Author: Jon Mitzmacher

Dr. Jon Mitzmacher is the Head of the Ottawa Jewish Community School. Jon is studying to be a rabbi at the Academy for Jewish Religion and is on the faculty of the Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI) as a mentor. He was most recently the VP of Innovation for Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools. He is the former Executive Director of the Schechter Day School Network. He is also the former head of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, a K-8 Solomon Schechter, located in Jacksonville, FL, and part of the Jacksonville Jewish Center. He was the founding head of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Las Vegas. Jon has worked in all aspects of Jewish Education from camping to congregations and everything in between.

A Lurker’s Lament: When Did “Sharing” Become “Self-Promotion”?

In my last blog post, I reflected on my personal disconnect between the enthusiasm (over-enthusiasm some might say) I demonstrated in documenting my family’s recent road trip and the challenges I experience in documenting my professional growth. I suggested that as – depending on geography – schools are preparing for the imminent return of teachers and students that it would be useful to try to unpack some of the inhibiting factors that get in the way of a teacher or an administrator (or a lay leader) going through the cycle of “learn, reflect, and share”.

A few people who commented on the post, rightfully pointed out the clumsiness of the analogy. One’s enthusiasm can wax and wane to the degree that one is choosing to do something versus being required. One’s time could be allocated differently to photography versus a written reflection. And I agree with both points. One commentator pointed out something that I hadn’t considered at all and that is the degree to which having an intuitive and easy-to-use structure like pegging photos to a Facebook timeline matters. I think that is spot on. The relationship between process and product may matter and it begs further exploration. Those of you who know more than I – and that’s quite a lot of you – if there are new and exciting platforms that make it easier to document professional growth, inquiring reflective practitioners want to know!

There are other inhibiting factors as well.

I have written and spoken a lot about time as a zero-sum game and hereto it applies. Over the last year I have had the pleasure of visiting lots of schools and engaging with even more and scheduling as an expression of values almost always rises to the top. With no judgment implied, it seems reasonable to me to assume the following:

Schools struggle to schedule adequate time for professional growth.
It is difficult to require professional growth – let alone reflection and sharing – without providing adequate time for it to happen.
Thus, we wind up counting on tapping the finite well of educators’ natural altruism as the primary resource allocated to professional growth.

But none of the above is what I am interested in exploring here. Maybe they are the best remedies for what ails the ecosystem, and I do want to know more about better platforms, better schedules and all the sticks and carrots being used to successfully inculcate a culture of learn, reflect and share within and between schools. This is essentially the work of edJEWcon.

However, as I engage as actively as I can in blogs, groups, chats, etc., I want to identify another barrier that I think can inhibit even the best possible situation – an educator who wants to contribute to the conversation and even has the time, motivation, content and know-how to share…and, yet, still holds back.

I think one of the most inhibiting factors that contributes to lurking and a sense that the same voices dominate the conversation is that we have been conditioned to believe that “sharing” is akin to “self-promotion”.

Let me acknowledge the other side of the argument I want to make just to get it out of the way. People do take advantage of social media, chats, blogs, conversations, etc. as opportunities to self-promote. It happens. Frequently. And it does represent a breach of etiquette and a challenge to the moral imperative of sharing we are trying to create. I have been in those chats and comment sections where it feels more like jockeying for an opportunity to present one’s wares rather than a genuine desire to engage, share and learn from those present. And if I am being honest, knowing how the game is played and that there can be winners, I’ve probably been guilty of it myself. [If you ever find yourself on a chat with me and you feel like playing a drinking game, take a shot every time you hear me say “edJEWcon”. Just be sure you have a designated driver.]

Still.

The concern that whenever we genuinely share can be misconstrued as self-promotion can lead to conversations where only the self-promoters share! Everyone else is too humble to brag except the humblebraggers! [This isn’t to suggest that there aren’t genuine and thoughtful participants; I am exaggerating to make a point.]

I am deeply concerned about helping the thoughtful practitioner convert from lurker to contributor. The ecosystem will only work when feedback loops actively exist and inform. The power of networks is in their ability leverage excellence, facilitate conversation, engage peers in ongoing professional growth and to amplify the learning. That requires more voices more often. That requires the courage to contribute…

I’d rather run the risk of self-promotion if we can raise the volume of sharing. Discerning professionals will weed out the former for the latter. Let the problem of professional growth for Jewish Day Schools be too many dedicated professionals sharing their growth with peers and receiving too much feedback.

Hopefully this humble(brag) blog post will light the spark…

The Documentarian Hypothesis: Why Can’t I Document My Professional Growth With The Same Enthusiasm That I Document My Family Vacation?

I am sitting at the kitchen table at my father-in-law’s beach house in Delaware looking at the ocean upon whose beach my family is presently running, digging, playing and otherwise enjoying a Friday afternoon. We are on the 20th day of an epic road trip that has taken us by minivan from our home in Jacksonville, Florida to Georgia (picking up our eldest daughter from Camp Ramah Darom) up to Washington, DC, continuing to New Jersey (one set of grandparents), New York City (for early-anniversary-without-kids “alone time”), Pennsylvania (another set of grandparents) and a current pitstop in Delaware. We will begin the journey home on Sunday with planned stops in Charleston and Savannah.

By the way, if you want to know what that long in a multigenerational minivan sounds like, feel free to enjoy this playlist while you read:

Now if you follow me and/or are “friends” with me on Facebook and/or Instagram, then not only do you already know this…you have (depending on the day) been receiving many updates and photos from the journey.

[I have blogged in the past that my vision of online authenticity requires a bringing together of my professional and personal identities. Knowing audiences, I tend to keep things more professional on Twitter and Pinterest, more personal on Facebook/Instagram, with the blog almost entirely professional, but with the personal bleeding in when appropriate. It is isn’t perfect (for example I steer away from any political conversations even in my “personal” space), but it seems to be working for me.]

Of course, taking that long of a vacation is impossible, so I have also been working along the way (proving the point that once you demonstrate you can work from anywhere, you wind up having to work from everywhere), holding meetings, fielding calls and sending emails from wifi hotspots all along the East Coast. Somewhere along the way, the constant shifting of mindsets from work to vacation led me to ask the question embedded in this post’s title:

Why Can’t I Document My Professional Growth With The Same Enthusiasm That I Document My Family Vacation?

I would highlight the word “enthusiasm”.

I acknowledge that I am probably the exact demographic Facebook was trying to reach when they revised their interface to “The Timeline” back in 2012. (By the way, I will always be convinced that this was inspired by Mad Men Episode 13 “The Wheel”.) That innovation completely changed how I use Facebook because I now have a powerful, virtual scrapbook in which I can (and do!) document meaningful events in my life. I am not making news by suggesting that we now live in a world where the urge to document (selfie stick anyone?) has almost superseded the urge to experience. I am acknowledging that I, too, feel that urge. I want to add that picture, that “check in”, that “like” to my timeline almost to make sure that it actually happened. I feel a tug of pressure that doesn’t dissipate until I make that post, at which time I can shift back into the actual experience.

I’m not saying it is right or healthy. It simply is.

What occurred me in real time is that I wish I was as enthusiastic and diligent about documenting my professional growth as I am my personal timeline. And, to give myself a little credit, since I do a fair amount of documenting my professional growth and trying to inspire others to do the same, I am equally passionate about figuring out how to get others to be as willing to DOCUMENT and SHARE their learning as they are pictures of their children, recipes for dinner, and where they happen to be at any moment in time.

I am pleased (ecstatic actually) that in the weeks ahead we are going to begin to not only unpack what may be inhibiting the documentation and sharing that has the power to unlock excellence and transform teaching and learning in Jewish Day Schools, but begin providing answers.

Watch (ed) This (JEW) Space (con).

Here’s What I Would Like To Know

I think it is safe to say that just about all school folk are now in summer mode…

That does not mean vacation mode by any stretch of the imagination, but hopefully it does mean a looser schedule, time to reflect, relax and recharge for the work of making next year even better than the year that was.

In that spirit, I would very much like to use this opportunity to have a little fun and, maybe, get a chance to get some questions answered.

Introducing in absolutely no order whatsoever…

Here’s What I Would Like To Know

What is your summer reading list?
What is the most important thing you learned this year?
If you could show just one video that demonstrated what you believe to be true about teaching and learning, what would it be? (Send link please!)
How has social media impacted your professional growth?
Whose blogs are you reading? Who do you follow on Twitter? Why?
What doesn’t exist that if it did would transform your work?
In your professional/volunteer life, what keeps you up at night?
How do you manage to stay healthy?
How much time do you spend with your family?
Who are your mentors and can I borrow them?
Do contests inspire you? Are you competitive?
What do you think about this?
What advice would you give a new head of school?
What advice would you give a new board chair?
What’s your professional bible?
Can kids graduate a K-8 and be fluent in Hebrew?
What does a healthy relationship between a school and a synagogue feel like?
How big a gap exists between your current school and your idealized school and is money the only thing minding the gap?
Does it matter what I think about current events and am I supposed to be blogging about it?
What do you think about uniforms?
How do you balance work and family?
What is the most creative thing you did this year?
What topics would you like to see me blog about in the year ahead?

I look forward to your answers and would be thrilled to answer any questions you might have for me, for Schechter or for the field.

May the beginning of your summer bring you all the well-deseved joy you deserve…

Airplane Mode – My Year in Professional Reading

I have spent more time in airports, airplanes, rental cars and hotels this year than I could ever have imagined. It is critical to my job to be a physical presence at our schools and in our communities, especially in my first year. But in addition to all the obvious benefits travel has produced for me professionally, it has also yielded one unintended, yet important benefit…

…time to read!

Yes, I am aware that I could easily pay for wifi on my flights in order to stay connected at all times and there have been times I’ve had to fight the temptation to remain on the grid. But putting my phone into “airplane mode” has been to my professional growth like putting my soul into “Shabbat mode” continues to be to my spiritual growth. Once that cabin door is secured, I take a deep breath, go into airplane mode, and open my book. And, yes, an actual book. I know I am supposed to always model excellence in 21st century learning, so I guess I should do all my professional reading via iPad, but for whatever reason, when it comes to doing professional development 30,000 miles up, I prefer a book in my hand.

Don’t tell anyone.

All the books I read this year were suggested from colleagues and friends from all the usual places…and I didn’t even get to half of what I wanted to read. Luckily, that’s partly why they made summer! If any of the books below inspired your professional growth, do comment or otherwise make it known. And if you have new suggestions…always happy to add one more to the seat pocket in front of me…

If you missed our Summer Professional Development publication, please check it out here.

To the schools that have already closed, I hope you are already enjoying your summer…

…and to those closing soon, I hope you close with great pride on a year well spent.

I, too, look forward to some recharging and relaxing (just a bit!) this summer and, so, this blog will likely come less frequently until school returns in August. I have one more post for sure on next year’s programmatic agenda and any updates on the future worth sharing and, then I will enjoy what it is like to blog when the spirit – not a deadline – moves me.

Flip-flops…here we come…

[View the story “Airplane Mode – A Year in Professional Reading” on Storify]

The Jewish Education Olde Thyme Radio Hour: “Conversations We Aren’t Having” w/Jonathan Cannon

Believe it or not, but our earliest schools are wrapping up this week and the rest will be doing the same in the weeks to come. We, too, will be transitioning into summer modes of communication. Last week, I shared the results of our first-ever Annual Membership Survey. And in the weeks to come, we will lay out more detail about our programmatic agenda for next year and how feedback may have played into our decision-making process.

In the meanwhile, let me express my sincere thanks to the good folks at ELI Talks and ELI on Air for letting me and my good friend Rabbi Marc Baker experiment with a podcast pilot this year. I have said before that just the time we spent prepping for the podcasts and conducting them was more than sufficient for me to deem the experiment a success. But we do have ambition larger than finding an excuse to think together…

Our goals for the podcast’s future include…

Being more interactive – our goal is for the podcast to feel more like a “talk show” and less like…um…a “podcast”. This means we need to be more aggressive/inspirational/inviting/encouraging in order to weave people’s questions, comments and contributions into the podcast itself. We know (hope) you are out there listening…now we need you to be part of the action.
Relevance. Strong topics and strong guests. We want to bring you ideas and people you really want to talk to and hear from.
Edutainment. We want this to be fun – for us and for you! Finding a way to balance serious conversation with having a good time is what it is all about.

Have we gotten any better at the above? Check out our most recent podcast and let us know! Feel free to comment here on my blog or on the podcast page itself!

The Transparency Files: Annual Membership Survey

Another strange confluence of secular and Jewish holidays means that the beginning of the end of the 2014-2015 school year is upon us. Being in my first year in ten not serving as a head of school, I am not sure how accurate my “how quickly the year has gone by-omoter” is, but it does seem that summers are shorter than ever. As soon as you wrap up your last teacher meeting, you are planning for next year’s first! My hope is that all of our schools – their professionals and volunteers – will take the time this summer to relax and recharge, to look back in pride and look forward with anticipation, and to be as fully present with family and friends and we know they are to a fault with students and their families.

Here at Schechter we, too, want to begin wrapping up this historic first year of rebirth and regrowth and look to learn how we can be even better at meeting the needs of our schools and the field in the year to come. I have shared some reflection on how I think my first year as Executive Director has gone, and indicated places where I believe I need to learn and grow to do and be better next year. Here, I will share the feedback we received from our first Annual Membership Survey. In the weeks to come, we will lay out more detail about our programmatic agenda for next year and how feedback may have played into our decision-making process.

A few thoughts before the data…

This survey was completely anonymous. We have no idea who filled it out. It was sent to the entire family of Schechter schools (full and affiliate members) which numbers nearly 90 schools. We received 18 responses, which by percentage is appropriate for an online survey, but is only representative to a degree. The data will be taken seriously, regardless, but we know that the larger the sample size, the higher the degree of validity. One clear goal for the future will be to inspire more completed surveys.

The complete results have been/will be shared out. Although space will not allow each question’s answers to be shared and analyzed and open-ended responses will not be quoted in full, the entire survey – all responses, regardless of how positive or negative, – has been or will be shared transparently with all the staff and lay leaders who benefit from such knowledge. We as staff cannot plan effectively for the future without be willing to listen. We as staff cannot be evaluated effectively by our lay leadership without being willing to be vulnerable.

There are no trends! This is the first year of the survey so we can only use it as a baseline upon which future years are compared. Only with future data can we see if we are truly listening to feedback and growing from it.

OK, without further adieu let’s take some highlights from the survey.

First up…who took the survey?

No surprises here…professionals at our full member schools are the most invested and knowledgeable about our activities.

OK. Big picture. How did we do?

Hmmm…

…let’s say that there is always a temptation only to be transparent when you love what you are sharing and an equally strong temptation to be defensive about anything that is less than perfect. So long as I have say, Schechter will always be willing not only to hear the difficult truths that spur genuine growth, but the courage to share where we have fallen short in order to be held accountable.

So, on the one hand, obviously being good students we want to have the highest grades and this graph does not show that. I will say that the scale itself may not be ideal with seven categories and “neutral” as the middle. If “neutral” is “average” or “satisfied” then I could be inclined to feel good (enough) about how we did. The overwhelming majority would, in that case, be satisfied and then some. Great! If, however, “neutral” is something worse, then I am going to be more concerned with why half the respondents felt less than about our Network.

We will definitely use this as inspiration. Maybe it’s who responded (don’t be defensive!). Maybe it’s the scale (don’t make excuses!). Maybe it actually means we did great (don’t put your finger on the scale!). Or maybe it means we have real work to do. I don’t know from this alone…but I can promise you we will work hard to leave no doubts moving forward.

What else do we need to know?

Hmmm…

Greater analytics would need to see if those who said “no” also rated us near the bottom. Meaning, did the schools who are using our programs/resources rate us higher than those who didn’t? That would mean we need to do more work to ensure that more of our schools are aware and/or want to make use of what we have to offer. If it was the other way around, we would need to assess the quality and accessibility of our resources/programs.

What else?

We would have liked more participation on this question to better unpack the above, but this does indicate range that pleases us. My analysis of those who checked “other” would move most of it into “PEJE” and “Coaching”. My quick read on this indicates that places we have dedicated resources are finding an audience. Again, more analytics would help us decide whether any of these responses were tied to satisfaction scores. We’ll have more to say about this when we lay out our agenda for next year.

Let’s dive deeper…

Would have loved more responses…but, yes, we agree!

Let’s keep diving…what are we doing well?

Again, would have loved more responses…but we appreciate the feedback!

Here was the biggest surprise (to me):

If this response is representative it has implications for our programs, our thoughts of “region” and “cohort” and the challenges for schools geographically apart.

Final comments?

The survey may be closed, but your opportunity to provide feedback never is. Please use the comments for this blog, send us an email, pick up the phone, or just let us know when we see you in person.

This has been a year of many firsts. Next year be a very different kind of year. But one first we can look forward to a year from now is having an opportunity to compare next year’s survey with this one and to check how we listened, how we responded, and how we grew to better meet your needs. I can neither predict nor promise what it will say.

But I can predict and promise that no one will work harder than we will to live up to our obligations and our promises…

The Storify of #edJEWcon LA 2014

I think it is reasonable to conclude that Storify has become my preferred method of documenting my learning from professional development conferences and experiences. I like how visual it is and I love how easy it is to preserve the links to all my learning.

We had a wonderful experience on Monday in Los Angeles and I am pleased to amplify the learning by inviting you into its story. I hope our learning inspires more learning, more reflection, and more sharing.

http://storify.com/Jon_Mitzmacher/the-storify-of-edjewcon-la-2014

Preparing for edJEWcon LA

I thought the best way to build excitement for – and allow for greater virtual participation in – Monday’s edJEWcon LA would be by way of a visual math equation (courtesy of the amazing Andrea Hernandez & Karin Hallett)…

+

X

=

We are thrilled to be learning with and from a ton of local talent and will be using Twitter (#edJEWcon) during Monday to connect and share. [If you are a Jewish Studies professional working at an LA Jewish Day School and you would like to join us, we will gladly make room! RSVP to the above or we’ll register you same-day.] Next week, I will share a reflection of this next exciting chapter of “learn, reflect & share”.

Reminder: Our first-ever membership survey is still open and we are pleasantly surprised by the level of response thus far! You may click here if you have not yet taken it. We are asking you to complete it by May 13th if you would like your data to be included in our report back to the field.

The Transparency Files: Evaluation of Blog

“Spitting in the wind.”

“Tilting at windmills.”

If a blog post falls in a forest and no one is there to read it…

You think you see where I’m headed.

🙂

But I do not wish to take this opportunity to grouse about whether people choose to comment, accept invitations to participate, etc., etc. I have come to accept that which I cannot control. Yes, of course, I would love for this blog to be more dynamic and interactive. And yes, I will continue to try to solve that riddle, whether it is by identifying better topics to inspire dialogue or better incentives to motivate conversation.

I do want to take this opportunity during this season of transparent reflection and evaluation to see if I am at least hitting the target topics for the this blog while still working to hit the target audience.

Of course there are many ways to perform this kind of analysis…and, of course, I will choose the simplest and most visual…a word cloud!

[I like to use Tagxedo sometimes instead of Wordle because you can upload images and it will build your word cloud around it.]

I must say that I like it! I really think it hits the right notes as laid out here and here. And in a year, I will create another one and do a compare and contrast to see how the blog has changed or evolved from one year to the next.

Housekeeping

I hope you have had a chance to review the latest update from the field with regard to plans for an exciting future! There will be LOTS more to share and discuss around this in the weeks and months to come. Please do stay tuned.

We are working on creating the survey instrument I mentioned last week so that we can get input from our stakeholders about our first year.

We are nearing the deadline for voting in the World Zionist Congress. You can revisit why I am proud to be on the ballot for MERCAZ and how you can lend your voice to the future of Israel by clicking here.

We are also working on a Summer Professional Development update that includes everything we believe to be of value (whether it comes from Schechter or not) as you think about your own and your school’s professional development agenda for this summer.

The Transparency Files: Evaluation of Self

This week was Yom Ha’Shoah, the day on the Jewish Calendar where we pause to remember the events of the Holocaust and the memories of all who perished therein. Next week we will celebrate Yom Ha’Zikaron, the day on the Jewish Calendar where we commemorate Israel’s Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’Atzmaut, the day on the Jewish Calendar where we celebrate Israeli Independence Day.

It is a remarkable juxtaposition of days – a complete 180 degrees of emotion that takes place with a click of the second hand and, in Israel, the siren’s call. Unlike in the States where Memorial Day for many (although less and less the last fifteen years) is spent enjoying beaches, barbecues and sales; in Israel no one is untouched by war’s destruction and all pause to personally mourn.

We know – firsthand and through social media – all the amazing programs, commemorations, projects and celebrations that have and will take place in Schechter schools whose love and support for Israel are baked into their DNA. We will do our part to collect, catalog and share out to you and the field those images and words during this very special week in our schools.

In the meanwhile…

Like many of you, we too, are using this time of year to solicit feedback, reflect and plan for the future. In this first year of the “new Schechter” each season brings new challenges and first-time opportunities. Here, too, we are faced with our first opportunity to evaluate ourselves and to ask for feedback from our key stakeholders. On the latter point, please look for an invitation to provide us with your feedback and suggestions on how this year has gone and ways we can improve to better meet the needs of our schools and the field in this interesting and exciting new year to come.

So…how have I done this year?

🙂

Well, honestly, I am not entirely sure!

In my first two blog posts in this new role, I tried to lay out a vision and provide some content for what I hoped Schechter would begin to become. But, I would have to go back to my very first year as a head of school to find the last time I was in the position of everything being so completely new for me. I will have to look forward to next year to find comfort in the rhythm and routine of a yearly calendar and knowing what to expect and what to do when. This year? Not so much!

The best way I know how to make sense of what I have done and ways I can do better is to revisit some of the planning documents created as part of our rebirth and see how well (or not) I have helped bring the agenda to life.

Like any self-evaluation, it is not intended to be exhaustive, but illustrative. [There are also aspects of my job performance, fundraising for example, that require greater discretion.] And unlike my past evaluations, this one does not come with comparative external survey data. Not because I don’t wish to have that data, but because we have not yet developed the instrument to collect it! This self-evaluation is more “self” than normal as a result, but I hope still helpful.

Relationship Building

A huge component to this year’s work was simply reintroducing ourselves to our schools and field. Prior to this year, we lacked the bandwidth to physically visit and, sometimes, even virtually visit our schools to the degree necessary to truly serve. I am proud that over the last nine months, we have physically reached over thirty schools. I have done much of it myself (over twenty site visits) and it has been undoubtedly the best and most important work I have done this year. To see schools in action and to spend time with the incredibe professional and lay leaders who run them is a never-ending source of inspiration. I have learned so much about our schools and even more about how we can better serve them because of these visits.

In addition to the site visits, we have spoken many, many times with each of our schools during this year and have had ample opportunity to share resources and field questions and concerns. I would rank renewing our relationships among our biggest successes this year. I would also commit ourselves (and me) to finishing the work by aiming to have visited each school in person by the end of next year.

Board Development

We had two critical tasks with regard to the board this year. Making the transition to independence required growing a philanthropic lay board, and under the leadership of our first-time board chair Dara Yanowitz and our Development Director, Alisha Goodman, we have nearly hit our benchmarks in recruiting new members. Although we have some geographic diversity, a goal for the future is to ensure even better representation from all of our key demographics. The second task was to transition the prior “board” – largely made up of professionals – to a “Professional Advisory Board” in order to provide us with a sounding board for new ideas, a safe place for workshopping difficult discussions and decisions, and to receive critical feedback from the field. Under the guidance of our Associate Director, Ilisa Cappell, we have been enriched by the work of the Professional Advisory Board and look to involve them even more deeply in the year to come to always be sure the work we do serves the greater good.

Placement

This was a new experience for us all! We have been active partners with all our schools going through transition. We played a more active role in schools who conducted their searches in-house, as to be expected, but worked with all our schools and many candidates to the best of our ability. I am very pleased that all our new heads (whether new to Schechter or new to the headship) will receive appropriate coaching and mentoring in the year to come to ensure smooth transitions for all. That was a top priority for us. We learned a lot from this first experience and are confident we will be even better prepared to help schools and professionals on similar journeys next season.

Field Collaborations

Whether it is the work laid out in this announcement or more modest collaborations with our sister networks and other organizations, I think Schechter’s reemergence has served as a catalyst for new relationships. Our work with the Jewish Montessori Society has created new relationships which we hope will yield fruit in the year to come. Our contributions to the planning and facilitation of this year’s North American Jewish Day School Conference, especially the “Small School Track” championed by our own Ilisa Cappell and RAVSAK‘s Dr. Marc Kramer, we believe helped make the conference a success. We have gladly marketed programs and contests that serve the needs of our schools regardless of who created them and have had our programs and contests gladly marketed by others. We look forward to only more and more in the year to come.

Thought Leadership

I would have liked to have achieved more in this area. Although a few articles were published, I don’t think we did enough to clarify for the field who we are and what we believe to be true. This blog is one attempt. This podcast is another. But on the whole I think we got swallowed up by organizational growth, program and other business and we were unable to dedicate enough time to this. We also need to do a much better job curating the thought leadership being done so well by our school leaders and positioning those school leaders to take on even more thought leadership in the future.

What about “Program” you may ask?

At 1300 words and counting, this is probably not the best time to begin a review of all the new programs we launched this year! Especially because they are the things we have written the most about. I will say that we are in the process of reviewing the successes and failures of all our programs and initiatives and I will surely report back here what we discovered and to lay out our programmatic agenda for 2015-2016.

As always, I welcome your thoughts, feedback, questions and concerns. Feel free to comment publicly or email me privately ([email protected]) and let me know how you think I am doing. I really want to know.