Welcome to My Blog!

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After spending the past six months as superintendent of the Ladue School District, a district of 4,200 students about 15 miles west of downtown St. Louis, I have decided to attempt to become a blogger. It never occurred to me before. However, I am finding this journey so interesting, inspiring and enlightening that I felt compelled to invite others to follow along!

For just over 26 years, I have been a public school educator and this is my second superintendency. During this time, I’ve learned and seen a lot, and I have some great stories — and maybe even some insights — to share. I have also learned quite a lot about leadership and have come to realize we are all leaders in some form or another. Whether it is in our employment, our family, or the organizations to which we belong.

So, through the topics I share here on From My View, I hope to provide some motivation, but also practical ideas that apply to leadership beyond the field of education. As you read, I hope you will find ideas that resonate with you and that you can make your own, ideas and concepts that broaden your lens and help you view situations and opportunities in new ways.

For example, when I first came to Ladue, it was important to me to find a way to tell our students, staff, parents and other stakeholders what I am about and what my vision is for this district. Something that would start to answer the questions: “What is this guy all about?”

This is where the theme of See. Serve. Connect. began. With these three words, I could begin to help our community understand what I wanted for our students and what principles were going to guide us going forward. Here’s the gist...

  • See. As a first step, we must truly see students and in doing so, not only respect, but value and honor them for the unique and wonderful individuals they are. 
  • Serve. We must serve our students, so they become their best selves under our guidance, with the self-confidence required to be contributing members and positive change agents of society.  
  • Connect. People only care about things to which they feel connected and our students are no different. A student who feels they matter and have something to offer to “the whole” has a much better chance of achieving their full potential. It is up to us to make and nurture those connections. 

This is where I started the journey of leading the Ladue School District and so far it seems to be working. So, what do you say we give this a try? 

My first blog will be posted in the next few days! I hope you’ll enjoy the read, share it with others and give me feedback along the way. Some of what I will share will be offshoots of concepts we are working on as a staff, some will be stories from my past that guide my current thinking, and some will be my thoughts on current happenings in our district and beyond.

Thanks for your interest! It is absolutely my privilege to lead this amazing district and to be able to see, serve and connect with all of you.

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