Create Clarity. Protect Trust. Preserve Humanity.
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You can walk into some schools and almost immediately feel that they work. The interesting question is why. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time in a lot of schools as a teacher, an administrator, a parent, a coach, a workshop leader, and through the work I have been doing with IB Schools around the world. And after all of those experiences, I have become increasingly convinced of something. Whether you are a Head of School, a Principal, an IB Coordinator, a Department Chair, Subject Area Leader, or a classroom teacher, there are three things worth fighting very hard for in your school... Create clarity. Protect trust. Preserve humanity. They sound simple. They are not. But if you can get these three things right, almost everything else in a school becomes easier. Create Clarity Highly functioning schools are clear places. People understand what they are responsible for. They understand what is expected of them. They know where decisions are made. They know who is responsible for what. And maybe most importantly, they understand why they are doing the work in the first place. That sounds really, really basic. Anyone who has worked in a school knows that it is not. Think about something like the Extended Essay process, which is, without question, the most complex system I’ve ever tried to organize in a school. Who launches the process with students? Who monitors progress? What happens when students fall behind? What are the roles of the Extended Essay Coordinator, the subject supervisor, and the student? If the adults cannot answer those questions, students are going to feel that confusion. And that’s exactly what I meant when I talked about The Power of Adult Systems. So much of what students experience in a school is the result of decisions adults have made behind the scenes. Or decisions adults have failed to make. A great student experience rarely happens by accident. So create clarity. Create clear roles. Clear expectations. Clear communication. Clear systems. Clear purpose. And follow through. And then keep working at it, because clarity is not something you establish once and then forget about. Schools change. People change. Programs change. Responsibilities shift. But when adults understand the work and their place in it, students feel that coherence. There is a sense that people are, to make a lame reference, rowing in the same direction. Of course not perfectly. Schools are messy places. People are messy. Education is messy. But there should still be a clarity in everything that happens in the school. Protect Trust The second thing is trust. And I use the word protect intentionally. Because trust can take years to build and almost no time at all to damage. You can create all the systems you want. You can clarify every responsibility. You can have beautiful organizational charts, detailed handbooks, and perfectly designed procedures. But without trust, none of it will work. At all. In highly functioning schools, people seem comfortable with one another. They ask questions openly. They share ideas. They ask for help. Teachers can say, “I don’t know.” Administrators can say it too. A principal can say, “I have no idea. I’m not sure. I’ll get back to you.” People can disagree. They can challenge an idea without challenging the person who had it. And perhaps most importantly, people do not spend all of their energy protecting themselves, protecting their classrooms, protecting their departments, or protecting their reputations. That kind of culture does not happen automatically. Leaders create it. Teachers create it. Students contribute to it. And once it exists, everybody has a responsibility to protect it. When administrators send a message of trust, teachers thrive. When teachers thrive, students excel. Schools are filled with incredibly talented people. But talent alone does not create the things we want in schools, things like openness, vulnerability, curiosity, and collaboration. Trust does. Protect it at all costs. It is the most important characteristic of any school, anywhere. Especially when things become difficult. Preserve Humanity And then there is the third one. Humanity. This is probably the hardest one to define, and, ironically, the easiest one to lose sight of. Schools are increasingly complicated places. There are policies, assessments, deadlines, meetings, accreditation processes, data, technology, university applications, Extended Essays, TOK essays, CAS requirements, parent expectations, and about a thousand other things competing for everybody’s attention. Most of those things matter. But none of them are the main thing. The main thing is still people. And preserving the humanity of a school often comes down to the small things. The place feels warm. People say hello to each other. Teachers stop in the hallway to talk to students. Students stop to talk to teachers. Administrators move throughout the building lightly, and kids say hello to them first. People laugh. There is positive energy. There is a sense that people genuinely enjoy one another. And maybe more than anything, there is a feeling that people like being there. It is safe. It is joyful. It is also invigorating and challenging. Of course, that does not mean everybody is happy every minute of every day. Students struggle. Teachers get tired. Administrators make difficult decisions with important information that cannot be shared publicly. Plenty of days do not go according to plan. All of that happens in great schools too. But inside all of that, there is still patience. There is humor. There is room for mistakes. There is grace when people make them. That is what I mean by preserving humanity. Do not allow the systems to become more important than the people they were designed to serve. Do not allow efficiency to make the school cold. Do not allow accountability to eliminate grace. Do not allow the work of managing school to replace the reason the school exists in the first place. Education is not a transactional business. It is a relationship-building-life-experience. Schools are communities of human beings spending an enormous amount of their lives together. And when those communities are healthy, you can feel it. Create clarity. Protect trust. Preserve humanity. So whatever role you play in your school, there is no excuse for leaving these things to chance. They must be built, protected, and cared for intentionally. Create clarity - Make sure people understand the work, the expectations, and their role in it. Protect trust - Build a culture where people can be honest, uncertain, vulnerable, and collaborative without fear. Preserve humanity - Never allow the systems, expectations, programs, and pressures of school to become more important than the human beings they are meant to serve. Do those three things well, and you create the kind of school people want to be part of, the kind of school where teachers thrive, students flourish, and great things become possible. See you next week. A quick note to say thank you.....
First, thank you to all of you who clicked on the advertising link last week. The response was quite exciting, and it also stimulated three other companies to reach out who are interested in sponsoring the newsletter. I guess it actually worked!
Second, thank you to those of you who wrote to me with such kind words about last week's newsletter, which focused on my reflections on what I've learned after one year of the new Extended Essay. It also included four custom training models in and around the IB Core and the Extended Essay that you might find useful.
Upcoming Workshops and Opportunities... Theory of Knowledge New Teacher Workshop - September 18th & 19th, 2026 - Designed for teachers new to Theory of Knowledge, this two-day training co-taught by Brad Cartwright and Sofía Elizalde offers a clear, practical roadmap for teaching TOK with confidence. Together, we will explore the core components of the IB Diploma Programme, the purpose and structure of the TOK course, key assessment criteria, the TOK Exhibition, the TOK Essay, and classroom strategies that support thoughtful discussion, meaningful reflection, and strong student writing. Effectively Supervising the Extended Essay in Economics - September 20th, 2026 - This 3-hour workshop offers IB Economics teachers actionable techniques for supervising and guiding students through every stage of the new Extended Essay journey. From unpacking the task to navigating the assessment criteria and refining their writing, gain the skills to support students in producing outstanding work. The Cohort Model for the Extended Essay Teacher Workshop - October 3rd, 2026 - The Cohort Model is a customizable approach to managing the Extended Essay, designed to meet your school’s specific context. This workshop will guide you through each step of the process, from research and reflections to assessment, offering a structured, cohesive approach that ensures student success and smooth coordination across all subjects. Teaching The Internal Assessment in IB Economics - October 10th, 2026 - In this 3-hour workshop, IB Economics teachers will explore actionable strategies for supporting students through the Internal Assessment process. Learn how to guide article selection, apply the mark scheme confidently, and empower your students to create exceptional Internal Assessments. Effectively Supervising the Extended Essay in Any Subject- November 7th, 2026 - This focused and practical workshop is designed to help teachers confidently navigate the updated Extended Essay framework for the Class of 2027. Together, we’ll explore what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and how to effectively guide students through both the Subject-Focused and Interdisciplinary pathways. In-Person Professional Workshops - If your school would like a tailored training on the updated Extended Essay guidelines, we’d love to help—onsite at your campus or live online—just send me an email at brad@bradcartwright.com and we’ll work together to make it happen. Brad Cartwright |