This is a lesson. If you’re guessin’ and if you’re borrowin’ Hurry hurry step right up and keep followin’ The Leader. Rakim, “Follow the Leader” Leadership has always been about being reflective, innovative, and pushing people out of their comfort zones. There are multiple needles to move to create a school that is vibrant, connected,Continue reading “7 Techniques For Principals To Move The Needle Now”
Author Archives: Andre Benito Mountain
Education Week: How Principals are Responding to the Events at the U.S. Capitol
Losing Their Voices
The bonds that exist between educators and families in small towns are unmatched in larger metropolitan cities. The tenures are more stable and a faculty’s community connections are as deep as family ties . It was 1983. Mrs. Doyle watched us file into her classroom as she clutched a handful of worksheets behind her back.Continue reading “Losing Their Voices”
In a Virtual Way
“I’ll play it first and tell you what it is later.” Miles Davis It was 1987. I was awakened during the middle of the night by the sounds of tambourines, drums, and syncopated wailings from the park at the intersection of King Circle Drive and Norwood Avenue in Swainsboro, Georgia. Those sounds were a mixtureContinue reading “In a Virtual Way”
Reglas Para Los Negros
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained Angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2 Just along Euclid Avenue, tucked away between a smoke shop and an African market, in one of Atlanta’s most eclectic neighborhoods is a Mexican restaurant that doubles as one of my favorite locations for writing on weekends. IContinue reading “Reglas Para Los Negros”
Grand Opening, Grand Closing
A writer must reflect and interpret his society, his world; he must also provide inspiration and guidance and challenge…One role of the writer today is to sound the alarm. E.B. White on the role and responsibility of the writer. This was to be our first year with a set of triplets in our school. HavingContinue reading “Grand Opening, Grand Closing”
Principals Don’t Walk on Water!
Canaries in the Mine
An influenza pandemic spreads across the nation in 1918 and 1919. As the cases grow, officials across the country decide to close schools. New York and Chicago decide to keep their schools open and send health care workers into the schools to closely monitor the conditions of the students and hygiene practices. In nine citiesContinue reading “Canaries in the Mine”
“Swingin’ in the Southern Breeze”
Corporal Punishment in Georgia Schools: 20-2-730, et seq. It may not be excessive or unduly severe or be used as a first line of punishment; it must be administered in the presence of a school official; a written explanation must be provided on request; and it may not be administered if a physician certifies thatContinue reading ““Swingin’ in the Southern Breeze””
My Heroes Wore Masks
We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar was only 24 years old when he published the poem “We Wear the Mask” in 1896. It was anContinue reading “My Heroes Wore Masks”
Where There’s Smoke…
“I’ve come upon something that disturbs me deeply. … but I have come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house. I’m afraid that America has lost the moral vision she may have had, and I’m afraid that even as we integrate, we are walking into a place that does not understand thatContinue reading “Where There’s Smoke…”
Leading Where We Dwell
So I got locked into all of the analysisAnd found myself locked into a kind of paralysisAnd something was calling and I almost didn’t hear itBut I spent a lot of time being blessed by the spirits -Gil Scott Heron from “Don’t Give Up” I live in East Atlanta. At 7:45am, the streets of LithoniaContinue reading “Leading Where We Dwell”
