As a Principal, I Told Some Stories.

Hi.

Welcome to The EDU Files, bringing education insights, stories, and vibes to your inbox every Tuesday.

I hope that you all had a great weekend. The Mrs. and I took a quick trip to Sonoma County wine country to celebrate our anniversary. I tell you, blink, and life will pass you by so quickly. Two middle schoolers later - here we are.

Anywho… it was a great trip and the inspiration for today’s EDU File.

Now, shall we?

Deep Dive 🤿

As a Principal, I Told Some Stories.

As a principal, I told some stories in my time.

I recently celebrated my fifteenth wedding anniversary with my wife in Sonoma County, California. We visited the Keller Estates in Petaluma (which I highly recommend should you find yourself in wine country). There, we were told about the vineyard's origins, founded by Arturo Keller, a Mexican immigrant who earned his fortune from the auto upholstery industry and his work with the largest auto manufacturers in the United States.

His love for automobiles was so profound that he went on to own the most extensive private automobile collection in the United States, with 450 pieces.

Mr. Keller passed away in February, but his passion was evident throughout his property. The finely manicured landscape, the care put into the vines, and the wine production process were all meticulous. The intentionality of Mr. Keller’s life was apparent in every story that was shared.

This visit had me reflect on our flight home about the importance of stories.

One of the things that struck me about Sonoma (other than the wine 🍷) is the stories. Each vine, each grape, and each bottle has a story. Those stories often begin and end with hardworking people - people like Mr. Keller.

Each school, each teacher, each student has a story. As a school leader, it is up to you to learn and, more importantly, tell those stories.

As a school leader, nothing positively influenced my school culture than telling people about our people.

I also learned that in the absence of stories (or information), people will tell their own. But as a leader, you control that narrative. However, it is an often overlooked focus area.

I am here to tell you - take notice of it. Tell the stories of your people.

Think about the incredible things that happen on your school campus every day. Think about the hardworking staff that works to educate kids on your campus. Think about the students and their incredible accomplishments, no matter how little they achieve daily.

As a school leader, I told those stories every day. This is the power of social media in today’s schools and districts.

Are you telling those stories? I hope so.

Read Arturo Keller’s obituary here to learn more about this incredible man.

Track of the Week 💿

Turn on, tune in, and check out…

Click the iPod to check out the track I have on repeat this week. Check out The EDU Files playlist for tunes to keep you rockin’ throughout the week.

Surfing the Web 🌊

Here is my favorite EDU content from the web this week.

• How Education Leaders Use Social Media to Build Trust, Encourage Creativity, and Inspire a Collective Vision by Saaba Quidwai

• What Happens When School Leaders Embrace Social Media? by Andrea Gribble

• The Social Media Platforms District and School Leaders Use to Get Their Job Done by Alexandria Ng

Be sure to check these out…

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See ya next Tuesday! 🍏

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