Transformative Principal

Chad Lang is an assistant superintendent of HR and school improvement in Glenwood Iowa.  He is passionate about grading, curriculum, and professional development.    On today’s episode we discuss the importance of curriculum and grading when preparing students for the “real world”.  He clarifies the difference between curriculum and resources, and explains why textbooks and companies should never be the curriculum for our students.  Chad also describes the importance of starting with a common definition of grades, with his definition aligning tightly to what we expect students to know and be able to do in reference to specific standards.      Chad can be reached on Twitter @chad_mLang or through his personal email chadmichaellang@gmail.com Sponsors Transformative Principal Mastermind Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do

Last time we talked about evaluation. What has changed? Put into practice - new frame of reference and mindset. Talking about blindspots that a teacher has is what makes the evaluation meeting meaningful. What are some things you want my perspective on in the classroom? In this episode we discuss: - How to help the evaluation process be successful. - What if they don’t want feedback? - Ask what they want to get out of the evaluation process. - What if they ask for just a pat on the back? - Self-evaluation - use that to look for blindspots Sponsors Transformative Principal Mastermind Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at https://transformativeprincipal.com Just Right Reader Just Right Reader Decodables are a great way t

Darrin Peppard is a school district superintendent, speaker, author, publisher and consultant focused on what matters most in leadership. Darrin’s an expert in school culture and climate as well as coaching and growing emerging leaders. He is known for his keen insight, culture-first leadership style, and dynamic personality. In 2016, Darrin was named Wyoming Secondary School Principal of the Year by WASSP/NASSP and was the 2015 Jostens Renaissance Educator of the Year. In 2017, Darrin earned his Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Wyoming. This past summer, Darrin was inducted into the Jostens Renaissance Hall of Fame. On today’s episode we discuss school culture and the road to awesome. Darrin describes the moment he knew his school had a culture problem and how he started down the road less traveled instead of the “gotcha” road. He started by changing what he controlled, himself, and then focused on empowering the students and staff to join him and take ownership in their scho

PLCs in a Small School with Jeff Makelky Transformative Principal 516 Jeff Makelky has spent 41 years in public education and is currently the principal of Big Piney High School in Wyoming. He graduated from Dickinson State and Montana State, was recognized as the Wyoming Secondary Principal of the Year in 2020, and has published articles in Principal Leadership. His email address is jmakelky@sublette9.org In today’s episode Jeff discusses his proudest accomplishments as a building leader, why he thinks more teachers should consider a career in educational leadership, and how his staff has been working toward implementing PLC practices to fit a small school setting. Sponsors Transformative Principal Mastermind Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You’re pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and

Opie Blackwell is the current principal of Ridgeview Charter Middle School in Atlanta, GA.  Ridgeview Charter Middle School is an inaugural recipient of the Association of Middle Level Education's (AMLE) prestigious Schools to Watch designation, a nationally recognized 2022-2025 elite "Lighthouse School to Watch" from the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, is a southeast recognized "Showcase School" for AVID, and is an International Baccalaureate program school.  His email address is blackwello@fultonschools.org.   On today’s episode Opie describes the hard work surrounding interdisciplinary teaching and learning that his team has been prioritizing.  He lays out the entire journey and emphasizes why a focus of including student voice is so valuable to the success they’ve achieved at Ridgeview Charter Middle School.  Sponsors Pikmykid Improve your school dismissal and safety response with Pikmykid, the Schools Safety and Dismissal Platform. Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids

In this episode, Jethro and Damon Hargraves talk about ChatGPT. This is from a Twitter Spaces that they did in early January. And this has led to some pretty interesting conversations. Jethro has been contracting with a startup to do user research interviews about how we could use AI in schools. If you are intersected in this and would like to chat with us, please schedule a time here. We’ve done about 70 interviews since this Twitter space happened, and we are looking for more, so don’t be shy! We're so grateful to our sponsor AI Coach by Edthena. AI Coach enables your teachers to go through coaching cycles based on their own needs. The virtual coach guides teachers to reflect on their teaching, set a goal, and create an action plan… all based on gathering classroom evidence. It gives support between PD days  and other coaching cycles.Get a free trial for your teachers here.

In this episode, we are continuing our coaching conversations with Eric. Please check in our previous episodes 510, 506, and 501 trying to make it a focus to be aware of people What’s on your mind? What’s the challenge you’re facing today. Today we focus on teacher evaluations. For New Teachers 5 informal observations 2 formal observations 2 formal observation post-conferences 2 summative conferences start, mid, and end of year with goals 14 touchpoints per teacher. For Experienced Teachers: 3 informal 1 formal start, mid, and end of year with goals 8 total touch points. Evaluation system is homemade. Current concerns: - Hard to make them meaningful - Less confident writing up evaluations because it’s my first year seeing everyone. - Feedback: is it accurate and in alignment with what is really happening? - What value does Eric see? - Good to give teachers feedback on a regular basis. - Good to give formal feedback - Post observation conferences are good to go over feedback. - From a teacher’s perspect

Ryan Mackey is the principal of Douglas High School and is beginning his ninth year as a school administrator. Wyoming Principal of the Year 2022–2023.  He is also a certified McGrath Solutions TRUE-SPEAK trainer that allows him to work with other school administrators and frontline staff on communication within various organizations. He has been in education for 16 years and began his career teaching social studies while coaching football, basketball, and track. After teaching and coaching for seven years, his wife (Jessica) and two children (Brooklyn and Conlan) moved to Douglas as the middle school assistant principal and activities director. He then became the principal of the middle school in 2016 where he worked on transforming school culture through standards-referenced grading and reporting. In 2019, he was named the principal of Douglas High School and has worked to develop and establish a safe and supportive school climate and culture. He is passionate about continuous learning as well as creating a

Brad Gregorich is a proud alum of Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT.  He earned both his undergraduate and master’s degree in educational leadership as a Battlin’ Bear.  He has been a classroom teacher, junior high assistant principal, and elementary principal.  Brad is currently the principal of Hillcrest Elementary School in Gillette, WY.  On today’s episode Brad discusses how he prioritizes culture over strategy as a building principal.  He has focused on the culture their school is working toward through communication and staff leadership.  We also discuss some of his advice to building principals when trying to maintain a healthy balance between school and family time.  The best way for listener’s to get in touch with Brad is through his school email: bgregorich@ccsd.k12.wy.us Sponsors Pikmykid Improve your school dismissal and safety response with Pikmykid, the Schools Safety and Dismissal Platform. Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer.  Visit pik

Eric Bransteter is a former 5th grade teacher, media specialist, and building-level administrator. Eric has always had a passion for technology integration in the classroom, which led to him co-founding the EdTech company iAspire. Eric now hosts The Employee Experience in Education podcast where he speaks with educational leaders, former educators, and industry experts to better understand the employee experience in education. Eric’s goal is to equip school leaders with realistic and actionable strategies to keep more teachers in the classroom. Eric discusses how schools can improve teacher retention by focusing on the employee experience.  By aligning the employer’s expectations, needs, and wants with those of the employee, schools can prevent turnover and retention in the classroom.  The four principles of the employee experience are connection with themselves, connection with others, connection with their role, and connection with the organization.  Happy teachers don’t quit! Best way for listeners to reac

In this episode, we are continuing our coaching conversations with Eric. Please check in our previous episodes 506 and 501 This week we check in on what Eric has going on, and talk about how to be a people leader instead of an instructional leader. Checking back in on Eric: - Canned responses going so well, I’ve shared it with teachers - Email war: the war that you’ll never win! - Didn’t talk with superintendent about exiting - Staff moving past something Being the Instructional Leader - Are you an instructional leader or a people leader? How to be a people leader? - Focus on the individual. - Check up on people informally. - Morning lap - Being visible to being impactful - “I didn’t talk to them all week.” - Feelings of guilt Where can teachers learn to be better teachers? - Colleagues - Themselves - Principal - Technology - Conferences Teachers don’t really don’t need us to tell them how they can be better! How does your day change as a people leader? - Laps during prep - Finding those who cruise under the

Dr. Erika Garcia-Niles is a principal in MIssouri. Erika Garcia on Twitter  we don't remember our impact but they sure do. behind the scenes at new district better than I could have imagined. Focus on people - It's all about the people. People by day, paperwork by night. It's about surrounding yourself with the right people. Leave before you're ready. Don't find the next thing, find the right thing. Use coaching to help someone reflect on themselves. Ask questions of them to get them to reflect We can get hung up on the things we don't believe, rather than what we do believe. Every single child should have a person. I feel like school was made for me! Eric Makelky Special Education What teachers need from principals right now? How to be a transformative principal? Check in with your teachers!   Sponsors Pikmykid Improve your school dismissal and safety response with Pikmykid, the Schools Safety and Dismissal Platform. Help move your dismissal from chaos to calm, get kids to their families faster and safer.

Dr. Henry J. Turner is an award-winning high school principal, author, and nationally renowned speaker.  He is most proud of the collaborative community he works within to empower students to fight hate and bigotry in their school. Pointing to his unwavering commitment to equity and a student-centered culture, Henry was named 2020 K12 Principal of the Year by K–12 Dive. Henry is the author of the newly released book, Change the Narrative: How to Foster an Antiracist Culture in Your School, published by DBC inc. As a national speaker, he shares his experience as an innovative instructional leader, passionate advocate, and committed antiracist educator with educators and organizational leaders. Henry works with educators, leaders, and communities on how to create a culture that commits to diversity, equity, and inclusion empowers students’ voices and addresses economic and racial disparities. He has a biweekly newsletter, “Lessons on Social Justice Leadership” that can be found at HenryJTurner.com. Race is a

Al Kingsley has spent the last 30 years in the EdTech space and 20 of those as a school trustee and governor. He is co-chair of Workstream 4 at the Foundation for Educational Development, an organization developing a framework for long-term vision and sustainable planning in England. Al is Group CEO of NetSupport Ltd, an internationally acclaimed EdTech vendor. As a firm supporter of lifelong learning, he is also a regional Apprenticeship Ambassador and Chair of the Employment & Skills board for his region’s combined authority. An active writer about all things EdTech, Al is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and sits on the advisory council for the Foundation for Education Development. He authored a book, My Secret #EdTech Diary, released in July 2021 that is a road map to a new way of thinking about technology in education. Many similarities - Local authority schools, state run, and private/independent school. Two checkpoints in year 2 and year 6 Internal (teacher-based) and external assessments

This week is our next installment of seeing how Eric is doing in his new school. As a refresher, here is last month’s update. Last time, we gave him three strategies: - Strategy 1: add 15–30 minutes to however long you think each meeting will be. - Strategy 2: You seem upset, what’s the best way to contact you when he gets back at X? - Strategy 3: intentional Drive-bys - Schedule time to go be visible. We checkin on those ideas and then talk about what he’s facing today. Eric shared a great strategy today: Strategy #1: Create a “canned response” in your email provider to send to people when they are upset inviting them to talk in person or on the phone. It’s never a good idea to get in an email war. Much better to have a conversation with a person who is upset. Creating a response you send that always invites someone to meet with you and resolve differences is a sure-fire way to stop email wars and keyboard warriors. Strategy #2: Schedule to send out that email! Don’t send it immediately after you write it.

Ami Shah is the Co-Founder and CEO of Peekapak, an award-winning social-emotional learning platform that engages elementary and middle school students to learn skills like self-regulation, empathy and teamwork and reaches over 450,000 educators and students. Peekapak does this using stories, evidence-based lessons, and game-based learning. Behind-the-scenes, teachers, and administrators receive real-time reports showing a student’s progress and emotional state.  This empowers educators to be proactive in helping curb future mental health issues. Educators can share pre-written class updates, activities, and stories with families to reinforce learning at home in English and Spanish. Peekapak is backed by; Silicon Valley-based accelerator, Imagine K12, the Edtech vertical of Y Combinator and the Unreasonable Institute. Ami has earned an MBA from INSEAD, a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is passionate about improving youth education, and has previously taught in K–4 classrooms and advised & volunteer

Ryan Steuer launched the first Project Based Learning middle school in the country and is the founder of Magnify Learning, a PBL professional development organization that equips teachers, instructional coaches, and principals across the country to engage learners, tackle boredom, and transform classrooms. Prior to founding Magnify Learning, Ryan was an engineer for a Fortune 50 company, 8th grade English teacher, and missionary. He shares his education and leadership insights on YouTube and on the PBL Simplified podcast. New Tech Network Taught traditionally, and didn’t see results that I wanted. Kids were showing up to school and doing what they were supposed to. The Punnett Square Work is so authentic and worthwhile that they want to learn it. Grammar lesson has life to it. It can take time to make the switch. Just starting to see the engagement. Upfront time to create this Lots more resources and structures. Define the problem, research solution, try it out, reflect Umbrella of authenticity Bring the Wh

Andrew Terry is in his 24th year in education. He graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Spanish degree and received his masters in Education in 1999. He began as a Spanish teacher  at the middle and high school levels before moving into administration in 2006. In 2016 he became the principal at Anchorage Public School in the Louisville Kentucky area and has been there for 7 years. Observe dismissal procedures Small little area, no busses, many kids can walk to school Kids were going everywhere Teachers loved it immediately because they felt comfortable right away. Communication is simpler Go through a process and involve a committee and parents Pikmykid made it simple and easy for everyone. Kiddeo - keeping track of kids when there are emergencies, including communicating police and firefighters. Any time you have change, having time to adapt to it is important. Independent city school district HQIR - High Quality Instructional Resources Why such a focus now? Evidence-based data to support the kin

Josh DeSmyter is the proud principal of Shrevewood Elementary in Falls Church, Virginia. He has worked in education for 15 years in Detroit, Washington D.C. and now in Virginia. Josh is currently in his eighth year as an administrator in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). He leads with the three core beliefs of Family, Excellence and Relationships at the forefront of his work. Josh has taken Shrevewood ES school from a 54% engaged school community to a 94% engaged school community in just three short years by instilling a Culture of Joy. He is currently a finalist for FCPS’s Outstanding New Principal of the year award. - culture of Joy. - handcuffs are coming off when you get the principal job! - positivity, modeling, consistency - Being a really good listener. - Knowing who they are - individual conversations, one-on-one - Influence others around you. - How to handle it when someone comes to you with something that doesn’t really matter. - We listen, and we go back to leadership teams. - Taking Action Boo

This week is our first “coaching” call with Principal Eric Makelky. We jump on a zoom call, and hit record. You get to hear it. In this episode, Eric shares how, a month into school, he’s getting pulled in all directions and can’t get focused on doing what needs to be done! Have you ever felt that way? I know I have! He’s showing up late to meetings, getting too many todos, and just feels like he’s constantly drinking from a firehose! We talk about three distinct strategies in this episode: Strategy 1: add 15–30 minutes to however long you think each meeting will be. Instead of scheduling an hour meeting, give yourself extra time. This intentionally reduces the amount of meetings you can have, prevents you from getting overbooked, and makes things better. Strategy 2: You seem upset, what’s the best way to contact you when he gets back at X? When people are upset, their needs can seem more urgent, so make sure they are heard, and that often softens the anxious feelings. Strategy 3: intentional Drive-bys - Sche