Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! We are sharing our weekly episode early this week to avoid intruding on your holidays. In this episode, Will and Jen both share some favorite Christmas memories. Listen to the end, however, for some heartfelt aspirations and hopes for the New Year. We would love to hear from you. Feel free to share your thoughts…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How do leaders know when to protect staff from initiatives (buffer) and when to connect to initiatives that are handed down to them? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matte…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How do you navigate bureaucracy, especially with frequent shifts in focus that make previous efforts seem irrelevant? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet George…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How do you handle the tendency to catastrophize, which can drain energy and focus? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Kenny Rodrequez Dr. Kenny Rodrequez becam…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: What strategies work best when dealing with others who are resistant to growth? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! The Principal as a Mentor and Coach In this week’…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: What are the best practices for improving communication and fostering a sense of ownership among staff? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Garth Larson Garth L…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How can I use time effectively while also making time for self-care? Here’s a free resource Will refers to by Michael Hyatt: https://assessments.fullfocus.co/lifescore/ Also, check out Will’s bo…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How can I exercise my voice as a ‘guardian’ without coming off as ‘challenging’? Will refers to a resource The 5 Voices: How to Communicate Effectively with Everyone You Lead by Jeremie Kubicek …

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How do you help teachers keep their ‘Why’ in the forefront of their minds? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! David Yeager, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How do you create schedules for observing teachers in advance? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Dr. Jim Van Allan Dr. Jim Van Allan is President of The Energ…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: What are some best practices in other school buildings to “flatten the walls of the school”? Where did you start on this journey/process? [The idea of flattening the walls means […] The post PMP…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How do you manage displacement conversations after teachers find out they are not returning? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet David James David […] The post …

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: What’s the best way to find a ‘balanced’ leadership team when interviewing? It’s hard sometimes to go ‘deep’ and really see who people are in a formal interview. Will mentions […] The post PMP41…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: We are entering a new quarter. If boundaries need to be reset, what do you suggest? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Frederick […] The post PMP415: Reclaimin…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How do you drill down the big buckets in assigning key responsibility areas to the individual involvement of the team? Example: Testing can be led by 1 but is a […] The post PMP414: Managing You…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How do I identify the people I can trust to support me or assign positions of management? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet […] The post PMP413: The Art of Tr…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered another listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: What would you say is the most high-leverage action new principals can take when they begin? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Dr. Rachel […] The post PMP412…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered another listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: I’d love to know more about how to set boundaries that help with individual self-care. Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Kurtis Hewson is […] The post PMP411…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered an exit-ticket question in a 5-minute response. The question is: Reflection on my own leadership strengths and weaknesses: How do they correlate with my current team? Additional ways to grow as a leader. Listen in for our response and thank […] The post P…

A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a listener question in a 5-minute response. The question is: How do I coach a veteran (relatively) effective teacher who is reluctant to implement something new? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Andrew McPeak […] The post P…

Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan is the founder and owner/operator of Dr. Karen, LLC, a company focused on empowering therapists and educators to design interventions that support language, literacy, and executive functioning. She has a doctorate in Special Education and Director of Special Education and Assistive Technology credentials from Illinois State …

This week Jen Schwanke hosts guest educator Justin Baeder, author and veteran instructional leader, and takeaways from his newest book Mapping Professional Practice: How to Develop Instructional Frameworks to Support Teacher Growth (2022), a book co-authored with Heather Bell-Williams. Justin shares his practical takes on accountability and the car…

Tim Villegas is the Director of Communications for the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education. He is also the founder of Think Inclusive, which is the blog, podcast, and social media handle of MCIE. He has 16 years of experience in public education as a teacher and district support specialist. His focus now is on how […] The post PMP406: Thinki…

Anne-Marie Maw is an educator who has worked in schools for over 25 years as a classroom teacher and school leader across a range of schools in Australia. Currently, she is the principal of St. Agatha’s Primary School in the northeast suburbs of Brisbane which is the capital city of the state of Queensland in […] The post PMP405: Building Capacity …

This week, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker tackle a question from an education leader: “As a principal, how can you monitor and ensure adherence to expected standards and outcomes in a way that is supportive rather than punitive, and fosters a culture of accountability?” Key Points from Jen Schwanke: Insights from Will Parker: Practical Systems […] Th…