Sebastian walked into our first session with a very clear answer to that question. Formula 1. Data. Analytics. He'd been watching races since he was eight, had strong opinions about pit stop timing, and had started teaching himself Python on the side. When we started talking about a capstone project, he didn't need much convincing. He wanted to build a system, a real one, that could analyze race data and model strategy decisions: tire degradation, weather conditions, safety c

One of the most ridiculous things I have seen in my career in education is the push to have kids doing career exploration and planning as early as sixth grade. I get why it’s done, but it’s fanciful at best and a waste of valuable time, energy, and resources that does way more harm than good at worst. The assumption is this: by a certain age, a student should have a pretty clear plan of a career so they can get trained to work their life in an industry that will provide a dec

Us adults often hear the word communication and think of something fairly basic: Speak clearly. Make eye contact. Write a decent email. Do not be rude in an interview. Those things matter, of course. But in the age of AI, communication is becoming much bigger than that. Communication is not just about presentation, or confidence, or sounding polished, or a firm handshake. Communication is the ability to think clearly enough to express something real, ask better questions, col

A lot of parents still assume that if their child gets strong grades, joins a few clubs, and stays busy, they are building a strong future. That used to be a much safer assumption than it is now. Grades still matter. Activities still matter. But more and more, students need something those traditional markers do not always show very well: evidence that they can actually make, do, solve, create, or contribute in the real world. That is what I mean by building. And no, I do not

We want kids to be resilient. We say. We want them to handle stress, recover from setbacks, solve problems, and function well in the real world. Nobody wants a student to be fragile. And yet, a lot of loving, thoughtful adults accidentally do things that make adaptability harder to build, not because they are careless, but exactly because they care. That is what makes this tricky. When a child is overwhelmed, stuck, disappointed, or anxious, the natural instinct is to help qu

For years, many politicians and parents have operated with a simple assumption: the earlier a student finds their lane, the better. Pick a direction, get serious, build a resume around it, and avoid looking scattered. That logic is understandable, and it can still make sense. Depth, skill, and commitment still matter, but those promises of stability through STEM seem more elusive now, and families are really feeling it. In a world shaped by AI, rapid change, and less predicta

We all know that riding out a weather day, navigating a cancelled event, or following an early release schedule aren’t really signs of adaptability, but that’s what many schools take as proof of mastering this vital competency by graduation. We say we want our kids to be flexible. We say we want them to be resilient. We say we want them to be able to handle change. But what does that actually mean in real life, especially for a teenager who is trying to grow up in a world tha

TW: This is not an attack on “kids today”. This is not an attack on parents. A kid who turns things in on time, and who follows directions. They are respectful, and they do what is asked…the first time. They know how to function inside the system and have great grades This is what we have always been told to want, whether at home or in the classroom. That is exactly why the problem can be so hard to spot. Some of the students who look the most successful in traditional sch

A lot of parents and educators are looking around and not recognizing exactly what we see. A lot of us are carrying around a feeling we have not quite put into words yet. Our students are doing what school has asked of them. They are earning decent grades, staying out of trouble, checking boxes, and looking like a responsible kid. On paper, things seem fine. But underneath that, we’re still feeling uneasy. That uneasiness makes sense. As a longtime principal and coach, I alwa

In the first two posts of this series, we talked about why the college admissions process feels overwhelming and why most families don’t actually need a full-time private coach to succeed. What they need is clarity, structure, and support they can trust. That’s exactly why I built my Digital Toolkits the way I did. Each toolkit is designed around a specific season of the college admissions process. When you purchase one, you’re not getting a handful of tips or a generic PDF.

In the first post of this series , I talked about why so many parents feel lost in college admissions and why that confusion isn’t accidental. The system thrives when families are unsure, reactive, and constantly second-guessing themselves. That leads many parents to a painful conclusion: If we don’t hire someone expensive to handle this, we’re going to mess it up. Here’s the truth most families never hear. The majority of parents do not need a full-time private college couns

If you’re the parent of a high school student in the Classes of 2027, 2028, or 2029 and you feel overwhelmed, confused, or quietly panicked about college admissions, I want to start with this: There is nothing wrong with you. This is all by design. The college admissions process feels hard because it is hard. But more importantly, it’s hard in very specific ways that benefit the system far more than families. Most parents I work with describe the same experience. They don’t