As a middle school principal, I’ve seen that sustaining behavioral expectations for my students is harder this year, and I’ve heard the same thing from fellow leaders. When my school started experiencing multiple behavioral conflicts every day, that was new territory, and I have to admit, I didn’t see the path forward right away. I […]

When we reached the point in the pandemic when students could return to in-person learning, we wanted to make them feel like they could come back to the safest, most welcome space possible. We did away with rules about hats and headphones. We did away with all kinds of things in order to extend grace […]

There are so many things I love about Dawson Elementary School. One of those things is the amazing diversity here. We’re just so fortunate to have such a variety of different cultures, backgrounds and perspectives. I believe only greatness can come from that. Our school is a truly special place to be, and part of […]

Both of us grew up in Linden, and we both serve here now – Allison as an educator and Laurence as an administrator. Last school year, as we considered how we could recognize and honor Black History Month, a thought occurred to us: Why not highlight the influential figures who came out of our own […]

Many of your fellow leaders have expressed the desire to recruit and retain more educators of color, and Principal Project has partnered with leader Sharif El-Mekki to share his insights on what it means to build a school environment that is inclusive and empowering for all educators. 

Over the past several years, Baltimore City Public Schools has been working to transform schools and communities by fully implementing restorative practices (RP).  As leader Karen Webber puts it, RP has been a primary tool in working to end the school-to-prison pipeline, advocating for students in crisis and reducing arrests and suspensions across the city […]

As my district’s director of equity and inclusion, I know how much school leaders care about promoting success for every student, beginning on the very first day of school. This year is off to a complicated start, and I also know that it can be easy to feel like we’re already behind on planning anti-racist […]

My journey with restorative practices is similar to that of a lot of folks who believe in the power of student relationships.  After years as a teacher, assistant principal and then as a principal in Baltimore, I’d seen the impact that investing in relationships can have on school culture and on students’ futures, and I […]

As you lean into planning for a new year, I know you are thinking through how best to support students in what will hopefully be a more normal year. I’ve worked in several schools as a leader, and what I’ve learned is we have to teach to the heart before we can teach to the […]

Leading anti-racist instruction means shining a light on unconscious bias with our teams