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How school leaders manage stress and stay focused

By Ayesha Farag
Categories: Leadership, School leadership, Social & emotional learning, System leadership, Teacher leadership
October 2019
Vol. 40, No. 5
Let’s face it: Stress is part of the job of a school leader. How can principals and other leaders manage the stress so they can be resilient and effective? We asked five experts to share their advice. Balance urgency with purposeful action By Ayesha Farag Principal of Williams Elementary School in Newton, Massachusetts, Recipient of the inaugural Stephanie Hirsh Academy Scholarship from the Learning Forward Foundation Now entering my 13th year as a principal, I have become quite familiar with the stresses and challenges of the role as well as the joys and rewards. In recent years, I’ve had a growing awareness of how my expectations for myself and the urgency I feel to act quickly exacerbate the stresses inherent in the role. I’ve learned that

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Ayesha Farag
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Ayesha Farag is Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education in Newton Public Schools in Massachusetts, a coach of the Learning Forward Academy Class of 2026, and a graduate of the Learning Forward Academy Class of 2021.


Categories: Leadership, School leadership, Social & emotional learning, System leadership, Teacher leadership

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