New Year’s Upgrades
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Are you like me, in which each year, you always try to improve aspects of your personal or professional life? No, not a “new year’s resolution,” but rather, just constant growth. That’s more sustainable…building habits tied to goals or motivators, not just because it happens to be a certain date. Still, whatever amplifies your efforts to be sustainable, go for it.
I’ve been reflecting this time of year on what I’ve been working on, and what I plan to continue to develop, through 2026. Here goes:
Bilingual in Spanish. I’m so impressed when I meet folks who are true “polyglots,” and having been principal both of a school where students learned a second language for an hour every day for all nine years and now being principal of a school where there are 30+ first languages spoken before English, it’s fascinating to see this in real life. While AI and translation apps will largely solve language divides in the coming years, there’s a superpower that comes with being multilingual, and the research shows that being multilingual helps students outperform monolingual peers. So, by May of 2026, I plan to take and pass the Spanish bilingual exam. Will I be fully fluent? No, but even reflecting on how far I’ve come in the past year after the typical on-and-off studying since I first started learning Spanish at 12 years old is fascinating. Most importantly: I have a profoundly deeper understanding of how understanding multiple languages helps me be a better learner and, understand how my students and their families navigate their own learning. Wow! Much more to say on this in future posts…
Health and welfare. My AP and I prioritize our adults, more than anything. Our philosophy is, “If we (admin) take care of the adults, then together, we take care of the students and their families.” We think that our persistent efforts on this, which are charged with multiple opportunities every day to reflect on how to make this happen in real life practical ways, has led to minimal turnover and a joyful school experience for all. Is it tough? Yes. So many challenges. But, the mission to overcome those while focusing on the humanity of everyone, makes the experience of our environment one that focuses on care. As a result, we feel it being given back: We show our staff (and students, families) that we prioritize YOU as a person first, and we feel that we get that back. It’s so healthy! Prioritize health. Take your days off. Take time off to see your kid in that assembly. Come talk to us if you’re going through something. Find your people who you rely on, wherever they are at work. Not feeling well? Go home, and rest up. Do we have high expectations? Any staff member would say yes, but to achieve those, we need to be “well.” That takes investment in your own needs, which we will continue to prioritize, as we’re constantly seeing the benefits.
Prevent sickness. While I’ve always been an avid gym-goer since age ~22, I notice that there are aspects of my health I ignore. When did I last replace that toothbrush? Is that sponge collecting germs? That hand towel has been there for awhile…and when did we, sweep, vacuum, replace that air filter, etc.? As someone who has struggled with my relationship to food since I was young but has found an eating plan that has helped me maintain healthy weight for many years, I’m trying to be more serious about a routine for making sure our environment is also healthy. A simple list of tasks to make sure the house is clean leads to healthy people feeling well. Air quality index. Natural remedies before pharmaceuticals. Ample fruits and veggies, with some vitamins. And, lots of time with wife and dogs. :)
Pets. Not a goal, just a commitment. We have five (dogs)! A sixth is on the way (foster). Still, I regularly make the case AGAINST pet ownership, when we think: Are we getting pets for them, or for us? It should be both. So, we’ll continue to prioritize giving time, attention, and lots of love to them for all their needs. Two of them we sought out and accepted, knowing they were older with serious health concerns. It’s a mission to give them all the care they need. As we say in our home: It’s not okay to complain about something we asked for. We look forward to all the ups and downs, day by day, while reaping all the benefits of snuggles, snorts, quirky behaviors, and, yes, farts…from our frenchies and greyhounds. :)
It’s a mission to keep growing, and it’s one I know I’ll always be on. I hope to hear about your future goals, too!