Tom Mahoney currently serves as the Superintendent of Oregon Community Unit School District located in Northern Illinois.  As an educator, Tom has served as a secondary math teacher, coach, building administrator, and Assistant Superintendent. His experiences as a teacher, serving a diverse student population, continue to guide his advocacy for equity and whole child education in his administrative roles.

•  Lead, Grow, Serve. “I take me with me wherever I go,” he says. “So if I’m not making me better, things aren’t going to get better.”
• Stephen Covey - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
• Leadership is a great opportunity to help others.
• My job on earth is not to find happiness but to serve others and that leads to happiness.
• How do we define priorities for the crises we face.
• People are constantly reactive.
• Constantly in crisis.
• First take care of yourself, don’t worry about the “urgent”.
• Invite that person out of that place.
• Nobody is staying in crisis because they want to be there. They just don’t know how to get out of it.
• Acknowledging that if you don’t take care of yourself, nobody else will do it.
• Build relationships around shared beliefs.
• Are you open to…
• Invite, then be ready to solve the problem.
• Self-care
• The Helper - put the person who always says yes to be part of that.
• Disgruntled - things never go well.
• I was the only common denominator in every situation
• I take me with me wherever I go.
• People who feel guilty for saying no.
• Help them build boundaries.
• I thought interest in topics were innate. Didn’t know you could choose curiosity.
• Couldn’t read, couldn’t sit still.
• They invested in me, and held me accountable to a higher standard.
• I realized that learning was a choice.
• Things I was afraid of, I became excited about.
• It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
• Self-direction and whole child education.
• I don’t weight any four areas higher than others.
• What I found was that kids were graduating and they couldn’t survive.
• Educate students to be lifelong learners who are productive and responsible citizens.
• Nothing is more frightening to me than the child who is good at school.
• They can take control of their own learning.
• They have all the skill
• New staff members: Mission driven, Fail, be responsible for the culture you create.
• Created opportunity for teachers to the
• how to be a transformative principal? Future self, tomorrow I will… Do something intentionally daily or weekly to make myself as good as I can be.

Innovative school leaders across the country have started tracking online student participation using TeachFX because it’s one of the most powerful ways to improve student outcomes during COVID — especially for English Learners and students of color. Learn more about TeachFX and get a special offer at TeachFX.com

Today’s Transformative Principal sponsor, John Catt Educational, amplifies world-class voices on timeless topics, with a list of authors recognized globally for their fresh perspectives and proven strategies to drive success in modern schools and classrooms.

John Catt’s mission is to support high-quality teaching and learning by ensuring every educator has access to professional development materials that are research-based, practical, and focused on the key topics proven essential in today’s and tomorrow’s schools.

Learn more about professional development publications that are easy to implement for your entire faculty, and are both quickly digestible and rigorous, by visiting https://us.johncattbookshop.com/. Learn more about some of the newest titles:

• Michaela: The Power of Culture by Katharine Birbalsingh
• Teaching WalkThrus: Visual Step-by-Step Guides to Essential Teaching Techniques by Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli
• Putting Staff First: A blueprint for revitalising our schools by John Tomsett and Jonny Uttley
• The Teaching Delusion: Why Teaching In Our Schools Isn’t Good Enough (And How We Can Make It Better) by Bruce Robertson
• Stop Talking About Wellbeing: A pragmatic approach to teacher workload by Kat Howard

John Catt is also proud publisher of the new book from Transformative Principal host Jethro Jones: SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for students, teachers, parents – and themselves Visit this page to learn more about bulk orders and how to bring John Catt’s research-based materials to your school: https://us.johncattbookshop.com/pages/agents-and-distributors

Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL, and Renaissance Learning:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conv...