Gone to Carolina in My Mind

I've been blessed to have had the opportunity to serve as the Principal of McBee High School for the past two years. McBee High is blessed with an excellent team of teachers and staff. Over the past two years, the staff there has done some great things for students. They've reconciled the financial situation from being significantly in the negative to having every account in the positive, the facility has improved tremendously and is far cleaner, they achieved 100% CCR this year, the highest graduation rate in the school district, some of the highest EOC scores at the high school level, the middle school has the highest MAP growth scores in Reading and Math in the school district, expanded opportunities in both middle and high school, and both the Arts and Athletics programs have had tremendous successes. The teachers, staff, and students have truly done some awesome things!

Leaving a place and staff you love is a hard thing to do, but I know the staff at MHS will continue the commitment to making every decision around what is best for students and will have tremendous success this school year. Chesterfield County Schools made an outstanding choice in selecting Carolyn Caldwell as the next principal of McBee High and I know she's going to do great things.

This coming school year I will be transitioning to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in Regional and District Support (Division of Transformation) for the Sandhills region. I officially start on August 2, 2021. I look forward to working with a great team that is going to make a tremendously positive impact for many schools and districts, administrators, teachers and staff, and most importantly for students in NC. The knowledge and coaching I received from working with NCDPI as a principal has had a profoundly positive impact on my career. I'm blessed that NCDPI leadership had the trust and confidence in me to allow me the opportunity to serve in this capacity.

I will always be thankful and grateful for the opportunities I've had in Anson County Schools and Chesterfield County Schools. I'll always be indebted to the school and district leaders that took a chance on me, coached and mentored me, and all the people I've been blessed to work with over the years. It's been an unbelievable journey so far in being an administrator at all levels K-12 and in two states.

I've always felt that leadership is about service and helping others be successful. Woody Hayes was right that "You Win with People!" I’ve tried to live/lead by Dabo's philosophy that we are accountable to God for all the kids and teachers/staff he's given us an opportunity to impact! Ive always thought Bear Bryant had the perfect leadership philosophy...."If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win games for you!" The heart of everything we do in education is all about relationships and People!

Exit Strategy: There's a Reason the Windshield is Bigger than the Rearview Mirror

What is an exit strategy?  Why is having an exit strategy so important?  An exit strategy is a means of leaving one's current situation, either after a predetermined objective has been achieved, or as a strategy to mitigate failure.  An organization or individual without an exit strategy may be in a quagmire. At worst, an exit strategy will save face; at best, an exit strategy will deliver an objective worth more than the cost of continuing the execution of a previous plan considered "deemed to fail" by weight of the present situation.  Exit strategies are associated with warfare, business, and public policy. 

 

Unfortunately, many parts of the administrative side of the field of education has very little to do with helping children.  Unfortunately, political agendas and the politics required to appease boards or governing bodies will sometimes win out over what might actually be in students’ best interests.  Unfortunately, this side of education can be very business-like and cold-hearted…..very different than the heart of a true educator.  Unfortunately, we aren’t always able to look out for our own or those we recruit to be on our team as much as we would like to without putting ourselves in harms way without being terminal to our careers or cause unrecoverable damage to relationships with our bosses.

 Several years ago, I worked for a Superintendent that talked with school and district leadership about the concept of an exit strategy.  He was a former military officer and took great pride in training leadership.  At the time, I had just started in administration and was a little confused about why he’d talk with us about an exit strategy.  A friend of mine was in the same professional learning and growth session and spoke with me about it afterwards but under the framework of coaching.  Very few coaches go an entire career without being fired, being forced to leave, resigning, or having a situation where exiting was the best possible strategy.  Even the top coaches, the most elite, often leave under duress or against what they truly would like to see happen.  But this is part of life, the sooner you can transition to moving forward and getting to work moving forward the better off you’ll be sooner. 

 

Sometimes an exit strategy can be a huge door opened to opportunities for growth and advancement.  While it is tough to leave a staff and people you care about, change can be beneficial for everyone.  The best way to reduce the stress of potential change is to start working towards the solution or getting to work making a difference for an organization that needs your help and wants you to help them improve.  Once the exit strategy is put into place, it’s important to remember there’s a reason the windshield is so much larger than the rearview mirror.  Get to work and make a difference where you are wanted and needed!