Recently, I was having a conversation with a group of leaders and was asked some of the ways I approach listening, learning, and leading. I love the way the three words were organized in this question. As a leader, many may think that you have to lead first in order to listen and learn. However, …
I was scrolling through social media the other day when I came across this quote: “Something I’ve thought about a lot: the people who helped me the most never asked for anything in return. And because of that, I’ve wanted to do more for them than I would have if they’d kept score. Generosity without …
As a K–12 district leader, there are weeks filled with meetings and unexpected projects that pull time away from other spaces. These responsibilities matter. Schools are complex learning ecosystems, and leadership requires us to be responsive to what each moment calls for. Still, the spaces that always feel the most magical to me are classrooms. …
In education we live in a sea of choices and resources. Each day can bring a new strategy to consider, a digital platform to explore, or a framework to unpack. As educators, we care deeply about getting it right for our students, so we read, we listen, and we reflect on what will continue to …
In my last blog post of 2025, I wrote a piece titled Five Lessons I’m Carrying Forward. The first lesson I shared was this: Confidence isn’t certainty. It’s comfort with failure. Teaching and leading ask us to learn in public. Lessons may not always land.Conversations may feel messy before they feel productive. Priorities may need …
Continue reading Three Definitions of Confidence (And Why They Matter in Schools)
Think back to the mentors who have crossed your path, lighting the way at different moments in your life. Some stayed for years. Some appeared for a season. Some may not even realize the impact they had. Who first saw the gift in you? Not your position. Not the accomplished version of you. Not the …
I believe one of the most important responsibilities we share in educational leadership is creating the conditions for others to do important work. Creating systems and structures may not always be the most inspiring part of leadership, but it is the work beneath the work. It doesn’t always feel visible or highlighted on a social …
Last year, I stepped into a journey I wasn’t sure, at one time, was in my future. I became a doctoral student. It’s the first time I’m writing about it, not because it hasn’t mattered, but because I hadn’t yet given myself permission to name it. That first semester was filled with internal questions. How …
Continue reading Nothing Feels All the Way Right in the Beginning
We were sitting together, teachers gathered around student work from a newly designed performance assessment. The task asked students to engage in a deep study of character in literature. Instead of a single written response, students were given multiple pathways to show their thinking through a multimedia performance assessment. Students could write, speak, design, create, …
I love learning. If you’re here reading, that probably isn’t a secret and I’m guessing you love it too. I write every week about my thinking and learning, and it rarely lives in just one place. It doesn’t matter which medium it comes from. I take it all in and layer it. Books. Articles. Conversations. …
Continue reading 10 Podcasts Outside of Education That Are Elevating My Thinking
Empower. Collaborate. Connect. 