PMP390: Mindshifts for Leaders with Dr. T.J. Vari
Dr. T.J. Vari is the Deputy Superintendent of the Appoquinimink School District. T.J. is a former middle school assistant principal and principal and former high school English teacher. His master’s degree is in School Leadership and his doctorate is in Innovation and Leadership. He holds several honors and distinctions, including his past appointment as President of the Delaware Association for School Administrators and the Paul Carlson Administrator of the Year Award. He teaches educational leadership courses at the master’s and doctoral levels. He has co-authored 5 books, including his latest two 7 Mindshifts for School Leaders: Finding New Ways to Think About Old Problems and Retention for a Change. He is a national presenter on school leadership topics and the co-founder of TheSchoolHouse302, a leadership development institute.
District HighlightsT.J. is proud of the work his district is doing with Pathways to Work, and Portrait of a Graduate. 94% of their students who go to college are persisting from year 1 to year 2.
Dr. Vari confronts two myths in leadership:Students must have a viable credential or certificate to be prepared for work, and students deserve pathways for careers and college that place them on the road toward those ends.
Turn-around restaurant managerNext, T.J. talks about how his years in the restaurant industry taught him how to turn underperforming stores into profitable businesses.
5 takeaways for school leadersIn addition, Dr. Vari touched on the premise of the book he co-authored on mindshifts for leaders. He explained how the COVID years taught us that we can find transformative solutions to hard problems. Now we must replicate that cycle in an ongoing way we know what is important, what is urgent, and what is persistent. The book 7 Mindshifts for School Leaders lays out 7 models for addressing problems and finding solutions.
Advice for APsFor new Assistant Principals, Dr. Vari, asks them to keep two questions in mind each day:
These questions will help APs steer away from the overwhelming requests for assistance that others can be trained to help answer while they remain available for their roles and responsibilities.
Advice for New PrincipalsFor the new Principal, Dr. Vari suggests keeping three buckets in mind:
Those areas are the responsibility of a building leader to be a part of guiding, directing, and supporting.
Stay ConnectedYou can stay connected with Dr. T.J. Vari at the website: https://theschoolhouse302.com/
Past episodeDr. Vari was a previous guest on PMP 285 with Dr. Joseph Jones and Dr. Salome Thomas-EL, talking about educator retention. Find that interview here.
The post PMP390: Mindshifts for Leaders with Dr. T.J. Vari appeared first on Principal Matters.
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