Every year, my little town hosts a Crawfish Festival. I’ve been going for as long as I can remember. Around here, the festival signals that spring has officially arrived. The streets fill with people, music drifts through the air, and everywhere you turn, there’s talk of crawfish, face painting, family, and fun. You can smell the seasoning before you see the first pot.

Over the years, the day would often end the same way with a few of us meeting at a friend’s house while someone fired up the pot. Eventually, the boil moved to our barn. By mid-afternoon, tables overflow with food and drinks, kids race down water slides, and friends catch up under the oak tree.

Near the pot, the men focus on the boil, steam rising, and seasoning in the air. Someone checks the pot, another adds potatoes or corn. Advice is exchanged as everyone waits for the crawfish to finish. Preparing the boil is a group effort with a bit of art to it.

The ingredients: crawfish, corn, potatoes, sausage, lemons, and seasoning matter, of course, but anyone who has ever stood over that pot knows something else matters just as much: the heat. Too much heat, and everyone backs away, reaching for the water hose. Too mild, and the whole thing falls flat. It’s like drinking lukewarm coffee. Technically, it’s fine, but it doesn’t make you want to come back for another cup. But when everything comes together just right, something marvelous happens. The seasoning is balanced. The heat is perfect. The flavors come together in a way that makes people smile the moment they take a bite.

And my favorite moment of the whole day is when everyone is gathered around the table. People leaning in. Hands reaching for another crawfish, potato, or sausage.  Laughter around the table. You don’t have to ask if the boil turned out well. The smiles and the return trips to the table tell the story. The more I’ve watched these gatherings over the years, the more I’ve realized something.

Leadership in schools can look a lot like a crawfish boil. Careful preparation and the right ingredients shape everything. More than anything, leaders must tend to the environment they create. Across the country, schools struggle to find and keep teachers. As interviews ramp up and leaders seek new team members, one key question is often missed: why are people leaving? Rather than just filling vacancies, leaders should pause to examine what prompted departures. Exit interviews reveal valuable stories: what made teachers stay, and what sent them searching elsewhere? The crawfish boil metaphor fits—too much heat drives people away, too little support leaves work bland, but the right balance makes the culture thrive. When the environment is right, teachers lean in and invite others to join. The main lesson: as hiring season begins, leaders must cultivate the right conditions, not just fill seats.

So Late-Lee, I’ve been wondering about the kind of boil leaders are creating?

Because when the culture is just right, people don’t spend their time looking for a better boil somewhere else. The evidence is clear: people return again and again when they feel valued and supported.

Reflections

What are we learning from teachers who choose to leave our schools?

What conditions might help more teachers return to the table year after year?