Oct 21, 2022
Josh DeSmyter is the
proud principal of Shrevewood Elementary in Falls Church, Virginia.
He has worked in education for 15 years in Detroit, Washington D.C.
and now in Virginia. Josh is currently in his eighth year as an
administrator in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). He leads
with the three core beliefs of Family, Excellence and Relationships
at the forefront of his work. Josh has taken Shrevewood ES school
from a 54% engaged school community to a 94% engaged school
community in just three short years by instilling a Culture of Joy.
He is currently a finalist for FCPS’s Outstanding New Principal of
the year award.
- culture of Joy.
- handcuffs are coming off when you get the principal job!
- positivity, modeling, consistency
- Being a really good listener.
- Knowing who they are
- individual conversations, one-on-one
- Influence others around you.
- How to handle it when someone comes to you with something that
doesn’t really matter.
- We listen, and we go back to leadership teams.
- Taking Action Book
-
Episode 100 of Transformative Principal
- Professional Development team.
- Parliament Team - wise owls
- Collaborative Learning Teams - putting leadership in the hands of
the teachers
- Staff Engagement Survey
- How to be a transformative principal? Be a learner every day.
Find something you can learn from others in your building.
Reeks excellence - can see that kids, family, and staff are
happy.
Process of the journey: What have you learned through other schools
and leadership?
Managing the message: importance of clarity, key stakeholders to
support the message
Leadership Teams: tell me about the team leaders that support
culture? How have you developed their leadership capacity?
Hiring: how have you hired teachers to support the positive
culture?
Community (students, staff, families): Consistency with the
modeling
Building aesthetics: How does an environment support culture?
Relationships with students, staff, and families
Visibility in classrooms, hallways, meetings, and community
events
Celebrations: with staff, school, and community
Being reflective and learning from mistakes
Honesty and vulnerability
The power of collaboration
Sunday Scaries - blech
60% there to everyone being happy.
“How was your break?” You can tell a lot by their response to that
question.
Culture -
CulturedKids has helped bring
What do you do to help your people feel good about coming? You can’t control their feelings, but what can do you to motivate and inspire?
Improve your school dismissal and safety response with Pikmykid, the Schools Safety and Dismissal Platform. Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer. Visit pikmykid.com/be to learn more
Lead a school everyone can be proud of.
Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do.
I help you stop putting out fires and start leading.
Learn more at https://transformativeprincipal.com