Irreplaceable Leadership
Dr. Chris Jones has been an educator in Massachusetts for 22 years. His experience in the classroom ranged from 8th - 11th grade working in an urban setting. A portion of this was spent opening a high school division for an expanding charter school. He has just finished his 14th year as a building administrator. Currently the Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, Massachusetts, Chris is also the President-Elect of the Massachusetts State Administrators Association (MSAA). He is the author of SEEing to Lead, a book that provides strategies for how modern leaders can and must support, engage, and empower their teachers to elevate student success. Chris vlogs weekly and is also the host of the podcast SEEing to Lead as a way to amplify teachers’, students’, and leaders’ voices in an effort to improve education as a whole. His Just cause is to continuously improve the educational experience for all those involved by being purposeful, acting with integrity, and building character.
Chris is passionate about continuous improvement and the idea that success is not a destination, but a process. Chris is a teacher centered principal and his beliefs around the importance of a positive work environment, continuous growth, and a healthy family work-life integration can be seen in the presentations and workshops he has given for the Massachusetts School Administrators Association (MSAA), Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE), Massachusetts Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (MASCD), the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP); and his participation in the Better Leaders Better Schools Mastermind group.
A finalist for the Massachusetts School Administrators Association’s Principal of the Year award and named the 2022 Massachusetts School Counselors Associaltion’s (MASCA) Administrator of the Year, Chris is described by his past Superintendent as being “...wholly invested in the success of the school…a creative problem-solver who is able to deliberate yet be decisive, be creative yet accountable…calm and clear-headed even under the most trying of times…has built a strong collaborative and collegial school culture…he is a positive influence on teachers, teaching, and learning.”
Chris’ education includes a BA from Bridgewater State University, an MA from Salem State University, and a Doctorate from Northeastern University. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his wife, Mary (Bella) and two boys, Tommy and Scotty.
Show Highlights
Take a tiny step and turn it into a big change. No more finals!!
Success minimized critics. Take inventory and turn your enemies or critics to cheerleaders.
Stop running your schools like politicians and focus on what’s most important.
Innovation Career Pathways Curriculum knocks down roadblocks in learning.
If your school needs bumpers and floaties you’re not bringing out the best in your community.
Stop making your staff dizzy and create a beautiful trail of improvement.
Pull off the band-aids and stop educating children for the fake world.
The most frustrating part of public education is people stop you from fear and being uncomfortable.
“In public education, this is one of the most frustrating parts. People stop you from fear and being uncomfortable. And I'm not gonna sit here and talk about the idea of people being uncomfortable with any kind of change, because everybody knows that. But it comes down to people wanting to know where they fit into that change. They can become much more comfortable when they realize that it's not disrupting them so much that they're gonna have to just adjust slightly. And it's a smaller ask. And before they know it, they're pulled into it.”
-Dr Chris Jones
Get the episode transcript here!
Podcast: SEEing to Lead
Book: SEEing to Lead
Twitter: @DrCSJones
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