Leader 2 Leader

  Leading Up While Managing the Unexpected? By: Elvis Epps, Principal, Lake Worth Community High School One of my favorite television shows was Star Trek as a child. No one on television was as cool and calm as Captain James T. Kirk. In every show, Captain Kirk would end up fighting an alien force. His primary duties as the captain of the USS Enterprise were to lead and protect his crew and his ship. If you were a fan of the show, you could probably finish this line from Captain Kirk. “Scotty, I need more ______! That’s right, and he always needed more power. Scotty would always respond, “Jim, I don’t have more power to give.” Captain Kirk would order him to find it wherever he could. Captain Kirk never accepted Scotty’s answers or excuses for not having extra power. Captain Kirk wanted more power, and that’s what Scotty usually came up with. Scotty never failed to deliver more power. The shows were exciting and memorable. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always hold when leading an...

By: Adam Lane, Principal, Haines City High School   Hello from the staff and students at Another Home Daycare and Learning Center, Brandon, FL. This amazing staff is committed to the physical, emotional, and intellectual development of children between the ages of 6 weeks to 5 years. As a current high school principal, there is nothing I find more rewarding than visiting this daycare, its staff, and its students. The experience of reading to the children, listening to their thoughts, and providing engaging activities is priceless and provides me an understanding of where the Early Learning development of the students begins to where their High School development continues. As an educator at the high school level, we understand graduation requirements, state testing, and preparing students for the workforce, military, or a post-secondary opportunities, but it is also extremely important to understand the student’s stages of development that come before high school.  As a high s...

  How The Jed Foundation’s Comprehensive Approach can affect measurable improvement in community well-being and improved student outcomes.   Student mental health is a recognized crisis in our country. In the past year, nearly 20% of high school students reported having serious thoughts of suicide, and it is the second leading cause of death among adolescents in the United States. Estimates suggest that 50 to 80% of adolescents who die by suicide struggle with undiagnosed depression, and that substance misuse increases suicide risk across age groups.   In this unprecedented moment, schools are being called on to play a big role in meeting the mental health needs of teens and young adults and many are working hard to do so. In fact, 80% of youth who receive needed treatment or support do so at their school. But often efforts haven’t produced measurable results because they are implemented in silos, focusing on only one facet of student mental health while neglectin...

By: Joe Snyder, Principal, Brown-Barge Middle School. Pensacola  While typing the content for this blog I had to pause and remind myself that today is the first day of April in 2022.....crazy! We are already 25% of the way through this calendar year.....sprinting towards 2023. I am not a huge believer in New Year's Resolutions, unless it is what you need to kick start positive changes/habits in your life. Resolutions often give us an excuse to continue our negative or destructive habits or behaviors until an undetermined date in the future. Resolutions also give us an easy 'out' once we slack or stop on our changed positive behavior. We can simply say, 'I'll try again next year.' That's lazy and not acceptable. If you have noticed yourself fall back into negative habits that are not good for your mental, physical, relational, and/or work well-being - start today with a refreshed perspective and exuberance knowing you still have 75% of the year left to right ...