51¸£ÀûÉç

After a crazy few years of school leadership through a pandemic and its immediate recovery, the vibe we're getting for this back to school season is simply "normal." That was the report at least from the vast majority of our 51¸£ÀûÉç Board Executive Committee check-in we had the other day. What's not normal is the way AI has infiltrated so much of our lives, especially for those of us in education. I've got a few things to share with you to help navigate through these undiscovered waters.

In our massive shift to remote learning, and in the spirit of being a continuous learner, I’ve been trying to learn more about online learning. What are effective ways to teach students online? How do we structure communication (including instruction and feedback) to students via computers or phones? And what are some strategies that 51¸£ÀûÉç can share with principals as they shift to becoming digital principals who are responsible for managing their culture, systems, and learning in their (now) remote buildings.

One unforeseen consequence of a statewide closure has been the massive forced push for all of us to engage in the virtual meeting space. We might have dabbled before in Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, and Microsoft Teams, but now we are all exceeding standard. 51¸£ÀûÉç is offering weekly Office Hours for members to engage with with the 51¸£ÀûÉç Executive Team and K-12 principals from all over the state. This is a wide open session of give and take, but more importantly, to hear our members (principals, assistant principals and other school leaders) share challenges, successes, and barriers they are facing as newly assigned digital leaders. It is so incredible to watch these natural and organic conversations take off each week that I find myself thinking, "Why didn't we do this sooner?"

Do you know how to spot the time thieves in your life? Shane Parrish over at Farnam Street has a great series on focus. His latest installment discusses the Eisehnhower Matrix, a four-part filter you can use to determine what tasks keep you on target.