Ready to Calm Those First Day Jitters? I remember my first varsity football game in high school. I honestly felt like I was going to throw up. I felt like I had no business starting as a sophomore, and I was scared by the sheer size and number of the opposing players....
What comes to mind when you think about New Year’s Eve??? Is it something like fresh-start, clean-slate, new beginnings, or resolutions? Every December 31 we gather together with family and friends to reflect upon the past 12 months and celebrate the new year we...
Overcoming First Day Jitters: Embracing New Beginnings Summer is winding down. School supplies are prominently displayed in the front isles at the store and educators are beginning to shift their mindset from Summer to Fall. Social media memes showcase educators...
9-Steps to Building a Great School Slogan This could be the most important blog I write all year!!! After working with over 1,000 schools, I have come to believe that school slogans are the cheapest and most direct way to drive school culture. But even if you have...
How to Be the Influencer You Need to Be I hear the word “influencer” a lot these days. They have thousands of followers on Facebook and rep big brands on Instagram, but their influence usually tops out at hocking free hotel rooms or promoting product deals at...
Self-Promotion: An Important Skill for Any Educator As you soak in the rays of summer and enjoy your well-deserved time off to rest and rejuvenate, I thought I would throw a concept your way: Self-promotion May not be a term you would immediately associate with...
School Improvement From The Inside Out I have heard it said that, “There isn’t a problem that cannot be solved by the collective knowledge of the professionals in the room.” I have not tested this theory and I am not sure if it can work with every problem. However, I...
Are You Worried For Your Students? My dad taught 6th grade for 38 years, he would always joke that there were THREE reasons to be a teacher: Summer Break, Spring Break, and Christmas Break ???? I’m sure you have more reasons, but you made it to summer break!...
Can I Get 10-minutes to Help Plan Your School Culture? I’ve been on 1,000+ campuses, and I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: your school culture can make or break your success as a leader, educator, and campus! But the odds are stacked against you....
3 Great Ways to Support Students Over Summer Before I begin this blog, let’s take a moment to bask in the glory of another school year in the books. You have no doubt made a difference in the lives of those you support. Kudos to you for providing guidance, advocating...
Capture Today to Enhance Tomorrow School is winding down. One of the most amazing things about the field of education is that every year you have a fresh start, a clean slate…a new chance. If your classroom management wasn’t working as you would have hoped, if...
2 Simple Ways to Be Stronger Than Stress We all know that the number of students suffering from anxiety or depression is skyrocketing… But they are not unique, we all fall victim to various stressors in our lives. So how do we overcome them? After visiting 1,000+...
Be The Best Educator You Can Be By Being Your Best Self The Educational field is demanding. The hours are long, the job is complex and it can be a drain. As educators, we are in constant service of others and at times we can neglect ourselves in order to provide for...
The Importance of Self-Care For Students and For Educators! The story of the Tortoise and the Hare comes to mind as the end of the school year approaches. As counselors we can relate to the Hare because school days can feel like a sprint. We hit the ground running...
Remembering Columbine… The Day That Changed Everything 20 years ago Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shattered the perception of safety and security we’d always assumed was part of our school campuses. A few times over the years, audience members that have seen me speak...
The Emotional Baggage Affecting Our Students & Staff You care deeply about educating students. You spend extra hours, read books, and even joined a closed Facebook group to get fresh info. But your students haven’t really responded, your school culture is still...
3 Simple Ways to Strengthen School Safety April 20, 2019 will mark the 20th anniversary of the tragic school shooting at Columbine High School. This harrowing tale of violence in schools has played out over and over again since then, all the while striking fear...
4 Ways to Help Students Unpack Their Emotional Baggage Being student-centered is easier said than done. Self-preservation is human nature. Thinking about one’s self is a way of survival and we have all had days in the classroom in which we feel like we are just...
Free Suicide Prevention Lesson in This Blog There are nearly 45,000 suicide completions each year here in America. It is the second leading cause of death for our high school students. Imagine if one passenger jet crashed EVERY SINGLE DAY, killing everyone on board....
Are your students and staff questioning their value? Years ago, someone really close to me told me that my effort to obtain my LMFT wouldn’t benefit TEEN TRUTH. I was crushed by that feedback, and honestly, pretty pissed off. It shook me to the point that I considered...
3 Simple Ways to Stop Teen Suicide There’s no easy way to broach the sensitive topic of teen suicide. So I will just get to the staggering statistics that clearly show the severity of the situation regarding our youth today. In 2016, according to the CDC-Centers for...
The Value of Being Valued A teacher will never, ever, know the impact they have on the lives of the students in their classroom. At times, a student will come back into your life and show you, but for all of the students who have reached out, there could be many more...
An Easy Way To Connect Students On Your Campus Is every student on your campus connected? If they aren’t, let’s fix that issue right now! One of the concepts that I wrote about in my book, Building Resilient Students From the Inside Out, is the idea of how ONE...
3 Easy Concepts to Boost Resiliency on Campus Remember when you tried out for the cheerleading squad and didn’t make the cut or when you got your report card and although you wanted to make it on the honor roll you missed it because of that 77 in Chemistry? How about...
