Chris Jones has been an educator in Massachusetts for 22 years. He is in his 15th year as a building administrator. He is a teacher centered Principal and passionate about continuous improvement and the idea that success is not a destination, but a process. Chris is active on Twitter, vlogs about continuous improvement on a weekly basis, and hosts his own podcast called SEEing to Lead here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1ggQyKZrXSOoiQ3TH6WCBq
as a way to amplify teacher’s voices in an effort to improve education as a whole promoting his “just cause”: improving the educational experience for as many people as possible by being purposeful, acting with integrity, and building character. He is currently the Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, Massachusetts.
Trench story: was working under a supt. who was difficult. Butted heads. What Chris found were his ideas were not being respected. His current supt. says he likes to “get in trouble”. Other supt. has lied. Grew more as an educator. In those situations, we need to take action. Chris resigned. Had to make the decision at the time. Grew exponentially.
Writing of your blog Character Today…Success Forever: Is just getting back to blogging. On his new website. How to improve ourselves day by day. He believes success is a process not a destination. It’s small decisions we make every day/habits being formed. Continuous improvement.
Being a #ruckusmaker: has been working with Danny Bauer since 2017. Is in Guiding Principles. He’s learned he has so much more to learn. Ppl support him. Was a checklist type admin. No matter how much you put in there’s more to give. Mastermind has pulled him away from being a checklist admin. Delegation, service, getting things done. Since leadership is challenging, Chris is an accountability guy. He is made to read, reflect, etc. Every day Chris gets 3 big things done. Things are clearer, he communicates better to staff.
Describe how you support your teachers in terms of your leadership philosophy- his HS has 1200, 127 staff members with 76 teachers. no one comes to work and says, “I want to suck today”. First thing you need is a mindset shift. Difficult to do. Idea is we need to accept teachers in front of us and then support where they need to be. Pull the teacher in to be part of support. Recognize where the t is at. Recognize where the teacher should be. Get them involved with building bridges. Need to work with them to point out where they fell down. Depersonalize where they fell short “you know what really works for classroom management”. Chris isn’t a believer in “best practices”. That way teachers don’t get defensive. I-statements. If you’re setting goals right, you may fall short. Want a big goal.
Let’s talk about your upcoming book, Seeing to Lead and what it’s about. Was released June 3rd, on Code Breaker? It’s a framework about being a t-centered principal. It means he wants to impact everything in a positive way. Teachers are reading it because it’s applicable to them in their class as well. Framework to support, engage, empower. Has tips, tricks, strategies they can use immediately. Fly-wheel support, engage, empower. If you’re empowering someone, they’re going to fall short.
Book deals/bonuses- offers bulk orders. Go to www.Seeingtolead.com and you can get signed copies. Will include book clubs for staff. He can do virtual presentations for 30 m. 3 portions for book study. If you do a bulk order & reach out to Chris, he will over-deliver.
Out of everything…...approach people where they’re at you can help people realize they can be better than where they're at. Work with them authentically. Empower them beyond their current position. Click To Tweet BE the best you can possibly be.
Where can ppl find you online? Twitter, not so much IG @drcsjones
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1DvC_XTiWVM
Are you excited that in-person conferences are back? I know I am! In fact, I am excited to announce that I will be at the 2022 Teach Better Conference this October 14-15 in Akron, OH. I’ll be recording episodes live, attending sessions, and connecting with a whole bunch of amazing educators. It would be awesome if you could join us! Head over to www.teachbetterconference.com/register and use code outofthetrenches to save $50 off your 2-day registration. I hope I see you in October!
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