School Leaders' Think Tank

There are moments in leadership that catch you off guard. These occur not because you weren’t ready, but because the impact is bigger than the plan. This August at Mississippi State University, I stepped into a room filled with Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program (METP) scholars. There were fifty of Mississippi’s top education candidates from MSU and Ole Miss. I felt one of those moments coming.

“The baton isn’t just being passed—it’s being picked up with purpose.”

The Training

Instead of a sit-and-get, we ran a do-and-deliver. I handed each team schoolwide data sets and said, “Today, you’re the leadership team. Diagnose. Design. Deliver.”

They went to work. Heads down. Laptops humming. Debates popping. They wrestled with the real stuff. They focused on closing math gaps without losing acceleration. They strengthened literacy supports. They built interventions that lift struggling learners without lowering the bar for anyone else.

By the end, each group presented a full schoolwide instructional plan. They didn’t just “do the assignment.” They owned it.

The Impact

Walking the room, I felt two things at once: pride and hope. Pride because these scholars are sharp, courageous, and creative. Hope because if this is the bench, Mississippi’s future is looking like a dynasty.

I snapped pictures—partly to document, mostly to remember the feeling. The feeling that the baton isn’t just being passed; it’s being picked up with purpose.

Personal Note of Gratitude

A moment this meaningful doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Special thanks to Dr. Teresa Jayroe. She was my university professor more than twenty years ago. Today, she is my primary partner. She is also my point of contact for the country’s only whole-school laboratory school. This school is housed on the campus of a major university.

Her support and confidence in me are more than professional; they are personal milestones I’ll hold forever. Dr. Jayroe, thank you for believing in me then, and still today.

Why This Matters for the Think Tank

This day is exactly why the School Leaders’ Think Tank exists. It aims to cultivate courageous leaders (the good kind) who are unafraid to make hard calls. These leaders align instruction to standards. They chase evidence, not excuses. We don’t do theory for theory’s sake. We practice. We measure. We improve. We build schools that work for kids—period.

Because the future isn’t coming someday—it’s in rooms like this, right now.

📸 Photo Highlights

• Team 3 presenting their literacy plan with energy and confidence.
• Small-group “data huddle” wrestling with math acceleration strategies.
• Full-room engagement—future practitioners leaning into the work.
• Snapshots of collaboration that looked more like a faculty PLC than a college seminar.

Ready to Lead Where Others Don’t Look?

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