One of the hardest parts of teaching and leading is deciding what deserves your attention.
By March, everything can feel urgent. Emails, data, behavior, initiatives, expectations. But when everything is urgent, focus disappears.
Refinement means choosing what matters most right now.
Focus Is a Boundary
Refining your focus doesn’t mean ignoring responsibilities. It means prioritizing impact.
Ask yourself:
What one area would most benefit students if improved?
What’s pulling my attention without adding value?
What can wait?
Depth beats breadth. Especially mid-year!
Try This
Name:
One instructional focus
One system to maintain
One thing to let go of
That’s enough.
Podcast:
This week: EPISODE 100! What! This is a very special episode! Make sure to tune in to the video of this episode so you can see all the folks who joined us for this event! We loved this convening of amazing educational leaders!
Next week: Raising Resilient Students with Josephine Hunt
"In this conversation, anchor Tony Salerno and I discuss how educators and families can work together to help students build emotional strength, confidence, and the ability to grow through challenge: resilience. Many leaders, educators, and parents are noticing the same shift in our students and children: Our young people are experiencing more anxiety, social pressure, and emotional challenges than ever before. Because of this, resilience has become one of the most important skills we can help our youth develop."
Coming Up :
Josephine will be presenting at:
The Power of Play: Remixing Learning Through Inclusive,Healing-Centered Joyful Classrooms: April 25, 2026; NJEA PDII Conference:Transform: Princeton, NJ
Tammy will be presenting at:
Engage Learning Conference, June 9-10 in Birmingham, AL - Edit to Elevate: Simplifying School Leadership for Lasting Impact
Learning Forward Texas, June 16-17 in the Dallas area - Edit to Elevate: Simplifying School Leadership for Lasting Impact
Opening keynote- Edit to Elevate: Creating Space for What Really Matters
Breakout session - Make the Edit: Your Leadership Edit in Action
In July, we are excited to have our summer workshops hosted at Bornblum Jewish Community School in Memphis again! This year, we are running two workshops simultaneously on July 21-22. Anyone is welcome to register!
Teacher Circle OR Coaches Circle - We will be creating a space for teachers or coaches to get together to discuss the YAYs and challenges of your roles. We are only offering one "Circle Time" for now. They will run once monthly for about an hour. What we need to know is - do we start with a Teacher Circle or a Coaches Circle? Please add your preference to the poll below! It will close March 30th and will appear in emails this month. Circle Time will start in April.
Effective Learning Environments - We are working on a new package targeted to support schools in an improvement process to align language, systems, and programs. We are seeking to support schools in creating truly Effective Learning Environments. This is born out of the needs we have observed in schools and heard about from teachers and school leaders over the last several months. If you are a school leader or on your school leadership team, we would love for you to complete this form so we can learn about your school environment.
If your role involves supporting others with clarity and focus, this kind of prioritization is essential, and it’s something we support leaders with.
March isn’t about doing everything better. It’s about doing the right thing well.
