The Love of a Leader...

Those who know me...like, really know me and all my deficiencies, know that I have a hard time with pausing.  I am fast and furious, with no time for nonsense. I come by it honestly, my mom is like the energizer bunny.  Growing up, she would sweep the floor at least fifty times a day, I am certain. She would clean the dairy barn each morning, scrub brushing every square inch, literally it would shine when she finished.   The milk inspector (who was "The Grinch") would often tell her that we had the cleanest dairy farm in the country. Fast forward to my high school years, my basketball coach would frequently give me the, "slow down" look and say, "go to fifth gear."  It is who I am. In my career, I have been told by more than one supervisor in my early years, there is plenty of time, slow down...take your time.  While I don't believe that nonsense, because we are not guaranteed tomorrow ...there is merit in taking your pedal off the gas a tad at times.

**Before you attack, I am not an advocate for private charters that are managed by companies with a bottom line of making money.  I serve and believe strongly in public charters that are not for profit, have a specific mission and vision by which they educate children from, and meet rigorous academic expectations. There are many public charters that exist in this country doing great work that all educators can learn from in the journey. This post is my initial reflection after I attended the National Reform Conference in Nashville in December.  There were many people attending from all over this country with one goal in mind. The goal:  Improve the educational experiences of all children in this country.  This conference included speakers that ranged from Governor Jeb Bush to parents whose experience with charter schools saved their child. The entire conference was informative, inspiring, and, honestly, gave me much to think about regarding the rights of students. Educat

Life over the last six months has been a wonderful, beautiful, crazy, awesome segment of time in my professional and personal life.  I took on the role as principal of an elementary school in a brand new town being built in Babcock Ranch.  This role was 100% unexpected.  I have always desired to be an elementary principal, but I always LOVED serving at the high school level.  I believe my own struggles in high school (family loss on many levels from our farm to the divorce of my parents) stirred a fire in my own heart to provide support to others students who were battling their struggles while striving or struggling to meet the demands of the academic curriculum.  I often wonder how I have ended up where I am today. The truth...many good people have taken the time to invest in me over the years.  I could write lists of people who filled the gap while our family experienced varying levels of trials over the years.  Growing up I remember only a few times I was truly hurt or sad.  I bel

Today, I write my blog and smile.  I have wanted to write this entry for quite some time and today, well...today is the day.  Today at the chiropractors office I was told, "you are always so put together and are always organized."  I looked over my shoulder as I knew they could not be referring to me as I stood there in my UK shirt and purplish shorts that were far from being put together.  There was no way. People, in the morning, I wake up hitting the ground running at 4:50 (after hitting the snooze button at least twice) most days with the song, "I Will Survive" playing in my head as these days in this work it feels like an episode of survivor on a pretty regular basis.  I always thought I was pretty tough, strong...I mean I was the oldest of three farm girls, my dad wanted three boys...so you can envision the rest.  He took no excuses and "suck it up" and "figure it out" were very frequent phrases heard by myself and my two sisters. Well,

On this day four years ago, Darrell and I were on a plane ride that would forever change our lives.  We were heading to Ethiopia to meet our daughter, our precious blessing from God.  A blessing that would likely not been able to happen without a focus on the heart from people who were unafraid of the world.  The ways of the world and political "bureaucrazy" are often enough of a reason to prevent us from being the change in the world.  You see, I am thankful for heroes like Dr. Martin Luther King who were stronger than both bureaucracy and the harsh world he faced.   This morning the speaker for our school systems Unity Celebration in honor of Martin Luther King Day; Michael Chatman, spoke of being a gentle leader in the face of adversity.  He spoke eloquently on many of my own beliefs and it encouraged me that it truly is not an issue of blacks and whites.  It is in fact an issue of our hearts.  It is how we interface with others that speaks to the love necessary to m

In the spirit of JOY this season, it seems fitting to share how I find JOY when it seems the negative can quickly become the focus.  The last year and half have been a challenge for me as a professional and I have learned first hand that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! No, I don't mean physically kill me (although some days I did feel like I was being run over by a Mack truck), but my soul...the place where my joy resides was under attack.  There were times I questioned my expectations of what the educational experience should look like; however, at the end of the day my bar remained, what would I want for my own child?       The profession I have chosen allows me the privilege to experience joy on a daily basis.  I love serving people and the fact that I get to collaborate and work alongside students and teachers who love learning on a daily basis makes my heart overflow with joy.  Of course there are days that we miss the mark, there are days where everyone is