Thank you Corsicana!

As I sit on my final night of an amazing vacation I wanted to take time to thank the people of Corsicana for allowing me to serve as principal for the past 6 years. I still remember my first day as principal of Drane Intermediate and my final day as principal of Corsicana High School.

I want to thank Mr. Don Denbow for allowing a 27 year old to be a campus principal. He believed in me and allowed me to attempt to be great! I am eternally grateful!

I want to thank Dr. Diane Frost for always believing in me. She wasn't on the job long before she promoted me to principal of Collins Middle School. I served there two years and she promoted me again as principal of Corsicana High School. Thank you for allowing me to live out my dream of being a high school principal. 

I want to thank all the faculty and staff that worked with me over the last 6 years! We've had some good times! We were together through the highs and lows. Thank you for never giving up! Thank you for listening to my wacky ideas! Thank you for always believing in the great things we can do for our children! You were always champions for children and I appreciate that! 

I want to thank the parents and the wonderful community of Corsicana! I was an outsider and you made me an insider. I was welcomed with open arms my very first day and I felt the same way on the last day. You trusted me with your children and always believed in our approach for educational improvement. Most principals do not enjoy the level of support that I always had in Corsicana! Thank you!

Finally, I would like to thank the students of Corsicana High School! My children! I'm getting emotional just thinking about the fact that I will not see you in the halls next year!  I was blessed to watch most of you grow up from 6th graders to mature young men and women. I still can't believe some of you are driving now. The thing that stands out to me the most is that you never let me down. You were always at your best. Of course some made some bad choices along the way, but we always got through it together. I appreciate that you always showed so much compassion to your fellow students and that you cared about learning. I will miss all of you and always stay in touch via twitter: @herbertoneiljr

Many of you have asked what I will be doing now that I have left Corsicana. I will be the Director of Academics for Life Schools which is headquartered in Lancaster, TX. It is an open enrollment charter school network with 8 campuses. My job is to provide instructional and administrative support to campus leadership. 

I will never forget my time in Corsicana. I learned so much and met so many great people! As I told the students of Corsicana High School: always hold up the light!

Go Tigers!

Home of Champions

I Had to Wait!

It's been a while since I wrote in this space, and I think today is a great time to do so.  I had a great time yesterday with our Life Leadership Academy.  They are a great group of motivated educators that are part of the next generation of leaders at Life Schools.  I am glad they put up with me each month as we grow together. I can't wait until we begin blogging our experiences together!

Yesterday I got to thinking about my journey and how things have shaped out to where they are now.  I can still remember the time that I went for my first principal job.  Boy was I excited!  I actually had an opportunity to interview for a principal position of a large junior high in a great school district.  I studied and prepared well, and thought I did a great job on the interview.  I can still remember waiting anxiously for the superintendent to call me and tell me that I would be the new principal of this school.  Day after day, night after night...no call!  I knew that the school board meeting was coming up and they would soon be naming the new principal at the board meeting.  Well, the board meeting was Monday, and it's now Monday and still no call.  I sort of figured that I didn't get the job by now.  Around 5:00 pm on that Monday I received a call from the human resources director informing me that they had gone with another individual.  He told me the individuals name, and gave me her number because I was currently an assistant principal and I would be working for her.  There it was staring me in the face!  I didn't get it!  I was crushed!  It felt as everything had been taken from me. I just sat there with the phone still in my hand.  What made this tough was that I wanted it soooo bad.  I could taste it! It didn't happen!

So what did I learn?  I learned that there is a time and place for everything.  It took me several years to verbally speak about this situation.  I always felt I was inferior because I didn't get it.  But now I know better! I know that it just wasn't the job for me.  The good thing is that there was a job out there for me, and I later got it.  I had to keep working hard in my current position until I got something else, and I couldn't give up on the journey I was attempting to take.  It was a hard lesson for me, but I now appreciate it.  There have been other jobs I haven't gotten.  I learn from the experiences, keep working hard, and keep marching forward.

Herbert

Blessed to still get to work with students!

School Transformation: A Lesson from Popeyes

If you follow me on twitter and have read a few things I have written, I often talk about how to improve schools.  Many times I believe that some schools do not improve because many people take the wrong approach to school improvement.  We must all remember that schools do not get better because you change things.  They get better because you change the mindset of the stakeholders within the school.

As a fan of fried chicken I came across an article from Brian Solomon of Forbes Magazine about the transformation that took place at Popeyes Chicken.  If you are like me and love fried chicken, you know that Popeyes makes good chicken.  No one can deny that!  However the company was suffering and needed help.  Well, help came in the form of Cheryl Bachelder, the newly hired CEO.  She has been the CEO for 7 years and the last 5 years they have seen unprecedented growth.

So what does fried chicken have to do with transforming a school? I believe the steps that Ms. Bachelder took to transform Popeyes can be applied to schools.

**The first thing that she noticed was that Popeyes restaurants had an image problem.  I can surely echo that.  They were dark and dingy, and sometimes plain dirty.  The actual chicken was good, but folk were starting to believe it wasn't good based on "the look" of the restaurants.  The same is true of schools.  You have to start from the inside out with the culture of the school.  It has to be bright and happy filled with folks that want to move the school forward.  When people enter they have to believe that their child is receiving a quality education.

**The second thing she did was track how each restaurant was doing after they changed the look and feel of the restaurants.  If you want the people to believe that they are actually doing better after you improve culture you have to back it up with data.  If we say student performance will improve when we are better then they need proof.  Why do we do this?  We do it so we can know what all students learn and can do.  When we know this data we provide feedback incrementally.

**The next thing they figured out at Popeyes was that they needed to keep "the main thing the main thing."  If you go to Popeyes you will not see any salads on the menu.  Why?  It's because they are a fried chicken joint, who makes greasy fried chicken.  They do not make salads for P.R. purposes.  Ms. Bachelder simply tells people that she isn't here to solve the world's problems at Popeyes.  Schools can learn from this.  When we are transforming a school we need not do what everyone else is doing.  Just do what works for you and your school-community.  It makes things much simpler.

So what do you see when you go to Popeyes now?  The restaurants are bright and colorful, and their product, fried chicken is prominently featured.  They aren't ashamed of what they are, they own who they are.  This is a special word for those who are in our most challenging zip codes.  Celebrate the gifts your students bring!

So, let's learn from Popeyes as we transform schools into the places that will make students thrive.
*Change the look and feel (Culture)
*Use data to track the progress or lack thereof of your students so that you can ensure mastery of learning is taking place
*Keep the main thing the main thing!  You can achieve transformation by being who you are and not someone else.

Let's go to Popeyes!

Emphasizing Excellence

At Life School it is our hope that all stakeholders embrace a standard of excellence.  If we are all at our best the impossible can be made possible.  All of us must do our part to invest a standard of excellence into the lives of the students at Life School.  As members of the Life School family we must start emphasizing excellence within our students at an early age so as they grow older they will know what their standard is.

We must ensure that we emphasize excellence through our example, through adversity, and with love.

The example that we set with our children is paramount.  We all set the tone for them at an early age.  No single person has a larger influence on children besides the primary caregiver.  If we set the example high for our children they will work hard to reach the example that has been set for them.

We must also emphasize excellence through adversity.  We all know that tough times will come.  When adversity comes we have to show our children that we can still be excellent.  I have often said that adversity reveals who we really are.  If we have strong character and a standard of excellence even in tough times people will always know who we really are.

Finally we must emphasize excellence with love.  Even when your children do not reach your standard of excellence you must pour love into their lives.  We must always correct when needed, but it must always be in love.

Never forget the importance of excellence as we continue to build leadership in all of our Life School students.

What's Their Pulse?

Serving as a principal can be one of the most rewarding, yet challenging positions an individual can hold.  Each day is like a roller coaster filled with dramatic highs and lows. If you serve as a secondary principal you are faced with even more challenges as it relates to leading the students you serve.

Students have so many tools today that allow them to communicate quickly and effectively. Unlike adults, students utilize social media and messaging programs all day for everything! The list is endless! Students stay connected mostly through these mediums: twitter, snap chat, Instagram, and Kik. There are many others, but currently the four listed above are their favorites. 

So why should you know what their pulse is? It's simple, you are the principal and you are responsible for the effective management of the campus. As a HS principal I found that if you wanted to know about anything happening on campus, or what had the potential to happen you could find out about it on twitter. Long are the days that you have to wait for your student informant to give you all the info. That takes too long. Sometimes just searching the name of your school on twitter will tell it all! So what about that Senior prank? Someone's talking about it on twitter! What about that planned protest toward the new dress code? They have talked about it for a day and a half on twitter! Want to find out what the students think about a new planned initiative? No need for a survey! They have been having a no holds barred in depth discussion on twitter and Instagram for days about it! 

What was so unique about all of this was even though my students would discuss many things on twitter they always knew that I was aware of what was going on. They knew I respected them and most of them showed respect. Always know that deep down your students want to exist in a great environment. 

Distractions were always limited because we (most of the staff) knew the pulse of the students. We built relationships with them and were with them every step of the way. When we stepped into the building we were all family. 

So, what will you do to know their pulse? You've got to rethink your approach! It's tough to keep up with it all, but it will payoff handsomely in the end! 

Your First Principal Job! Great!

Congratulations! You just got your first principal job!  The job you have dreamed about your entire career!  The board of education has entrusted you to run an entire school.  If you are the principal of a large HS you are practically running a small city.  I know you are excited!  I have been blessed to have that wonderful feeling before.  I just wanted to give you a few pointers as you start your service as a school principal.

It is my belief that the school principal is the most important factor in how well, or not well the school will do.  If the principal does a good job, most likely the school will serve the students, and community well.  Every principal has their own personality and their own way of doing things, that's what makes leadership so special.  We all know that there isn't a cookie cutter approach to doing things right and transforming a school into the beacon of light that it should be.  However, as you begin service there a few things that can help you as you get started.

1. Relationships, Relationships, Relationships

I placed this first because it is so important.  Building relationships with your new school community is paramount.  Do not make the mistake of missing out on relationship building for "Putting your stamp" on the school.  If people get to know you and trust you, they will move with you as you try to create change.  Send a letter out to your new staff and community and invite them up to meet with you.  The welcome reception does not count.  You need to make time to visit with every staff member that takes the time to come to visit with you.  Use this time to listen to them, and not talk about yourself.  Follow the meeting up with a note or an email highlighting one item of importance that they mentioned to you.  Also spend time cultivating relationships with the leadership team that is already in place (assistant principals, counselors, department chairs/grade level leaders).

2. They Did Things Right Before You Arrived

Believe it or not the school did some great things before you got there.  Yes, I know you looked at the scores and they weren't so hot.  Yes, I know you looked at the discipline data and it wasn't so hot either.  This does not mean that things weren't going well at the school.  Again, take time to get to know people and how things actually worked at the school before you make big changes.  If the scores need work it is okay to let them know that "We will work together to make our instructional program better!"  They do not need you to beat them up about test scores when you first arrive and you do not even know them.  Always remember to ask questions before you make big changes! There is a reason that the policy or procedure was in place.  Just check it out.

3. Be Honest

Let's face it, you will be around these people everyday.  If a teacher wearing flip flops will send you over the edge, let them know right away.  This is good because they will not be surprised by it.  Your staff wants to trust and follow you.  If you communicate and communicate in an honest manner they will respect you even more.

4. Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

Yes! You are on twitter, and connected to a powerful PLN.  Each day you read twitter you see something new and exciting.  Maybe it's a new way to do a faculty meeting, or the newest idea on how to reach kids.  Stop! Take a minute and breathe! All of these things are probably good, but you are new to your campus.  You do not have to Flip your first faculty meeting.  This is great to do later on down the line.  The people will be nervous enough.  Remember they want to get to know you, they want you to get to know them, they want to know your vision for the instructional program, and they want to know that you will support them when the students struggle with behavior.  So, keep the main thing the main thing.

5. Don't Forget to Have Fun

Being a principal should be fun (even though many times it doesn't feel like it).  Smile a lot, shake hands, give hugs, and be there for the staff and students.  Dress up on the dress up days for Homecoming.  It's okay to get a little silly.

The work of the principal is so important.  You can truly transform the thinking of just about everyone in the building if you choose.  Just never forget that before you can transform their thinking they must get to know you, and trust you.

Be great!

For resources for principals please stop by www.texasprincipal.org

Herbert

Final Week!

Wow!  The last week of school has arrived!  I know the students are excited! We will continue with Senior finals and will begin finals for all students Wednesday.  Remember we have early release on Wednesday-Friday.  Graduation will be this Friday at 8:00 pm at the Tiger competition gym.

Please click here to access the final exam schedule: Final Exam Schedule 

Thank You Senior Men's Club