Christopher is a principal at Whitman Hansen Regional High School.

• Transitioning to a new high school.
• A new position gives you the opportunity to reflect on where you want to go and who you want to go.
• Sharing yourself first.
• I’m not a student-centered principal!
• I’m a staff-centered principal.
• Build staff meetings around getting to know each other.
• Building relationships
• Every day, with some exceptions, I’m in classrooms giving feedback to teachers.
• Out in front playing music with kids.
• Using Voxer to give immediate feedback and face-to-face meetings.
• Three simple questions: What’s working? What do I need to stop doing? What can I do to make your life better or easier?
• Start by supporting, then you engage them, then you empower them.
• A good leader is a servant leader.
• A good leader becomes a better leader by making others more successful.
• Clear the road for others.
• Experience is so important and we have to fail to keep learning.
• We don’t know how good we can be.
• Every student leaving the high school with something in their pocket to prepare them for the next level.
• Key components of S1 to raise failing grade to passing grade.
• Empowering teachers to give kids hope and keep integrity of the grades.
• Teachers choose most important units and then give kids an opportunity to make things happen.
• 92% of the kids who did winter school passed the year-long course.
• Summer Read Smackdown!
• Interdisciplinary days - kids don’t come back to a test on the book.
• How to be a transformative principal? Get into classrooms and give honest feedback to teachers so you can have a conversation with them.

Schedule a call with Jethro

Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life!

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Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show.

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

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation.

We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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

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

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