I had a friend who serves as a principal recently ask me how you improve customer service on your campus. I think this is something that is often in the hearts of leaders, especially campus principals. The tough thing is that most people believe that the way they...
The Primer Entry Plan for New Principals is a detailed guide for any principal beginning their tenure at a new campus. Joining a new campus, even in a familiar district, requires an entrance strategy for the new principal. A strategy to avoid the mistakes that can...
I read a great book some time ago entitled “First Break All the Rules.” It was recommended by a friend and turned out to be one of the best books I’ve read in recent history. This isn’t some type of book review but more of my thoughts on Talent. I had always shared...
It’s been a while since I’ve written in this space. I have spent more time with video blogs lately on Facebook and Periscope where Troy Mooney and I share leadership tips. I wrote on Twitter earlier that leadership is a blessing and a burden, and it cannot be taken...
I wrote an article sometime ago about a few steps for transforming schools entitled "School Transformation a Lesson From Popeyes!" http://www.herbertoneil.com/school-transformation-a-lesson-from-popeyes-2/It was one of my favorite blog posts, maybe because I like...
In my last blog post I spent a little time being reflective about how I didn’t do a great job of helping teachers be better teachers when I was a campus principal. I thought it was important to talk about it so that as campus leaders we keep focused on what’s...
It’s always pretty interesting to me when I notice the clear deficits I had when I was a campus principal. I always thought I did a great job of laying out a vision for the campus, having attainable goals, setting clear expectations, taking calculated learning risks,...
Are We Really Helping New Principals? I often read articles and posts on twitter that talk about what principals need to do to be successful. There’s always talk about instructional leadership, culture, climate, operational management, and transformation. We...
I was fortunate to do a podcast with Jennifer Gonzalez @cultofpedagogy with the "Cult of Pedagogy." Jennifer interviewed several school administrators about what they look for when hiring teachers. Prospective teachers take a moment to listen to the podcast to find...
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...
I have said it once, and I will boldly say it again here. Being a principal has to be one of the toughest jobs in education. Of course this is my own opinion, and it's my website, so I can pretty much say what I want to here. 🙂 I still remember my first principal...
I always read things about the role of the principal and the term instructional leader being thrown around. Of course I believe and know that the principal is the instructional leader of the building. The principal is also the leader of systems and operational...