Ashley Drill and Jamie Tewksbury are elementary teachers with more than 20 years of teaching experience. They teach 3rd grade in Plymouth, Minnesota, at Greenwood Elementary School alongside their principal, Dr. Brad Gustafson from Episode 9.

Teaching is their passion and their goal is to help students become independent learners. They believe in the philosophy that all students are able to achieve and they have created an environment to help students do just that. This dynamic team created a program called PICE, which stands for Personalized, Independent, Connected, E-Learning pedagogy for the classroom.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are interested in educational leadership as an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

www.educatorslead.com

Jayne Ellspermann is the principal of West Port High School in Ocala, Florida.  She has spent the past 35 years as an educator with 24 of those years as a principal at the elementary, middle, and high school level.  She was recognized by NASSP as the 2015 National Principal of the Year and is currently the president-elect of NASSP.  Jayne’s mission is to provide an environment where all students can exceed their own perceived potential.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are interested in educational leadership as an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

www.educatorslead.com

Dr. Mary Canole is in her 40th year in public education. She has taught at both the middle and high school levels in Rhode Island and served as the Director of the Newport Area Career and Technical Center. Mary later became the Director of Instruction and Grants and then Superintendent of Newport Public Schools, a small urban school district. Mary has also served as Director of Progressive Support and Intervention at the Rhode Island Department of Education and is a 1998 Milken award recipient.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are interested in educational leadership as an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

 www.educatorslead.com

Kevin Shelton is in his tenth year as principal of Johnsburg High School in Johnsburg, IL.  He earned his bachelors degree in English and Secondary Education from Loras College and his Masters degree in Educational Leadership from National Louis University.  Kevin was an English teacher and multi-sport coach for eight years, prior to becoming an administrator for the next sixteen years.  Kevin was recognized as the 2012 Illinois High School Principal of the Year and has been an active member of the Illinois Principals Association even serving as president in 2013 and 2014. Kevin was also a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals delegation in 2014 that traveled to Finland to learn more about their educational system first hand.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are interested in educational leadership as an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

 www.educatorslead.com

Dr. Robert McBride currently serves as the principal of Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, IL.  His school serves approximately 3,900 students on a campus of two buildings, the Gold Building for freshman students and the Main Building for sophomore, junior, and senior students. Bob has served as the Principal of Glenbard East High School and the English Department Chair at Oak Park and River Forest High School.  Bob’s academic interests are in curriculum and instruction as well as literature, particularly African American Literature. Bob earned his doctorate at Loyola University, and he defended a dissertation on mathematics education.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

www.educatorslead.com

Dr. Tony Sinanis is currently the Lead Learner at Cantiague (CAN-T-AG) Elementary School in Jericho, New York. Cantiague was named a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School and Tony received the 2014 New York State Elementary Principal of the Year Award. Tony is active on Twitter (@TonySinanis) and serves as the founder and co-moderator of #NYedchat. Tony has presented at both national and local conferences based on his work with social media and school branding. Tony is also an adjunct professor at Lehman College as part of their Educational Leadership program. Finally, Tony has co-authored two books for Corwin Press with Dr. Joe Sanfelippo who has also been on the show: The Power of Branding: Telling Your School's Story AND Principal Professional Development: Leading Learning in the Digital Age.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

www.educatorslead.com

Brad Weston has served as teacher, coach, counselor, athletic director, assistant principal, and principal over his career in education. He was hired in the summer of 2011 as a “turnaround” principal at Fairdale High School. His focus on improving instruction as a collective practice has led to substantial gains for the school. Brad was named the 2015 Jefferson County Public Schools’ Administrator of the Year.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

www.educatorslead.com

Jessica Cabeen is the principal of Woodson Kindergarten Center in Austin, Minnesota. Jessica has an interesting career path that I will let her share with you in the interview, but in the end she became a school administrator because of her heart for children. Jessica holds a Bachelors degree in Music Therapy from University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, and a Masters in special education from St. Thomas and her directors license and principal license from Hamlin University.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.
www.educatorslead.com

Shane is the Principal of Abingdon-Avon High School in west central Illinois. The district is in the third year of a consolidation and the second year of a 1:1 initiative. This marks Shane's ninth year in education and his fifth as a high school principal.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.
www.educatorslead.com

Jeff Gasaway has been an administrator for 14 years serving as assistant principal, director of Human Resources, and has now been the principal at Midway High School for the past 5 years. He received his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University and his master’s degree from Texas A&M in Commerce, Texas.  He is currently working on his doctorate from Baylor University.  His wife, Kara, is a teacher and they have been married for 15 years and have two sons.

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.
www.educatorslead.com