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

Alex Bernath & Miken Oliver lead the Nourish Early Learning Center in Oregon, Ohio. Alex actually lives in Brooklyn, New York, and leads the center from there with her husband Josh and her two children ages one and three. Miken is the director of the day-to-day and is married to Tim and a mom of three children, ages five, three, and one. They have a pretty large center of 25 teachers, 95 families, and 114 children. 

Nourish is their mom’s school. Their mom took great pride in building and creating a legacy. When tragedy hit, and the sisters lost their mother, father, and their sister in a fatal car crash, they made a decision to keep their mom's legacy alive and continue the center. 

In today’s episode, Alex and Miken share their story and what running a school of excellence means to them.

They talk about:

1. Surviving loss and grief as part of building the mental resilience required in a strong leader.
2. Their are practices around creating rest time and nurturing time for yourself.
3. Learning the tools to release the stress of the day and how therapy has really impacted their lives.
4. Some of the tough decisions they had to make during the pandemic.
5. How all of their muscles - the communication, courage and leadership muscles - were stretched amidst the pandemic.
6. How to effectively set and communicate your boundaries without coming off as selfish.
7. Some of the dreams for Nourish Early Learning Center 

...and so much more!

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Sign up for the 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.

May is an incredible time for reflection regardless of whether you run a 10-month or a 12-month academic school year. End-of-year reflections serve two important purposes - a gauge for determining how we can continuously improve on our processes and a reminder of the kind of mistakes we've made so that we can avoid making them in the subsequent years. The only way to have awareness of how far you've come is by being reflective of what you've done in the past academic year. 

In today's episode, I will take you through how to run an end-of-the-year staff meeting. I share with you some of the critical questions you should ask your staff, and how to use their feedback as a resource for future improvement. If you've been wanting to know how schools of excellence conduct their end-year staff meetings and why these meetings are usually very productive, this episode is for you!

Remember, part of being an educator and building a school of excellence is wanting to consistently get better. And understanding how to wrap up the year really well is important in ensuring that your September is set up for success. 

In a nutshell, I speak about:

• The 3 reasons why an end-year review is so critical for your staff.
• The top 5 questions you need to ask at your end-year staff meetings.
• How to deduce meaningful information from the responses your staff give to the questions you ask.
• Strategies for helping your teachers own their development, become more accountable and believe that they have what it takes to teach in a school of excellence.

...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:

Access the End of Year Reflective Questions Workbook for $9 HERE Directors Inner Circle or Owners HQ Member? Access the Reflective Questions HERE

Access the School of Excellence Time Management Bundle for $47 HERE

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. 

Kathy Gray is the owner of Creative Creators Learning Centers in Williamsburg, Virginia. Kathy has 3 daughters ages 17-25 and regularly hangs out with them and has weekly trivia night. She leads 78 teachers, over 380 families, and has been through her share of challenges and personal health scares with her husband Curt. 

Kathy is an inspiration to school leaders everywhere for what's possible when you get deeply involved in the kind of life you want to create. She has sustained consistent growth in her journey as an owner and has stayed true to what she desires to build. She is committed to the opportunities that she wants to create for the people that she employs, and is indeed an inspiration to many school owners. 

Tune in to listen to a leader who takes her role of training and coaching her people very seriously.

In a nutshell, Kathy talks about:

1. Her husband's cancer diagnosis and how that changed the course of their life. 
2. Critical decisions that she's made around closures and what she wanted to do with the parents. 
3. Some of the practices that she's been so committed to have helped her ride this season with her team.
4. Intentionally choosing to spend time in relationship building.
5. How the community of other school owners has helped her pull herself out of some of those hardest, loneliest moments.
6. Whether one has to walk through life and get older in order to develop a given midset.
7. How to embrace growth and not be afraid of losing control. 

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Sign up for the 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. 

Do you run your day, or does your day run you? Do you feel pulled in so many directions to the extent that you hardly can take a rest? I feel you. As a school leader, there are so many things you need to focus on. Yet the most constrained resource that you can never get back or never get more of is your time. This is why you need to be so vigilant about what your time is spent on!

In today's episode, I speak about how you can come up with a system that works. A system that will have your school excelling and your teachers properly led. The pillars I speak about are what you need to focus on to build and grow your school. Tune in to learn more!

In a nutshell, this episode covers:

• Why culture is not a project and why everything in your school is about culture
• Daily operating principles that will help build your school
• How your routines and habits are going to dictate the type of culture that you create in your school.
• Important leadership operating procedures that will help you become an amazing school leader
• Standard operating principles that will set your school apart

...and so much more!

Remember, the standards of your school are directly linked to who you attract into your school. If you have been intending to create a system that allows you to focus on productive tasks, control your days and grow your school, this episode is for you! You actually might want to have a pen and paper close. 

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 of Excellence scorecard HERE

Sign up for the 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.

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. 

The first positive COVID case in Seattle Washington was announced in February 2020.  As the rest of the nation went about their regular lives, Kerstin Brinson - the executive director at Kids Center - felt disbelief and shock as she bore witness to people going about their regular lives while it was already wreaking havoc on her 2 locations. 

As a leader of 50 teachers, over 100 families, and 150 children, she holds great responsibility for their well-being. On top of that,  Kerstin is the wife to Jimmy and mother to Jenna who is 22, and Cassidy who is 6, who both come to the centers every day. 

Kerstin shares her experiences as the news began to spread throughout America, and even as the pandemic overstayed its welcome. 

She talks about:

1. Why her survival instinct are so high and how the muscle memory of survival served her during those critical moments
2. The kind of leadership skills that came in handy as COVID transferred how schools operated
3. How to trust your decision-making capabilities and some of the critical decisions that Kerstin had to make
4. Some of the mental health challenges that the pandemic brought forth, and how Kerstin and her team handles them
5. Self-care tips that helped Kerstin stay afloat amidst a pandemic that wreaked havoc to the world’s economy
6. The stigma associated with burnout, and how to change this narrative
7. Why the decision to involve  managers in the decision to lay off some of her teachers was one of the best decisions she made
8. How being vulnerable to her managers helped them open up and share some of their greatest concerns

...and so much more!

---------

Sign up for the 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. 

Today’s episode is the final one in the four-part series of the Four Shields of Difficult Conversations. So far, I have talked about blaming, crying and deflection. Today I’ll be talking about the final shield - victimhood. 

Do you ever come across teachers whose life is a series of drama that is never their fault? They could be suffering from the victim mentality! When challenges occur in life, it’s easy to let our emotions get the best of us and assume that the world is out to get us. It’s okay to have a pity party now and then. However, if it gets out of hand, it’s easy to start floundering in victimhood.

This episode covers:

• The difference between an actual victim and someone playing the victimhood card
• How to navigate your conversations with a staff member that has the victim mindset
• How to tap into level 1 of commitment inside a teacher with the victim mentality
• Questions you should be thinking about when entering into a conversation with someone that's possibly in the victim mindset
• and so much more!

Remember, breaking the pattern of victimhood is possible if one is committed to it! If you want an easy strategy for dealing with victimhood as a shield for difficult conversations, this episode is for you!

Click Here to Listen on Apple Podcasts

Click Here to Listen on Non-Apple Devices

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Get your Scripts Workbook at $97 HERE 

Access the Difficult Conversations Template at $27 HERE

Sign up for the 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.

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. 

Listen Friday mornings for new episode releases of the Stories of Resilience Series during May and June

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Today, tomorrow, and for an indefinite future

We face the challenges of the ever-changing landscape of education.

Our schools have seen hard times before

In each of these cases the school leader's character, values, resilience, and mental strength have been put to the test.

I'm excited to release a 6 part podcast series, The Stories of Resilience, where I share the stories of 6 school leaders who came together with their parents and teachers and made it out on the other side.

I believe in the power of resilience to stand back up again.

These stories are one of loss and grief yet consistent progress and inspiration.

The past isn't a perfect guide to the present or into the future but to know that there are school leaders who have walked through difficult passages before, can help arm us against despair.

These stories are vast and sometimes contradictory

That's the dichotomy of leadership

There is no single answer

However, when leaders speak truth to the lies and excuses

When compassionate leaders embrace the pain of the grief-stricken teachers and parents

These moments shape the concepts and perceptions of the future leaders -- our children

Our schools will always be complex

There will always be challenges and obstacles

And there is always a place for joy and for gratitude

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I’m excited to introduce to you the Stories of Resilience series. 

I had the opportunity to sit down with my first guest, Nicolene Santomartino. 

Nicolene is the mom of two, school leader of 10 teachers and 65 families. 

She holds great responsibility for the people in her care

Many remember Italy as one of the largest hotspots for the chaos due to COVID. 

Nicolene walks us through her experience during this time. 

In this episode, Nicolene discusses: 

1. The strength she found from keeping promises

2. Holding difficult conversations with teachers to maintain accountability during a difficult time 

3. How to effectively communicate with parents during difficult times 

4. How to show empathy without having negative information tear her down 

5. How she recognized burnout and how she built herself back up. 

6. How being vulnerable with staff empowered them to open up while feeling safe and realizing self-care is important

And so much more. 

The 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 director's inner circle or owners HQ program. 

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

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. 

The COVID crisis took a huge toll on the educational landscape

and school leaders struggled to rise to the ever-changing obstacles that were thrown their way sometimes every hour!

We are still reeling with consistent uncertainty, ambiguity, and chaos.

Leaders are trying to make sense of it all and rebuild their cultures and trust with the teams and the families.

This 6 part series are stories of school leaders who navigated these challenges and the practices and mindset that helped them move forward in a challenging season.

Remember - you are NOT alone

there is an army of leaders who are walking the same path as you

There are thousands of others trying to do the same thing as you

When we link arms together - we are stronger

Subscribe to the podcast so you can get notified when the stories go live.

and please rate and leave us a review - this helps other school leaders find our podcast.

and if you want to join our special community of school leaders who are all doing hard things and doing them together.

come join me in the schools of excellence lounge here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1320019694692592

As a school owner, you can agree with me that being the boss can be more difficult and less fun than most people think. The biggest challenge? The staff members at your school. Even if you're a born "people person," being in a position of authority means making tough choices, having tough conversations, and often finding yourself in a tough spot. 

During tough conversations, you may have noticed some of your teachers using the deflection method to avoid taking responsibility. How do you respond to someone who is deflecting? The first place to start with is empathy. 

Deflection is a defence mechanism from hell, because it is the hardest to work with at school. In today’s episode, I share tips on how to deal with the deflecting mechanism the moment you notice it being used by your teachers. 

Tune in to learn more about:

• How to deal with deflecting tendencies in your teachers and hold them accountable
• How to keep the ball in a deflecting teacher’s court
• How to gently bring up the deflection tendencies to your staff’s attention without ruining your relationship with them
• And so much more!

Many times, when staff deflect when you bring something to their attention, it's because what you are talking about is not a priority in their life at that time. 

Click Here to Listen on Apple Podcasts

Click Here to Listen on Non-Apple Devices

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Get your Scripts Workbook HERE 

Acces the Difficult Conversations Template 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

Looking for a do-it-yourself option of learning?

Schools in transition is a virtual series for directors and owners who want to focus on stability, security, and success.

• The world has been shaken by a pandemic. The effects are being felt in our lives every day. 
• How do you lead your teachers during a season like this? 
• How do you support children and parents? 
• How do you make strategic decisions about your school in a season of unknowns?

For these answers and much more : You can check out our chanie.me/schoolsintransition 

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. 

Gratitude and appreciation need to be a habit - a constant in your life. And having a week in a year that is focused on key stakeholders that drive success in your school, is really special. It shows that you value them, and reinforces a culture you'd want to see in a school of excellence.

While we may not remember every single detail of what happens in our lives, we will always remember specific moments of experiences. In this week’s episode, I share ideas on how you can make your teachers feel valued and appreciated this Teachers Appreciation Week. Tune in and get ideas on how you can be intentional with your appreciation this coming week!

In a nutshell, I speak about:

1. Why I love teacher appreciation week so much, and its similarities with mothers day
2. Why your calendar is part of your identity
3. The 3 things that teachers need now more than ever
4. The 5 questions you should ask yourself before choosing any fun or creative ideas 

No matter the situation your school is in right now, there is still room to be creative. As you think about all the work you will be doing in order to make this week special for your teachers, what moments do you hope stays in their brains forever?

Click Here to Listen on Apple Podcasts

Click Here to Listen on Non-Apple Devices

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Get your FREE workbook for the Teacher Appreciation Week HERE.

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

This workshop is ideal for you if you are looking to:

• Know what the next stage of growth looks like for your school
• Learn how to build out a calendar that serves your lifestyle and stage of life that you're in
• Identify the top priorities that you need to focus on to move your school in the right direction
• Learn what is working for other high achieving school owners in their stage of growth in the season that they're in right now
• Stop doing diffuse energy in a bunch of different directions that aren’t moving your school forward

Sign up for the Ideal Week for High Achieving Owners Workshop 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

Looking for a do-it-yourself option of learning?

Schools in transition is a virtual series for directors and owners who want to focus on stability, security, and success.

• The world has been shaken by a pandemic. The effects are being felt in our lives every day. 
• How do you lead your teachers during a season like this? 
• How do you support children and parents? 
• How do you make strategic decisions about your school in a season of unknowns?

For these answers and much more : You can check out our chanie.me/schoolsintransition 

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.