Update from the Field - Texas Charter School Conference and TEPSA Webinar

The Texas Charter School Conference threw another successful conference. Highlights included:

1. Seeing some old friends from my days when I was the State Director of Innovative School Redesign.

2. The official Chef of the LYS Nation, Chef Dwayne, set up another four-star meal for a group of LYS Principals and Central Office Administrators at his restaurant, the Chart House in the Tower of the Americas. As long time readers know, I will put Chef Dwayne and his staff up against any other restaurant in the country.

3. Seeing a different teacher from John Woods Charter every time I turned around.

4. The enthusiastic audience for my presentation and the great discussion pieces that they added.

5. But the biggest surprise came from George Sanders, one of my teachers from my Harris County days. George showed up for my session, without realizing I was the presenter. We were both surprised and when he told me that he is now a principal who led an exemplary school last year, I could not have been more proud and happy.

The TEPSA webinar, my first as a presenter, went as well as I could expect considering that I am a novice. I still have to learn how to talk for 45 minutes without moving and without visual or verbal feedback. It is a strange experience. But the close to 100 attendees stayed logged in for the whole time and the questions that were sent in lead me to believe that they found the information useful and timely.

If you took the time to listen to me at either of these events, thank you. If you didn’t get the chance, in the near future we’ll be at the TASA Mid-Winter Conference, TASB Winter Law Conference, AASA National Conference and NASSP National Conference. Get out and represent your school, your district and the LYS Nation.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

TASA/TASB Conference Summary

Another great Fall conference. As usual, the LYS booth was a hub of activity, with old friends and colleagues stopping by to catch up with and/or check up on other members of the LYS Nation. Some notable visitors included Dr. Richard Griffin, Coach Tim Edwards, Dr. Jerry Roy, Dr. Mike Laird, and Dr. Rod Paige.

We also distributed another 1000 world famous Lead Your School koozies, again running out before the conference ended. And as you can see from the picture, there was an extended meeting with roots of the three major branches of the LYS Family Tree – Brezina, Brown and Berry.

If we missed seeing you, we’ll rectify that at the TASA Mid-Winter Conference, the TASB Winter Conference, the AASA National Conference or the NASSP National Conference.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Early at the Airport

So I’m at the airport, stupid early, again. This time I’m heading to the National Association of Secondary School Principals Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. Of all the conferences, NASSP has always been my favorite. A friend of mine put me on the spot yesterday and asked why I think it is the best. It’s not that the other conventions and conferences aren’t good; it’s just that NASSP is better.

I believe this because just like the principal, the convention sits at the crossroads of our field. You get the best national speakers presenting on topics from instruction to operations to Board and community relations. All the other conferences either have a narrower focus (for example AASA or ASCD), a smaller scale (state conferences) or a specific host organization agenda (Dagget’s ICLE or Read 180). My advice for teachers, assistant principals, principals and assistant superintendents, is for professional development purposes if you can only attend one conference a year, make it NASSP. Then find a way to get to at least one other conference.

If you too are heading to Phoenix come visit us as at the LYS Booth and stick around for my presentation. It’s always nice to have some friendly faces in the audience and as usual I’m presenting on the successes of the LYS Nation.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Meeting of the LYS Minds

The possibility of having a meeting of the LYS minds was mentioned recently on the blog. Since then, there has been considerable positive response. Not enough for a big conference, but definitely enough for a meet and greet with the chance to network with like-minded educators. Before I reveal what we are thinking, here are a couple of your comments on the idea.

“Sean, I would be glad to attend such a meeting. I think it is always helpful to share ideas and support each other in this tough job we do.”

“Count me in and I will bring some friends along as well!”

“My district is in for such an event. Colleagues need to meet and share how things are going. It's always nice to know that so many of the LYS Nation are working for students. That's our business and our calling.”

And,

“I would be interested even though I am not a member of the LYS Nation, although I'd love to be! I am a first year AP who follows your blog thanks to the suggestion of my former principal.”

For those of you who don’t know, as an entity, LYS is a huge supporter of our professional organizations, such as NAESP, NASSP, AASA, ASCD and all of their state affiliates. E. Don Brown is a former president of both the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Bob Brezina is a former president of the Texas Association of School Administrators and is the current President of the United States Academic Decathlon. So we think it is only natural to invite the LYS Nation to visit us at our booth at the NASSP Conference in Phoenix on March 11 - 14. But we also plan to host an informal LYS reception in Austin, Texas during the TASSP and TEPSA conferences this summer. I’ll post more details as we firm up the plan. The LYS Nation has spoken so we will make this happen.

As for the reader who is concerned that he or she is not a member of the LYS Nation, I propose the following citizenship test.

1. You read the blog on a regular basis.

2. You agree with at least 25% of what we discuss.

3. You disagree with at least 10% of what we discuss.

4. You recognize that as a profession, an organization, a classroom and as an individual, we are no where near meeting our potential and have a passion to chase that potential down.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Come See Us

This coming week LYS will be out at two different conferences.

The first one is the Texas Association of School Boards Winter Governance Seminar in Corpus Christi, Texas. On Thursday, February 11th, I'll present on the realities of leading meaningful change.

LYS will also have a booth at the American Association of School Administrators Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. On Friday, February 12th, Dr. Mike Laird and I will present on rapidly bridging achievement gaps.

If you are in either area, stop by and visit. It is always great to personally catch up with members of the LYS Nation.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...