal: “Pass The Health Inspection!”
Imagine a school with one goal: “Meet Grade Level Standards!”