#51 When Kindness goes Viral

Will Parker @williamdp has seen kindness go viral on his campus. Learn how his faculty and student council worked together to create a nurturing environment. And how one Post-It Note moved the school to go viral. Will shares how:  His student council created a nurturing environment for kindness to grow  What happened in the girls' bathroom that changed everything  How the faculty noticed and encouraged the movement of kindness  The impact the kindness movement has had on the school  How you can encourage kindness in your classroom  William D. Parker Biography   William D. Parker is principal of Skiatook High School, just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A. As a high school teacher, he taught Language Arts, creative writing, and Advanced Placement English.  An Oklahoma educator since 1993, he was named Broken Arrow Public School’s South Intermediate High School Teacher of the Year in 1998. He became an assistant principal in 2004 and was named the 2011 Oklahoma Assistant Principal of the Year.  As principal of a Title I school, his school’s innovative approaches to collaboration, remediation and mentoring have resulted in marked improvements in student performance. He is regularly asked to speak to principal associations, school leadership conferences, and graduate classes on effective leadership practices, organizational behavior, and digital tools for enhancing school communication.  In 2014 he released his first book, Principal Matters: The Motivation, Action, Courage, and Teamwork Needed for School Leaders. His second book, Messaging Matters: How School Leaders Can Inspire Student, Motivate Teachers, and Communicate with Parents is scheduled for publication August 2017 with Solution Tree Publishing.  Parker hosts a weekly podcast called Principal Matters and writes a weekly blog that he shares on his website www.williamdparker.com.  He is also a contributing author on ConnectedPrincipals.com, and a guest blogger for the National Association of Secondary Principals. Most recently, he has been hosting monthly webinars so that his state’s principal association members can connect and share innovative ideas for growing in school leadership.  Mr. Parker earned his bachelor’s degree in English Education from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and his master’s degree in education leadership from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  He has been married for twenty-three years to his wife Missy, and they are the proud parents of four children: 3 girls and 1 boy. When he is not supervising school events or shuttling his children to practices, he also enjoys running, hiking, and playing guitar or piano.