"Kristin Phillips enjoyed a long career as a teacher, but when she accepted the position of principal in a new school, her skills and experience were put to the test. There were children with disruptive behaviors, teachers who refused to learn, parents who needed help parenting, and issues arising from the increasingly complex education system itself. As Phillips walks us through this year as a principal, we're introduced to the many challenges that she faces, but also to those of the students and teachers she works with. What's the best way to address bullying in the class room and school yard? What do you do with five-year-olds who won't stop cursing in class? And importantly, how do we ensure that systemic racism and exclusion don't creep into the classroom and undo the very fabric of education itself? And these are just the challenges Phillips faced during school hours. At home, she reckoned with her own family's problems. A single mother of three, she struggled to help her children through school and life, seeing firsthand the devastating effects of mental illness on youth. Then in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and teachers struggled to educate students under the most difficult circumstances. Burnout was high and Phillips was called to help with the teacher shortage, putting the lessons she's learned from her career as an educator to the test. With honesty and compassion, Phillips shines a light on the flaws in the education system, but also gives a human face to the very real challenges educators work to overcome, one year and one student at a time."--