Principal Problems with Dr. Jen

Launching a newsletter took a little courage. It’s not that I won’t have enough to say— I will!— but because it seems like a big ol’ commitment during a time I already have a lot of big ol’ commitments. I’ve never regretted a single time I took a risk, though. Never regretted a head-on confrontation of my professional anxiety. Never. 

So here we are. 

What we’ll be talking about here is the real-life work of school leaders. I’ll tell my own stories, from the classroom to the principal’s office to the district office. I will also highlight some of the phenomenal work being done by leaders across the country and the world— what is working, what isn’t working, what is causing despair, what unique solutions might exist right in front of our own eyes. 

If you’re reading this newsletter, you might know that I’ve written a full handful of books with ASCD. ASCD is a powerhouse organization for school leaders, and they’ve partnered with ISTE to do all the things— curriculum, instruction, technology, management, and more. Writing for this organization has been an incredible opportunity for me, and it’s led to some work with districts who are looking to upskill their principal teams. 

Yeah? So?

Well, working with school leaders across the country has shown me how complex our schools are, not just individually but also collectively. There simply is no “one-PD-fits-all,” no program that makes things magically better, no mindset that fixes all the problems. Each one of us has a school, a staff, a district, and a community with unique challenges. In this newsletter, I’m going to try to unravel that ball of yarn. Every newsletter will be a short read with a “Think about this” section— which will include immediately applicable ideas and strategies. There are no easy answers to the work we do. What we can do, though, is stay curious.

I said “short” and I meant it; no more than a 5-10 minute read.  

100% of words used in this newsletter are, and will be, my words, coming from my mind and my hands and my experiences. There will be no AI. That is my solemn promise to you. Not because I’m ignoring AI, or I don’t believe AI is transformative— on the contrary, AI astounds me, and I love how it has made my work more efficient and polished. But this newsletter doesn’t need to be efficient or polished. It needs to be human. So that’s what you will get as you read. 

Thank you for joining me on this new journey. The work we’re doing ain’t for the faint of heart, but I’m here for it— and so are you. 

Let’s Stay Curious—

Jen