The Assistant Principal Podcast

The Solution Starts with Us with Charle Peck

Power quote: “The solution starts with us”

Show Description:

Is your school community thriving? How do you know? More importantly, how do you – how can you – be a powerful agent for building a thriving school community? The wonderful thing about the answers to these questions is they are so, so simple. We are joined today by a wonderful soul and I guarantee you will leave the show feeling uplifted and inspired.

Charle Peck is the co-creator of Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program designed for schools to improve the mental health of staff and students. She holds an MS in Education and an MS in Social Work and is a 20+ year veteran in education (K-12). As a global keynote speaker, she delivers powerful messages of hope to educators and facilitates meaningful professional development to equip adults with tools that integrate into everyday practice. Her unique lens as a high school teacher turned clinical therapist who has worked closely with adolescents and families in crisis makes her stories relevant and captivating to those struggling in today’s system. 

Questions/Topics/Prompts

·      What constitutes a “Thriving School Community”?

·      How can we understand/evaluate the current state of our school community?

·      What are the building blocks for TSC?

·      What is the role of the AP?

·      What is one thing APs can begin doing immediately to support a TSC?

You can purchase her book “Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution” on Amazon. You can also listen to Charle’s podcast “Thriving Educator” and connect with her via email [email protected], on TikTok + X.

Charle’s links:

Website: ThrivingEducator.org

FREE School Mental Health Audit ThrivingEducator.org/audit

Email: [email protected]

Podcast “Thriving educator”https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thriving-educator/id1677382954

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/fdf37cbf3a

“Let’s do this together” with Dr. Nate Regier

Power Quote: Conflict has a purpose

Description:

One of the most frequent things I’m asked about is how to have difficult conversation. I have some thoughts, but I’m not an expert. That’s why today’s guest is here. What if we looked at conflict as an opportunity? What if accountability was something we did with people instead of to them? And what if through the process of helping people be responsible, we were also helping them be authentic human beings, increasing their agency and self-worth through the accountability process? Sound too good to be true? It’s not, and Nate Regier is going to help us learn how to do it.

Guest Bio:

“Nate Regier, PhD, is the CEO and founding owner of Next Element Consulting, a global leadership consulting and training firm helping build cultures of compassionate accountability. Dr. Regier is a former practicing psychologist and expert in social-emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, conflict skills, and leadership. Recognized as a Top 100 keynote speaker, he is a Process Communication Model® Certifying Master Trainer. Nate is the author of four books: Beyond Drama; Conflict without Casualties; Seeing People Through; and his newest book, Compassionate Accountability. He hosts a podcast called “On Compassion with Dr. Nate,” writes a weekly blog, contributes to multiple industry publications, and is a regular guest on podcasts.”

Warmup questions:

·      We always like to start with a celebration. What are you celebrating today?

·      Is there a story that will help listeners understand why you are doing what you do?

Welcome back! We last heard from you back in July in episode 143

Outline

·      Difference between empathy and compassion

·      Helping people be accountable versus holding them accountable?

·      Accountability as a relationship, not an action

·      New teacher struggling, but sometimes leader doesn’t know how to support?

·      ORPO for a struggling new teacher

Closing questions:

·      What part of your own leadership are you still trying to get better at?

·      If listeners could take just one thing away from today’s podcast, what would it be?

·      Before we go, is there anything else that you’d like to share with our listeners?

·      Where can people learn more about you and your work…

Close

·      Leadership is a journey and thank you for choosing to walk some of this magical path with me.

·      You can find links to all sorts of stuff in the show notes, including my website https://www.frederickbuskey.com/

·      I love hearing from you so consider email me at [email protected] or connecting with me on LinkedIn.

·      Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.

·      Have a great rest of the week, be present for others and, more importantly, take time to reflect and recover so you can continue to live and lead better.

·      Cheers!

Nate’s links:

https://www.next-element.com/

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/fdf37cbf3a

Show Notes, Episode 184: The Power of Presence with Kelly Scarbrough

It’s always fun to sit down with another consultant or author and dive into their field of expertise to find powerful ideas and tools you can use to improve your life and leadership. However, some of the best ideas come, not from experts, but from you, and our other colleagues who are still in classrooms and buildings. Today’s conversation meanders like a pleasant stroll alongside a slow-moving stream, and like any fall time hike in the Smokey Mountains, it possesses its own beauty and splendor.

Kelly Scarbrough has been an educator of 17 years. She has invested her career teaching primary grades and building a foundation and love of learning. In January, she opens a new chapter in beginning her doctoral studies in educational leadership. Kelly has a passion for servant leadership and believes that leading with empathy and a genuine desire to serve others fosters authentic, deep relationships and cultivates positive change. While Kelly is a full-time teacher, she is also excited to continue her journey as she continues to grow as an educator and leader!

Notable Quotes

Kelly:

• “People’s beliefs in me have helped mold me into believing I can do it.”
•  “There’s a lot that’s going on and teachers want to feel supported through it.”
•  “I know how to sit quiet and listen.”
• “There is trust amongst our team and it makes such a difference in how we work together.”
• “He was okay saying ‘I don’t know’ and that impacted the staff greatly… we appreciated that in him.”
• “As I am developing myself as a leader, I am finding much more appreciation for the diversity in knowledge others bring about.”
•  “Presence makes all the difference”

  
  

Frederick:

• “We can all lead no matter where we are.”
• “Clarify to people, ‘What do you need out of this today?’”
• “When there is so much going on, the power of presence actually increases.”
• “Presence is the gift – you don’t need to fill the space you create.”
• “If we are going to do something, that means there is something else we can’t do!”
• “What are the pieces in this new initiative… that align with where we are already going?”
• “When I’m vulnerable, I’m saying, ‘I trust you.’”
• “That focus on you as a person actually made a difference on you as a teacher.”
• ‘Here’s what the tip looks like, but what’s happening underneath the water?”

Kelly’s Contact Info

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-scarbrough-776175266?trk=contact-info

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/ 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting 

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/ff61713840 

Outline and Show Notes

Guest: Tomeka Love

• Links and promo stuff?
• Preferred name/title?
• Relax and laugh
• Will be video recording and may use small or big pieces
• Small things won’t be edited
• If there is a gaff – long pause
• Intro-interview-outro
• Questions for me?
• FB hit record

Show Title: South Carolina Assistant Principal of the Year Tomeka Love

Power Quote: “I choose joy”

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/ 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting 

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/fdf37cbf3a 

Originally aired as episode 125 on May 16, 2023.

This is one of my all-time favorite episodes. Enjoy!

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/fdf37cbf3a

Tequila's Links:

Website: https://www.tequilalamar.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tequilalamar/

Description:

Back in episode 141, Dr. Helen Kelly and I talked about burnout and the things school leaders can do to help recover from work and avoid burnout. Helen noted in that show, that recovery was only 20% of the antidote, because the problem of burnout is not an individual problem – it is an organizational problem. So, if 80% of burnout is due to factors within the organization – your district or your school – what can you, my school leader colleague, do to change your organization? It is messy, but thankfully the incomparable Helen Kelly is back with us today to help us get dirty.

Episode 141 link: https://theassistantprincipal.transistor.fm/141

Helen’s links:

Website: www.drhelenkelly.com

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-helen-kelly-65996919/

Facebook: Dr Helen Kelly

Twitter: @drhkelly

Book: School Leaders Matter: Preventing Burnout, Managing Stress and Improving Wellbeing

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting

Daily Email subscribe: hhttps://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/fdf37cbf3a 

Today’s show begins with a 40,000-foot view of student voice and then takes us right to ground level to break down implementation of a specific practice for elevating not only student voice, but also teacher voice. Are you ready?

Connect with Lyndsay:

• Website: https://www.lindsaybethlyons.com
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/@lindsaybethlyons 
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lindsaybethlyons 
• Podcast: Time for Teachership

Resources

 (I'll add a staff meeting series with agendas + slide decks plus a Circle Planning Template and anything else we talk about to this link, which will be live by the time you air): https://extras.lindsaybethlyons.com/appod 

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/ 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting 

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/fdf37cbf3a

Hello Colleagues and welcome to this week’s 5 for Friday episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast!

Actually, this will be our last episode of 5fF and instead of recapping… explain how I reached this decision.

Lens of 3 epiphs:

1

2

3

Here’s the story:

• MM complaining too much to do…
  • Jeff asked, I said…
  • Daily em
  • 2 pod episodes
  • Ldr program
  • Course dev
  • Courses on building  CRC

1st Epiph: too much to do

Jeff suggested ways to streamline – time management

But I was trying to do it all

2 epiph: I get to choose

• Jeff asked purpose
• My thinking
• But…
• Jeff… why are you still doing it: no fun, not serving a purpose

Hard answer: ego

• Quitting
• Numbers

3rd Epiph:

• My own ego over developing things that will be useful to others
• Or what’s best for my business?

Too often, we operate on auto, and our actions and values come into misalignment.

Still do Tuesday:

• High value for you (I hear from you)
• I enjoy doing the interviews
• Helps me grow
• Pod is integral to my business start

I want everything to be educational – to add value, I hope you can look inside at your own actions…

That’s it for Five for Friday. 

Thank you for including me on your leadership journey. 

If you will miss the 5fF you can always subscribe to my daily email…

I look forward to seeing you again next Tuesday

I’m Frederick Buskey and thank you again for joining me on this episode of the Assistant Principal Podcast. Have a great weekend, get outside, laugh, and live! Cheers!

Resources:

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/ 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting 

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/ff61713840 

Culture, specifically, organizational culture. It’s part cliché, part elusive whale, and part obsession.

We all work (or have worked in my case) within schools or educational organizations which have a culture and we all know how powerfully that culture influences what happens within the school.

The cliché: Culture is the key to a great school

The elusive whale: What is school culture?

The obsession: How can we create a culture of learning?

Today, I will unpack for you the secrets of school culture. I guarantee after you listen to this show, you will have a clearer understanding of what school culture is, why it is so powerful, and – best of all – how you can build a better school culture. It isn’t easy, but it is, I promise you, simple.

Summarizing (The big takeaway)

If you want to improve your culture: support and grow your teachers. For example:

·      Stop telling them how to get better. Change the culture by revamping your teacher evaluation and PD systems. Facilitate discussions in which teachers identify their pain points and they tell you about their goals for creating a stronger classroom. This change hits every aspect of your organization:

o   Changes the purpose of leadership from controlling to serving

o   Changes the structures around the evaluation process from compliance to critical 

o   Changes the structures of observation and post-conferencing 

o   Reallocates resources as we focus on meaningful coaching and PD

I’m not saying your current purpose, structures, resources and teacher improvement strategies are a dumpster fire. I know how hard you work and how much thought you put into helping your teachers grow. What I am saying is this:

·      If you are telling your teachers where they need to grow, instead of helping them address pain points they want to treat, there is friction.

·      If your evaluation system is not part of a long-term systemic approach to helping teachers improve their craft, then evaluation creates friction.

·      If teachers are required to attend PD they see as irrelevant, at the cost of attending PD they want, that PD is creating friction.

I know there are many things you do not control, and the evaluation system is probably one of them. However, can you:

·      Ask teachers “If you could get students to do one thing differently, what would it be?”

·      And then help them define what that would look like and sound like?

·      Could we then, in our formal observation, make sure we were capturing some of the data related to the thing we want students to do differently”?

·      Could we, in our formal post-observation conference, map a plan for how we can help that teacher create that change?

·      Could we, follow up consistently in our future observations and PLCs?

Yes, we can do all those things. It is simple, but it is not easy.

You can hear me unpack that question about students doing one thing with 2nd-year AP Alex Auriemma in episode 177 from last week.

So, now you know what school culture is. You know what makes it worse and what can make it better. What are you next steps? What do you do with this ne understanding?

I don’t actually suggest that you revamp your entire evaluation structure. That is an A-Z change.

Here are two simple things you can do starting today:

·      Ask that question, “If you could get students to do one thing differently, what would it be?” Informally of your teachers, and listen to their answers.

·      Do more 5-minute coaching

o   It reinforces that the purpose of leadership is to support and grow teachers.

o   It creates an informal structure that makes that work easier for both leaders and teachers.

o   And by going your full time and attention, even only for five minutes, it communicates to teachers that you are willing to invest important resources in their growth.

Honestly, I’d like to dig into this even more – we are just scratching the surface. The 6D framework is the foundation of so much of the work I do and the practices I promote and teach about.

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/ff61713840

Hello Colleagues and welcome to another 5 for Friday episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast!

Today’s shout out goes to… Those of you reaching out to me via email and LinkedIn! It inspires me to keep going. Specifically, I’d like to thank:

• Darius Coulibaly
• Kelly Scarbrough
• Valerie Jones
• Annette Brown

And a special thanks to Tammi Barker who wrote:

I listen to your podcasts on my way to work as I just promoted to a VP in July. Your podcasts motivate and reinspire me when I’m feeling overwhelmed or defeated. This is the first position that I’ve never been able to complete all of my work before going home. I’m am learning quickly that it will consist of many more of those days. I am working on changing my mindset and trying to rebalance my work and home life.

Tammi dm’d me on LinkedIn on a day I was feeling very low and was questioning whether or not I even wanted to record a five for Friday (last week’s, not this one). She turned my whole day around  in a text that took two minutes to compose.

This s a great example of how simple and easy it is for us to exert positive power by lifting up others.

And… Tammi heard about the show via her supervisor. I do not have a strong social media presence and most of our growth comes from word of mouth, so if you don’t have time to be present with someone and nurture them, consider forwarding this show to them instead.

Okay, let’s get to the week’s emails.

Today’s episode of Five for Friday recaps the strategic leadership emails for the week of November 13-17, 2023. 

1. The week’s emails:

The takeaway: 

Obvious takeaway for this week: ASK PEOPLE REFELCTIVE QUESTIONS!

Sometimes I think I repeat myself too much, that it is so simple. But then I think about my own leadership, how I am dialed into presence, how I know the questions by heart, and how my sone Colin walked into my office this morning and I barely acknowledged him and did not ask any questions at all. We all fall down on this stuff, we are all too busy. And so I keep emphasizing the power of presence and of asking the right questions. It’s as much for me and those of us who know and try as it is for those of you who are just hearing this for the first (or second) time. Collin edits our Five for Friday episodes, so I can say here Collin, I’ll do better being present with you next time. And you my dear colleague, who do you need to commit to being more present with? A peer at work, your partner, or maybe even – yourself.

That is this week’s Five for Friday rendition of The Assistant Principal Podcast. 

Thank you for including me on your leadership journey. 

I look forward to seeing you again next Tuesday when I dig into the six dimensions of organizations. The six dimensions framework is foundational to so much of what I talk about. 

Please remember to subscribe and rate this podcast. As I record this, we have 21 ratings and 6 reviews – we are inching forward! Remember increasing those numbers helps others find the show and I really appreciate hearing from you. If you can’t rate the show, at least help others find it by forwarding the show link to a colleague. Please! You’ll be helping leaders like those mentioned at the top of the show find a PD source that improrves both life and leadership.

I’m Frederick Buskey and thank you again for joining me on this episode of the Assistant Principal Podcast. Have a great weekend, get outside, laugh, and live! Cheers!

Resources:

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/ 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting 

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/ff61713840