Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast

Important reminder for every school leader who’s reading this: 

You’re not just getting by or just managing a school; you’re transforming lives in your center one decision at a time. 

In this episode, Chanie reconnects you to the heart of your mission and why you do what you do by walking through some celebration prompts for what you’ve achieved in 2024.

Need some inspiration to remember?

• Creative solutions you found for your budget
• The moments you got it right with your staff
• The most courageous decision you made this year

Treat yourself to the goodness of this episode.  Soak it in.  You deserve it.

Need this reminder more often?  It happens everyday in our members community.  Learn more by talking to one of our team members:  SchoolsofExcellence.com/consult 

This episode is for every school leader out there who feels there is no one in their life who “gets” the challenges of being the leader.

In this episode, Chanie is joined by Amy Retchless, an ECE owner from Frederick, Colorado. 

Like all leaders, Amy has experienced various seasons as a school leader. In both the times she’s crushing it and when she needs a little more support, she’s found comfort in the Schools of Excellence community.

What you will learn:

1. The importance of setting work-life boundaries
2. How practicing meditation enhances you as a leader
3. The power of a supportive network

To explore how to join the Schools of Excellence community with leaders just like you, start here with our free consult call.  SchoolsofExcellence.com/consult

Ashley Perron-Knutson, a fellow ECE leader, found herself at a crossroads with her center. She had to decide whether to continue struggling or commit to becoming the best leader she could be. 



In this episode, Chanie and Ashley discuss how she regained clarity and organization with the frameworks she received as a Schools of Excellence member:

What you will learn:

1. How revamping your calendar rhythms reduces anxiety
2. What essential, effective foundational systems to build
3. Balancing your administrative duties while mentoring your team

Can you relate to Ashley and want to know how these frameworks can bring organization and calm to your day as a school director or owner? Get on a strategy call with the Schools of Excellence team. http://schoolsofexcellence.com/consult

This episode looks a little different than others. 

November 14th, Chanie was joined by school leaders for an interactive workshop that tackled the complexity of attracting, engaging, and retaining families in 2024.

Are you ready to stop guessing what your families want and start knowing exactly how to connect with every family in your school? 

In this episode, you will learn how to implement 5 power plays:

1. Know Your Families: Learn the exact data points that predict family satisfaction and longevity.
2. Speak Their Language: Master the art of creating parent avatars, a proven template that’s revolutionized communication for hundreds of schools.
3. Be Where They Are: Discover the channels and messages that resonate with modern families. (Stop wasting time on platforms your families don’t use!)
4. Train The Troops: Transform your team and teachers into family engagement experts, including our “quick-win” scripts for common scenarios.
5. Sync Your Calendars: Build a communication calendar that keeps families engaged and referring new ones!

As you listen, fill out this Power Play Action Plan worksheet. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/New-School-Playbook-Workshop-Worksheet-1-1.pdf

Then, book a call with our team to discuss how to customize this strategy for your school! https://schoolsofexcellence.com/consult

Watch the workshop replay on video here. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/workshop-new-school-playbook-replay/

Need more enrollment? Learn this simple framework.

If you’re over generic solutions that don’t move the needle, and are ready for something tangible that can consistently attract, engage, and retain your families, listen in and register for the New School Playbook Workshop.

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop - November 14th 

To attend live or get the replay, you need to register at schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster? 

Directors:  Join  the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners:  Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult.  Schedule your session now.  

Whether it be election-related stress, end of the year hecticness, or just a busy season of your life, we can all benefit from creating moments of tranquility. Our bodies literally hold this stress inside us. It’s imperative we understand this for our long-term health.

Our mental state deeply impacts our physical state and the other way around. When our brains and bodies feel overwhelmed, it’s especially important to pause, to reset, and to lead from a place of calm and clarity.

What do you do when everything around you feels outside of your control? How do you take care of yourself?

In this episode, Chanie gets real about stress and how she’s helped herself and her own children not carry this around. She gives 3 immediate action steps to regain your balance amid the chaos of this time. 

Mentioned in the episode: Chanie’s meditation for school leaders

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop — November 14th 

Register or learn more at schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster? 

Directors:  Join  the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners:  Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult.  Schedule your session now.

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed. The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to. 

In previous episodes, Chanie emphasized taking action by knowing your families, speaking their language, being where they are, and training the troops.

Now it’s time to make it happen! Develop a weekly, monthly, and quarterly schedule to strategically adapt to your evolving school families.

In the fifth and final part of the New School Playbook series, Chanie shares what must happen so your whole team puts this plan into action: Sync Your Calendars.

Key Topics Discussed: 

1. Start small with check-ins and team huddles to keep everyone on the same page, sharing insights from throughout the week about different families.
2. Avatars aren’t a “one and done” tool. Regularly update avatar profiles and strategies to best serve your families as they evolve.
3. Do a communication audit once a month, where you're ensuring that all outgoing messages align with the avatar preferences.

How can you create consistent rhythms to up-level your effectiveness as a staff? Listen in for action steps you can take today.

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop - November 14th 

Register or learn more at schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster? 

Directors:  Join  the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners:  Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult.  Schedule your session now.  

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed. The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard, and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to. 

In today’s episode, the fourth part of the New School Playbook Series, Chanie breaks down how to Train Your Troops.

We’ve all had awkward social interactions — accidentally bumping into someone, forgetting someone’s name, or even realizing that we had a stain on our shirt after running into someone we haven’t seen in years. Afterward, we’re left wishing everything went smoother.

As school leaders and staff, we’re interacting with a diverse collection of families daily, so it’s extra important that we all understand how to best conduct ourselves in a professional, yet still friendly and helpful, manner. 

Key Topics Discussed: 

1. Generational differences in communication skills. Some staff members excel at in-person interactions, and others at digital interactions, but we need them to be successful at both.
2. Being sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of our families. When we learn how to cultivate more cultural sensitivity, we learn how to be more accepting of other people and break down social barriers.
3. Educating staff on the different parent avatars (see episode 201!) What makes one family feel respected and heard doesn’t work for everyone. Once your staff understands the parent avatars at your center, they can cater their interactions to the appropriate style for every family.

What training do your troops need? Tune in for action steps you can take today!

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop - November 14th 

Register or learn more at schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster? 

Directors:  Join  the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners:  Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult.  Schedule your session now.  

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed. The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to. 

How many different ways are you sending out information to your families? Maybe it’s just one email. Or maybe it’s seven emails, 4 texts and a printed flyer. 

When you step back and examine your different parent avatars (listen to the previous episode to learn how to build yours), you can start to understand when to send text or email and easily personalize that to best suit all of your families.

In part three of the New School Playbook series, Chanie shares how to Be Where They Are:

Key Topics Discussed: 

1. Your messages become invisible to a large portion of your community if you’re not sending them to what they check (i.e. are they text or email people?)
2. In-person events will always create the best lasting impression. When a parent has a positive interaction with your school at an event, they will tell an average of nine other people. How do you make these kind of events?
3. How do you know if your messages are even being read? Learn how to audit your current communication methods and see how many people are actually opening and viewing them. 

Mentioned in this episode:

If you need to increase enrollment right away, check out episode 191

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop — November 14th 

Register or learn more at: schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster? 

Directors: Join the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners: Join the Owner’s HQ

It starts with a free consult. Schedule your session now. 

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed.  The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to.

Think about how good it feels when someone notices something that’s uniquely you  and engages with that in mind… You’re a person who matters to them. When you can achieve this with your families, you create a connection that makes a big difference in your school’s success.

In part two of the New School Playbook series, Chanie shares how to reach families when you: Speak Their Language.

Key Topics Discussed: 

1. Adjusting your communication and involvement expectations to the diversity of your parent demographics and community - single parent families, large families, first generation, both parents working - you see where I’m going?  They all have different needs - and you as a director don’t need to overwork yourself trying to meet them.  (Keep reading!) 
2. Creating key avatars of your families that speak to their needs in words they relate to is possible and not only simplifies the challenge for you, but allows each family to be truly heard and seen.
3. Chanie’s quick action step: Start with simple exercises like a communication audit of last week’s emails, tweak the language to be more inclusive and connective to more of your family dynamics.  Then press send and test it out!

This is the second in the series to help you develop a NEW playbook for your school enrollment and retention strategies. 

Listen and be prepared for some practical action steps for implementing these new tactics that work!

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our free, interactive workshop — November 14th 

Register or learn more at: schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster? 

Directors: Join the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners: Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult. Schedule your session now.