Don't Pump the Brakes

Wow. I honestly cannot believe that we are already finished with Summer I of Columbia University's  Summer Principals Academy  (SPA). These last six weeks have been such an incredible learning experience, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with some of the best educators across the country. It was a much-needed break from the horrendous end of the school year I just went through. Between all of the student walkouts, teachers quitting daily, and (in my perspective) terrible leadership, I asked myself for the first time in my life whether there is a point when education reform goes too far. To be honest, the last four months of this past school year were the hardest four months of my career, and I was ready to put this year behind us.  The main reading room in the Butler Library "In some cases, you can fake it until you make it. You cannot fake it in SPA." A map representing our cohort by region. During our orientation in May, I genui...

As all of my friends and co-workers would attest, I am extremely passionate about the field of education. I fundamentally believe that our students and thus our schools are essential to the future of our great nation. I also believe that every student can be pushed onto a track towards future success; Stanford Professor Dr. Jo Boaler pointed out during a recent conference in Boston that 95% of our current students have the mental and physical capacity to attend a post-secondary institution if they are taught in the right way. It promptly follows that we must make our schools better if we are serious about the lofty goal of putting every student on the road to college and career readiness. Over the course of the last five years, I have read almost every book I could get my hands on that examines various theories about so-called education reform. I have considered a wide range of diverse opinions, ranging from Diane Ravitch to Michelle Rhee to Joel Klein. More recently...

2014 was the year of traveling and the year of weddings, and it was definitely a year to remember. As I mentioned in last year’s year in review , I rung in 2014 sixtyfeet underwater in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on an amazing dive trip with two of my teacher friends, Nick and Karina. It was my first live-aboard, and it was an absolutely incredible experience that I will always cherish; I already cannot wait to go diving again! Later in the month, Matt, Victoria and I flew down to Louisville for our good friend Steve Townsend’s wedding. Although we were there for only a few days, we tried to make the most out of the experience, and checked out the Louisville Slugger Factory, ate some delicious Hot Brown’s at the eminent Brown Hotel, and had an Inside-the Gates tour of Churchill Downs, too. At Steve's wedding in Louisville Spring went by so fast. Our basketball team won the state tournament, Teach For America-New Jersey celebrated their 20 th anniversary, and we celebr...

New Orleans. The Big Easy. N’awlins. NOLA. Whatever you would like to call it, New Orleans is high on the bucket for just about every American I know. When I found out that the NCTM conference was going to be held in New Orleans this year, a co-worker friend and I immediately knew that we needed to attend, and go down south to experience all of what New Orleans has to offer.   This flag flew above the USS Bayfield, and survived both the D-Day invasion in Normandy and a few months later during Iwo Jima.      On our first day in New Orleans, we went to the National World War II Museum , which was unbelievable. Throughout the four building exhibit, they had so much memorabilia from the Second World War, and it was exhilarating to say the least. After going through the World War II Museum, we had lunch at Cochon (which I would highly recommend!) and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the conference. Afterwards, we took a quick trip down Bour...