What's Going On

It's been a rough week for a variety of reasons:

• We've been on inclement weather for two straight weeks because we are just getting out of a heat wave. Needless to say the students are starting to go stir crazy and teachers are feeling worn out.
• The boys keep destroying the bathrooms. Almost every day someone is throwing wet toilet paper on the wall, flooding the bathroom, locking the stalls, clogging the toilets with toilet paper on purpose, knocking the soap dispensers off the wall...you name it. I can't figure out who is doing it and I am frustrated! 
• We busted two boys smoking pot in the bathroom on Friday. I am really sad because both of them are on the supposed young men's leadership council due to all their troublemaking. It's really sad to me. I had to bring the school police out and one of them doesn't even seem scared. It's scary when nothing seems to work with students 
• Our public announcement system broke due to construction at the site and no one seems to really care enough to fix it.
• My SDC teacher resigned and I held her for a month to find a suitable replacement but the replacement I hired a month ago hasn't started and now I have to have a sub. Students' one on one aides seem to be rotating in and out and calling in sick etc. 
• My sixth grade classes are really really struggling with EVERYTHING! Even our strongest teacher is struggling. They are fighting, being disruptive, refusing to do anything, videotaping one another, vandalizing the bathroom....you name it! 

On Leaving

 I just want to remember this moment and remember how I should be and what I should or shouldn't do in the future. 

In May I was promoted to principal and my phone immediately blew up with texts from other managers and my team members who were watching the school board meeting online. I think there were about 30 texts or so. My former boss, who is my boss's boss, texted and called. It continued on through today where I got random emails and texts from people, congratulating me or offering future support. Almost all the directors at the district contacted me....except my own boss.

At one point in the day I almost texted him to inform him about my promotion. But then I realized that I know that he knows and I decided to be stubborn and let me tell him something. Nope, nothing, nada, zilch. He didn't contact or text me about anything all day. 

I feel hurt, angered, and disrespected. I feel like I am a mule who is carrying his load and he can't even bother to give me an "atta girl". It does not feel good to have a boss that you work your rear end off for and he can't even give the decency to acknowledge that I just got a promotion. Maybe now I can get it through my head that I am not jumping ship but I am leaving a situation that is toxic for me.

I once had an employee under me who was very toxic and he eventually left. On his way out I didn't even acknowledge that he was leaving. I'm sure that he wasn't surprised because we had a very strained relationship. I can't help but wonder if I am getting some kind of karmic payback for how I acted. 

I don't ever want to act like that again. I don't want to ignore people or not acknowledge them. I want to recognize them, see them, celebrate them when they are leaving. 

For almost six weeks, my old boss kept asking me to do things for him. He never even acknowledged that I got a promotion and for weeks acted as if I didn't leave, piling more and more work on me. I'm glad I finally left.

New Beginnings

It's been years that I have talked about applying for principal and I haven't done it for one reason or another. But...I finally did it and so far it's been quite the adventure! I haven't even been appointed yet but I have learned so much about myself through the application and interview process so I wanted to have a place-this blog!- to document my journey so that one day I can look back on the ways in which I have grown. And hopefully what I put out into the world will help another person! 

Last month I went through four interviews and although I haven't been appointed, I am fairly certain that I will be. I can't explain why I feel that way because it's just an instinct that I have. I should find out any day though! 

I came upon this journey from a somewhat unconventional path that some people don't necessarily approve of. I have been a manager for over a decade at the district level in the area of curriculum and instruction and although I am mainly in curriculum and instruction I also tend to be called upon to be the jack of all trades. I have never been a vice principal and that is what some people seem to have an issue with.  Since the beginning of this journey so many people told me that I wouldn't make it to the final round of principal interviews because I haven't had that experience. But I just decided to try to trust in myself,  give it a try and see where I end up.

I've spent many years coaching school site leaders and sometimes even helping them solve some problems that they have difficulty with. Many principals have encouraged me to apply. My mentor and boss encouraged me to apply and she was a principal for a long time. My current job is somewhat highly political so I have learned how to navigate political landmines and also solve complex parent complaints and other issues. I know that I will need to be coached on the operational aspect of being a school site leader but I also think that I come with a wealth of leadership experience that new school leaders don't have when they start. 

I started this blog so that I can document my journey, especially that it's been an unconventional pathway. I am making a huge shift in my life and I want to document it all. One day I want to look back on this blog and be proud of how much I have grown. Through the entire interview process I feel that I stayed true to myself and my values and I want to continue to honor my values once I start as a school principal. Hopefully whatever info I put out into the world might also help one person in some way also.