with William D. Parker and Friends
: 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 | 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 | DownloadTimothy Alexander is a bestselling writer, award-winning speaker, and life coach who thrives at the intersection of character development, counseling, and mentorship. After a life changing car accident in 2006 left him paralyzed from…
: 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 | DownloadIn a recent article Jen Schwanke published with ASCD, First Engage Teachers: A Principal’s Role in Cultivating Staff Motivation, Jen makes the following assertion: “When principals foster a staff’s collective belief in themselves, their…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis past month, we sent our third daughter to college. More than a year ago, she began to explore the possibility of studying abroad. As a result of months of apply to schools, virtual…
: 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 | DownloadEven in uncertain times, it is good to remember that positive ideas can come from even the most difficult situations. Juan David Campolargo, a seventeen-year-old high school student from Chicago, is no stranger to…
: Play in new window | DownloadIt goes without saying that in order to lead you must have followers. But taking others to a destination doesn’t just mean accomplishing all the to-do’s on your checklist. Leadership requires relationships. And meaningful…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis week I had the privilege of spending an afternoon with a team of new assistant principals. As we talked about their first semester, they shared the lessons they’ve learned in time management, communication,…
: Play in new window | DownloadEvery person in your school is at a different level of growth. Not just students, but teachers are also at stages of growth. Leadership is not any different. Some educators are just beginning the…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast week was the first time (except for a rare Christmas holiday) that I have not shared a blog post or podcast episode update in almost five years. At first, I thought it was…
: Play in new window | DownloadJesse Haynes is one of those rare people you meet in life who has dared to make his dreams come true. He is a recent graduate from the University of Tulsa who has reached…
: Play in new window | DownloadSeveral weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting Norman High School, in Norman, Oklahoma. Dr. Scott Beck was recently named Oklahoma’s High School Principal of the Year, and I wanted to touch-base with…
: Play in new window | DownloadNext week, I have the privilege of gathering together with educators and school leaders for a Leadership & Learning Conference in Norman, Oklahoma. Guest speakers Jeff Zoul, Jack Berckemeyer, and Christine Handy will be…
: Play in new window | DownloadHow can schools integrate technology across all classrooms? Janalyn Taylor, Principal of Nance Elementary in Clinton, Oklahoma, believes that school leaders must be willing to model learning and teaching with technology in order to…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was in high school and college, my brothers and I worked part-time diving for mussel shells in the Kentucky Lake area. We would sell them by the pound at local markets, and…
: Play in new window | DownloadOne of my favorite college education professors would often start class with a provoking question. As we would grapple with how to answer or support our positions, he would stand there with his large…
: Play in new window | DownloadRecently, the United States mourned the passing of Arizona Senator John McCain. Before his death, Senator McCain was asked by a reporter what words he hoped to see on his tombstone. He replied, “I’ve…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was a Language Arts teacher, I would walk my students through a series of practices on identifying their surroundings and writing down the details. You could try it right now. Take a…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis summer my wife and I enjoyed time away celebrating our twenty fifth wedding anniversary in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. One afternoon we drove to Emerald Bay, a cove nestled a mile below the mountain…
: Play in new window | DownloadA few weeks ago, I was on an airplane with my oldest daughter, Emily, who just finished her first year of college and is enjoying summer break. Being with her brings back a lot…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was in college, I had my first experience in mountain climbing. I was traveling in Guatemala for a summer missions outreach when one morning, we woke up before dawn and rode a…
: Play in new window | DownloadThe other morning, I woke up early in a hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia. For a moment, I couldn’t remember where I was. Then it dawned on me that I was presenting that morning…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn 2010, I had the privilege of traveling to China for ten days on an education tour. One morning in Beijing, I headed outside the hotel before breakfast for a quick run. Later as…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was in college I climbed my first mountain which was an active volcano near Guatemala City. We loaded a bus the night before and arrived hours before sunrise to begin our hike…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis past weekend, NASA broadcasted the final transmission of the spacecraft, Cassini, as it plunged into the atmosphere of the planet Saturn that it had orbited and monitored for the past 13 years. Cassini’s…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis past week I hosted a webinar for principals as a part of a book study over Principal Matters: The Motivation, Action, Courage and Teamwork Needed for School Leaders. In 2012, after being named…
: Play in new window | DownloadThe other night I was invited to visit a university classroom with sixteen educators who are working on graduate degrees in educational leadership. I listened to each of them present vision and mission statements…
: Play in new window | DownloadOccasionally my wife will remind me when it’s been awhile since I’ve cleaned out my closet. So I’ll take time to sort out what I don’t need anymore. I can easily fill a couple…
: Play in new window | DownloadToday’s podcast episode is the first in a series responding to listener and reader questions. One assistant principal wrote me to ask, “How can I have a bigger leadership role as an assistant?” This…
Our high school football team is headed for the state championship game this coming weekend. (You can see their championship game promo here.) Two years ago when these senior players were sophomores, their team won no games. It was a…
Last year I was attending a high school track meet when our school’s 4 x 400-meter-relay team faced a rival team with a runner known as one of the fastest boys in the state. Our four-man-team actually held the lead…
The following is a Q & A between Mark Mambretti and me. Mark Mambretti is principal of East Aurora Middle School, located just outside of Buffalo, New York; a 5-8 school of 600 students and 100 faculty This year, he…
The following is a Q & A exchange between James Holifield and me. James “Jim” Holifield is the principal at New Prairie Middle School in New Carlisle, Indiana. As the Indiana Middle School Principal of the Year, he represented his…
The following is a Q & A exchange between Dr. Tim Elmore and me. I had the privilege of connecting with Tim when a mutual friend introduced us after seeing I had recommended his book, Generation iY, and I am…
Thanks for taking time to visit Principal Matters, where you can find resources, insights, and inspiration for school leadership! William D. Parker Bio Will is currently the principal of Skiatook High School, near Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A. He grew up a…