Transformative Principal

Discover the secrets of school leadership in this weekly interview podcast with top leaders in education.

Dealing with Difficult Parents with Eric Makelky and Jethro Jones Transformative Principal 532 05/08/2023

Implementing Distributive Leadership with Jack Arend Transformative Principal 531 05/01/2023

Implementing Distributive Leadership with Jack Arend Transformative Principal 531 Jack Arend joined the team in July 2019. He has served in education since 1989 as an elementary, middle and high school music teacher. He began his building leadership career in the fall of 2006 as the principal of Peter G. Schmidt Elementary in the Tumwater School District. After eleven years in the principalship, he served two years at the Central Office level overseeing multiple content areas and mentoring first year teachers. Jack and his wife are both graduates of Washington State University. Jack received his Masters Degree from Western Washington University and his Administrative credentials from Seattle Pacific University. Jack and his wife Brenda enjoy living in the Olympia area and love spending time with their three children, Amanda, Emily, and Thomas. The Move Up Workshop online version is now closed, but if you are interested, you can join the waitlist at Move Up workshop Do you see your school vision in your classroom observations Professional Learning is self-care for the school leader. Self-care is how you get your power back. From aspiring to retiring School Leadership matters Are there systems set up that allow you to leave? Can you schedule an in-person event and not feel guilty. Distributive leadership Saddened when people can’t go There’s no “coverage for my building” so I can’t go. Learning is a part of our job. Schools are big machines to keep running. It’s no small job that schools run efficiently every day. Every moving part is not contingent on moving the wheel. It doesn’t always have to be the school leader. I thought I was there to take things off their plates. Delegation Giving people opportunities for others enables me to do other things Trust can take so long to develop and take split second to break Trust is like walking on a glass tabletop. Start with honesty and clarity Not taking things off my plate that should be on my plate. Let it happen, and don’t micromanage. “How’d it go?” Drafting a master schedule example What are their parameters, and what is out of bounds? Importance of understanding the task. People want to have a voice How to be a transformative principal? Get to know your people. It’s 100% relational. Sponsors Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/26699604

How to Make Today a Win with Ryan Henton Transformative Principal 530 04/26/2023

An Interview With Jethro and Lynn Hardin from the Principal Purpose Podcast 04/25/2023

Every Teacher an Intervention Expert with Shaun Cornwall Transformative Principal 529 04/18/2023

Every Teacher an Intervention Expert with Shaun Cornwall Transformative Principal 529 On this episode we talk about the , where you will learn how to show up, lead up and level up so you can move up. Are you ready to move up? Take the 2-minute assessment and see for yourself. Shaun Cornwall is a seasoned educator and administrator dedicated to delivering top-notch education to all learners. Shaun embraces a well-rounded approach to education, focusing on academic, engineering, artistic, wellness, and social-emotional aspects. With a 20-year background in education, he has served as an Assistant Principal, Dean of Students, and elementary-level classroom teacher. He is currently serving as an assistant principal in the issaquah school district. Shaun has a knack for incorporating technology into learning environments and has successfully developed STEM programs during his career. With a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and a principal’s license, he is also an active member of ASCD and AWSEP, and has contributed to STEM conferences and the NSTA’s Science Scope journal. Apart from his professional life, Shaun is a devoted husband and father to four wonderful children, aged between 7 and 17. In his spare time, he loves designing and playing board games, crafting delicious sourdough bread, and catching the latest films at the movies. Most valuable from the workshop was around evaluations and aligning myself around her values Our staff will be intervention experts is our vision. Rubric-based observations vs. a conversational approach Robotic and not super focused or helpful for teachers? Feedback is more authentic Teachers want to be better teachers and my feedback actually helps them now. One thing: going to be in one lunch every day. Put it on the calendar and told people they can expect to see me. Having a paraprofessional out there with me observing how I was handling it. Why you should attend the workshop. You are in charge of your own professional growth. What has made Shaun a great principal? Other principals. A great principal: Mary Kay Summers More about being intervention experts: meeting students where they need and what they need How to support teachers in that realm. How to be a transformative principal? Get out of your office. Be with kids. Connect with kids that don’t see you as much. Sponsors Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/26573037

Be the Head Coach of a School with Ben Ziegler Transformative Principal 528 04/09/2023

Be the Head Coach of a School with Ben Ziegler Transformative Principal 528 Ben Ziegler started his teaching career in SW Washington back in 2009. For a decade now, he has been a part of the Battle Ground School District, and for the past four years, he has been serving as an administrator. Throughout his tenure, Ben has held various positions, including a Dean for Students at the high school level, three years as an elementary AP, and currently, he is an AP at the middle school level. On this episode we talk about the , where you will learn how to show up, lead up and level up so you can move up. Are you ready to move up? Take the 2-minute assessment and see for yourself. What was most valuable from the workshop you attended with Jethro? Getting our mission/vision statements into our observations. How we are aligning in our vision and mission Coherence - aligning academics and social emotional. TPEP What is your one thing? Being aware 2x a day, ask myself if I’m aware. Helping teachers be more willing to try new things and do different things. How has your one thing impacted you in ways you didn’t expect? Had a really good conversation with a staff member here and made some suggestions to a staff member. Believe in myself more and slow down in moments in dealing with people. Strategic vs. Tactical approaches. Perspective Surprised in a good way with how much it aligned with what I already believe. Inventory of gratitude If someone is considering attending this workshop, what advice would you give them? What is your vision for your career? Started coaching middle school sports at 19 years old. Loved teaching and coaching. Be the head coach of a school. You work with people to improve their schools but help them be the best they can be. Knowing when to pull back and when to push. It comes down to relationships. It often comes down to the right question at the right time. Let people sit there. How to be a transformative Principal? Figure out your one thing for yourself - go out and observe and listen. /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/26488218

The Long Game of Recruiting and Retaining Teachers with Jethro Jones and Eric Makelky Transformative Principal 527 04/02/2023

The Authority: Culture Rules with Mark Miller, WSJ Best-Selling Author and Chick-Fil-A VP 03/28/2023

The Authority: Culture Rules with Mark Miller, WSJ Best-Selling Author and Chick-Fil-A VP In this episode, we’re bringing you a conversation from The Authority Podcast, part of the Be Podcast Network. Today’s guest is international best-selling author and business leader Mark Miller, Vice President of High Performance Leadership for Chick-Fil-A. Culture Rules: The Leader's Guide to Creating the Ultimate Competitive Advantage is Mark’s 11th book. He currently has over one million books in print in more than twenty-five languages. Ross and Mark discuss: 71% of U.S. leaders believe culture is their #1 most powerful tool to drive performance, but enhancing culture ranks low on their priority list — why the gap? First move: decide and declare what you're trying to create. Culture needs to be explicit. The 3 Culture Rules: Aspire, Amplify, Adapt What does culture mean to your customers? Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wanted to shift the company from being “know-it-alls” to “learn-it-alls” — what did Mark learn while working on the book? The “magic circle” of game design and how it explains culture. What Mark learned about innovation and purpose. Measuring culture Culture Rules is now available for purchase, with a number of bonuses available for individual and bulk orders. Learn about them here: The Authority is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with leading authors from the education world and beyond. Host Ross Romano, a leadership coach, storytelling strategist and edtech advisor, draws out their invaluable insights on leadership, culture-building, transformation, and student & educator success. Subscribe to The Authority: Apple: Spotify: RSS: Connect on social media: Mark Miller is a business leader, best-selling author, and communicator. He began writing almost twenty years ago, and with over one million books in print in more than twenty-five languages, Mark’s global impact continues to grow. Connect with him: Ross Romano is a co-founder of the and CEO of , a consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/26369457

Tackling the Teacher Shortage Problem with Michael Horn, Charles Fournier and Kevin Stoller Transformative Principal 525 03/23/2023

Tackling the Teacher Shortage Problem with Michael Horn, Charles Fournier and Kevin Stoller Transformative Principal 525 This week on Transformative Principal, Jethro Jones shares a special episode where he was on a panel to discuss the current teacher shortage and what can be done. This was recorded for the In this podcast, we discussed the following: - teachers that are leaving or doing really well. - How education has been a pink collar job and the impact that has on our day today - Empowering individuals - Addressing mentorship - Policy change vs. leadership decisions - Public Impact in North Carolina - Teacher Buy-in - Teachers want to connect - Playing with Teaching - Motivation - Leadership & culture - A discussion of money About the Panel:ists is the co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute and author of and , and the new book coming out this week called , which is the book we are talking about today! Charles Fournier is a High school English teacher and freelance podcaster at Wyoming Public Radio. Worked as an associate producer on the award-winning podcast HumaNature. Currently working as a sound designer on award-winning podcast, The Modern West, and host The Mountain Time Podcast Hour on WPR. Recently, have been producing the narrative podcast Those Who Can’t Teach Jethro Jones, 2017 Digital Principal of the Year, is a former principal and founder of the BE Podcast Network. He is also the author of the books How to be a Transformative Principal and SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for students, teachers, parents – and themselves! Jethro currently consults schools and districts on redesign efforts that don’t seem like another program. Jethro has worked as a principal at all K–12 levels, including a prison school, a district coach, distance learning team lead, and English teacher. The Better Learning Podcast is hosted by Kevin Stoller, CEO of and author of . The podcast is also associated with other organizations that are focused on improving education including the and the Sponsors Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/26315373

Building Skills in Executive Functioning with Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan Transformative Principal 524 03/15/2023

How to Prioritize Problems with Eric Makelky and Jethro Jones Transformative Principal 523 03/05/2023

Relationships to Repair and Prevent Harm with Dr. Tina Curry Transformative Principal 522 02/26/2023

Relationships to Repair and Prevent Harm with Dr. Tina Curry Transformative Principal 522 Tina Curry, Ed.D is currently Lead Coach at Fernwood Elementary School in Chicago Public Schools and an adjunct professor at DePaul University and National-Louis University. She was one of the contributors to the book Teaching for Racial Equity, which was recently named an Excellence in Equity Award Winner. She is an expert in equity in education and has trained educators in culturally responsive teaching and equity practices. She is a sought- after equity consultant. As a critically acclaimed public speaker and advocate for equity and justice in education, Dr. Curry has delivered keynote addresses locally and nationally. During her 23- year tenure in Chicago Public Schools she has served as a middle school and high school teacher, an equity coach, a literacy coach and went on to become a literacy specialist for three years in the Office of Literacy. Dr. Curry was named National Louis University’s Graduate Faculty of Year in 2019 and received the Most Influential Teacher Award from Sarah Goode STEM Academy that same year. She is a presenter at Illinois Association for Teacher of English (IATE), National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE), Illinois Reading Council (IRC), American Education Research Association (AERA), Illinois Writing Project (IWP), and Literacy Research Association (LRA). Her research interests include culturally responsive teaching, equity, literacy coaching, and school leadership. Summary for show notes: In today’s episode we talk with Dr. Tina Curry about her equity journey. She describes some of the many obstacles she faced when confronting racial equity in public school, including her work with other teachers. Tina points to relationships between teachers and students as the most meaningful way to repair and prevent the harm that has been done. Best way for listeners to reach out to Tina: Twitter @DrTina Curry Email [email protected] Sponsors Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/25983381

Making In School Suspension Meaningful with Johnathan Cranford Transformative Principal 521 02/19/2023

Real World Curriculum and Grading with Chad Lang Transformative Principal 520 02/12/2023

Real World Curriculum and Grading with Chad Lang Transformative Principal 520 Chad Lang is an assistant superintendent of HR and school improvement in Glenwood Iowa. He is passionate about grading, curriculum, and professional development. On today’s episode we discuss the importance of curriculum and grading when preparing students for the “real world”. He clarifies the difference between curriculum and resources, and explains why textbooks and companies should never be the curriculum for our students. Chad also describes the importance of starting with a common definition of grades, with his definition aligning tightly to what we expect students to know and be able to do in reference to specific standards. Chad can be reached on Twitter @chad_mLang or through his personal email [email protected] <h2 id="sponsors">Sponsors</h2> <h3 id="transformativeprincipalmastermind"><a href="https://transformativeprincipal.com">Transformative Principal Mastermind</a></h3> <p>Lead a school everyone can be proud of. </p> <p>Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. </p> <p>I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. </p> <p>Learn more at <a href="https://transformativeprincipal.com">https://transformativeprincipal.com</a></p> <h3 id="justrightreader"><a href="https://Justrightreader.com">Just Right Reader</a></h3> <p>Just Right Reader Decodables are a great way to help your students learn how to read, with research-based strategies that are proven to be effective. Each grade level has over 100 books. Send books home in packs of ten, with video lessons accessible via QR codes on each book, with lessons in Spanish and English. Learn more at https://justrightreader.com</p> /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/25863543

What If They Don't Want Feedback with Eric Makelky and Jethro Jones Transformative Principal 519 02/09/2023

The Road to Awesome with Darrin Peppard Transformative Principal 517 02/08/2023

PLCs in a Small School with Jeff Makelky Transformative Principal 516 02/07/2023

Interdisciplinary Teaching with Dr. Opie Blackwell Transformative Principal 515 02/06/2023

ChatGPT is here, what are we going to do? With Damon Hargraves Transformative Principal 518 01/22/2023

How to Make Evaluations Worthwhile with Eric Makelky Transformative Principal 514 01/11/2023

How to Make Evaluations Worthwhile with Eric Makelky Transformative Principal 514 In this episode, we are continuing our coaching conversations with Eric. Please check in our previous episodes , , and trying to make it a focus to be aware of people What’s on your mind? What’s the challenge you’re facing today. Today we focus on teacher evaluations. For New Teachers 5 informal observations 2 formal observations 2 formal observation post-conferences 2 summative conferences start, mid, and end of year with goals 14 touchpoints per teacher. For Experienced Teachers: 3 informal 1 formal start, mid, and end of year with goals 8 total touch points. Evaluation system is homemade. Current concerns: - Hard to make them meaningful - Less confident writing up evaluations because it’s my first year seeing everyone. - Feedback: is it accurate and in alignment with what is really happening? - What value does Eric see? - Good to give teachers feedback on a regular basis. - Good to give formal feedback - Post observation conferences are good to go over feedback. - From a teacher’s perspective - Some staff aren’t used to having observations and evaluations. - Picked one area on the rubric and only scored and gave feedback on that one thing. - Try chunking it, and then get some feedback. Suggestions for effective evaluations The only feedback that matters is what people can’t see Purpose is to make them meaningful - finding blind spots. Jump through the hoops. Is the vision for the school actually happening. Self-evaluations at the beginning of the year. Sponsors Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at Just Right Reader Decodables are a great way to help your students learn how to read, with research-based strategies that are proven to be effective. Each grade level has over 100 books. Send books home in packs of ten, with video lessons accessible via QR codes on each book, with lessons in Spanish and English. Learn more at https://justrightreader.com /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/25557300

A Three Phase Plan for Building Culture with Ryan Mackey Transformative Principal 513 01/07/2023

A Three Phase Plan for Building Culture with Ryan Mackey Transformative Principal 513 Ryan Mackey is the principal of Douglas High School and is beginning his ninth year as a school administrator. Wyoming Principal of the Year 2022–2023. He is also a certified McGrath Solutions TRUE-SPEAK trainer that allows him to work with other school administrators and frontline staff on communication within various organizations. He has been in education for 16 years and began his career teaching social studies while coaching football, basketball, and track. After teaching and coaching for seven years, his wife (Jessica) and two children (Brooklyn and Conlan) moved to Douglas as the middle school assistant principal and activities director. He then became the principal of the middle school in 2016 where he worked on transforming school culture through standards-referenced grading and reporting. In 2019, he was named the principal of Douglas High School and has worked to develop and establish a safe and supportive school climate and culture. He is passionate about continuous learning as well as creating and maintaining a transformative school climate and culture. Lastly, Ryan recently obtained his superintendent certification and is working on his dissertation for his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Wyoming. Ryan Mackey shares his three phase plan for leaders focusing on the culture of their schools. Starting with the adults in the building, then students, and finally focusing on the families and community members. He emphasizes the importance of the school’s mission and vision driving everything the adults in the building do, having a collaborative approach, and his rallying cry is “we’re going to work hard and do what’s best for kids!” Best way for listeners to reach out to Ryan: Email- [email protected] Call- Sponsors Improve your school dismissal and safety response with . Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer. Visit pikmykid.com/be to learn more Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/25531092

Prioritizing Culture over Strategy with Brad Gregorich Transformative Principal 512 12/25/2022

Improving Teacher Retention by Improving the Employee Experience with Eric Bransteter Transformative Principal 511 12/23/2022

People Leader vs Instructional Leader with Eric Makelky Transformative Principal 510 12/06/2022

People Leader vs Instructional Leader with Eric Makelky Transformative Principal 510 In this episode, we are continuing our coaching conversations with Eric. Please check in our previous episodes and This week we check in on what Eric has going on, and talk about how to be a people leader instead of an instructional leader. Checking back in on Eric: - Canned responses going so well, I’ve shared it with teachers - Email war: the war that you’ll never win! - Didn’t talk with superintendent about exiting - Staff moving past something Being the Instructional Leader - Are you an instructional leader or a people leader? How to be a people leader? - Focus on the individual. - Check up on people informally. - Morning lap - Being visible to being impactful - “I didn’t talk to them all week.” - Feelings of guilt Where can teachers learn to be better teachers? - Colleagues - Themselves - Principal - Technology - Conferences Teachers don’t really don’t need us to tell them how they can be better! How does your day change as a people leader? - Laps during prep - Finding those who cruise under the radar - What is a need that is unknown? - Materials and resources for new teachers - Find a way to buy the support they need. How do you find out if they need something? - Ask, What do you need? - What else? - What is your specific challenge? - How can I help? - What was most valuable today? Focus on the individual, not the data. Sponsors Improve your school dismissal and safety response with . Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer. Visit pikmykid.com/be to learn more Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/25239792

It's All About The People with Erika Garcia-Niles Transformative Principal 508 12/06/2022

With Dr. Henry Turner Transformative Principal 509 11/30/2022

With Dr. Henry Turner Transformative Principal 509 is an award-winning high school principal, author, and nationally renowned speaker. He is most proud of the collaborative community he works within to empower students to fight hate and bigotry in their school. Pointing to his unwavering commitment to equity and a student-centered culture, Henry was named by K–12 Dive. Henry is the author of the newly released book, published by DBC inc. As a national speaker, he shares his experience as an innovative instructional leader, passionate advocate, and committed antiracist educator with educators and organizational leaders. Henry works with educators, leaders, and communities on how to create a culture that commits to diversity, equity, and inclusion empowers students’ voices and addresses economic and racial disparities. He has a biweekly newsletter, “Lessons on Social Justice Leadership” that can be found at . Race is a social fabric that has been created in our society. If we believe in all students succeed, then we need to respond to students’ needs. School was founded on separating students and what systems were excluded. 25% of students were on IEP, 50% of black students were on IEPs. Racism - system of advantage based on race Who are we blaming for these disparities? What is wrong with these students vs. what is wrong with these schools? 80% of educators want to do racial justice work in their schools. Leaders are nervous about diving into this - how Teaching students to stand up for someone else. Start small How do you make sure students are seen? How do you pronounce your name? Intent is good, impact is bad. The way to make students feel included is to empower them. How do you get started? Creating agreements with students Name activity - sharing the history of your name This is the way to begin to talk aboutt he work. Talking about race really begins with talking about us. Focus on relationships. Who are we blaming for the problem? - What did I do over the course of the year to help you feel comfortable sharing that with me? Sponsors Improve your school dismissal and safety response with . Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer. Visit pikmykid.com/be to learn more Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/25176114

The Changing Landscape of Assessments with Al Kingsley Transformative Principal 507 11/17/2022

The Changing Landscape of Assessments with Al Kingsley Transformative Principal 507 Al Kingsley has spent the last 30 years in the EdTech space and 20 of those as a school trustee and governor. He is co-chair of Workstream 4 at the Foundation for Educational Development, an organization developing a framework for long-term vision and sustainable planning in England. Al is Group CEO of NetSupport Ltd, an internationally acclaimed EdTech vendor. As a firm supporter of lifelong learning, he is also a regional Apprenticeship Ambassador and Chair of the Employment & Skills board for his region’s combined authority. An active writer about all things EdTech, Al is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and sits on the advisory council for the Foundation for Education Development. He authored a book, My Secret #EdTech Diary, released in July 2021 that is a road map to a new way of thinking about technology in education. Many similarities - Local authority schools, state run, and private/independent school. Two checkpoints in year 2 and year 6 Internal (teacher-based) and external assessments (formal assessments marked and moderated externally). GCSE - age 16 in a range of subjects. Types of assessments Attainment - comparative score Progress - how much they grew. A Levels - final exam before college. What is the purpose and the outcome of these measures? external serves only 2 measures - certificate of completion or accountability for schools Are those results where they are in attainment, or are there other reasons. Whether our measure of a successful education is acquisition of knowledge or something more? Staff retention PISA is suggesting some changes in how to assess students. NAEP scores for last 15 years - 15–16 jurisdictions in US that were low consistently. Educational decisions are made in political cycles. We don’t want quick change, we want long term embedded money. What are the indicators that might vary the funding for schools? Respect and trust our school leaders. Who knows our students best? Do we trust those people? The skills being acquired in the workplace are actually the things we’re putting more weight on in the world. Key skills that could be applied anywhere. Aesthetic appreciation - How do you measure if people value their learning process at your school? Test less and Don’t make the test 100% percent of the assessment. Breadth of offerings. Sponsors Improve your school dismissal and safety response with . Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer. Visit pikmykid.com/be to learn more Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/25048923

Dealing with Collective Trauma with Eric Makelky Transformative Principal 506 11/17/2022

Dealing with Collective Trauma with Eric Makelky Transformative Principal 506 This week is our next installment of seeing how Eric is doing in his new school. As a refresher, here is . Last time, we gave him three strategies: - Strategy 1: add 15–30 minutes to however long you think each meeting will be. - Strategy 2: You seem upset, what’s the best way to contact you when he gets back at X? - Strategy 3: intentional Drive-bys - Schedule time to go be visible. We checkin on those ideas and then talk about what he’s facing today. Eric shared a great strategy today: Strategy #1: Create a “canned response” in your email provider to send to people when they are upset inviting them to talk in person or on the phone. It’s never a good idea to get in an email war. Much better to have a conversation with a person who is upset. Creating a response you send that always invites someone to meet with you and resolve differences is a sure-fire way to stop email wars and keyboard warriors. Strategy #2: Schedule to send out that email! Don’t send it immediately after you write it. Give everyone time to cool down. Today, Eric asks the question, “How can I help teachers have confidence that I’ll stick around so they’ll stop avoiding digging into the work?” This is a valid question. Teachers want to know you’ll stick around before they commit, but that is really just smokescreen for trust issues. They don’t trust you yet. People don’t actually care how long you’ll be around if they can trust you now. Eric and I discuss some ways to make sure they are experiencing that trust, including doing the exact opposite of what a teacher specifically requests. We highlight how to deal with past issues of traumatic experiences and how to do better in the future. We also share one of the great books i’ve read recently: . Finally, I gave Eric two pieces of advice: 1. Preplan how you will exit when you do exit the school (spoiler alert: everyone leaves the school!) 2. Create different experiences around what were bad experiences! We’ll be back with another interview with Eric at the beginning of December! Sponsors Improve your school dismissal and safety response with . Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer. Visit pikmykid.com/be to learn more Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/25048884

Virtual Family Well-being Nights with Ami Shah Transformative Principal 505 11/10/2022

Virtual Family Well-being Nights with Ami Shah Transformative Principal 505 Ami Shah is the Co-Founder and CEO of , an award-winning social-emotional learning platform that engages elementary and middle school students to learn skills like self-regulation, empathy and teamwork and reaches over 450,000 educators and students. Peekapak does this using stories, evidence-based lessons, and game-based learning. Behind-the-scenes, teachers, and administrators receive real-time reports showing a student’s progress and emotional state. This empowers educators to be proactive in helping curb future mental health issues. Educators can share pre-written class updates, activities, and stories with families to reinforce learning at home in English and Spanish. Peekapak is backed by; Silicon Valley-based accelerator, Imagine K12, the Edtech vertical of Y Combinator and the Unreasonable Institute. Ami has earned an MBA from INSEAD, a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is passionate about improving youth education, and has previously taught in K–4 classrooms and advised & volunteered at education-related non-profit organizations. Ami has been featured on Toronto Life, Flare, TechVibes, CBC and numerous other outlets. Ami has also spoken on topics such as social-emotional learning, student well-being, and mental health and education technology. Ami has spoken at conferences such as SXSWedu, Future of Education Technology Conference, LearnLaunch, ASU GSV and many more. Overcoming the barriers Interviewed over 300 educators to find out if SEL is actually important. It’s really hard to fit this in if it’s not required. Weren’t taught this, how am I expected to teach this to my students Shouldn’t parents be teaching this? How to involve parents in SEL. Family Well-being nights How to be a transformative principal? Help people feel heard. Sponsors Improve your school dismissal and safety response with . Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer. Visit pikmykid.com/be to learn more Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/24969354

PBL Simplified with Ryan Steuer Transformative Principal 504 11/03/2022

PBL Simplified with Ryan Steuer Transformative Principal 504 launched the first Project Based Learning middle school in the country and is the founder of , a PBL professional development organization that equips teachers, instructional coaches, and principals across the country to engage learners, tackle boredom, and transform classrooms. Prior to founding Magnify Learning, Ryan was an engineer for a Fortune 50 company, 8th grade English teacher, and missionary. He shares his education and leadership insights on YouTube and on the . New Tech Network Taught traditionally, and didn’t see results that I wanted. Kids were showing up to school and doing what they were supposed to. Work is so authentic and worthwhile that they want to learn it. Grammar lesson has life to it. It can take time to make the switch. Just starting to see the engagement. Upfront time to create this Lots more resources and structures. Define the problem, research solution, try it out, reflect Umbrella of authenticity Bring the Why Closer Cool stories of PBL Going across the street to a forest to see how much CO2 schools are sucking in. Who cares about that work? how to increase rigor. We get stuck on engagement and rigor. Opportunity to expand their view of the world. Liaison’s for PBL. Community partnerships. Do more than just be the audience. Bringing partners in to be part of the teaching force. How to be a transformative principal? Go and talk to learners. Sponsors Improve your school dismissal and safety response with . Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer. Visit pikmykid.com/be to learn more Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at /episode/index/show/transformativeprincipal/id/24891645

Transformative Principal

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