Transformative Principal

Heather Staker is a former Mckenzie Consultant and coauthor of the book Blended Learning: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools.

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• Senior in High School as a state school board member
• Reasonable and balanced voice that represents the whole.
• Interested and well-versed in innovation
• Clayton Christensen Center for Disruptive Innovation
• It’s not just efficiency, it’s common sense to give kids information at their pace.
• Agency is so important.
• Disrupting Class
• Actin Academy program for core skills.
• 7 types of blended learning
• What challenges do we still face?
• Schools lead with 1:1 announcements.
• How to address 1:1 issues?
• Lead with a very clear plan for how they use online learning.
• District and vendor level must prevent teachers from having to be the tech wizard.
• Help teachers to reimagine their role.
• Factory model settings do not give teachers the opportunity to do increase the humanity that can be in our schools.
• Mentors and tutors for each child.
• Not getting to deep work?
• Station rotations can prevent this. Not every blended learning model is perfect.
• How to create higher performing classrooms in 7 moves.
• Younger ages, recommended 20 minutes max per day on screens.
• “Certain children“ aren’t capable, but every child can learn
• It’s the adults. We get in our own way.

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!

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

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

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We’re proud 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.

Amy Dujon is a Practice Leader at Learning Sciences International. Prior to joining the Learning Sciences team, Amy was the Director of Leadership Development at School District of Palm Beach County, FL, and principal of Acreage Pines Elementary School in Palm Beach, FL. Her current focus is on innovative school improvement through LSI’s Schools for Rigor initiative, where they embed within struggling schools to provide professional development and other long-term guidance to help schools achieve success.

• Through a partnership with Learning Sciences International, I changed instruction and skills at my school, and now I work with many leaders throughout the states.
• Main focus is a high school in Maryland, meeting weekly.
• Data cycles with teachers.
• I’m their lifeline.
• What stays the same and what is different in schools?
• Typical root causes.
• Instruction hasn’t really changed much in the last 100 years.
• Teacher is the gatekeeper of the learning.
• How to get kids to own their learning.
• Get teachers to identify learning targets and success criteria.
• Remove the teacher from the front of the classroom.
• Plan meaningful stops in their lesson.
• New leadership skills for principals.
• Second order change.
• Rewriting your script of a teacher.
• Teacher talks, take notes, do assignment.
• Selective abandonment
• Protection from initiative overload
• Push pull and nudge of change.
• The heavy lift for teachers is in planning.
• Strengthening core instruction and building capacity of my teachers was more important than focusing on Reader’s Workshop processes.
• Are we successful because of our instruction, or in spite of it?
• I’m going to give you permission to focus on other schools.
• Let the steam out so you can continue to function.
• Being able to help teachers see that your plate is core instruction.
• Shifted so much off my plate that wasn’t important.
• What are you noticing?
• Whisper coaching.
• How do you shift so much off your plate?
• Some things naturally shift of my plate because the students are cognitively engaged.
• How to be more proactive about what was happening in classrooms.
• Secretary can filter things out for you.
• School events.
• Started to empower support staff to use their gifts.
• Getting your secretary to chunk time for you.
• How to be a transformative principal? Be the lead learner on your campus.

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!

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

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

Buy Communication Cards

Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com

Download Paperless Principal.  

Take Control of your email

Web Site

Transformative Principal on Stitcher

Refer A Principal

Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey

We’re proud 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.

Meredith Allen, music educator and Iowa AEA instructional technology coordinator, and account manager for Soundtrap.

• Music is very powerful.
• Traditional music education.
• Giving kids an opportunity to expand on the seed in their head.
• Expand on the seed.
• Jon Churchville in Michigan.
• “Let’s make a song!“
• Guide kids by pulling out what is inside them.
• How to coach teachers - Don’t tell teachers to do something different.
• Students to take control of their learning.
• How to benefit from the kids compiling information.
• I was the teacher who did things the way I did them because that is how we did them for 50 years.
• Junk Funk
• Help teachers have that moment where they see the value.
• Be connected - I go on Twitter and there’s always somebody doing it better.
• SAMR - Using technology and getting to R.
• trudacot
• On Twitter, people often show what their doing and share the steps so that you can do too.
• I didn’t know what I was clicking and two minutes later, I was bawling.
• GarageBand and Google Docs had a baby, and it is called SoundTrap.
• Non music educators use the tool as well.
• Using it for group projects so kids can create it at home.
• Collaborate with students without being in the same space.
• Minnesota and Haiti connection.
• Collaboration all across the globe.
• How to be a transformative principal? Have great conversations with the best teachers!

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!

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

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

Buy Communication Cards

Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com

Download Paperless Principal.  

Take Control of your email

Web Site

Transformative Principal on Stitcher

Refer A Principal

Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey

We’re proud 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.

Mary Wegner is the Superintendent of Sitka Schools 1250 students.

• League of Innovative Schools.
• Is there support for innovation at a district level? Is the superintendent someone who can contribute to the national pool of leaders.
• Make learning group, competency based education.
• Monthly meetings to share and collaborate together on what needs to be done well in the area of focus.
• How to narrow down and focus on initiatives as a leader.
• Empowering student voice and choice.
• Rather than figure out by trial, we figure out by expertise.
• You must be an excellent talent scout.
• What are the unique contributions each teacher has to support kids? Give them a microphone.
• Whole system.
• How to be a transformative leader? Listen. Put systems in place so things are working well.

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!

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

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

Buy Communication Cards

Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com

Download Paperless Principal.  

Take Control of your email

Web Site

Transformative Principal on Stitcher

Refer A Principal

Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey

We’re proud 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.

Mary Wegner is the Superintendent of Sitka Schools 1250 students.

• City school district
• Small community that knows excellence.
• Wonderful community partners.
• Great partnerships with local groups.
• Under 1/3 of staff are our graduates.
• 65% of elected officials are our graduates.
• Paris of the Pacific.
• They take a little bit of Sitka with them.
• Superintendent visits every single classroom.
• During the year, pick different areas of focus and visit those classrooms.
• Understand the K-12 curriculum in all areas.
• Superintendent’s Spotlight newsletter.
• There is great power in small school systems of being able to get close the work.
• 1:1 for each student is growing because the superintendent is in the schools
• How the work changes when you are focused on the classroom.
• Angst during budget time has decreased with more focus being put on the classrooms.
• Budget process which gives more transparency. See current budget

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!

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

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

Buy Communication Cards

Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com

Download Paperless Principal.  

Take Control of your email

Web Site

Transformative Principal on Stitcher

Refer A Principal

Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey

We’re proud 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.

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!

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

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

Buy Communication Cards

Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com

Download Paperless Principal.  

Take Control of your email

Web Site

Transformative Principal on Stitcher

Refer A Principal

Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey

We’re proud 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.

Jerry Snow is a District Administrator and former high school and middle school principal. piedmont.k12.al.us contact information is there. [email protected]

• Team time, class time, my time
• Class time - social studies, math, etc.
• Show mastery - what does that look like.
• My time - 3 days a week, you work on the lowest area. Souped up study hall.
• If you’re caught up on pace, work on what you want.
• 2 days a week you work on ILPs
• Team Time - looping with kids 6-8th grade. Goal setting, character education, team building activities, Student-led conferences.
• Kids come up with the ways they do better.
• Mastery looks like: mimic ACT aspire certain percentage of level 3 DOK.
• 2 types of grades
• A numeric grade (0-100, A-F)
• MasteryConnect - mastery report where students are at.
• Need to show mastery at 80% first time to get 100%.
• Teaching parents that mastery is what is really important, but still keep grades to make sense of it all.
• Pacing - kids can go as fast as they want, but they have to keep a minimum pace to keep kids up.
• Schedule 8 period day, science and math were paired up. Teachers can trade kids.
• How to be a transformative principal? Be a better listener.

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!

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

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

Buy Communication Cards

Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com

Download Paperless Principal.  

Take Control of your email

Web Site

Transformative Principal on Stitcher

Refer A Principal

Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey

We’re proud 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.

Schedule a call with Jethro

As a review for a year that has included a lot of changes for me professionally, I wanted to list some of the greatest events from the podcasts that I released this year. You can check out my current Top 10 podcasts here, but this list is going to talk about the top 10 things I implemented this year as a result of interviewing some amazing guests.

1. Improving the school scheduling nightmare with Adam Pisoni Transformative Principal 185 The most downloaded podcast released this year is my interview with Adam Pisoni, where we talked about improving the school scheduling nightmare. Here’s my big takeaway. Adam said (5:58–8:35) that he started asking instead of asking what was possible in schools, he asked what prevents traditional schools from iterating. This train of thought led me to make a decision to intentionally combat those things that prevent us from iterating, and make sure we can still iterate even with the struggles we will face.
2. Enjoy the Journey with Jethro Jones Transformative Principal 1035 - This one is a bit of a cheat, since the episode where I shared my 4 year plan for my school was really a culmination of so many things that I have learned from this podcast. But, here goes. (19:50–24:42) What’s cool is that instead of my plan starting next year, it is already starting this year. Advisory and flexible learning block with service learning. Teachers are coming to me asking for these things.
3. Don’t Try to Change People, Change Behavior with Tom Hierck Transformative Principal 188 - 18:55–19:29 In this episode, it was really about the powerful thing that Tom shared about how to be a transformative principal. He said, “Ensure that relationships are healthy and positive. Being positive doesn’t guarantee a good outcome, but being negative does guarantee a negative outcome.”
4. Rules turn students into classroom lawyers with Tom Hierck Transformative Principal 187 - In this episode, 5:00–7:26 I found that the most powerful statement from this was when Tom said, “I have yet to meet a kid who is connected who disappoints”. Since this interview, I have worked hard to make sure that kids are connected. I’ve found what he said is true, when kids are connected, they rarely disappoint. Last week, a student threw some trash across the cafeteria and he made a mess. He needed to clean it up. Because we had worked on a relationship, I put my arms out as if to say, “what are you doing?“ and then had to wait about 30 seconds before he decided to stand up and take care of his mess. He didn’t disappoint.
5. What I Wish I Knew as A First Year Principal with Jethro and Friends Transformative Principal Special - The thing that I have taken away from this one is from my friend Jessica Cabeen.3:40–4:08 She says, Take care of yourself. While I haven’t been exercising as much this year as I have in the past, my sleep has been much better and I am doing a much better job of not working from home and actually being home when I am home. That is really important to me.
6. End College and Career Readiness with Jethro Jones Transformative Principal 1040 - This podcast seems to have hit a nerve, as it was just released a couple months ago, and is already one of the most downloaded. In this, I basically argue that we need to focus on inspiring passion in our students rather than preparing them for something. One man I recently met is amazing. He said that he is a jack of all trades, master of one: learning. That really hit me. He didn’t learn how to do that from school, he says. He learned how to do that from his experience. He learned that learning is the most important thing he can have. In a recent Hack Learning episode, Mark Barnes said that learning can’t be measured. In our traditional system, you’re right, it can’t. But it can in our own lives, and we are the ones best suited to measure. I can’t measure all that I have learned from doing this podcast over the last four years in an easy-to-digest way. This post is an example of one way that I am trying to summarize my learning. One of my good friends Darren Draper posted on the Facebook post for this comment the question, “If everyone follows their passions, will society have the skilled workers it needs?” We had a little back and forth, that I encourage you to add your two cents to. My real point here is that if we teach kids how to learn on their own they will have more success in their life, regardless of what their passions or careers are. (1:48 –2:18)
7. Instructional Leadership Team with David Smith Transformative Principal 182 - David Smith’s advice on how to be a transformative was to decide that you’re going to spend time in every classroom. 17:21–20:15 I have made this my priority this year, even to the tune of spending each morning before lunch in classrooms. I’m not perfect at it, but it is helping me do a much better job.
8. Routines to Make Yourself More Successful with Karine Veldhoen Transformative Principal 160 - I have really gotten into routines this year and established some good ones. I’ve read the book she recommends and even went deep into The 1 Thing, about which I interviewed Geoff Woods. Look for that interview coming up soon. She talked about setting daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly practices. This is not easy. It really isn’t. It is actually kind of boring. In fact, Geoff Woods said that most people are unwilling to endure the monotony of success. Success is doing the right things at the right time. 8:26–9:46 - Self-care plans for her staff and for herself. One aspect of that that I have adopted is a habit to go to bed with my wife each night and not stay up late doing things for the podcast or other work, or playing games, or wasting time on Facebook. That is a small thing, but something that I think will really help me get to bed earlier, get rested, and spend quality time with my wife each night. With being so busy, it is easy to be distracted from the important things.
9. Kids Can’t Learn When They Don’t Trust with Zaretta Hammond Transformative Principal 157 - 4:00–6:08 Trust Generators to quickly build trust. This has been really powerful as I have started my new school in Fairbanks. I have tried to be vulnerable with teachers to help build that trust so they know who I am. It’s not perfect, but we have been moving quicker than I expected in some areas, as I mentioned before.
10. Where Jethro is interviewed for the Principal Matters Podcast with Will Parker - Bonus Episode 1033 21:45–22:53-The thing that sticks out from this interview is that 1, it was on Will Parker’s podcast, where he interviewed me. It was fun to release it at the same time. Number 2...

Jerry Snow is a District Administrator and former high school and middle school principal. piedmont.k12.al.us contact information is there. [email protected]

• Part of a 1:1 initiative over 9 years ago.
• Many awards and recognitions.
• Trying to show kids that even though they are a small system, they can still do great things.
• NGLC planning grant
• Mastery based learning.
• Sometimes in a class you can only go as fast as your lowest student.
• Worked with Education Elements.
• “Embolden Piedmont”
• NWEA MAP into digital platforms to create ILPs (individual learning plans).
• Fill in gaps to build on those skills, rather than adapt around them.
• You’re curating the knowledge rather than giving the students everything.
• The myth of average - there is no average. If you’re teaching to the average, you’re teaching to nobody.
• Where a teacher will fall back into the old groove.
• You need to be honest and up front with them.
• We modify every year.
• Can’t go in with an iron fist.
• We want to make things better for the kids.
• Troubleshoot to help them do better.
• It’s a lot of pride, even though it is harder and more tiring.
• Making sure the information is a high enough DOK level.
• Harder for everyone, teachers and students alike.
• Took stuff from everyone and make it our own.

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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!

Join my group coaching program

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

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

Buy Communication Cards

Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com

Download Paperless Principal.  

Web Site

Transformative Principal on Stitcher

Refer A Principal

Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey

We’re proud 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.

Joe Sanfelippo walks us through telling our own story. 

Schedule a call with Jethro about the Mastermind

Best Year Ever information.

We’re proud 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.