Don't Pump the Brakes

I just had the absolute pleasure of getting back from Hawai’i. Visiting the aloha state was always high on my bucket list, and I was so excited to visit the Paradise of the Pacific with my family for winter break. Where should we begin? Our first full day there was Christmas, and it was actually the first Christmas we spent as a family outside of our home in New York. During the morning, we were all a little jet-lagged, and walked along the beautiful beach to celebrate Christmas. That night, we went to an incredible luau at Germaine’s Luau and enjoyed some delicious Hawaiian food. (Check out some of the footage from the luau in the linked video below). Celebrating Christmas in Hawaii with the Paulsen family Speaking of food, the food I had was some of the best I have ever had in my entire life. The dumplings from 7-11 were great, the Asian food was fantastic, and the poke (Hawaiian sushi) was even better. We even had incredible shaved ice from Matsumoto's , a ba...

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...