"I'm tired." This simple, honest statement was made by a teacher in my elementary building at a recent committee meeting. The teacher's comment was echoed by others in the committee, and to be honest, was echoed by me as well. February and March are long months, and not just for teachers, students, and principals in dreary central Pennsylvania at this time of year either. Last year I spoke with a principal and assistant principal in sunny California. Interestingly enough I discovered that their school year calendar is very similar to ours and that they acknowledged the same fatigue during this time of year. While I was a bit shocked to hear this, it made me feel comforted a bit, too. And I couldn't help but think of this conversation when one of my teacher's said, "I'm tired," and what I need to do after hearing that. So with all of us feeling tired, I need to refocus my efforts and energy, and by that I mean focus on my teachers' needs a
"So there looks like there might be an opportunity for you." At the time when I heard this, I was literally in the middle of having my best teaching year. My sixth grade blended learning classroom was going better than I could ever have imagined. I was "teaching like a PIRATE," engaging and empowering my students, making learning relevant and meaningful to them, learning along side of my students every day, watching them get that love for learning back, and getting to know my students better than ever. And yet, a career opportunity came up that made me leave all of that. Why I Thought Left When I was told, "So there looks like there might be an opportunity for you," I knew it was to step in as acting elementary principal for another principal in my district who needed to take a leave of absence. I did not know how long it would be, but I knew I had to take it. Opportunities like these do not come along often, and if I wanted to take the next step in