with William D. Parker and Friends
: Play in new window | DownloadSchools across the U.S. continue to respond to teacher shortages. On September 1, the White House announced recruitment partnerships to addresses the challenges. Groups like the National Center for Grow have partnered with states…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week, Will interviews Principal Sapna Hopkins. Listen to the entire show for her inspiring personal story and journey in education. Plus, learn ways she is engaging her new school community that can motivate…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Jen Schwanke and Will Parker continue conversations about ways school leaders can prepare for the school year – especially those who may be early career education leaders. Relying on strategies from her…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhat priorities must you keep in mind as you start a new school year? In this week’s episode, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke draw on years of experience to provide ideas and takeaways –…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Jen Schwanke gives a sneak-peek into her newest book, The Teacher’s Principal: How School Leaders Can Support and Motivate Their Teachers, coming out this summer. Jen explains: Why she wrote the book…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode, Jen Schwanke and I discuss ways that principals can reflect over summer break. We begin with the questions: What makes you anxious? Is your anxiety about the coming school year because…
: Play in new window | DownloadJen Schwanke, ASCD author and veteran educator, joins me in this episode to answer listener questions. Question #1 “How do you or would you mediate negative relationships between staff members in your building and…
: Play in new window | DownloadDaniel (DJ) Klein is an Assistant Principal at Ocean Springs High School, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. For longtime Principal Matters listeners, you may recognize the name DJ Klein from two previous episodes: First, on…
: Play in new window | DownloadI enjoy the sounds of morning. Yesterday, as I sat on my back porch sipping coffee, I could hear the patt-pattering of a woodpecker in the Cottonwood tree. Three squirrels were scampering along the…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis school year I had the privilege of connecting with leaders from schools in the great state of Ohio through a series of Zoom meetings. We worked through twenty sessions together covering leadership content,…
: Play in new window | DownloadGarth Larson, Ed.D is the Co-Founder and CEO of FIRST Educational Resources. Garth has previously worked as the Director of Learning for the Winneconne Community School District in northeast Wisconsin, was an elementary principal…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Jen Schwanke and William D. Parker talk about how principals and education leaders can recruit and retain high quality teachers: Learn about efforts school districts are using involving supporting employment funnels from…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn Jen Schwanke’s new role as an Deputy Superintendent and in dissertation work, she has been learning a lot about supporting school communities district-wide. In this week’s episode, she explains some of the main…
: Play in new window | DownloadVeteran school administrator and educational consultant Pete Hall channels his experiences as a school principal, life coach, and small-business owner into manageable lessons for continuous growth, personal improvement, and positive mindset. Hall served 12…
: Play in new window | DownloadEric Garcia is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist focused on politics and policy and currently the senior Washington correspondent for The Independent. His first book We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation, which the Washington…
: Play in new window | DownloadJethro Jones is the founder of Transformative Principal, which provides leadership development, weekly masterminds, and one-on-one coaching for school leaders across the nation and internationally. In 2017, he was recognized as Digital Principal of…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast month I had the privilege of presenting in a virtual event to a group of assistant principals and aspiring school leaders at Pecos Barstow Toyah ISD in Pecos, Texas. As part of a…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhat would happen if you asked your team, ‘What question would you predict I’m going to ask in a meeting?’ Brad Gustafson poses this scenario in Part 2 of our conversation about literacy. Educators…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week William D. Parker and Jen Schwanke answer the question: What do you do about a teacher who likes to ‘stir the pot’ about other teachers? Feedback includes suggestions on: Having open, honest,…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Jen Schwanke joins Will Parker to discuss stories of gratitude from former teachers and educators in their lives. Will references this recent video from the singer Adele paying tribute to her teacher that…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answer the principal question: “How do you structure discipline so that punishments fit the crime?” We talk about how the word discipline, instead of punishment, carries an…
: Play in new window | DownloadEnid Lee is a front-line educator, an anti-racist professional development specialist, leadership coach, writer and community builder. She began her joyful journey as a teacher on the Caribbean island of Antigua about 5 decades…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week, Jen Schwanke, joins me as we respond to more listener questions. Jen Schwanke is an author and education leader from Dublin City Schools in Dublin, Ohio. Question: How do you manage leading…
: Play in new window | DownloadTrevor Goertzen was recognized in 2020 as a National Digital Principal of the Year. He currently serves as the Principal of Spring Hill Middle School in Spring Hill, Kansas, and is an adjunct professor…
: Play in new window | DownloadOne year ago, June 4, 2020, D.J. Klein was a guest on the Principal Matters podcast when we shared advice for his first year as a school administrator. You can hear the 10 Tips…
: Play in new window | DownloadLeadership requires relationships, understanding others, and negotiating through conflicts. This week I am privileged to share a conversation from Chris Zervas about his book, Bomb-Proof Constructive Feedback. Chris Zervas helps busy leaders improve their…
: Play in new window | DownloadLatrese D. Younger is an instructional lead learner in Virginia. Her passion is English language arts and she believes that she will always be a teacher at heart. Latrese has a servant mindset, spirit,…
: Play in new window | DownloadDr. Kimberly Miles is the Principal of East Gresham Elementary in Gresham, Oregon. A former elementary teacher and reading coach, she transitioned into a district instructional coach before becoming a principal. She has eleven…
: Play in new window | DownloadDuring the fall semester, I invited listeners to some virtual meetings to share protocols for re-opening their schools. We formed a free Re-opening Mastermind and met once a week for six weeks to brainstorm…
: Play in new window | DownloadJoy Kelly is the co-author of the new book, Handle with Care: Managing Difficult Situations in Schools with Dignity and Respect, co-authored with Jimmy Casas. Joy has more than twenty-five years of educational experience…
: Play in new window | DownloadMarita Diffenbaugh is honored to serve as principal of Elevate Academy North, a public Career Technical charter school for students in 6th-12th grades. She has served as a teacher, administrator, and has provided leadership…
: Play in new window | DownloadBrittainy Harris has been working at Xi’an International School, located in China, since 2010. With her undergraduate degree in education, she landed at this American-based international school (that was founded in 1996 with the…
: Play in new window | DownloadLoredana Borello is the Principal of Brescia House Secondary School in Johannesburg, South Africa. Brescia House School is a Catholic Ursuline All Girls Independent School from K-12. As a principal, she is passionate about…
: Play in new window | Download“Students are at the heart of all we do,” says Principal Anne-Marie Maw. “If you’re ever struggling with what to do, put the students at the heart of your decision, and it will always…
: Play in new window | DownloadAs co-host and Principal Jen Schwanke explains, the system we live in requires us to make some of the biggest decisions of life with our gut feelings. The good news is that you do…
: Play in new window | DownloadAndrew O’Farrell has been the Principal of Beach Street Middle School in West Islip, New York since 2009. Prior to becoming a principal, Andrew was an assistant principal of Lindenhurst Middle School. Andrew began…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week, I had the privilege to interview TJ Warren, Director of Programs for Stand in the Gap Ministries. Located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Stand in the Gap is an organization committed to impacting the…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week I have the privilege of interviewing Emily Paschall about her new book, Eyes on Culture: Multiply Excellence in Your School. As you know, culture drives the outcomes of your school, and Emily…
: Play in new window | DownloadWinter is a time of year for frigid temperatures across much of the U.S. It is also a time of year when principals look ahead. Many education leaders may also be considering new positions…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was a little boy, I remember sitting in a small theater with my family where we watched the 1977 release of the first Star Wars movie. It was a pivotal moment. The visual…