Details

First Name

David

Last Name

Brazer

Pronouns

He/Him/His

Name Pronunciation

Rhymes with "razor"

Nickname

david.brazer

City and State

California

Journey

I'm here because

Why me? I loved school growing up. Even when I didn’t love classes, I liked the structure, the social environment, and the process of learning and performing well. What really inspired me, though, was a handful of teachers I wanted to emulate. I kept finding new educator role models all the way through graduate school. I can still name all of them and how they have shaped the educator I aspire to be.

Why education? It is the most important work anyone can do and be involved in. When I say “education” I’m thinking of everything from the moment-by-moment moves teachers and students make in classrooms to leading schools that are inspiring, well-managed places to teach and learn to leading districts and communities that support and are supported by their schools. Schools and districts are the foundations of their communities. When education is strong, communities thrive; when it is weak, they wither.

Why here? Inflexion and Portico provide an opportunity for me to learn alongside other education leaders to help solve the large and small problems we face every day. I love this kind of work because I get to draw from more than 40 years of learning from schools from my own teaching and administration experiences, from teaching school leadership, from research, and from consulting with schools and districts across the US.

Why now? Now is the only time we have. We can’t make things better in the past, but we can work now to make a better future. I believe that future is about doing a better job of educating the whole child by integrating affective development with cognitive development in ways that help students grow into the young adults they aspire to be.

I got here through

I am persistent. You can tell me my ideas have flaws and I will go back to work and revise the. You can tell me I’m not ready for a leadesrhip position and I will strengthen myself and re-apply. I take criticism as an opportunity to strengthen my progress toward the goals and vision I hold dear. When I get tired or discouraged, I rest. I may change course, but I don’t give up.

My hope for this community

I hope that we can be honest with one another so that we can address problems of practice that really matter. I hope that this year and next, our group will see how they have taken the initiative to strengthen their instructional leadership and achieve noticeably better outcomes at their schools. I want everyone to feel proud of work well done.

I can support you with

This year, I am working exculsively with a group of princpals from the Anaheim Union High School District. My growing knowledge of their district and school will help me to support them with honest reflections and actionable recommendations we work out together.

In the future, should I work with additional cohorts from other districts, I hope to get and stay informed about their local situations that will allow me to be an effective critical friend.

For all current and future cohorts, I believe that my understanding of the connections among theory, research, and practice give me an informed perspective I can share to stimulate others to think deeply about their leadership and how to make it more effective.

Favorite role in education

My favorite position was principal. I felt like the captain of the ship and that I could decide how people would work, learn, and feel on that ship. Being principal gave me the opportunity to be a collaborative leader and work through all of the tough decisions in the ways that I thought best. I found the work extremely gratifying because we–the teachers, students, administrators, and parents in my school–were able to make positive changes that have persisted more than 25 years later. Some of my most rewarding moments came from working with students on school-wide issues and projects. As a community, we re-made that school in ways that shrugged off some of the bad habits from the past while holding onto the positive legacy. It was hard work that exhausted me, but it is probably the most meaningful work I have ever done.