Whether you are a new leader, an experienced leader taking on a new assignment, or an experienced leader looking to affirm your school culture, this episode is for you. In this episode I chat with Principal Jon Wennstrom from Riley Upper Elementary School, in Livonia, Michigan who shares his strategies for creating a culture that honors traditions and inspires buy-in for new initiatives.  Jon discusses strategies for making all of your staff feel valued and heard.  You will not want to miss it.

In this episode I chat with Ronda Cosby, principal of Grace James Academy of Excellence located in Louisville, KY.  Grace James is an all girl public middle school with a focus on STEAM through an Afrocentric lens.  Ronda shares her wisdom about ways to create a culture that focuses on honoring student voice and decision.  She also shares tips about how to lead as your most authentic self and handle tough decisions as she discusses ways to “coach up or coach out.”  With over 30 years of educational experience Ronda’s tips are ones you will not want to miss.

In this episode I chat with Principal Beth Palmer from Medora Elementary located in Louisville, Kentucky.  Beth shares tips for dealing with difficult conversations and strategies for addressing other difficult situations. You will not want to miss Beth's leadership guidance about leading a school even in the most challenging times. 

In this episode I chat with Principal Courtney Grace from Hazelwood Elementary located in Louisville, Kentucky.  Courtney shares strategies and think-abouts for creating a culture that gets teachers out of silos to provide them more time to teach and the students more time to learn.  You won't want to miss all of the nuggets of greatness in this episode.

After a few weeks off refilling my own cup I was able to come back refreshed, refocused and refueled which allowed me to be in the best place mentally and emotionally I could be to get ready to start the new school year.  Along the way, a few things tried to derail my journey.  In this episode I discuss what those things are and share how I avoided derailment to make sure I stayed on track to being the leader my staff, students, and families deserve. 

In last week's episode I talked about the important things principals do in the summer to ensure they start the new school year with intentionality and purpose; but I forgot one of the most important things!  In this episode I talk about the one thing that should be at the very top of your to-do list to make sure you are ready to start the new school year. 

As a school leader you probably get asked the question, "What do you do all summer when no one is in the building?"  In this episode we discuss the answer to that question and talk about the principal's summer must do's to maximize success for students, staff, families, and themselves. 

As you finish up the school year are you taking time to celebrate or are you just trying to put this year behind you?  It's been a long, hard, heavy year in the field of education.  This year, more than ever, it is critical that you take time to celebrate with your staff.  In this episode I talk about NSV's and why they are often times the most important thing to celebrate.

As school leaders, supporting others (students, staff, families) is what we do.  We work tirelessly to ensure systems and structures are established and maintained so that our schools run smoothly.  We work to remove barriers for others and work hard to shield our staff from the outside pressures. This job is NOT for the faint of heart because there is a lot of heavy lifting.  In this episode I highlight the top take-aways from season 6 that help leaders focus on taking care of themselves. 

As educators we know how much trauma students experienced during the pandemic and how much mental health support they have needed since returning to in person learning.  We also know how much support teachers need because of the burnout they are experiencing due to the secondary and tertiary trauma they experience.  School counselors are instrumental in supporting students, staff, and families, but who supports the counselors?  Each day they leave school carrying a bag full of everyone else's trauma.  In this episode I talk with Dr. Lara Donnelly about strategies counselors can use to combat feeling so depleted and strategies building leaders can use to better support their counselors.