The EQ Way is a reflection tool for leaders navigating difficult times--and difficult emotions--in their schools. In education, challenges surround you every day, but they don't have to define you. When the negative, frightful, or unknown happens--when you're confused because you aren't sure where things are headed--that's when you want to focus…

In the United States, the umbrella term "rural education" applies to diverse place-based contexts ranging from remote mountain communities to midwestern agricultural areas to southwestern mesas and beyond. One thing these varied environments have in common is the need for creative, solutions-oriented leadership. In "The Resilient…

Conflict is certain to show up in any school, so how do you as the leader know how to respond or when to intervene? Disagreements, friction, and even outright hostility are a common and unavoidable result of people working together, and not all conflict is necessarily bad; it can also provide an opportunity to learn and grow. Whether the situation…

A four-step process for effective equity practices in schools, with an array of professional development activities, leadership tips, and downloadable tools. Recent years have brought new calls to dismantle discriminatory policies and practices in U.S. schools. But adopting an equity focus doesn't guarantee the desired results. There's a risk that…

"We can't do that in our school district." "I don't have time to add that to my curriculum." "We're fighting against impossible odds with these students." Sound familiar? School improvement can often feel like a losing battle, but it doesn't have to be. In this fully revised and updated second edition of "The…

You're an Assistant Principal. Whatever your status--the sole AP in your school, one of two or more APs in your school, a career AP, an AP aspiring to the principalship--yours is one of the most misunderstood and underutilized positions in education. Positioned between teachers and the principal, you are an instructional leader. However, you are…

Have you ever imagined yourself as a teacher leader but were not quite sure whether you really had--or could develop--the necessary skills? Have you wondered what the first steps toward becoming a teacher leader might be, what kinds of approaches work best, and how you could overcome the inevitable challenges that come with leading your colleagues…

What is the secret to making schoolwide SEL [social-emotional learning] "work"? Growing numbers of people recognize that social-emotional learning (SEL) is central to a well-rounded education and to success in life outside and beyond the school building. What is missing is the know-how and framework for weaving SEL into the fabric of the…

Within today's multilingual communities, a growing percentage of students are emergent bilinguals--bringing to school a home language other than English and thus poised to become bilingual as they acquire the new language. As a result, school leaders need to have essential background knowledge and a wealth of strategies at their fingertips to…

How can we approach professional development in a thoughtful way, keep teachers motivated, and make the process worthwhile? It's a truth that school leaders can't deny: teachers tend to think of PD as a distraction from the "real work" of the classroom--as something to get through instead of an opportunity to engage, learn, and grow as…