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Dr. Nick Polyak on Unlearning Your Way to Educational Innovation

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

Release Date: 06/04/2025

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

Jethro Jones on Breaking the Robot Principal Playbook The Ruckus Report Quick take: Most school leaders are trained to lead like emotionless robots. But students aren't spreadsheets and staff don't need a boss with a checklist — they need a human being. Time to reject the premise that logic alone should run our schools. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Jethro Jones, 2017 NASSP Digital Principal of the Year, is a former principal from Fairbanks, Alaska, and the host of Transformative Principal, where he interviews leaders from around the world who are reimagining K-12 education. He's the...

Sam Feeney on Closing the Compliance Gap

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

The Ruckus Report Quick take: The biggest legal risk most districts face isn't a headline-grabbing lawsuit — it's the hidden gap between the accommodations they promise and the ones students actually receive. Sam Feeney built a tool that collapses this compliance gap to 10 seconds and a single click. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Sam Feeney has been an educator for twenty-five years as an English teacher, counselor, administrator, and consultant. He created Accommodate in response to his professional observations and his personal experience as a father. Sam and the team at Accommodate...

Rethinking School Leadership: From Problem-Solver to Capacity-Builder

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

Mitch Weathers on Breaking the Bottleneck Leadership Trap The Ruckus Report Quick take: Most principals think they're the chief problem solver—but that mindset is actually what's breaking their schools. When you're the go-to for every fire, you're not leading, you're enabling dependence. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Mitch became a gifted teacher because he was a mediocre student. Mitch rarely felt comfortable in the classroom. In fact, it took him 7 years to graduate from college. Choosing to become a teacher, Mitch was fortunate enough to experience school as if it was happening all...

Veronica Holyoke on Breaking the Myth of Solitary Leadership

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

The Ruckus Report Quick take: The "lone wolf" leader is a toxic myth that's burning out school administrators and failing students. Veronica Holyoke proves that transformational leadership happens in community, not isolation — and one hour a week can change everything. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Veronica Holyoke is a 25-year education veteran and Utah's 2024 Assistant Principal of the Year. A former 5th grade teacher with master's degrees in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Leadership, she's spent her fourth year as an elementary Assistant Principal in Jordan School...

Punching the Shark: Why Teacher Retention Beats Recruitment Every Time

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

The Ruckus Report Quick take: Most districts are dumping water into leaky buckets while wondering why they can't fill them. Nate Eklund shows us why we've been solving the wrong problem — and how "punching the shark" creates the workplace conditions that make educators want to stay. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Nate Eklund is the founder and CEO of Vital Network, a national organization focused on improving educator retention and well-being through workplace improvements. A former classroom teacher and author of How Was Your Day at School? Improving Dialogue about Teacher Job...

Building Culture That Goes Beyond the Wall

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

The Ruckus Report Quick take: If your school has beautiful values painted on the walls but nobody's living them, you're running a theater, not a school. Jimmy Casas exposes the brutal difference between what we say and what we do. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Jimmy Casas has been an educator for over 30 years, serving twenty-two years as a school leader. Under his leadership, his school was named one of the Best High Schools in the country three times by Newsweek and US News & World Report. Jimmy was named the 2012 Iowa Secondary Principal of the Year and was selected as runner-up...

Transforming Schools Through Teacher-Centered Leadership

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

The Ruckus Report Quick take: Most principals manage buildings instead of transforming lives. Dr. Chris Jones flips the script by putting teachers at the center of every decision, creating scheduling magic that serves everyone — and proves that embracing resistance makes you stronger. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Chris Jones has been an educator in Massachusetts for 24 years. He is finishing his 16th year as a building administrator. He is a teacher centered Principal and passionate about continuous improvement and the idea that success is not a destination, but a process. Chris is...

Dr. Nick Polyak on Unlearning Your Way to Educational Innovation

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

The Ruckus Report Quick take: Award-winning Superintendent Dr. Nick Polyak reveals why the most innovative school leaders aren't just adding new programs—they're actively tearing down outdated practices to make room for transformational student experiences. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Dr. Nick Polyak is the proud superintendent of the award-winning Leyden Community High School District 212. He earned his undergraduate degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, his Masters from Governors State University, and his Ed.D. from Loyola University Chicago. Nick has been a classroom...

Do School Different Part 1

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

The Ruckus Report Quick take: Visionary school leaders don’t follow dusty rulebooks. In this episode, Jethro Jones joins Danny Bauer to burn the old manual and co-create a new playbook for Ruckus Makers — one bold idea at a time. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Jethro Jones, 2017 NASSP Digital Principal of the Year, is a former principal from Fairbanks, Alaska, and the host of Transformative Principal, where he interviews leaders from around the world who are reimagining K-12 education. He’s the founder of the Transformative Leadership Summit and author of SchoolX: How principals...

Demetrius Ball on Leading with Purpose as Principal of the Year

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer

The Ruckus Report Quick take: Award-winning Principal Demetrius Ball reveals how intentional leadership, strategic decision-making, and being consistently present creates a school culture where students feel more connected than ever before. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Demetrius Ball was born and raised in Ohio. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point, NY) and served 5 years on active duty in the US Army as a Field Artillery Officer. His education career began in 2008 as a social studies teacher, spanning roles in California and Maryland before moving into...

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Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Dr. Nick Polyak is the proud superintendent of the award-winning Leyden Community High School District 212. He earned his undergraduate degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, his Masters from Governors State University, and his Ed.D. from Loyola University Chicago. Nick has been a classroom teacher and coach, a building and district level administrator, a School Board member, and a superintendent in both central Illinois and suburban Chicago. Nick earned an IASA School of Advanced Leadership Fellowship and he also graduated from the AASA National Superintendent Certification Program. He teaches for both the Illinois and National Aspiring Superintendent Academies and has co-authored four books on school leadership.

Breaking Down the Old Rules 🔨 In this episode, Dr. Nick Polyak challenges traditional education paradigms:

Key Insight #1: Unlearning Debunked Educational Practices

What's broken: Clinging to disproven theories like multiple learning styles while adding endless new initiatives
The shift: Actively identifying and discarding outdated knowledge to make room for evidence-based practices
Impact: Teachers empowered with current, relevant pedagogical approaches instead of layering old myths with new methods

Key Insight #2: Reimagining School Structure Through Innovation Incubators

What's broken: Traditional 45-minute siloed classes with bell schedules that fragment learning
The shift: Creating teacher-led innovation teams who design interdisciplinary, problem-based learning experiences like CoLab
Impact: Freshmen spending four periods daily in meaningful, community-connected learning that earns honors credit

Key Insight #3: Transforming Exclusion into Belonging Through Bilingual Programming

What's broken: Theater programs that don't reflect the school's 70% Latinx population
The shift: Creating Teatro Leyden with dual English/Spanish casts, treating language as an asset
Impact: Doubled theater participation and families who previously couldn't access school arts now fill auditoriums

Quotable Ruckus "We as human beings are really good at learning new things. We're really bad at unlearning things that are no longer true or no longer relevant to make room for new things." – Dr. Nick Polyak

Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here:

Tomorrow: Identify one "sacred cow" practice in your school and research whether it's still educationally sound
This Month: Create an innovation incubator team of teachers from different disciplines to dream big about student experience
This Semester: Audit your programs to see if they reflect your student demographics—then redesign what doesn't

Connect & Continue

🎯 Get the full episode transcript: here
🔗 Follow Dr. Nick Polyak: LinkedIn
💪 Join the Ruckus Maker Movement: The Ruckus Maker Club

Do you Subscribe to the Ruckus Maker Newsletter? Do School Different 3x a Week. Join for FREE here..

Today's RUCKUScast in Partnership with: IXL: Meet your students where they are and take them where they need to go. Join over 1 million teachers who trust IXL to drive data-informed excellence in their classrooms. 🔍 Learn more:here

Expressability K12: Your inbox isn't a task manager. Your mind isn't for storing mundane processes. It's time to break free. With Expressability K12 Ruckus Makers can prioritize student success by offloading time sucking tasks. Visit Expressability K12 to learn how: here

ODP Business Solutions: STEAM programs failing before they start?

Most schools botch STEAM implementation because they're missing 3 critical elements. Here's the wild part: it's not about fancy tech or massive budgets. ODP Business Solutions® has researched many successful programs to identify what actually works (and what's just burning cash).

Learn the blueprint: here

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