Doctoral Research Study: Participants Needed! 🎓 Are you a New Jersey public middle or high school principal with 3+ years of administrative experience? I’m a doctoral candidate at Monmouth University seeking participants for my dissertation research exploring how emotional labor influences principals’ sensemaking and decision-making during emotionally demanding leadership situations. If you’re eligible, or know a principal who may be, I would greatly appreciate your participation or a share! Please see the flyer below for details and contact information. #EducationalLeadership #SchoolLeadership #PrincipalLeadership #EducationalResearch #NJSchools #MUSOE #MUEdD @DrGeorge_MU @DrGrayMorales @PatRinellaNJ

One step closer! I’m excited to begin the research and keep learning from the principals who share their experiences with me. Thank you to my committee Dr. Morales, Dr. George, and Dr. Rinella for your guidance, thoughtful questions, and belief in this work. #MUSOE #MUEdD @DrGeorge_MU @DrGrayMorales @PatRinellaNJ

Congratulations Erin!!!

Happy 14th Birthday to the girl who made me a mama. 💛 One thing my doctorate work has reinforced over and over again: kids are always watching. They learn from what we model, what we value, how we treat people, and how we show up when life gets hard. And somehow…Avery became all the best parts of that and more. Kind. Confident. Thoughtful. Hardworking. Brave enough to dream big and humble enough to stay grounded. Watching you grow into who you are becoming has been the greatest leadership lesson of my life. Keep shining, keep singing, and keep being unapologetically you. Happy 14th Birthday, Avery. ☀️🎤❤️#ProudMama

This semester stretched my thinking as a leader. What started as a focus on innovation became something much deeper: -Belonging drives engagement -Relationships shape learning -Structure determines experience -Systems sustain change Leadership is about designing environments where: -Students feel known -Staff feel supported -Learning feels meaningful Because schools aren’t experienced through initiatives…they’re experienced through people. And if we want innovation to matter, it has to live in the day-to-day experience of our students and staff. Still learning. Still reflecting. Still building. #LeadWithPurpose #MUEdD #EducationalLeadership #MUSOE @carlopedia @DrGeorge_MU

As my #MUSOE course - Leading Digital Learning and Innovation in Education comes to a close, one idea continues to ground my leadership: Innovation isn’t what we create… it’s what people actually experience. Across #EvolvingEducation and #Personalize, the message is clear: It’s not enough to have great ideas. It’s not enough to build new systems. If students don’t feel it… If teachers can’t implement it… If families don’t understand it… Then it doesn’t live. Leadership is about designing the conditions where ideas are encountered, understood, acted on and sustained. That’s the shift I’m taking forward. Not just innovation…but innovation that lasts. #MUEdD #Leadership #Innovation @DrGeorge_MU @carlopedia

Tonight, @katiemartinedu joined our class, and I asked: If you walked into a middle school tomorrow, what would you stop, and what would you start? Her response stuck with me: Structure drives belonging. -Small learning communities -Teams of teachers around shared students -Advisory + wellness built into the day Not rigid career pathways… but exposure, exploration, purpose. Too many students move through 8 periods without real connection. We should be designing for belonging...not just compliance. Thanks for joining us Dr. Martin! #EvolvingEducation #MUEdD #MUSOE @DrGeorge_MU @carlopedia

Time management…or “finding coherence in the chaos” (Fullan & Quinn)? Most of my EdD work is happening right here…parked outside Dance & Music, laptop open, book in hand, making the most of the in-between 🤪 Not the setting I imagined… but the work still moves forward. #ProgressOverPerfection #EdDLife #WorkingMom #ParkingLotProductivity @DrGeorge_MU @carlopedia #MUSOE #MUEdD

“Being great doesn’t mean you are trying to be better than others; it means you are trying to be the best for your students.” -Katie Martin @katiemartinedu A powerful reminder for educators: shift the focus from comparison to impact. Instead of asking “Am I doing more than others?” Ask “Is this meaningful for my students?” That’s where real growth & real change happens. #EvolvingEducation #MUSOE #MUEdD #Leadership @DrGeorge_MU @carlopedia