Personal Update: I'm going back ...

Note: This is a somewhat self-indulgent post. It doesn’t affect much with the newsletter, so feel free to skip it if you’d like. Just a little update from me. Read on if you’re so inclined. 😉

Hi friends,

If you had told me a year ago that I’d be writing this email, I might not have believed you.

I know I’ve been hinting at a big personal change for several months. No, I’m not moving to Norway. No, I’m not taking up the xylophone. It’s way cooler than that. (My apologies to any Scandinavian xylophonies? … xylophonists? … whatever).

I’m heading back to a building.

Yup, after four years as a full-time PD provider, I am heading back to a school building, though perhaps not in the role you’d expect.

Let’s rewind a bit.

Many of you know that I was a middle school teacher for many years before becoming a middle school administrator before becoming a full-time PD provider. It’s a career evolution that's not super typical, but also not terribly abnormal.

It’s been great. I’ve had a lot of flexibility in my schedule, work that I enjoy, and the fun challenge of managing a couple of businesses. Aside from the sales rollercoaster of being self-employed (some months are great, some are crickets), life was pretty good.

And then something happened that I didn’t expect.

One day, last November, I felt a very clear call in my soul to return to a school building. It wasn’t like a slow evolution over several months or a thought I was kicking around in my head.

The day before, I couldn’t have told you if I would ever work in a building again. I just hadn’t thought about it much. The next day, it was the only thing on my mind. (Context: I love Jesus, and it was definitely one of those rare, nearly audible voice moments if any of you can relate to that).

And then, as I thought about it, it just started to make more sense to me.

While the life of a consultant and PD provider is sometimes glamorous and awesome, most of the time it’s very lonely. In between the phone calls, Zoom meetings, and school visits, you’re on your own. And, to be successful at it, you have to travel a lot.

As you all know, my wife and I had twins just over a year ago and have a four-and-a-half-year-old as well. There’s nothing I want more in life than to be home with my boys during these early years. I’m very over the glamour of being on the road, which often looks more like canceled flights and being stuck in airports than anything else.

Also, after being out of a building for almost five years, I began to feel like I was losing relevance as a PD provider. I never wanted to be one of those presenters who gets the legitimate and terrifying question from a teacher, “How long has it been since you’ve been in a classroom?” The answer would not have been confidence-inspiring for anyone. And although I was working with administrators and teachers all the time, I felt like I was also losing my connection to students. Which, for all of us, is the reason we do what we do.

Finally, as you have kids and gain some perspective, you genuinely start to realize how important it is to invest in your own community. And, as fun and exciting as it has been to work directly with some of you in your own schools, I began to feel like I was doing a lot for the benefit of other communities while not giving back to my own. As cliché as that sounds, it really becomes convicting as your kids grow and you realize you have the ability to impact your own town.

I say all of this as if to make sense of the longing inside. And all of these are good reasons. But the truth is, I felt a sudden and inexplicable student-shaped hole in my heart and I wasn’t sure if I was going crazy or not. But it wasn’t going away.

So, sort of as a trial balloon, I threw out a challenge to other PD providers that I know to get into a building to sub as a classroom teacher in their local district at least once a month. And I committed to doing this as well. I wanted to be sure I still had it in me.

The good news is … I loved it. And during my slower business season, I started doing it a couple of times a week.

And then, there was an opportunity last March at my local high school. I was offered, on less than a week’s notice, to take on my own course load for the final trimester of the year – full-time. I was so excited to accept.

So, for the first time in several years, I once again had my own room, my own students, and my own essays to grade. (I co-taught some freshman dual language courses and a section of sophomore English.) It felt incredible.

And I knew before long at all, that I needed to be back in the classroom. Not only that, I needed to be back in that specific building.

A lot of folks who are in different buildings all the time will tell you that they can tell within minutes of walking in the door if a school is healthy or not. And my local high school has an incredible atmosphere. The staff loves kids. The administrators are the real deal. And my principal is one of the best, most battle-tested leaders I’ve ever met.

So when the opportunity arose to teach (nearly) full-time next year, the decision was easy.

So, that’s the big reveal. Next year, I’ll be teaching business at the public high school two miles from my house. And after traveling across the country to work with schools, I can’t tell you how good it feels to say nearly all of my time is going right back into my little town.

Now, to answer a few questions that I get quite a bit when sharing this news with friends:

Why go back as a teacher instead of an administrator?

Not long ago, I asked you all in a poll, “If both positions paid the same salary, would you rather be a teacher or an administrator?”

If I’m being honest, part of the reason I became an administrator was to better support a family. And, like many of you, I get called every once in a while to take over a school or consider a DO position. And the paycheck makes it tempting.

But, again, it’s not where my heart is at right now. That may very well change when my kids are a little older. I’m certainly keeping my admin license up-to-date.

And here’s where I owe some deep gratitude to you all. In my area of the country, it would be very difficult to support a family of five on one teaching salary, which would be our situation. Fortunately, due to the courses we offer and in part to the paid subscriptions from you amazing, loyal supporters, my family has the financial flexibility to decide on a job based more on how enticing the job itself is rather than the salary.

Will you continue the newsletter?

You betcha. Fortunately, a lot of that work can be batched over the summer and sent out throughout the year. I also have a small team of folks who work with me and can support the business throughout the year.

Will you be producing new PD video content?

Absolutely. I’ve found that most teachers are too busy during the year to participate in PD filming anyway, so we’ve always done a lot of that during the summer. We’ll keep at it and will continue to share fresh, teacher-focused content for you and your staff.

Are you still available for site visits?

Probably not. Most of the district work I’ve done in years past has been during the school year. While I’m not quite teaching full-time (0.67 FTE to be precise), I’ll be focused in my own little corner of the world. Also, I think I’m done traveling for a while.

Will your newsletter still be relevant for administrators?

Frankly, I think the newsletter will be more relevant than ever. All of the content we have ever sent is always for the benefit of your staff. If I’m back in the classroom every day, I’ll be able to better relate to what teachers are going through. And I continue to work with teachers at all levels regularly, so I’ll keep a pulse on the elementary level as well.

Plus, many of my closest friends are administrators. I stay pretty actively involved in that community. And I’m a very pro-admin teacher. I don’t anticipate that changing.

Finally, I just want to say a sincere “thank you” to each reader. This has been an exciting journey over the last several years. And it’s been so fun to actually get to meet some of you in person and work in your schools. It’s been an honor. I’m excited to keep the communication coming through this next season. We’ll keep working for you and your teachers!

Much love,

Mike