Welcome to Lesson: Impossible’s five part series on educational leadership. In this series we’ll hear from Anthony Tyrkala about the nature of the job of school leader, from Craig Randall about a trust-based model of observation and feedback, from Merlyna Valentine about overcoming extreme obstacles, from Joyce Matthews about training teachers and administrators to lead their own professional development, and from Charles Williams on leading through crisis, like, for instance, a pandemic. My hope is that by the end of these five episodes you’ll have a clearer idea of what administrators do, the challenges they face, the connections they make within their schools, and how they grow as professionals.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to cultivate relationships, collegial collaboration, and a positive school culture in your role as school administrator.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Anthony Tyrkala, principal of ACES in Adventura, Florida

 In our conversation, Anthony discusses:

1️⃣ How he defines his job as an administrator, building relationships with students and staff, the move from teaching to school leadership

2️⃣ Trying to stay positive, creating open communication and collaboration, dealing with behavioral issues

3️⃣ How the Army has shaped his perspective, advice for those considering a career change to administration, honoring a life-work balance

Links mentioned:

• Anthony’s recommendation for life-work balance: Balance like a Pirate