Staying Isn’t Easy: The Hidden Strength Behind Choosing to Remain | The Sneaker Principal Podcast скачать в хорошем качестве

Staying Isn’t Easy: The Hidden Strength Behind Choosing to Remain | The Sneaker Principal Podcast

In this episode of The Sneaker Principal Podcast, I talk about something we don’t celebrate enough in education: staying. People assume staying at your school, in your district, or in your city is the easy decision. No boxes to pack. No goodbyes. No anxiety about the unknown. But in my experience, staying has been one of the hardest leadership choices I’ve ever made. Back in 2010, I was offered an opportunity to step into an assistant principal role at one of the most prestigious schools in the city, the kind of school leaders dream about. At the same time, the school I was at, a place we had helped turn around from near closure to being recognized for major improvement, was going through massive leadership change. My principal was leaving. Another AP was leaving. I was being handed a way out. But the students kept asking me, “Are you leaving too?” And it wasn’t curiosity, it was fear. So I stayed. I stayed for the kids who had already experienced too much change. I stayed to be a stabilizing force. I stayed to protect a community that needed continuity more than I needed a résumé boost. In this episode, I share what staying taught me: • How staying can feel like loss even when it’s the right decision • The emotional weight of being the “last one standing” during change • How people can mistake your decision to stay for weakness • The burnout, doubt, and disrespect that can come with holding the line • The importance of boundaries and learning to take care of myself • How staying allowed me to do legacy work, work that outlived my time in that building Some of the students I stayed for are now educators, civil servants, medical professionals, and leaders in their own right. Years later, people still talk about that work. That’s when I realized: I wasn’t stuck. I wasn’t settling. I was planting roots. Sometimes leadership isn’t about the next move up… Sometimes it’s about standing still on purpose. If you’re wrestling with whether to stay or go, this episode is for you.