Name: Dr. Daniel Marien

Title: Principal

Organisation: Northland Pines Middle & High School

I am a first generation college graduate. My parents were very supportive and worked tirelessly to provide for myself and my 3 brothers. I met my wife in college, the most amazing person I've ever met with the biggest heart also! I graduated from college and got out of education for 10 years. Upon returning to education as a teacher I knew immediately I wanted to be a leader within education so I became a principal. I loved having a positive impact on students and thought I could have the same impact on educators, helping them to improve, grow and getting better at the craft of teaching. I also obtained by Superintendent license in case this interests me in the future also. I love working with teachers, students and families and helping our students achieve their highest level of ability.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope Dr. Daniel's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

The most challenging thing for me is to meet everyone where they are at and having the same expectations for all of them. This takes an investment of time and energy to really get to know our staff members on a personal level. I thoroughly enjoy this part of what I do. Yes is it time consuming, but since I truly enjoy this it doesn't seem like it. This also holds true for students, and probably to a greater extent. Our students come to us daily with a variety of past experiences that have molded them into the people they currently are. We meet them where they are and hold them to the same expectations as everyone else because we know this will help them be successful not only in our building but also after they graduate.

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I began coaching youth sports when I was in high school. My youngest brothers are 9 years younger than me so I was coaching them and their teams in soccer and baseball when I was in high school. This grew to coaching my children in athletics and when I went back to teaching the path to being an Education Leader was clear and natural. I like growing people, whether I do this through a specific sport or at school doesn't matter to me. Impactful life lessons can be taught all the time. This is how you build people up, whether they are students or adults. You align their current experiences with characteristics of other successful people. In essence you show people how to become successful. When the light bulb goes off and they understand, amazing things happen! Being a building principal allows me to impact teachers and students and while it's very challenging it is also very rewarding!

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

As soon as I wake up and start moving I check my emails as I'm letting the dog out. I respond to a few emails that need immediate attention. I then look at my morning calendar so I know what I need to mentally prepare for as each day is different. Then I get ready to go to work. On my way I am mentally getting prepared for the day, it's only an 8 minute ride but it helps me to be ready to support people and be a positive light in our school. The school day goes by quickly every day as my schedule, the way I have it planned, rarely ever occurs. Things happen, issues arise with students, parents and staff and I am the person who makes those decisions on a daily basis. This is part of the deal, I thrive on these situations, it is very dynamic and unpredictable. A typical day involves 2-6 meetings, getting into classroom, supervising lunch and supporting everyone when and how they need to be supported. After the school day ends I might have a meeting or I might be able to invest 2 hours into taking care of emails that came in throughout the day or planning for upcoming activities. Once I get home, typically around 6pm I try to put my phone down and focus on my wife and children through dinner. Evenings are often spent coaching hockey or baseball and then returning home around 9pm where I will again check my emails and trying to be present with my family. I check my emails one more time before I go to sleep and try to get some sleep before doing it all over the next day.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

For me a lesson that keeps popping up is to intently listen and realize not everyone is looking for you to provide an answer, they simply want to be heard. As a leader you want to fix things for those you work with to make their life easier or better. But sometimes this can cause frustration in people that simply want you to hear them and understand what they are going through. Sometimes there is no answer to their situation. Trying to listen more and do this intently is something I do more frequently the longer I am in this role.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

The Principal by Michael Fullan pushed me mentally to look at my role as a building principal through a different lens. This role is very challenging and there is always something or someone that needs your undivided attention. Doing things the way they have always been done works for some but with the world changing in so many ways and quickly being able to adapt and get ahead of a curve builds confidence and freshens the view of what we are doing and how we are doing it.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

Be all in! This is not a position for people who think they want to do it. This position will grind you down and impact your health if you aren't ready for all that it entails. There are no days or evenings off. You are always on. Your fuel tank will run out quickly if you aren't fully committed!

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

There was a boy a few years ago that was in high school. I invested many hours talking to him in my office, supporting him, encouraging him and letting him know that I believed in him. There were times when high school graduation was something he didn't care about and I wasn't sure he'd make it there but I never let him think that. I always told him he could do it, figured out how and just instilled my belief in him. He did graduate from high school, on time, with his classmates. A few years after he graduated I was working a basketball game on a Friday night here at school and he was in attendance. I hadn't seen him in 3 years. I was happily surprised to see him. We chatted for a few minutes, caught up on what each other was up to and he told me that he was a welder. He had gone to tech school and earned some certifications, and had found a job in a big city a few hours away from home. Then he said to me "You always believed in me and I want to thank you for that." There is no amount of money that makes you feel the way I felt at that moment. There is also no stress that I have gone through that outweighs that feeling. That is why we do what we do, each and every day, when it's easy and most importantly when it's hard. Our children are worth it!