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

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.

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