Dr. Richard Labbe and The Courageous Choice to Cancel the Football Season

An Imperfect Leader

INTRO: I almost called this episode: You’re the Villain in this Story because of the absolutely horrific story my guest shared with me in this week’s episode. Holy cow, you’re going to want to listen to this entire episode!

Sometimes as school leaders, you are forced to make difficult decisions. Whether or not to non-renew an employee can be really difficult. Whether to close a teaching section, which will increase class sizes, is an agonizing decision. My guest this week made the gut-wrenching decision to cancel his school district’s football season. He did it for all the right reasons. He did it while considering the short-term, long-term, and unintended consequences of the decision. He did it with empathy and compassion.

Please welcome my guest, Dr. Richard Labbe.

In Part 1, he discusses the importance of coaching for new teachers though the EdConnective. He then touches on the decision to cancel the football season.

In Part 2, he returns to the football decision because there were many moving parts to the decision. His After Action Review is an incredible resource for our field. I’m grateful for Dr. Labbe’s willingness to revisit a very difficult career decision.

BIO: Dr. Richard Labbe, the superintendent of the Sayreville Schools in Sayreville, NJ has been a teacher, a principal, a director of special services, and a superintendent. He didn't start out in education. In fact, Richard took a different path to education. He started out at a small automobile public relations company, served as a football and wrestling coach, and met a class of children as a substitute teacher. It was as a sub that he knew he HAD to be in a classroom. In his words, he “simply fell in love with the profession." We're glad that he did!

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At the end of every interview we have for teacher candidates, we say, “What questions do you have for us?” And they always ask, “What kind of support can I expect?” And we always say, “Don't worry, we'll give you a mentor.”

But it's not real mentorship. I mean, it's support with the difficult kid, or the field trip form, or the grade card. But it isn't coaching.

That's where partners like EdConnective step in. Because they provide real coaching, observations and feedback with practice. EdConnective ensures that every student thrives by facilitating exceptional educator growth. If you're looking for support for your people, for your leaders, for science of reading efforts, for recruitment and retention initiatives, check out EdConnective.com.

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Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

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My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available at Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com.