J Alexander
@JAlexanderPrin1
Surround yourself with people who push you to do and be better. B.M., M.A.E., M.Ed. Ed.D-2026 Recovering Principal, Chaos Coordinator
"In baseball and in life, the people who swing hardest tend to miss more often."
Failure. It is simply a part of being a leader. The thing some leaders forget in the midst of the chaos, is that often times the amount of eventual success is proportional to the amount of risk and failure we endure along the way. Read more: preview.mailerlite.io/preview/394942…
“Don't fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.” — Bruce Lee
Research shows that high performing teams are significantly more likely to require prework from participants (39% more likely), introduce an agenda (26% more likely), and begin with a check-in that keeps team members apprised of one another’s progress (55% more likely).
Took the day off to watch the last mountain stage of the Tour de France, then got up to some 14% grades of my own.
Nice little engine-building ride this morning. Gotta get fit to enjoy this masterpiece of a machine.
5 pathfinder Astrea secondaries are going completely phone-free from September. Another element of our deeper improvement work. ✅7+hours free from social media (and the average 192 alerts per day) ✅⬆️ social interaction ✅7+ hours less distraction ✅⬆️ belonging ✅⬇️ bullying
Two years ago today I published this article making the case for phone-freee schools. The case is far stronger today, now that so many schools are getting great results, esp. hearing noise and laughter in the hallways again. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people. -Nick Saban
Delayed ≠ denied. Something greater is coming. ✨
District leaders should be questioning themselves if their principals aren't seeking out learning opportunities.
Principals, no excuses. Ditch "It's out of my control." Growth is your duty-own it fully. No one's paving your path. Attend a webinar, read a book, seek feedback, or mentor someone. Level up to elevate your school. 📈 #PrincipalLife #NoExcuses #RYF
This grrrs me to no end.
Many of you may not know that student written responses on the STAAR test are graded by computers. We resubmitted our results and had almost 25% of our submissions improve by paying @teainfo an additional 50 dollars per test (!?!) to have a human being lay eyes on the…
Wrapped up a fun trip to Seattle to attend a conference with some excellent, excellent food.
Went for a walk before filling my brain then filled my belly to match.
This is England, but I suspected that some complaints I received were AI generated. These complaints required a substantial amount of time due to their complexity (and randomness!), taking time away from instruction and supporting teachers. Shame on these people.
Exclusive: Schools are being hit by a barrage of parent complaints generated by AI, which are taking up more staff time because they are complicated and often contain references to the law tes.com/magazine/news/…
It's buttcrack-o-clock in the morning and I'm headed to Seattle for a conference!
As a learner, if I do not have an explicit picture of what success looks like, I have no direction for self-correction or reaction to feedback. Success Criteria matters.
Behaviour always comes first. You cannot do anything until behaviour is sorted, and fundamentally the main driver of that change is leadership. Centralised systems, robust escalatory processes, consistent strategies and unwavering support. All necessary conditions. 👇🔥👇🔥
Before spending hours telling teachers what new found research that they need to know about for their teaching, make sure the behaviour they are being confronted with is manageable enough that they can think about more than just surviving another day.
George is a great educator doing important work. Sadly, when you stand for something, desperate and vicious people will attack you for trying to improve the lives and futures of children. We need more people like George, and a lot less of the trolls.
Over the weekend, I’ve been at the centre of a pile on. All because I posted a photo of my staff as we rehearsed a line up routine during training. Apparently, this makes me ‘vile’, ‘pathetic’, ‘little dictator’, ‘cult weirdo’ and an ‘over promoted thick Drama teacher’!
Wise words.
You may not have gotten the promotion you were promised. You might not be recognized the way you deserve. You might even feel stuck—undervalued, overlooked, or forgotten. But let me tell you something I’ve learned the hard way: Just because it’s not permanent doesn’t mean it’s…
MVDP 💥💥💥 Stage 2 belongs to Van der Poel‼️‼️ Tadej and Jonas contested the sprint but it was the Flying Dutchman for the W 🥇⚡️⚡️Head to Velo for the stage 2 report: bit.ly/4lEV5le 📸 @gettysport
Schools don’t need mindfulness activities or “love language” surveys (they’re real a thing); they need quality math and literacy curricula. Schools don’t need more “mental health experts” offering feckless advice; they need more content experts providing solid instruction.…