Brian M. Stack's School Leadership Blog

This article was written originally for MultiBriefs Education . This month, I will complete my thirteenth year as a principal in the same New Hampshire High School. I’ve seen an entire generation of students complete their K-12 education in my system. According to the Learning Policy Institute , I am in a category with very few others - only 11% of principals nationwide have been in the same school for more than a decade. Last June, in a Multibriefs Exclusive , I wrote about an Arkansas principal who was retiring after 48 years of service to his district! For me, this is about the time of the year when some of my teachers will come to me and ask me if I am planning to leave to school at the end of the year. “If you leave, I leave!” is a common phrase I hear from them. The truth is, I’m not looking to leave. I have a high level of job satisfaction, and every day I am excited to go to work in an effort to work with my team and my staff to make a different for the 700 students...

This article was written originally for MultiBriefs Education . “The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s about what you are made of, not the circumstances.” Years ago as a high school math teacher this quote was displayed in my classroom as a way to remind my students that regardless of their circumstances and their environment, they could overcome adversity and succeed. In life, we make do with the hand that is dealt to us. We find a way to exploit our strengths to compensate for our differences. Yet, for all the promise of a positive outlook when dealing with shortcomings in life, the reality is that sometimes, an upgrade can go a long way towards changing one’s promise for a better future. In America, there are nearly 100,000 public and charter schools scattered across our 50 states. They represent a combined 6.6 billion gross square feet of instructional space, sitting on over 1 million acres of land. According to this report back in 2011, sc...

This article was written originally for MultiBriefs Education . Every month or so, a community member or parent in my high school sends me an article that talks about how schools need to spend more time investing in the trades. The latest share came from the Hechinger Report’s Matt Krupnick, who wrote about how after decades of pushing bachelor’s degrees, U.S. needs more tradespeople . Krupnick went on to share how states like California are spending millions of dollars on campaigns to revive the reputation of vocational education, which includes funds targeted at redesigning career and technical education training programs. California’s efforts are at the heart of a debate raging across our country. Trades have often had an “image” problem, being seen as a less-desirable alternative to college. This is wrong. What does it mean to be college and career ready? That definition has changed with the times, and it is likely set for another big change in the years that lie ahead....