Episode 53: Be The Driving Force in Your School with Don Parker

Don Parker Brings a Tons of Experience to FocusED ListenersDr. Don Parker is a transformational keynote speaker and professional development provider. He specializes in SEL, supporting teachers to build trusting relationships with students, restorative practices, trauma-informed practices, and improving the culture and climate of schools to enhance students’ and teachers’ feeling of belonging.Dr. Parker is a former principal and served at Posen School in Posen, IL where he improved the school climate, staff collaboration, parent engagement, and student achievement. Before that he was the principal of Lincoln Avenue School, a K-8 school in Dolton, IL, where he improved the culture, implemented a resilience program, managed the implementation of restorative justice, and increased attendance and student achievement.Dr. Parker is the author of the book Building Bridges: Engaging Students At-Risk Through the Power of Relationships and Be the Driving Force: Leading Your School on the Road to Equity. Follow Dr. Don Parker on Twitter: @DrDonParker1. _________________________________________ FocusED Show Notes with Don Parker Don starts with the fact that equity issues aren’t new. The achievement gap has been static for too long. Don says that leaders are driving this work or pumping the brakes.Don says that equity work starts at the top.Don talks about the fact that people will follow a person before they follow a cause.Don’t miss what he says about sharing data to create a sense of urgency. We need to take an honest look at our practices and start the conversation with empathy.Don talked about the fact that 72% of students feel that they need social and emotional support but don’t get it.We need to take an inventory of our academic supports to ensure that we’re reaching all students.Don says that we often make assumptions about the community and what they need, but the better strategy is to ask them. Are our family engagement and education strategies targeting what the community needs?Dr. Parker says that we need to use surveys more often to gather information about what our families want from the school, maybe there’s something they think we should be providing that we’re (even though we can).His story about a family who had a food-deficit is inspirational.If Don could improve every school, he would make sure every student felt valued in the school environment. His water bottle analogy is incredible.Don talks about strategies to create belonging and says that it’s not rocket science.“99% of education is encouragement.” ~ Don ParkerDon tells our audience to listen to podcasts, go to conferences, and read books. He names Anthony Muhammad’s book, Transforming School Culture.Joe asked if anyone outside of education inspired Don, and he pointed to a touching story about his uncle.Don mentions the leadership of Barack Obama and overcoming seemingly impossible challenges. Find out what Don believes are the skills that Obama used to be successful.He wants to see more on the topic of educator empathy…how to be more empathetic for the sake of our students. We came up with this title for a future book, The Empathetic Educator.As final words, Don talked about the professional development that he’s doing around the country and how he helps educators to work better with students who have trauma in their lives.