Some teachers are seen as masters of their classroom. Students come in quickly, get to work, engage, and leave the room tidy. Other teachers seem to be losing their mind amidst the chaos. Why the difference?

Classroom management

In the 1994 edition of Educational Leadership Journal, researchers reviewed the last 50 years of education research and collected 28 factors shown to improve student learning. When they ranked the factors across various students, classroom management was named as the top way to improve student learning in the classroom. If principals and curriculum directors want to improve learning, they should help teachers become more effective classroom managers.

You can go from chaos to classroom manager extraordinaire but it depends upon your willingness to learn. Certainly books like Harry Wong’s The First Days of School and Fred Jones’ Tools for Teachers give time tested tips, but here are some things you can do to get started.

Procedures are not the same as rules

Harry Wong has a masterful way of explaining the difference between rules and procedures. You should only have a few rules — no more than five. Rules have to do with how we treat one another.

Procedures have to do with how you do things. When you don’t follow procedures you have consequences because you didn’t follow them. Only when it is becoming a real problem should a procedure be turned into a rule.

What do procedures help you do?

Effective classrooms have procedures for everything: starting class, ending class, asking questions, going to the bathroom, what to do when you’re absent and more. If you don’t have procedures, students will create their own and you might not like what happens.

For example, before I put in a procedure for asking to go the bathroom, I’d look up and a student would be gone. I didn’t know where they were or what they were doing. Now, students ask and I have a sign out clipboard by my door as well as a bathroom pass. Procedures do not mean that you are authoritarian or harsh. Procedures just mean that you have ways that you do things.

Every time the teacher speaks it interrupts the class. You can even have hand signals for questions. For example, students can raise their hand with one finger if they have a question or with three fingers if they need the teacher’s help. While this may sound silly, the more students you have in a class, the harder staying on task and classroom management can become.

These techniques can even help the class get back on task. We have a fourth grade teacher at our school who claps and the students respond with a special sequence of claps in return. The class is immediately quite, in order, and attentive when this happens and they feel more like a team.

Procedures can help you in every way!

When do you teach procedures?

The best teachers spend the first two to three days of school teaching students procedures.

As you start school you teach these procedures by explaining them, practicing them and practicing them again. While you’re teaching content and getting started, make sure to reinforce procedures for how work will be turned in. Students should turn something in, or a few things in, on the first day to get a feel for things. On the second day you should have those items checked, recorded, and graded. Then, practice the procedures for returning work.

Practice practice

As we discussed this in our school’s PLC last week, the first grade teacher says that they even practice getting out their books. They call their math book “big yellow,” so she’d say something like this:

“Now, let’s practice getting ready for a math lesson. First you get out big yellow and look on the board to see what page we’re on. Get out your paper and a pencil and write your name at the top of the paper. After big yellow is open start looking at the book to see what we’re going to be doing.”

What about consequences?

Never interrupt the flow of teaching to discipline a student. My sister, a middle school math teacher, just writes the name on the board. If the student continues or repeats the inappropriate behavior, she will write a check by their name. Students spend time with her after school as their consequence when they had their name on the board.

It is up to you to determine the consequences. Just make sure you are consistent and fair to all students. For example, some of my students have practice after school. Those times of the year students will have to come before school or miss part of break but I make it the same for everyone.

If classroom management is a struggle for you, procedures are just part of the process of getting it together. When your classroom is well run, it will run itself. You and your students can enjoy learning and not worry about the distractions that come from disorganization and chaos. Take time to set up your classroom procedures now and a first day of school script to teach those procedures and you’ll be set to have a great year.

Wang, Margaret, Geneva Haertel, and Herbert Walberg. (December 1993/ January 1994). “What Helps Students Learn?” Educational Leadership, pp. 74-79

An integral piece of my success each year is developing strong communication with parents. There are various methods in which I attempt to keep my students’ parents informed. Parents can visit my classroom page on my school’s website to find out what topics are being covered, what tests are coming up, and what events our classroom might be participating in during any given week. I update my page weekly or even daily if required.

At the beginning of the school year, I emphasize that emails are the quickest form of communication for me. Although I would love to return their phone calls, it can be almost impossible due to the fact that the nearest phone is in the teachers’ lounge. I ensure parents that I can respond to their questions and concerns much quicker by email. However, a shift has occurred in my communication strategy. A new and exciting tool has opened up an even better line of communication: ClassDojo Messenger.

ClassDojo Messenger has become one of the best ways to get instant information to parents and receive instant feedback as well. Although my first time sending messages were due to student misbehavior, I was thrilled with the results as responses began pouring in from the parents of those few students who were involved. I informed the parents of the incident at 8:30am and by 9:15am I had either a response or an indication that my message was read.

Since then I have found a number of ways to use ClassDojo Messenger to assist my communication with parents. I’ve also noticed that the parents are using it more often as well. With the app notifying me that I have a message, I am able to answer those immediate questions at anytime. I wouldn’t normally see those questions on my email until the morning. If it were a question about homework or an event happening the next day, my response would have been too late.

So far, I’ve used ClassDojo Messenger to:

• Remind parents of end of year procedures.

• Provide a Field Trip checklist of things the students need.

• Congratulate a student (via the parent) on his or her test grade.

• Thank the parents for a great year and wish them a relaxing and safe summer.

• Provide a little positive reinforcement for one or two challenges among my students.

I am surely looking forward to expanding the use of ClassDojo Messenger this school year. I also plan to check in on my students during the summer and send some loving messages to my former students. I’m excited to open a greater dialogue with parents through ClassDojo Messenger and see all the benefits associated with increased parent communication.

1. Greet students: Always stand at the the door when students enter the room. Say “hi”, say their names, ask how their soccer game went, give high-fives, etc. Make them feel welcome!

2. Establish classroom norms: Norms should be posted on the wall for all students to see. Norms should be short and sweet – perhaps keep the list to 3! Two examples of “norms” in my classroom:

• “One Mic”: When a classmate raises his or her hand and are called on, they have the mic. Everyone else should be respectful, quiet, and listening.

• “Don’t Yuck My Yum”: When a classmate shares an answer or an idea that might be wrong or that you may disagree with, keep any rude thoughts to yourself. Don’t make others feel bad for sharing their ideas with the class.

3. Organization: Keep your classroom organized! Color coding and labels are great ways to keep materials in their designated locations. Make sure all students know where all supplies are located, where to turn papers in, etc.

4. Positive reinforcement: When students are working hard, demonstrating teamwork, or any other positive behavior, recognize it! Let them know that you notice. I use ClassDojo to award students for great behavior. I also use ClassDojo to communicate with parents. I can quickly and easily send parents messages to share awesome moments in the classroom.

5. Post student work: Any chance you have to put student work up on your walls, do it! Students love looking at each others’ work. They also feel a sense of pride when their work gets posted. Additionally, if students know you might put their work on the walls they will put much more effort into the project because they will want to impress their peers.

6. Always keep your cool: If students are frustrating you or being disrespectful, take a moment to collect yourself and take a deep breath before responding to their behavior. Remember, you’re the adult in this situation.

7. Keep moving: Always be moving around the classroom. Even if students should be looking at the front of the room, you do not have to be standing up there. Walk while you talk. Students might need help but are too shy to ask for it. If you continue to circulate the room you can spot which students might need a little more guidance.

8. Be a role model: Practice patience and kindness. You might be one of the few positive role models in your students’ lives.

9. Relate to students: Allow your students to get to know you. When they share experiences with you, share back. When they feel like they can relate to you they feel more comfortable in your classroom.

10. Take time to laugh: You don’t have to be on topic 100% of the time. Make time to tell funny stories, jokes, and take school a little less seriously every once in a while. 😀

11. Be consistent with consequences: Students should be aware of the consequences for certain behaviors at the beginning of the school year. Be consistent. Although no one likes to be punished, students will feel safer in your classroom if they know you will always give consequences for certain behaviors.

12. Bring it down to eye level: When students are hard at work and you would like to have a chat with them, kneel down to eye-level. Don’t ask them questions from 4 feet above them. Have a real conversation. Students will feel more important!

13. Creative opportunities: No matter what subject you teach, you need to provide opportunities for students to be creative, whether that be through music, drawing, technology, etc. This will allow you to get to know them more and for them to show off their talents!

14. Admit when you’re unsure: No one knows everything, so be honest about it! If your students ask you a question that you’re unsure of, tell them! After I say “I’m not sure”, I always pull out my phone and ask Siri for the answer — students LOVE it.

15. Smile: 🙂

Teachers play a powerful role in a child’s life. Besides parents, teachers have the grand responsibility of inspiring, motivating, teaching, and sharing valuable lessons and knowledge with young learners.

In the classroom setting, teachers set the tone for learning by creating a warm and inviting environment, where they can mentor, nurture, and take account of the needs and well-being of their students.

Come to think about it, teachers have an extremely challenging job. From grading papers to striving to meet the vast criteria of a “written in stone” curriculum, teachers wear several hats. Aside from those demands, educators bear the weight of being responsible for the overall academic achievement of students. With that comes the task of feedback.

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What does feedback do, you may ask. Student feedback is one of the most vital aspects of a student’s academic career, as it ensures they’re on the right trajectory to succeed. It’s a gauge which paints a picture for students, offering insight about their student work portfolio, and where they are, and where they could be. Teacher student feedback, as powerful as it is, can influence students’ overall performance, self-perception, motivation to learn, and academic engagement.

Constructive feedback in education is nothing short of essential to the learning experience, as well as the teacher-student and teacher-parent relationship. It’s not only indicative of how much the educator cares about the learning taking place, it also shows they have a stake in their students’ outcome. Furthermore, constructive feedback gives parents a clear understanding of the educator’s overall goals for a particular subject or unit, and the goals set for their individual child. Parents can then target their attention where necessary and help their child leverage the feedback for success.

While student feedback is meant to be a good thing – a crucial component of helping students improve current skills, develop new ones, and acknowledge progress, it can oftentimes be viewed as judgement or criticism. Moreover, feedback is sometimes offered in a soley negative and corrective way, which can easily convey the wrong message, making it counterproductive and detrimental to learning. If not delivered correctly, feedback can leave students feeling uninspired, angry, and worthless, along with experiencing a slump in classroom performance.

That said, constructive feedback to students must be purposeful to the individual student’s needs and learning journey. It must be clear and direct, as well as encouraging and productive.

There are two main forms of feedback to students, summative and formative. Summative feedback focuses on learning after the fact. It’s an evaluation of learning at the end of a learning cycle. For instance, summative feedback examples for students would include grades at the end of a semester, a unit, or a school year.

On the other hand, formative feedback is designed to guide the learning process. The benefit of this type of feedback is the attention paid to areas of weakness (and strengths), and the encouragement for future improvement. In essence, the feedback is a tool to be used on the student’s next learning opportunity.

For the purpose of this article, we’ll look at formative student feedback. Dealing with multiple students on a daily basis, educators have to be consistent and deliberate in their feedback, as it’s easy to say “good work” and move on to the next student. To avoid such lax feedback let’s examine some techniques regarding how to give constructive feedback to learners.

Be positive. Before offering feedback, find something to praise. Build the student’s confidence as a learner by complimenting them on what they are doing well, then focus on improvement areas. Be specific. Avoid phrases like “Not quite there yet” and “You’re doing great” – neither communicates what needs to be improved. Instead, discuss the exact weakness and tactics to change the outcome.

Be immediate. This is one of the most critical examples of student feedback for teachers. The ideal time to provide feedback is during the learning process, which can deepen a student’s understanding, while prohibiting the reinforcement of incorrect ideas.

Now for a few student feedback strategies.

Use technology. ClassDojo is a unique app that’s perfect for communicating with students (and parents), especially when offering feedback. ClassDojo allows educators the ability to do a variety of things on one platform like tracking student progress, sharing feedback, assigning writing prompts, and creating a dialogue between students and parents.

Schedule 1-on-1 conferences. Conferences are an effective way to personalize feedback, instead of relying on written comments.

Demonstrate. Along with giving verbal feedback, modeling or showing examples of what you’re looking for has proven to be a helpful tactic.

We’ve only touched on a few examples of student feedback, but the main takeaway is to remember that feedback must be useful, positive, and suited to the individual student’s learning journey.

What other positive feedback examples for students would you add? What has worked for your students?

I remember one math class in high school that was dreadful. It wasn’t dreadful because the content was boring or the activities were disengaging — though we’ve all been there, too. It was dreadful because the environment was harsh, uncomfortable, and scary.

What could be so scary about a math class, you may ask? Was algebra alarming? Exponents eerie? Integers intimidating? While the purpose of class was to increase my knowledge, I didn’t feel like this was happening, and it had nothing to do with the content.

After becoming an educator myself and reflecting on this class many years later, I now have a better understanding as to why this class left such a negative impression on me. Our teacher — though clearly bright and well intentioned — did not set have clear outlines for lectures and assignments, nor clear and upfront expectations for classroom behaviors.

For example, his questions were unplanned (I suspect) and, therefore, unclear. He would call on us right away after asking an unclear question, and I wouldn’t know how to answer. He would then look disappointed in me and some of the math whizzes would shake their heads and promptly answer correctly. Not only did I not follow the unstructured lesson and questioning, but I felt unsupported by my peers. I felt disrespected and disengaged.

Here are some ways to ensure that you are creating a safe, respectful classroom culture!

1) Start the year with clear procedures and directions

When everyone knows what’s expected at all times, there is less room for misbehavior, ambiguity, and off-topic questions. Drill these practices and procedures, just like you would a fire drill, your first few weeks of school. Start the class the same way every day. Keep an agenda and cross off items as you complete them. Always end with some sort of check. Consistently practicing these procedures and structures creates a culture where students know exactly what’s expected of them at all times. Less ambiguity = less frustration.

2) Everyone participates!

One of the easiest pitfalls teachers can fall into is calling only on students who raise their hands or, on the flip side, calling on students whose hands are not raised as a “gotcha” moment. Both of these strategies are ineffective. Rather, use a system to call on students randomly, so everyone’s always responsible for the answer.

3) Wrong answers are okay, but everyone always finishes with the right answer

If a student gets an answer wrong, you need to walk that fine line between “You tried, that’s the important part” which communicates low expectations and “No. Wrong!” which makes kids feel like its unsafe to try a wrong answer. Use lines like, “It’s on the tip of your tongue, I can tell — someone help him out,” or “That’s wrong, but I’ve heard you say it before. Mark, help him out?” Then always go back to the original student, have him or her repeat the correct answer after hearing another student say it. This will allow them to leave feeling successful, knowing it is okay to try in class, even if they are unsure of the answer.

4) Wait time

If you’re asking a difficult question, give students the appropriate amount of time to think about it before calling on a random student, or let them write or talk with a partner about it. If you build in this wait time, it becomes a part of your class culture and students will feel more comfortable voicing their answers with confidence.

5) Positive responses — from students!

As teachers, we are responsible for providing positive feedback, but let your students do the work! After debriefing partner work, try asking, “Who would like to call out a glow of something their partner did well?” Also, within the last months of the school year, I recently started incorporating snapping when a student would say something poignant — and the rest of the class was allowed to snap as well. One snap for something great, two for a comment that was downright insightful and awesome. They loved the positive encouragement from not just me but their peers, and many of them wrote in their end-of-the-year surveys that they strived to get a right answer so the class or teacher would snap for them.

Would love to hear how other teachers create a safe, respectful classroom culture? Please share your ideas in the comments below!

Teaching is like no other profession. While some jobs might require you to give a presentation once a month, teachers present every day. While some jobs might give you a week or so to prepare your presentations, teachers only have the time that is left after school — which isn’t much after attempting to make a dent in the forever-increasing pile of papers that need to be graded.

How are teachers supposed to have any time for themselves? Everyone says the key to teaching is “finding the balance”, but how? When? “Finding the balance” won’t come easy, but I have a few tips and tricks to aid you in your attempt to reach teacher homeostasis.

1. Don’t be afraid to say no.

If you want to sustain your enthusiasm for teaching, don’t be afraid to say no. Try to avoid diving head first into five other roles that could potentially stress you out and take energy away from teaching. Although taking on the soccer team and chess club is certainly admirable, try to remember that it is okay to say no.

2. Turn it off.

Set a time every day to turn it off. Let’s say you finish class at 3:30pm — make a rule for yourself that you will always leave school by 5:00pm. Try your hardest to avoid bringing your work home. Leave school, turn it off, and do something for yourself!

3. Sign up for yoga classes

…or any sort of class/activity that interests and relaxes you. I also recommend paying ahead of time! You are more likely to actually show up if you do this. Believe it or not, pursuing your interests other than teaching is likely to improve your teaching.

4. Sleep!

Sleep is far from overrated. You need sleep to stay energized, and we all know how much energy you need as a teacher. The purpose of sleep is to rejuvenate you! So grab a good book, get in bed, and start logging those ZZz’s.

“Finding the balance” isn’t something that will just happen, you have to make it happen. So go find it. 🙂

A positive environment in the classroom leads to endless results in all other areas. Positivity sets a tone of caring, good character, and mutual respect in the classroom. Here is one way that I strive to keep the positive meter overflowing in my classroom:

Secret messages

Students love to feel important. With thirty-four students in my classroom, it is often hard to compliment or say something kind to every student every day. To ensure all students are getting a little something every now and then, I write post-it notes to my students. I try to find a thematic pack (apples for beginning of the year, hearts in February, etc.) and then make sure to address students by their name of choice (some of my kids like to use nicknames in the classroom, which makes the note even more meaningful). On the post-it I try to write something nice about them. It could be about something I noticed from the day before, “I love how hard you tried on that math problem yesterday. Keep up the excellent work!”, or it could be just a kind word, “Your smile brightens up my day. Thank you for sharing it with us today!” What I love most is seeing the expression on their face when they read it. Students feel so special. I’ve even had kids tape their notes to the inside of their binders. It’s a sweet, quick, and easy way to let your students know that they matter.

Keeping track

How do I keep track of who has received a post-it note and who hasn’t? In the past, I have used a class list and would give a student a check once they received a post-it. Now I keep track by using ClassDojo. I have a custom behavior that I click every time I give a student a post-it note, giving me immediate information on who still needs a note!

Invitation to students

Another addition I added over the years was the idea that students could write kind notes to each other. This was even more meaningful because students took the lead in empowering each other. How awesome to come into a classroom where kids were complimenting their peers, in writing! It was such an inspiring and heartfelt moment as a teacher.

The power of kindness conquers all in the classroom. Children learn from each other and care greatly about recognition. If you’re thinking of incorporating some new ideas into your classroom next year, consider this to be one of them!

As a teacher, I have a love-hate relationship with “what-ifs.” On one hand, I love dreaming. I love wondering about what’s possible if we make changes to learning environments, curriculums, and expectations. These thoughts propel me forward and empower my students to do great things. However, “what-ifs” can also put up boundaries to innovation. What if students make poor choices online? What if the laptop becomes too much of a distraction in learning? These kinds of “what-ifs” stifle innovation and can easily paralyze my teaching.

This past year, my school was lucky enough to pilot a 1:1 laptop program. I was a bit nervous incorporating this program into my classroom. I said to myself, “What if I can’t control all of this technology?!” Despite my worries, we went forward with the pilot program. Things didn’t go perfectly. However, through these mistakes my students and I learned a variety of life-lessons:

1. Staying on task

Before the 1:1 program students would find ways to be off task. They would pass notes or stare up at the ceiling. But now there was a beautiful shiny object in front of them at all times. We had to work together to find ways to stay focused. I loved seeing my students become more aware of their temptations and set better boundaries for themselves. They wrote themselves reminders and held each other accountable.

2. Paying attention to people

About half way through the school year, my students became obsessed with an online game. Their recess became consumed with trying to beat the high score. Even class conversations surrounded who was currently the leader. Shortly after I realized this, we sat down for a heart-to-heart. I shared with them my observations and told them I didn’t want to see them on their screens anymore during recess. I saw relief wash over their faces as I freed them up to be social again. We challenged each other to pay attention to people and have real conversations about real things. We learned why it’s important to look up.

3. Helping others improve

Going 1:1 changed our classroom environment. Suddenly everything was collaborative. Through Google Apps for Education, students were able to easily share their work with one another and receive feedback. We learned to work together and seek out many voices throughout the creation process. A proud moment was when I discovered that each student had shared their final essay with an average of four other students. They are working together to become better readers, writers, and teachers.

So yes, the “what-ifs” of going 1:1 can be scary, and I promise you students will make mistakes. But I believe it’s worth the risk. My students and I learned so many life lessons through both the mishaps and the success stories — I would say our pilot program was quite a success.

How time flies! It is the first day of school, and then before you can turn around the end of the school year is approaching. Time in the classroom is a precious commodity. Every second counts! So what are some strategies we can use to improve our time management and increase productivity for both our students and ourselves?

Take a lesson from the Boy Scouts: be prepared. Get to school early and get materials and equipment ready for the day. This way you can “hit the ground running” when your students come in, and no instructional time is lost while you are getting ready.

Encourage a climate of urgency. Have the attitude that every second is precious. Every second wasted is a second that students are not learning, and that is not ok! After all, learning is the most important aspect of what goes on in the classroom!

Have a free choice board available for early finishers. Those who complete tasks early need to be productively engaged. If they are not peer tutoring or helping another group complete a task, they should be actively working toward finishing one of the items listed on the free choice board. This could include studying domain specific vocabulary words, writing in a journal, reading a book, or whatever you deem valuable and appropriate.

Use a timer and/or music for faster, smoother transitions. Give students a time limit. It could be 30 seconds to a minute, depending on what needs to be accomplished. Reward the first group of students that has completed all of your requests. Playing a short clip of music from a computer, CD, or mobile device is also effective and fun for the students. Vary the music to fit the mood and tone of your classroom, your students, and yourself. Challenge your students to accomplish the transition before the music stops. Consider even using this short transitional clip of music as a lead-in to your content lesson. You will be amazed how much time you save!

Time students when they are solving problems or discussing lesson content with partners or groups. This keeps the pace of the lesson moving, and students aren’t as likely to get stuck or distracted. After the time limit has expired, share and discuss the completed mini-task with the class, and move on to the next part of the lesson. This method is effective because it gives students a chance to process and share the content of the lesson verbally with a group or partner in short snippets. This breaks the lesson up, and as a result, keeps students more engaged.

Utilize signals for activity changes. Students love variety, so collect some noisemakers (or even sound files on your mobile device) to use as a signal when you want the attention of the entire group. This is a time-saving, immediate way to focus the group when needed.

Remember that children thrive on routine, so stay on schedule! Even if you don’t get to the end of your lesson, find a “Plan B” stopping point, and move on to the next scheduled part of your day. You can always come back to it later if there is time. If not, at least you are getting everything in that you originally scheduled. Will you feel sometimes like you never finish anything? Yes! However, staying on schedule helps you keep a healthy pace, and exposes students to the maximum amount of content you had planned.

Being an effective time manager in the classroom is one of the characteristics of a highly effective teacher. Remember to keep that sense of urgency about time and learning alive in your classroom!

After a year of giving up our Saturdays, we were cranky and our heads felt stuffed with information. Many of us were bogged down in job hunting, interviewing, and finishing our field-study projects as we prepared to complete our administrative credentials. Bill Tschida came in to teach our very last class, and he opened the session by handing out Hershey’s Kisses, representative of what he called “gold nugget” tips. The chocolate perked us up immediately and the advice that Bill gave us was applicable not only to administrators, but to teachers – our most important educational leaders.

The following are Bill’s “gold nugget” tips for educational leaders:

1. If it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist

Whether it’s a complete change of job position, title, responsibilities, and salary, or important information you want to pass onto colleagues and parents, words aren’t enough. Even when we trust our employers, it’s details of your employment should be put into writing for clarification and permanence.

2. Whenever you write anything, pretend it will be on the front page of your daily newspaper

We constantly remind our students about the pitfalls of social media, warning them against “sexting”, racy photos, or inflammatory statements on Facebook and Instagram. We need to heed this same advice. Whether it’s a picture or an off-color email, our jobs and reputation can become irreparably tarnished with the push of the “send” button.

3. Treat all people with respect at all times

Students should be respected. They do not deserve to endure unnecessarily harsh criticism because we are in a rotten mood. Our school custodians, classroom aides, security guards, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers are just as intrinsic to students’ educational experience as teachers and administrators are.

4. Make sure that all confidential matters remain confidential

This is a no-brainer when it comes to IEP documentation and personnel files. However, this also applies to conversations between admin, educators, parents, and in some cases, even students. When in doubt, just ask.

5. Be proactive, not reactive

Great leaders in organizations and classrooms are visionaries. They always look ahead and anticipate small issues before they become unsurmountable problems. It’s not sustainable or professional for anyone to spend their day putting out fires.

6. Listen to what your staff and colleagues have to say, even if it’s hard to hear

Squeaky wheel staff members can be a challenge for everyone, but effective leaders know how to uncover the kernels of truth in their criticism and take away valuable information. We can’t make everyone happy all the time, but we can and should always strive to grow and improve.

7. Be genuine and honest in all of your interactions with others

Leaders assume a great deal of personal responsibility. Owning your words is a huge part of this. Your colleagues, students, and parents will always forgive you for making mistakes, but once we breach trust, that’s incredibly difficult to remedy. Tell the truth even when it hurts.

8. Sleep on important decisions

We save everyone time when we delay decisions by a few hours and think about our options, rather than giving a knee-jerk response and having to backtrack and fix mistakes. Take your time. Nothing is ever so dire that it can’t wait for full consideration.

9. Follow through

People are capable of inspiring and driving innovation. But sometimes people stall or even jump ship when faced with the details. As effective leaders we should harness this creative energy and support all staff to ensure that timelines are established and goals are met. When they make a pledge they keep it. Strong leaders display commitment, ownership, and reliability.