Currently Blogging: A Professional Update
01 November 2024 – 18 April 2025

Over the past few years, I’ve immersed myself in deep learning, through leadership, life experiences and literature. In that time, I haven’t paused long enough to reflect on how these insights have shaped my leadership style and professional growth. While I haven't read an education-specific book in nearly five years, my reading, and more recently, audiobook consumption, has centered on history, biography, self-help and leadership. These genres continue to sharpen my perspective and inform my approach as I navigate leadership challenges and opportunities.

Now, midway through my third year in a formal leadership role, I feel compelled to share what I’ve learned, how I’ve grown and how I’m beginning to re-engage with educational texts and frameworks with renewed purpose.

As I approach the end of my 11th year in education, I’m reminded of the wise counsel I received from Dr. Bryant Shaw: “The best way to know what is and isn’t working is to remove yourself from the system.” His mentorship over the past two years has been transformative, and I still seek his insight today. A recent conversation with him at Casey Middle School reignited a sense of clarity and purpose… energy I’ve been channeling into these final months at Kearney Middle School.

Kearney holds personal significance. My father walked its halls in 1962. Over the past year, we’ve led major systems work to support students and staff during a time of great change. With the December announcement that KMS will close next year, the news brought uncertainty, a reduction in leadership roles and a wave of mixed emotions: urgency colliding with a sense of finality.

From a broader perspective, the impact of our work has been measurable and meaningful. Key areas of growth include:

• Strengthened Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

• Improved school-wide transitions and communication

• Clear, consistent behavioral norms during lunch and non-instructional time

• Significant reduction in disciplinary incidents and more intentional tracking systems

• Implementation of an advisory house system to build community

• Weekly communication through staff and family letters

• Teacher-led walkthroughs tied to instructional focus

• Shift toward standards-based instruction

There are also systems that continue to challenge me and spark ongoing reflection:

• Our use of Google Chat for real-time staff communication

• The balance between learner-centered and teacher-directed classrooms

• Building a culture of reflection and self-awareness

• Shifting from deficit-based to asset-based thinking

• Fostering true ownership and agency across the community

As I look ahead, I remain committed to capturing and applying what these experiences have taught me through reading, reflection and continued leadership. Writing is part of that journey. Thank you for reading, and for being part of the conversation.