top of page
Driving Into the Storm
The sky opened up on my way to work, and I could barely see the road ahead. It was one of those unusually dark Arizona mornings when the desert looks unfamiliar. Rain hammered the windshield. The wipers struggled to keep up. I slowed down, tightened my grip on the steering wheel, and focused on what I could see. And somewhere in that downpour, it hit me: this drive felt a lot like leading a turnaround school. Limited visibility. Uncertainty around the next corner. The respons
Melissa France
Oct 74 min read
Connection Before Compliance: But What Happens When the Teacher Goes Missing?
There is a part of the conversation about student engagement that we don't talk about nearly enough. What happens when the adult who built the connection isn't there anymore? Not because the relationship wasn't important. Not because the teacher didn't care. Sometimes the teacher simply disappears.
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Sep 137 min read
A Fresh Box of Kleenex Is Not a Mental Health Plan
Today Was Hard Today was hard. Not because my calendar was full, discipline issues needed attention, or emails were piling up. Today was hard because our youth are hurting. And some of them are hurting themselves. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2026) reminds us that connection, community, and access to support are critical parts of prevention. Thankfully, my conversations today did no
Melissa France
Sep 36 min read
The Work is Hard. Celebrate Anyway.
Turnaround work is hard, and some weeks feel heavier than others. But celebration matters—especially during those weeks. Our first schoolwide assembly reminded us that building a school isn’t only about academics, data, and improvement goals; it’s about creating a community where students and staff feel connected, supported, and excited to come back on Monday.
Melissa France
Aug 305 min read
The Heart of the Work
There is something special about the first few days back on campus. Before students fill the hallways and the bells begin to dictate our days, there is an energy that is hard to describe. Classrooms are being organized, bulletin boards are coming to life, lesson plans are taking shape, and conversations echo through the halls. It feels like possibility. This year, though, that energy feels different. It isn't just the excitement that comes with a new school year. It's the con
Melissa France
Aug 23 min read
The Work Between the Conferences
People often ask what it's like to attend education conferences. The answer is usually the same. You come home with pages of notes, a suitcase full of ideas, and enough inspiration to carry you into the next school year. This year was different. I came home with something even more valuable. Validation. Over the past two weeks, Dr. Stephanie Nardi and I have traveled thousands of miles, beginning at the Innovative Schools Summit in Las Vegas, where we had the privilege of pre
Melissa France
Jul 124 min read
The Cost of Circumstance
There is already a nationwide shortage of qualified science teachers. Finding someone in July is difficult enough. Finding someone who wants to join a turnaround school, believes in its mission, and can immediately replace the trust this teacher built over an entire year is something else entirely. That isn't filling a vacancy. That is trying to replace a relationship.
Our school needs him. Our community needs him. Our students need him.
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Jul 25 min read
This Is Our Super Bowl
There is a moment every spring when the building feels different.
You can hear it in the quieter laughter, see it in the way teachers hold eye contact just a second longer, feel it in the unspoken question sitting in every room. State testing is coming, and in a turnaround school, that does not feel like a date on a calendar. It feels like a verdict.
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Mar 283 min read
When Compliance Isn’t Care: Why Middle School Turnaround Work Needs Restorative Practices, Not PBIS
In middle school turnaround work quiet is not the same as healthy and compliant is not the same as cared for.
In my latest Turnaround Unscripted post, I dig into emerging research and lived leadership experience to make the case that PBIS often centers surveillance and normalization, while restorative practices build voice, accountability, and real behavioral growth. If we want transformation instead of performance, we have to choose restoration over compliance.
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Feb 75 min read
Connection is the Work
There are parts of educational leadership that never show up in preparation programs. No syllabus. No case study. No neat framework. They live in the quiet moments, the hallway pauses, the unscheduled crises, and the emotional weight you carry home long after the building is empty. The last couple of weeks have been heavy. Not the “busy” heavy that we like to romanticize in leadership. The real kind. Last week we were notified that a parent in our community was shot and kille
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Jan 244 min read
One Degree
“Thanks for helping me believe I’m not dumb.”
If a student felt the need to say that, what had school taught them before they ever walked into that classroom?
In the urgency of turnaround, we measure growth, track data, and chase outcomes. But beneath every score is a belief a student holds about themselves. The question we rarely stop to ask is this: What does your classroom teach students about who they are when the test is over?
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Jan 192 min read
Beyond Compliance: Leading with Connection and Courage
What if discipline conversations started with relationships, not rules? That simple shift in thinking is redefining what effective leadership looks like in schools today. As educational leaders are called into classrooms to coach through challenging behaviors, the real question isn’t which new program to adopt, but rather how to think differently about the work of leadership itself. The most effective leaders are not layering on new systems. They are making intentional shifts
Melissa France
Jan 182 min read
bottom of page