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

When my business was new, I was in the practice of waking up at 5:00am to work on some big, exciting projects. I would reply to emails and write content while my house was asleep, so I could get some focused work time in.

But when I had my fourth child, Yossi, I suddenly could no longer set an alarm for 5:00am and expect to be productive—because I was also waking up at 12:00am, at 2:00am, at 4:00am, and at 6:00am to care for my baby.

I often talk about respecting the season of life you’re in, and pre-Yossi and post-Yossi’s birth were two different seasons of my life. It was important for me to adjust my expectations and priorities accordingly, without getting stuck in guilt, shame, or regret.

In this episode of The Schools of Excellence podcast, I am doing something a little different. Instead of sharing my stories and thoughts, I’m giving you space for reflection and questions about your own life. 

I ask questions like:

• If you are in a season of grief and loss, who is in your support system?
• If you are a school leader who is also raising young kids, how are you defining and evaluating the quality of time versus the quantity of time you spend with each of your children?
• For leaders navigating a health challenge, do your career goals align with your health challenges, and does it make sense to realign them?
• When leaders are caretaking loved ones, such as aging parents, are there time-wasting activities that could be minimized to make time for essential responsibilities?

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic  

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

“We were only closed for two weeks when the pandemic started, but I swear it felt like we were closed for four months.”

This is what Paige Kepner, Glen Allen, VA center owner, told me during a recent conversation.

I find this is such a common experience for school leaders when they're in the midst of a crisis.

The sheer amount of pressure, communication, decision-making, and information-gathering that happened in March, 2020 (and beyond), was overwhelming for school leaders. Not to mention the amount of energy they had to give to protecting their own families.

Paige had a five-year-old, a seven-month-old, and an empty center. She lost 60-70% of their enrollment in just a few days.

It was so stressful, she was literally having nightmares about drowning.

That’s when we met. She joined the Schools of Excellence Owner’s HQ in 2020 for coaching support, and we started with bite-sized actions to help rebuild her center and her confidence.

One of the lessons that really stuck with her was the analogy of the lobster, which gets uncomfortable as it grows into its shell. The bigger it becomes, the more miserable it is, until finally the old shell molts and it emerges with a fresh, new shell.

In the same way, we have to sit with discomfort as we are stretched by the unique challenges that come with school leadership. But if we can persevere, we can come out on the other end transformed.

In this week's podcast episode, hear directly from Paige about her experience of going from drowning to soaring.

Join us for a conversation about:

- Why Paige chose to invest in her team during a surprising time

- Her system for storing valuable information for future challenges

- How she has shifted her mindset around school culture and become a stronger leader

- The value of like-minded community for Paige

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic  

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

A director I was coaching a few weeks ago told me about a repeat problem that kept coming up in her center. She was constantly being interrupted by teachers coming to her office asking for help with little things. She was glad to support them, but it was getting to a point where she couldn’t focus on her own tasks.

Her own behavior—going out of her office to give them what they asked for, every single time—was enabling their behavior and dependency, instead of empowering them to be resourceful.

We want to be encouraging leaders with all the answers, but there’s a paradox here. We have to balance this urge to provide on-demand support with the necessity of giving our teams the environment to develop autonomy, independence, and individual growth.

This week, join me for a conversation about:

• Why support is related to people pleasing and anxiety
• How the paradox of support shows up in education, such as the push-and-pull between dependency and empowerment
• Three practical ways you can balance support with autonomy
• Journaling questions to investigate how you can navigate the paradox of support​

Want a written summary of this episode?

Grab it here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/paradox

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

 When certain aspects of our center spiral out of our control, we can either attempt to wrestle control back, or we can cultivate long-term stability and resilience. As you sit with the discomfort of the paradox of control, I would be honored to support you. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you’ll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training and coaching with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through the paradoxes of leadership. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you’re looking for the ongoing guidance, camaraderie, and support of a community of like-minded leaders as you grow as a leader, apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Recently, I was speaking with a school owner who was selling a location. She had truly done her due diligence in her preparations for this moment, crossing every T and dotting every I. The only thing left to do was to inform her team.

Feeling anxiety about the conversation, she came to me for coaching and guidance. Many coaches might give general advice about drinking water, going on a walk, or meditating. But she wasn’t coming to me for help shaking off her nerves. She was looking for something deeper.

So I asked her, “Do you believe that, because you checked every box, you can control the narrative, and your team should handle the news gracefully?”

Yes, that was exactly what she was feeling.

Then I told her she must accept the discomfort of the fact that she could not, in reality, control her team’s response to the news.

This is the paradox of control. We want control, but what we actually need is trust.

Join me on the podcast for a conversation about:

• How the paradox of control manifests inside ECE centers, including your own
• Drawing a distinction between control and influence, and why it matters for leaders
• How to cultivate resilience and humanity by confronting the paradox of control
• Questions for deep reflection to help you become a stronger, wiser leader​

Want a written summary of this episode?

Grab it here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/paradox

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

 When certain aspects of our center spiral out of our control, we can either attempt to wrestle control back, or we can cultivate long-term stability and resilience. As you sit with the discomfort of the paradox of control, I would be honored to support you. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you’ll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training and coaching with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through the paradoxes of leadership. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you’re looking for the ongoing guidance, camaraderie, and support of a community of like-minded leaders as you grow as a leader, apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Recently, I was on a coaching call with two ECE center owners.

The first owner had just purchased her second location. This was a huge milestone for her, and she expected to feel accomplished. And yet, she was struggling to step into a double identity as both an owner and the director of the second site, until it could get fully staffed.

The second owner had just sold her second location. She reflected back on when she had first purchased it, and at the time, she wondered if she was enough. Now that she sold it, she wondered the same thing.

Success is a paradox. There’s tension between achieving your aims and recognizing the path is not straightforward. Every time a school leader achieves certain goals—higher enrollment, new locations, greater profitability, more brand equity—these milestones come with their own challenges.

Join me for the third episode in my podcast series about the paradoxes of school leadership, where we explore:

• How success leads to impostor syndrome and new hurdles
• Why leaders paradoxically protect themselves from success
• Tangible ways success creates unique challenges for centers
• How to redefine your definition of success as you progress in your leadership
• Actionable steps you can take to prepare for the pros and cons of success

Want a written summary of this episode?

Grab it here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/paradox

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

 When certain aspects of our center spiral out of our control, we can either attempt to wrestle control back, or we can cultivate long-term stability and resilience. As you sit with the discomfort of the paradox of control, I would be honored to support you. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you’ll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training and coaching with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through the paradoxes of leadership. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

P.P.S. If you’re looking for the ongoing guidance, camaraderie, and support of a community of like-minded leaders as you grow as a leader, apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

When’s the last time you went to a huge buffet? While it seems like a treat to eat anything you want, you can’t eat it all—and that means you have to choose. The number of decisions you have to make in the buffet line is totally overwhelming.

In the same way, too many choices can feel paralyzing when it comes to our centers—for leadership, teachers, parents, and children.

Will the kids play with blocks or go outside? Which parent-teacher communication system will we use? Which professional development option should we pick? Which curriculum will we choose? Which payroll system is best?

Stop. Breathe.

The truth is, there is no right answer. There is no perfect choice. This is the paradox of choice that confronts us as school leaders.

This week, I invite you to explore the paradox of choice on the podcast, as we discuss:

• How to frame choices in terms of your values
• Which frameworks can guide your decision-making processes
• The inevitable grief and regret that can follow making a choice
• Low-stakes ways to build resilience for high-stakes decisions​
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Want a written summary of this episode?

Grab it here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/paradox

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

 I can give you frameworks galore, but that can’t beat the individualized, laser-focused coaching support I offer during a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive. During the Intensive, you’ll receive a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team make choices, while building a healthier, stronger center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

For owners and directors who are looking for ongoing support in navigating the many choices that come along with school leadership, I invite you to apply to the Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll receive access to tools, resources, coaching, and community to support your efforts to build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic  

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

In 2022, Catherine Doberstein had just started listening to my podcast. In an episode, I mentioned the live, in-person Summit of Excellence that was coming up, and she decided to attend.

She told me, “I had been looking for a community of young business owners to be surrounded by, but I didn’t realize there was a whole group of early childcare leaders who wanted a higher level of education for children. I knew this is where I needed to be.”

Joining the Schools of Excellence Owner’s HQ membership program created some significant changes in Catherine’s school, the Little Scholars Academy of Kannapolis, NC. In this conversation, Catherine and I discuss:

• How she shifted from doing everything in her school (owner, director, and teacher) to becoming a confident leader
• Catherine’s journey from grinding for five days a week at her school, to only working two days per week, giving her more time with her family
• Strategies Catherine put in place to create accountability within her team
• How she identified and communicated company values, which now inform all of her business decisions
• How she navigates challenges differently now than she did two years ago​

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

Some challenges are easier to overcome with an outside perspective and focused, collaborative time. When you work with Schools of Excellence during a Leadership Day Intensive, you’ll receive a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through growing pains, and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you, like Catherine, are seeking a community of like-minded childcare leaders, apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and—best of all—community that will help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

 Back in 2017, I had the immense pleasure of interviewing author and speaker Simon Sinek about how to be an effective leader. It's a topic that many people talk about but few can agree on.

During the interview, I asked Simon to define what it means to be a leader. Rather than give me a simple statement, he chose to tell a story that I'll never forget.

During his stay at the Four Seasons hotel in Las Vegas, Simon met a charming and enthusiastic barista named Noah. Noah's energy was so infectious that Simon felt compelled to ask him whether he liked his job.

Noah's response was, "No—I love my job."

He went on to explain that at the Four Seasons, his supervisors didn't make an appearance just to tell him what to do or to try to catch him making mistakes—like his other job at another well-known Las Vegas hotel (and reminiscent of many people's experience at work).

Instead, his managers checked in with him frequently to ask how he was doing and what they could do to make his job easier. This not only made Noah enjoy his work more, but it also gave him the support he needed to do his job better.

Powerful stuff, right?

Simon's point in telling this story was to demonstrate what true leadership looks like, which is to take care of people.

Because when you look out for the needs of your team, you don't need to micromanage, discipline, or fix problems. Your compassion and guidance alone give them the tools they need to be successful.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm re-sharing my interview with Simon Sinek because it's a powerful conversation about leadership that I want to make sure you all hear.

Join us for a conversation about:

• How to create an environment like Noah's at the Four Seasons
• What it means to be a leader
• Which questions to ask yourself to uncover your why
• How you can be a student of leadership
• And so much more!​

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

P.S. This episode dives into the true essence of leadership and touches on so many core concepts that we talk about with our members. If you like what you hear and want more opportunities to receive guidance and support that can transform your leadership, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

P.P.S. Inspired by what you've heard in this episode and want to help take your team's leadership to the next level? Inquire about a Leadership Day Intensive for your center. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins to help you and your team work through existing obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Communication is about more than just your words.

Years ago, when I was still working as a teacher, I was preparing for parent–teacher conferences with my mentor, Dana Levy. She was guiding me through a role-play exercise to help me feel more confident in my communication with parents.

When I got to the part of the interaction where I was supposed to express some concerns about the child, Dana stopped me and asked me to step in front of the mirror before starting again.

As I spoke in front of the mirror, I immediately noticed what Dana had observed: As soon as I reached the difficult part of the conversation, my entire body tensed up.

It was like I became an open book, unintentionally revealing my negative emotions through my facial expressions and body language—something that would be sure to make the parents anxious.

And chances are, this happens to some teachers at your center too.

Preparing for parent–teacher conferences is about more than tips or templates—although these resources can be helpful.

It requires practice and a holistic understanding of the parents' perspective so you can communicate both effectively and empathetically.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm sharing a recording of a training session I conducted for leaders within our Director's Inner Circle membership program about how to prepare for parent–teacher conferences.

Join me for a conversation about:

• How to conduct yourself during a parent-teacher conference
• What the parent perspective looks like
• Language to avoid when talking about a child
• How to structure the conference from beginning to end

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

This episode is a recording from a previous training session with our members. If you like what you hear and want more opportunities to receive guidance and support that can transform your leadership, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Managing parent-teacher relationships is a common challenge for leaders. If this is something your team struggles with, I encourage you to inquire about a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins to help you and your team work through existing obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.