The BEST of 2022-2023

School is out, and you made it! As you settle into your summer routine, I want to share with you three R’s to consider when successfully transitioning your mindset from this school year to the next – Rejoice, Rest, and Rejuvenate.

Rejoice

Teacher and students are gone. Meetings, emails, and phone calls diminish. Yes, those may be reasons to celebrate. However, my thinking goes in a different direction. What can you rejoice about as successes this year? When conducting end of year evaluations with my assistant principals, I always ask for them to indicate “points of pride” so those can be included in my overall assessment and final comments. As a school leader, what points of pride can you highlight for yourself, to your superintendent, and to your staff?

Rest

This is all about self-care. Being refreshed and well-rested upon return to school will only help our teachers have a smooth transition back. When you are less stressed, your teachers are too. Use your vacation days and be flexible with your work schedule. Find extended time to unplug completely from school. Before doing so, ask yourself what is it that you really need to fully benefit from your time away. Sleep? Time with family? Uninterrupted time to devote to your hobby?

Rejuvenate

How can you create excitement heading into next school year? Get out of the building and work offsite at a coffee shop, café or public library. A change of setting may spark innovation and help you focus on the task at hand. I also like to meet with my administrative team early in the summer to brainstorm beginning of school year tasks. This creates shared ownership, focus, and energy for the return of students and staff. Lastly, I also send two summer updates to my staff. I share information about new staff, give updates about our construction project, and also begin talking about priorities for the coming school year. I want my staff to stay connected with what is happening over the summer so I can build momentum for their return!

As I write this final Indianagram article, I wrap-up my year as IASP President. It has been one of the greatest joys of my career to serve in this leadership role for the past 12 months. I have traveled across Indiana attending various IASP events. I consider myself lucky to have met so many talented and innovative leaders who are working so hard each day to do what is best for all students. I am honored to serve with you and call you colleagues in this profession. I also want to extend my gratitude to the IASP staff. Todd Bess, Tim McRoberts, Tiffany Barrett and the IASP team are the reason why our state organization is one of the strongest and most well-respected among our peers. Lastly, I welcome Crystal Thorpe as the incoming IASP President. I am blessed to have worked with Crystal on the Executive Committee over the past two years, and her humble spirit and courageous leadership will be a huge asset to advancing IASP’s mission of serving ALL principals and ALL students.

I wish Indiana school leaders a summer filled with joy, rest, and rejuvenation!

Matt Shockley IASP President

This issue of the Indianagram is titled, “The Best of 2022-2023,” and inside there are great insights from our members and partners. Do you know what is also the “Best?” The entire series of the Indianagram. Having joined IASP in 2010, I know how we approached this journal since I helped produce and edit it at that time. The evolution of the Indianagram has seen the inclusion of the AP Connection, an editorial board to formalize our topics and increase member contributions, and then the links within each article that take you to additional resources or information. All of this, plus items I’m sure I’ve missed, add up to a fantastic resource that is delivered to you each month. Sometimes I worry a little that it has so much that it is going to be hard for you to digest everything, but I also know that you need the information, and that you will uncover ways to ensure you and your staff stay current with educational issues, trends, and legislative matters.

I’ll also borrow from Dr. Jenner’s article, as she states that YOU are the best part of this last school year. Within this issue are fantastic examples of programs, videos, and resources, and each of these come alive due to the people behind them. This legislative session brought additional items to implement, and as we traveled the state to talk about these, numerous times you had ideas of how to best work with the new laws so students and staff could be successful. This “can do” approach occurs each day as you encounter local or building level issues that need attention. You are the reason that a school is successful, and I’m not diminishing all the work of everyone else, but you make it happen. The program, video, and resources are tools that you employ at the right time and in the right way, and this elevates the positive impact in countless ways.

My last “Best” is to thank our outgoing President, Matt Shockley. Each IASP President provides countless hours to the association, and to me, as we work with you and our students to deliver advocacy and leadership development, and to provide you with the support you need and want. Matt has helped guide IASP along with the Executive Committee and Board of Directors, and we thank him for everything. Each year the President travels to a lot of District Meetings, writes for the Indianagram, steps forward to serve on state-wide committees, and answers my emails, calls and texts with patience and guidance. The best part (yep, one more Best), is that he continues as our Past President for 23-24, while we welcome Dr. Crystal Thorpe as our President. Both Matt and Crystal, with their expertise and roles, offer exceptional leadership to our Executive Committee and Board, and I am confident that the upcoming year will be another remarkable one for IASP. Know that we will be there to support you as you prepare to reopen your buildings for the fall semester.

The best to you as you enter the summer. On behalf of the education profession, we appreciate you and your leadership.

Dr. Todd D. Bess

IASP

Executive Director

Future Indianagram themes

August: What’s New

September: Supporting College and Career Readiness

October: Behavior

November: Be Thankful!

January: Technology in Schools

February: Be Kind!

March: March Madness

April: Safety

May: End of Year Reflection, Growth, & Celebration!

June: The BEST of 2023-2024

Share your thoughts on the Indianagram: https://forms.gle/sCmLHwnh4aYcTJdr8

IASP Executive Committee

Matt Shockley President

Dr. Crystal Murff Thorpe President-Elect

Dr. Holly Arnold

Vice President

Aimee Lunsford

Past President

Amy Niemeier NAESP State Representative

Dave Strouse NASSP State Coordinator

Steve Baker

Liaison to the DOE

Dr. Daniel Peo Assistant Principal Liaison