Hey Don, I was echoing your advice just today!

I told my team that my mentor (The E. Don Brown) always said that a well ran school is teaching by second period on the first day of school. E. Don also taught me to issue books and to do other administrative tasks on the fly. Never take out a day of instruction for stuff and things.

This sends a strong message to students and is contrary to most of their expectations. It sets a tone for the year. On the administrative side, my team was hyper-monitoring classrooms on day 2 and coaching teachers for improved instruction on day 4. We went Academically Recognized in one year.

Thanks, Don and Sean.

SC Response
Thanks for the credit, but you and your staff did all the heavy lifting. All we did was say, “Go get ‘em!”

Just so the other LYS readers know, the reader who sent this in is the only principal I am aware of, who has taken not one, but two high schools from unacceptable to recognized in less than two years.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…