The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast | The #1 Downloaded School Leadership Show

Chris has been an educator in Massachusetts for 19 years and just finished his 11th year as a building administrator. He is currently the Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, Massachusetts.

He’s passionate about continuous improvement and the idea that success is not a destination, but a process.  A teacher centered Principal whose believes the importance of a positive work environment, continuous growth, and a healthy family work life integration can be seen in the multiple presentations and workshops he has given for the Massachusetts School Administrators Association (MSAA), Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE), Massachusetts Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (MASCD), the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP); and participation in the Better Leaders Better Schools Mastermind group.

He was most recently described by a past Superintendent as being “…wholly invested in the success of the school…a creative problem-solver who is able to deliberate yet be decisive, be creative yet accountable…calm and clear-headed even under the most trying of times…has built a strong collaborative and collegial school culture…he is a positive influence on teachers, teaching, and learning.”  He blogs and vlog on a weekly basis as a way to reflect on my progress, share his story, and get others to think about different perspectives. His overarching goal is to positively model continuous improvement in all facets of life by being purposeful, acting with integrity, and building character.

• The Goldielocks approach to communication with your staff
• 20% is 100% communication success. 
• Why you don’t need all the people rowing the boat to make it go
• How to lead when you lack empathy or fail to see other people's perceptions
• Promote school wide initiatives without manipulation or coercion
• Leverage social media and your network to promote values and vision
• Pose the perfect question to resistors  
• Is your staff is telling you “I don't feel safe or I don't understand”

244: Chris Jones Transcript

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ORGANIZED BINDER

• Organized Binder is an evidence-based RTI2 Tier 1 universal level solution
• Focuses on improving executive functioning and noncognitive skills
• Is in direct alignment with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework
• Is an integral component for ensuring Least Restrictive Environments (LRE)

You can learn more and improve your student’s success at https://organizedbinder.com/

TEACHFX

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Learn more about the TeachFX app and get a special 20% discount for your school or district by visiting teachfx.com/blbs.

Copyright © 2020 Better Leaders Better Schools

Ben Owens worked as an engineer for 20 years before becoming a STEM teacher for 11 years at a wall-to-wall PBL school in rural Appalachia. He founded the non-profit, Open Way Learning, and now works to help schools create the cultural conditions for localized, learner-centered innovation. Ben is also the co-author of Open Up, Education! 

• Ben explains why "Culture eats strategy for breakfast" 
• How a tiny school in rural Appalachia became one of the most innovative schools on the planet 
• Ben shows you how to leverage the talents and skills of your community
• How to flip the script and harness innovation with “open way learning” 
• Ben shares a perfect embodiment of living a shared vision from students in Cambodia
• Learn how to teach true problem solving and critical thinking students will mimic for the rest of their lives
• How to find that true North and be a difference maker

“Recognize that there are a lot of educators who have operated in the system.  They have seen stories like this and just realized that the mountain they perceive they would have to climb in order to create that type of culture is so huge. They're often left with where do I even begin? And I think that's a pragmatic reality. My response is begin somewhere. The saying, ‘the best time to plant a tree was, 20 years ago and the second best time is today’. So let's start planting that tree today.”

243: Ben Owens Transcript

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ORGANIZED BINDER

• Organized Binder is an evidence-based RTI2 Tier 1 universal level solution
• Focuses on improving executive functioning and noncognitive skills
• Is in direct alignment with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework
• Is an integral component for ensuring Least Restrictive Environments (LRE)

You can learn more and improve your student’s success at https://organizedbinder.com/

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Copyright © 2020 Better Leaders Better Schools

Teru Clavel is a comparative education expert who has shared her insights on education and globalization on Fareed Zakaria’s GPS, The TODAY Show, CBS This Morning, and others. Teru earned a master’s degree in Global and International Education and a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies. She spent over a decade as an education journalist and college consultant while raising her three children in the public schools of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and California and returned with her family to her hometown, New York City, in 2018.

• Teru’s  journey on creating a family unit with values that are dependent on everybody appreciating one another 
• Teru’s plan on how to solve massive attrition and recruitment dilemmas  
• Teru pulls apart what it means to practice and respect social-emotional values 
• Why your EQ is much more important than your IQ
• Teru shares how to move past the labels and challenges facing women
• Learn ritual practices in Asia that create a level of inherent respect and build mental acuity, stamina, and grit 
• Create hand in hand learning between parents and the school with mandatory parent involvement 
• An overabundance of technology requires educators to be the police of technology and not the gardeners of knowledge. 
• Dancing poop is education done right 💩

“Don't give up. Just don't give up because I think now more than ever this country needs leaders who are advocating on behalf of our children because I think it's not No Child Left Behind. I feel like all our kids are getting left behind right now. With all that's going on politically in this country, kids with so much technology in their hands, they are seeing it all and I don't think they have any idea how to make sense of it and it's our responsibility to look out for them because the world that they are going to be going into is a world that we are creating for them and I don't think it's going to be an easy place.”

-Teru Clavel

242 Transcript: Teru Clavel

• World Class: One Mother's Journey Halfway 
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• Read The Better Leaders Better Schools Roadmap
• Join “The Mastermind”
• Read the latest on the blog

ORGANIZED BINDER

• Organized Binder is an evidence-based RTI2 Tier 1 universal level solution
• Focuses on improving executive functioning and noncognitive skills
• Is in direct alignment with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework
• Is an integral component for ensuring Least Restrictive Environments (LRE)

You can learn more and improve your student’s success at https://organizedbinder.com/

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Copyright © 2020 Better Leaders Better Schools

Joshua is a middle school administrator in North Texas. After graduating college with a Fine Arts degree and working in the graphic design field for a number of years, Joshua returned to school to attain his teaching certificate. Joshua worked as an Art teacher and coached at the middle school level for 6 years. Inspired to affect change at the campus level and in education, Joshua completed his Masters in Educational Administration, and he has spent the past 7 years as a middle school administrator. In addition to being an administrator, Joshua is the creator and host of Aspire: The Leadership Development Podcast. The podcast is designed to help those who are looking to build their leadership capacity by providing an opportunity to learn from the most experienced and accomplished educational leaders.

Joshua is passionate about reconciliation and believes that working together creates an environment that fosters innovation and growth, yielding both academic and social success. Utilizing restorative practices guides Joshua in building healthy relationships and community at his school.

Joshua and his wife, Leslie, became foster parents in 2011, and had the privilege of adopting three of their five children. Joshua is trained in trauma-informed practices for meeting the emotional, social and behavioral needs of children who have been through adverse childhood experiences, which Joshua also applies to his role as an administrator.

• Use Joshua’s tools to break the box: Overcoming stigmas,  labels, and bias in education
• Learn how leaders are made in the art room and on the field
• Student success is impacted by movement and creativity. Hear Joshua’s tips and resources for connecting the body to the brain 
• Create an immense impact in 30 seconds
• Joshua shares how good leaders find solutions by pushing boundaries and challenge the status quo
• How to avoid a structure of fear and find a system that is better for the emotional stability of your learning community with restorative practices
• Working with aspiring leaders will help hone your passion and enhance instructional practices

“Unfortunately, a lot of our students don't know how to act socially, but also how to reflect and to change that behavior. Their behavior is a language really. If we're able to understand that language, it helps us better as educators. My goal is to have our teachers, everyone that we hire, whoever's in my building to make sure that we are hitting the social emotional needs of our students just as much as we're doing the academic, because if one is lacking, the other one can't thrive.” 

-Joshua Stamper

241: Joshua Stamp's Transcript 

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• Hanlon's Razor: Are Your Coworkers Evil or Just Dumb?

• Read The Better Leaders Better Schools Roadmap

• Join “The Mastermind”

• Read the latest on the blog

ORGANIZED BINDER

• Organized Binder is an evidence-based RTI2 Tier 1 universal level solution
• Focuses on improving executive functioning and noncognitive skills
• Is in direct alignment with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework
• Is an integral component for ensuring Least Restrictive Environments (LRE)

You can learn more and improve your student’s success at https://organizedbinder.com/

SANEBOX

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Copyright © 2020 Better Leaders Better Schools

Today's show is a bonus episode on vision, deep work, and focus.

Thank you for listening. We'd love to see you this summer at our live event on vision: https://www.betterleadersbetterschools.com/bollingen-tower/

Copyright © 2020 Twelve Practices LLC

David Rendall has made it his life’s mission to be hilarious and helpful. He’s a standup comedian with a doctorate in management. A class clown-turned- leadership professor who went from disrupting classes to teaching classes to disrupt companies and conferences around the world. After being criticized and punished his whole life for being hyperactive, David now channels his frantic energy to compete in Ironman triathlons and ultramarathons. 

David has a doctorate in organizational leadership, as well as a graduate degree in psychology. He is the author of four books on leadership and discovering our strengths through our weaknesses. Welcome to the show, David!

• The lesson David learned being spanked in 8th grade at school 
• What it’s like always being in trouble in school
• How turn weaknesses into strengths
• How educators can reframe their experiences with “difficult” students
• Why you’ll wish you heard this story sooner
• The differences between weakness + trauma / stubbornness + persistence

(Available here)

• The Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness

• The Freak Factor for Kids

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Email

• Read The Better Leaders Better Schools Roadmap
• Join “The Mastermind”
• Read the latest on the blog

ORGANIZED BINDER

• Organized Binder is an evidence-based RTI2 Tier 1 universal level solution
• Focuses on improving executive functioning and noncognitive skills
• Is in direct alignment with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework
• Is an integral component for ensuring Least Restrictive Environments (LRE)

You can learn more and improve your student’s success at https://organizedbinder.com/

SANEBOX

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Bring Sane-ity back to your email inbox. 

Click here for a free 14-day trial to Sanebox and get a $25 credit, by visiting sanebox.com/blbs

Copyright © 2020 Twelve Practices LLC

Today's show is a bonus episode on vision, deep work, and focus.

Thank you for listening. We'd love to see you this summer at our live event on vision: https://www.betterleadersbetterschools.com/bollingen-tower/

Copyright © 2020 Twelve Practices LLC

Robert Schaefer, Ph.D., Vice President of Client Services, has been with Steinbrecher And Associates, Inc. since 2005 as an Organizational Development (OD) consultant, executive coach, leadership development expert, statistical analyst, research scholar, workshop facilitator, and training systems designer. Robert is a renowned expert in the assessment and diagnostic debrief of ability-based emotional intelligence, individual and team conflict styles, and the impact of mood and emotions in the workplace.

Read more about Robert here.

• How are you showing up? Robert reveals how leaders regulate the emotional experience for teachers and students. 
• Robert shares how to overcome the dog eat dog culture and climate to win over incredibly hard to work with individuals.
• Don’t take it personally, but use it personally.  Sharpen the saw by exercising constant, continual self-improvement. 
• Robert explains how emotional reactive triggers are influencing the goals we take into our interactions.
• Robert’s essentials to consider when creating emotional lessons to shift our own moods to co-regulate with the learning community.
• Make your interactions a place of sanctuary and you prime everyone to absorb new information and retain the wisdom you're offering.
• Robert explains how to model emotional hygiene. The impact the status quo of our emotional state is actually bringing to the classroom or to the board room.

“No matter what you do as a leader, you are never going to catch 100% of people in your influence net. It is a two-way street to dance and that dance requires a partnership. You can only show up authentic, genuine, earnest, honest.  Demonstrate, continue to model what you want to see in others and take that constant assessment.”

-Robert Schaefer

Robert Schaefer Transcript

• Meaningful Alignment  
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• Join “The Mastermind”

• Read the latest on the blog

ORGANIZED BINDER

• Organized Binder is an evidence-based RTI2 Tier 1 universal level solution
• Focuses on improving executive functioning and noncognitive skills
• Is in direct alignment with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework
• Is an integral component for ensuring Least Restrictive Environments (LRE)

You can learn more and improve your student’s success at https://organizedbinder.com/

SANEBOX

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Copyright © 2020 Better Leaders Better Schools

Cale Birk is a District Principal of Innovation in British Columbia, co-author and imagineer of "PLC 2.0 - Collaborating for Impact in Today's Schools", "The PLC 2.0 Toolkit" and "Changing Change Using Learner-Centered Design". As a former Principal of a model professional learning community school and high school educator, Cale helps districts and schools answer the question "What is our observable impact?", the visible changes in practice at the classroom level that make the difference for students.

Having worked with organizations across Canada, the United States, Asia and Australia, Cale uses his background in project-based learning, Instructional Rounds and Visible Thinking strategies to design interactive learning experiences and professional development sessions with ready-to-use tools and protocols that teachers and administrators can take away to make their collaborative work have the observable impact where it matters the most--in classrooms with kids.

In addition to writing "PLC 2.0 - Collaborating for Impact in Today's Schools", "The PLC 2.0 Toolkit" and "Changing Change Using Learner-Centered Design", he has has written articles for Education Canada, the British Columbia Principals and Vice-Principals Association, the North American Association of Secondary Principals, and given podcasts on leadership, learner-centered design and parent engagement. 

• Suffering from “solution-itis”
• The power of using silence as a leader
• Human-centered leadership. Avoid doing things to people but with them.
• Defeating the imposter syndrome 
• Resistant people help you clarify your thinking
• The only question you need as a school admin: What is the impact going to be in the classroom?

(Available on the website)

• Cale’s book, PLC 2.0
• Twitter
• Website

• Read The Better Leaders Better Schools Roadmap
• Join “The Mastermind”
• Read the latest on the blog

ORGANIZED BINDER

• Organized Binder is an evidence-based RTI2 Tier 1 universal level solution
• Focuses on improving executive functioning and noncognitive skills
• Is in direct alignment with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework
• Is an integral component for ensuring Least Restrictive Environments (LRE)

You can learn more and improve your student’s success at https://organizedbinder.com/

SANEBOX

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Bring Sane-ity back to your email inbox. 

Click here for a free 14-day trial to Sanebox and get a $25 credit, by visiting sanebox.com/blbs

Copyright © 2020 Better Leaders Better Schools