Eric Makelky is the Pinedale Middle School principal in Pinedale, WY.  He earned a Bachelors and Master’s degree from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT.  Eric has worked as a middle school language arts and social studies teacher, football, wrestling, and track coach, 6–12 instructional facilitator, middle school assistant principal, and Skyline Academy (alternative high school) principal.

• Mastermind made a huge difference - Join us.
• Your book was based on my beliefs
• Three yearly goals:
• Target was always moving
• What can we do every year, year after year?
  1. Every student who walks in the school can identify by name one trusted adult.
  2. Beat state average at reading and math growth
  3. Demonstrate beliefs behaviors and outcomes that create our school culture.
• Greeting kids by name and in the hall.
• What do you do with those kids that have negative experiences their whole school careers?
• Sticker chart was dumb.
• Staff love connecting with students.
• Strategies for school culture.
• Define the culture that you want in your school.
• The outcomes we want are driven by our behaviors, and our behaviors are driven by our beliefs.
• Anybody can make a poster, but making it happen is where it gets fun.
• You have to call out the behaviors that
• I ask for help, I give help, I care, listen, and communicate.
• Want people to know the culture before they apply.
• Keeping things simple.
• Common language.
• Staff appreciation/recognition
• I feel too appreciated - said no one ever
• You’ve got to help me give staff recognition and appreciation.
• Why teachers don’t get recognition awards.
• Nominate your teachers for awards.
• Have a way to recognize when people do something great.
• Trophy. Saul the saber-tooth tiger
• Growth mindset, stand up and own it, power of the team.
• How to be a transformative principal? Join the mastermind! Helps grow my confidence.

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

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 conversation. 

We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Renaissance Learning. Renaissance helps schools accelerate learning with solutions that make it easier to assess progress, personalize support, and help every student succeed. Visit Renaissance Learning to learn more.