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

Are you the kind of school leader that is obsessed with results? Do you find it hard to celebrate the small milestones that your school crosses and constantly in pursuit of ticking the next box? Do you constantly beat yourself up for not achieving certain goals? Well, you could be suffering from perfectionism! Yes, that’s a thing!

In today’s episode, I speak about the 3 important steps to follow if you are looking to overcome the perfectionist mindset and focus on the process. And no, it’s not that I am encouraging you to settle for less – I want you to recognize that you must work hard in pursuit for excellence, and then accept whatever happens. Stop beating yourself up whenever outcomes do not meet your expectations. Waiting to only celebrate your wins is punishing yourself. You deserve more than that! Yes, you do!

In this episode, I talk about:

• What perfection is and what it’s not.
• How to stop obsessing over the results and learn to fall in love with the process.
• The three steps to overcoming the perfectionist inside you.
• The reasons why you struggle appreciating feedback.
• How to start embracing your mistakes and failures, and seeing them as opportunities for improvement. 

...and so much more!

Remember, perfection is actually an addiction, because it is a form of distraction from action and progress. 

Click Here to Listen on Apple Podcasts

Click Here to Listen on Non-Apple Devices

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Access the School Leadership Toolkit at chanie.me/toolkit

Access the Time Management & Accountability Bundle at Chanie.me/time

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 a 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 everyday which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve everyday.

Sara Schreiner is the owner of sunshine Academy in Laurel Montana. She's married to Greg and the two of them have two children; Sophia-Jo and Wyatt who is six. Sara cares deeply about her team and the families that she serves. And her unshakable optimism and her mindset to be in the pursuit of excellence are truly remarkable. Sara has 25 teachers, 120 families, and 135 children that she's been entrusted to care for and serve. Today’s episode begins with Sara inviting us into her home on that fateful night in March when it all began.

In this final episode of Stories of Resilience, we talk about:

1.   How she was quickly able to process the emotions that the pandemic brought.
2.       How she arrived at the really hard decision of remaining open amidst the pandemic.
3.       How Sara knew that the pandemic was going to impact people in a very traumatic way, and what she did about that.
4.       Sara’s unique parenting philosophy and how she incorporated it into the curriculum at Sunshine Academy.
5.       How she intentionally separated feedback from opinions and attacks.
6.   How she intentionally has practices that elevate her thinking and what she does to keep it consistent.
7.   How Sara has created healthy boundaries and how they help her live a beautiful quality of life.
8.   Creating boundaries around phone usage as part of your resilience training.
9.   How Sara is different now, from the person she was in January of 2020.
10.   How this season has been rough on both Sara’s personal and professional life.
11.   Some of her big dreams and what’s on the horizon for her and for her company.

Sara Schreiner is a beacon of light and joy. What a privilege it is to work alongside her and be part of her journey!

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Sign up for the Ideal Week for High Achieving School Leaders HERE

The Ideal Week for High Achieving School Leaders

Wednesday, June 23 - 12:00-1:00 pm EST

(replay available)

In this 90 Minute premium online masterclass, EC Leadership Coach, Chanie Wilschanski with the Schools of Excellence, will teach you the strategies on How to Set the Right Priorities to Build your School of Excellence

This workshop features...

1. 90 Minutes Workshop with Training and Done-With-You Implementation walk-thru
2. Live Q&A with Chanie
3. Workbook for Guided Implementation 
4. Access to Live Workshop & Lifetime Access to Recording
5. Gain the input and advice from other High Achieving School Leaders on what's working and is driving their current success
6. Practical plans and strategies to start putting into action in your school right away.
7. The guidance from an industry expert, with over 15 years of experience in the field.
8. And much more…

Sign up for the Ideal Week for High Achieving School Leaders HERE

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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.

As a school leader, the urgent demands of life will always fight for your attention. And so you need to decide what gets your attention, not the other way around. Your ideal week is a week that you would have 100% control of what you could do with your week. If your week included all the things that could nourish you and your family, and take you closer to your legacy and impact, what activities would get your time? These are the activities that should be at the top of your priority list!

In today’s episode, I share with you tips for crafting your ideal week, and what to do to achieve one. Over the years, I have come to realize that time is money; and the same way we guard our money should be the same way we guard our time! If you are looking to make your dream summer become a reality as the school year comes to a close, this episode is for you!

In a nutshell, I cover:

• Treating your time like a budget (and sticking to it)
• The importance of scheduling empty space in your calendar
• Scheduling your life and being fully in charge of it

...and so much more! 

Click Here to Listen on Apple Podcasts

Click Here to Listen on Non-Apple Devices

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ HERE

Access the School Leadership Toolkit HERE

Sign up for the Ideal Week for High Achieving School Leaders HERE

The Ideal Week for High Achieving School Leaders

Wednesday, June 23 - 12:00-1:00 pm EST

(replay available)

In this 90 Minute premium online masterclass, EC Leadership Coach, Chanie Wilschanski with the Schools of Excellence, will teach you the strategies on How to Set the Right Priorities to Build your School of Excellence

This workshop features...

1. 90 Minutes Workshop with Training and Done-With-You Implementation walk-thru
2. Live Q&A with Chanie
3. Workbook for Guided Implementation 
4. Access to Live Workshop & Lifetime Access to Recording
5. Gain the input and advice from other High Achieving School Leaders on what's working and is driving their current success
6. Practical plans and strategies to start putting into action in your school right away.
7. The guidance from an industry expert, with over 15 years of experience in the field.
8. And much more…

Sign up for the Ideal Week for High Achieving School Leaders HERE

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.

Jennifer Bulmer is the owner of Juvenescence Child Development Centre in Calgary, Alberta - in Canada. She is a proud mom to 2 teenage daughters ages 13 and 15. Jennifer’s humor, emotional intelligence, and wit consistently come across in our conversation today. Her attitude of “it's all gonna work out and be okay” has served her very well in life. 

With 25 teachers, 85 families, and 110 children, the news of the Covid pandemic coming closer to her school doors was something that she didn't have the heads up or ample time to prepare for. She shares how the pandemic affected her school's operations and how she managed to stay afloat. 

In this episode, we speak about: 

1. The strategies and resources Jennifer has used to make her school better.
2.  How Jennifer's intellectual wisdom, talent, and skills came in handy during a crisis. 
3. How Jennifer's mindset works within the constraints of the business. 
4. Where Jennifer's tenacity came from.
5. How mindset is a ripple effect.
6. How Jennifer creates time and space to show up for her leadership team,  yourself, and her kids.
7. The culture of connection and collaboration at Juvenescence Child Development Centre.
8. Understanding the various ways through which one can show empathy and compassion to their team.

... and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Access the Four Shields of a Difficult Conversation HERE

Scripts Workbook https://discovered.thrivecart.com/script-workbook/

Sign up for the Ideal Week for High Achieving Owners Workshop HERE

In this 90 Minute premium online masterclass, EC Leadership Coach and Host of The Schools of Excellence Podcast, Chanie Wilschanski, will teach you the strategies on How to Set the Right Priorities to Build your School of Excellence

If you are ready to take your school to the next level of growth and are looking for support, community, and accountability to make that happen - then would love for you to apply for our director's inner circle or owners HQ program. 

Apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ

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 a 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 addition to weekly solo episodes, she’ll also be inviting industry leaders and the changing makers of the landscape of education to give listeners insider knowledge of what it takes to sustain excellence.

So many of us get caught up in the different types of support that we need.  Sometimes we think we only need financial support, or bookkeeping support, or tax accounting, or team support. And really, those are all peripheral. Those are all kinds of outside contextual things that every school leader needs. 

In today’s episode, I talk about the six types of support that you specifically need for yourself.  So not for your team, not for your financial team, not for your administrative team, but specifically for you. When seeking the kind of support I talk about in this episode, it is important to check whether your mentor has walked down the path you are currently walking on. Choose people that have done what it is that you're trying to do, because this significantly increases your chances of succeeding.

In a nutshell, I discuss:

• The 6 types of support that every school leader needs
• The difference between a mentor and a coach, and why you need both
• The 4 things to pay attention to when choosing a coach or mentor

...and so much more!

Click Here to Listen on Apple Podcasts

Click Here to Listen on Non-Apple Devices

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

This week I opened of the doors to my membership program, Directors Inner Circle and Owners HQ.

Sign up for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ HERE

If you are ready to take your school to the next level of growth and are looking for support, community and accountability to make that happen - then would love for you to apply for our directors inner circle or owners HQ program. 

Apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ

It's the last day of the Build to Last Workshop!

Directors and owners spend on average 4 hours solving fielding and solving problems from teachers a day. 

4 HOURS! 

Navigating conflict is 90% of your job. 

This is why so many school leaders before joining our program are working 13 hour days, nights, and weekends. 

They are busy managing conflict all day that the only time they have to finish their to-do list is after hours.

Today we learn to start solving that. 

Today we spoke about: 

1. The different types of conflict.

2. Strategies on how to navigate & deal with conflict, and impossible conversations

3. Determining how you want to show up and lead difficult conversations

Click here to watch the replay.

Didn’t grab your workbook yet, click here to download it.

Today you also heard that I opened the doors for my flagship programs, the Director's Inner Circle and Owners HQ.

I want to share with you just 10 of the 100 done for you systems and frameworks that we have inside the program.

1. How to help teachers meet their deadlines

2. How to hire and train staff

3. How to conduct classroom observations

4. The 6 performance keys assessment to see the teachers strengths and weaknesses

5. The site tour audit - How to observe your locations and make improvements

6. The daily huddle - how to ensure all admin team are on the same page

7. Effective meeting blueprint - how to plan, lead and succeed at every staff meeting

8. Leadership habits- the habits you need to succeed at school

9. The parent meeting playbook - the entire meeting framework for how to meet with parents of children with challenging behavior

10. The 4 parent archetypes - scripts and templates to connect with every type of parent

These are just 10 of the 100 trainings waiting for you inside the membership

And….

These trainings come with a personal accountability advisor.

Someone who will show you HOW to implement this in your school.

Education and information is NOT enough

You need to know how to implement it in your school.

Apply today!

When you apply before Monday, June 7th at 7 pm EST you will receive the Early Bird Special- my Confidence and Resiliency Training, a $500 value- free!

Today is Day 3 of the Build to Last Workshop Series!

In today's training, I discuss how to build a culture of excellence:

Do you want staff that show up excited to work?

Staff that supports each other?

That don't have constant excuses and excessive call-outs?

Staff that take responsibility and pride in their work?

Today I'll cover:

1. How do you envision a culture of innovation and risk-taking?

2. Why gifts are not gratitude and that doesn’t build culture

3. Understanding why teachers and staff members play it safe

4. 10 Ways to build culture consistently

5. The difference between gratitude and appreciation

We invited our members, Sara and Susan, on to discuss their top strategies and habits to develop culture.

Their habits will shock and inspire you!

1. The top practices they implement to sustain culture

2. Weaving values into everything they are doing

3. Willingness to engage in difficult conversations

4. Setting clear boundaries

"I realized that culture wasn't just someone at the top sprinkling it down on everyone below them, it is more about training each person on their role and responsibility to define the culture." Sara

“As I created clearer boundaries, the teachers are actually excited to invite me into their classrooms to observe!” Susan

Click here to watch the replay.

Didn’t grab your workbook yet, click here to download it.

See you tomorrow!

Are you ready to create a calendar that serves you and leads to NO MORE INTERRUPTIONS?

So many directors and owners come to me and tell me they are so overwhelmed or that they are working 12 hour days because they have too long to-do lists or because they are wearing too many hats in their school. It DOESN'T have to be that way.

Today I discussed:

1. 3 Myths of the school leaders time

2. “I always need to be available”

3. "I’m the only one who can do this job well”

4. "I use my time well - there just isn’t enough time in the day”

5. Block and Tackle method - a powerful strategy to ensure you don’t get interrupted.

6. What is the definition of an emergency?

7. Sample Theme Days - which is an organizing principle for how to show up in your day

Our biggest takeaway from today...

activities that aren't moving your school forward you need to delegate out.

SPECIAL GUEST on today’s training was Jo David

She is a director who shared her calendar

She also spoke about

1. How she took a day off even though she had 3 call-outs that morning

2. Why she makes time to train her staff

3. How she is removing 2 hours of work every day!

4. Her theme days and how that is helping her school in this season of growth.

   and so much more

This section with Jo is the last 30 minutes of the training.

Resources Mentioned:

Scripts Workbook

Difficult Conversation Template

Door Sign

Welcome to Day 1 of the Build to Last Workshops!

Here's what you'll learn in Day 1 all about mindset and leadership:

✅ The 3 Pillars of Building a School of Excellence

✅ Leadership drills

✅ Set boundaries

✅ Relieve stress and invite calm into your life

I know that we've had a hard year collectively. I want to show the tools and strategies so that you can navigate your life with more confidence.

Join us LIVE from June 1-4 and sign up at chanie.me/buildtolast

Chanie mentions: Difficult Conversation Template

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If you are ready to take your school to the next level of growth and are looking for support, community and accountability to make that happen – then would love for you to apply for our directors inner circle or owners HQ program. 

• Apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ

Investing in yourself is very scary because you have to take a bet on yourself. Yet it is one of the most valuable things you can do for yourself because growth doesn’t just happen, you need to make an intentional plan for it. Over time, I have realized that most leaders are afraid of investing in themselves simply because they don’t know if they are worth it!

In today’s episode, I address this fear and tell you why you need to focus on investing in yourself. If you have been second-guessing yourself about this, consider today’s episode a sign!

In a nutshell, I speak about:

• The 5 reasons why you should invest in yourself.
• The number 1 reason leaders don’t invest in themselves.
• How to challenge your mindset and disrupt your thinking.
• What happens if you don’t invest in yourself.
• Some questions to ask yourself before making the decision to invest in yourself.

...and so much more!

Remember, not investing in yourself is a risk! You are risking that things will take care of themselves if you don’t invest in yourself and that you will figure everything out on your own!

 Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the FREE Build to Last Workshop HERE

A FREE 4-day sprint on June 1-4, 2021 to help you remove overwhelm and interruptions to building a calendar and life that serves your personal and professional leadership goals.

What You Will Learn in Build to Last Workshop on June 1-4:

#1: How to create a sustainable calendar that has priorities and projects that move your school forward

You deserve to have more time for family and the quality of life you want.

#2: The habits for a culture of excellence

So you build a rhythm for how to design culture every day and you don’t wait for problems to happen.

#3: How to create boundaries and finish your to-do list

So you can leave work every day confident that that day's work is done.

#4: The Four Types of Interteam Conflict

So you have the tools and scripts to navigate difficult conversations and have positive results.

Click HERE to Sign up for the Build to Last workshop

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 a beautiful quality of life.