Brandon Spars

I did some quick research into what writers have said about trust in schools. While the following is not an exhaustive dive (by any means), it will give us some useful terms with which to explore the topic of how trust has been eroding in schools (and in society). In this installment, I will briefly explore the 2002 foundational text, Trust in Schools, by Anthony S. Bryk and Barbara Schneider. Bryk and Schneider identify three different kinds of trust: organic, contractual, and, most...

In March 2026, after twenty-four years of teaching, my long tenure at the school where I spent my career came to an end. The months leading up to this were an arduous period of transition, involving internal processes that eventually led to my departure. While the substance of those matters remains private, it was inevitable that the shift would ripple through the community. For more than a month now, I have been rehearsing what it means to be retired. I wake up, make coffee, see my wife off...

Admittedly, the second child doesn’t get the same kind of intense anticipation… we’ve been through it once with his sister. Everything he...