#principalpln

In this episode we chat with Melissa Emler, a former principal and now Director of Innovations, about using Facebook as your tool to communicate with your parents and community. While we thought we were great at using Facebook to communicate with our parents/community, Melissa blew our minds with awesome ideas and better ways to tell our story and engage our families! Listen to learn how Melissa used social media interns to help manage her school Facebook page, which also helped her high school students learn digital citizenship and great communication skills. Did you know that Faceook's algorithm has changed, so unless you're posting something every day, your community is likely not seeing your school posts showing up in their feed! Melissa teaches us how to change this and how to inform your families of this change. She talks about the use of Facebook analytics, how to make posting easier with a content calendar and then blew our minds about utilizing Facebook live. Melissa hosts the podcast, On the Vendor

Episode 78: When Was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time? with Dr. Tony Sinanis by Dr. Spike Cook, Jessica Johnson, Theresa Stager

In this episode we talk with Tia Henriksen, a current Vice Principal, but soon to be Principal in British Columbia starting on January 1st, 2015. We discuss inbox zero, making the transition to principal and what to change (not change) right away.  You can follow Tia on Twitter @TiaHenriksen or her blog at https://henriksenlearning.wordpress.com/.     Resources for new principals mentioned: The First Year Principal by Pete Hall The Question by Dan Sullivan Principal's Monthly Checklist

In this episode we are joined by Curt Rees, Elementary Principal and Recess Kickball legend in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Curt’s school is recognized by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as a model school for their implementation of Response to Intervention.  Curt is also a current doctoral student at UKSTL. You can find Curt online at @CurtRees and http://curtrees.com/ Curt is also mentioned in chapter 4 of Spike’s book, Connected Leadership.   Some of Curt's Email Wisdom: Don’t sit down and browse email. Sit down and “crank” through them when you’re ready to work on them. Don’t touch an email more than once. Decide on your action for it once you read it. If it takes more than 2 minutes to respond, he sends it to his to-do app (OmniFocus) to schedule when to work on it. Don’t let a read email sit in your inbox, schedule it and get it out of your inbox! Curt recommends not having work email on your phone and was so convincing that Jessica “ripped the bandaid” off and took work email off o

In this episode, Jessica and Spike explore the ever present "to do list."   The show starts out with the realization that the modern day Principal probably needs ADD or ADHD to survive (or it is just induced by the many interruptions to our day!). Jessica then shares her tools she uses for organizing the "to do list."   Jessica's Tools: Remember the Milk Google Calendar     Spike shared how he is very traditional in dealing with his "to do list." He uses note pads, post it notes, and Microsoft Office to create his school calendar and monitor his email.   Both Jessica and Spike felt the 20 minutes went just too fast. They agreed to do a follow-up show dedicated to email. Until tonight, Spike didn't think a show on email could work. Now he is not only convinced, but ready to tackle the subject.   Jessica also shared about her experience at the National Distinguished Principals Program and joining in the press conference for the release of the Early Learning Competencies for principals.   Enjoy!

In this episode, Theresa and Spike discuss the importance of non-evaluative walkthroughs. Theresa mentioned how her school has used TeachBoost and how it helped her work collaboratively with her teachers.   Spike talked about how is district has been using the McREL Power walkthroughs for the past 4 years. He agreed with Theresa that the most important aspects, despite the tool, is how administrators are encouraged to visit classes and interact with teachers and students.   Want more information on the key points? Check out these resources     One of Spike's Screen casts on his walkthroughs How using Kahoot is great for formative assessments Using TeachBoost in your school Importance of non evaluative walkthroughs article   

In this episode we invite Adam Welcome, a Principal of the Year from Lafayette, CA. You can find Adam on Twitter @awelcome or his blog at adamwelcome.blogspot.com.  Adam shares with us some great tips to stay connected, stay healthy, and stay out of your office to be in classrooms and share the great things your students are doing!   Some of his favorite apps shared include: Twitter Remind Touchcast Google Drive Evernote   Check out his school's hashtag: #teamkid         And a call for help from our connected administrators: We are collecting data on how administrators are connecting, and what are the drawbacks to being connected. The results from this survey will be used in an upcoming book on Isolation in Leadership. Please go help us by completing this survey. Thank you!

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

While catching up on what we've been up to Theresa talked about the upcoming NAESP convention and we had to mention that Jessica Cabeen (Principal that was featured in this episode) will be receiving the NAESP award for Digital Leader of Early Learning. You can see all of the great things her school is doing to integrate technology in her Kindergarten center in this video. Jessica and Theresa talk about the upcoming EdCamp Leader (#edcampldr). EdCamp is a great way to learn about what you want, following the rule of 2 feet (if you don't like the session, then walk out and go to another). EdCamp is such a great way to connect with others, expand your PLN and just have conversations about what you want to learn more about for your own professional learning. Check out the EdCamp Leader site to find out where your closest #edcampldr is. Last year Theresa and Jessica finally got to meet in person for the first time. Yes, after podcasting for two years and writing a book together (along with Spike), they never met