Transformative Principal

Phil Dituri is Director of Education for Financial Life Cycle Education, also known as FiCycle. FiCycle is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring every student has access to knowledge of the financial concepts necessary to live a prosperous life and the math skills needed to grasp those concepts and put them into practice. Phil has taught and inspired educators and children for over 20 years. He is an educational consultant and served as a Visiting Professor at Fordham University. He was also a teacher, instructional coach, and chairperson of the mathematics department at New Design HS in lower Manhattan. While in public school, he was a three-time Math for America Master Teacher and Big apple award finalist. Phil has a B.A. in Mathematics from NYU and a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from Columbia University. It is a failure of our approach to teaching math. The tools of algebra were developed to meet the needs of business. Why math teachers are mad about our line of questions so far. Algebra 2 cur

Jim Knight has spent more than two decades studying professional learning, effective teaching, and instructional coaching. He is a founding senior partner of the Instructional Coaching Group and a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. His book Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction (Corwin, 2007) popularized the idea of instructional coaching. Knight’s other books include Focus on Teaching: Using Video for High-Impact Instruction (Corwin, 2014) and Better Conversations: Coaching Ourselves to Be More Credible, Caring, and Connected. The Impact Cycle, released in 2017. * Just survival is a big deal, so don’t overlook that. * Don’t lose sight of getting through it. * Express compassion and support and let people know we are there for them. * Coaches can have three things they can do * Mentor: giving people resources * Trainer: helping people learn things * Coaching: Goal you’re trying to hit. * You can’t cut coaching and still have coachi

Jay Posick is principal of Merton Intermediate school in Merton Wisconsin.  He has been an educator since 1987, teaching 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.  In his 31st year as a middle school educator, the first twelve as a classroom teacher and the last 19 as an administrator.  I’m fortunate to be connected with many educators across the country, especially #principalsinaction friends and my middle school voxer friends.  Mark French, Ryan Sheehy, and Jay wrote the book #principalsinaction which was published in 2019. Open since September 1st. Found different schools in the building. Moving people around for big spaces. Removal of teacher furniture. Cohorts of kids who stay together. Livestream classes Implementing voice and choice. Heavy academic classes in the past, more SEL focused classes now. Instructional strategies in pandemic. Making connections with kids during pandemic. Kids not being able to participate in band, choir, drama, athletics, etc., has been really hard. How to be a transformative

Meghan Raftery Twitter is a freelance educator and mom of two boys, ages 5 and 8. A former second and fourth grade teacher and central office administrator, Meghan left public education to pursue her professional passions on her own terms in 2018. Since that time, she has developed curriculum for school districts, nonprofits, private companies and families and led professional development in more than 30 states with a focus on innovation and authentic learning. What is a freelance educator? Join us in Edjacent! What are the challenges? I used to have 600 tasks, now I have 50, so it’s actually less than when I was a teacher. You’re constantly asked to do more work if you do good work. In my career, I felt like I was less doing something It helps me to define my values. I can decide how to balance depth and breadth in projects. What do I do best? Every teacher has something that makes them amazing! Other innovations develop in parallel to another innovation. Self-advocacy in a small way that leads to bigger c

Michael Lubelfeld, Ed.D., currently serves as the superintendent of schools in the North Shore School District 112 in Highland Park, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. Mike earned his doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Loyola University of Chicago, where his published dissertation was on effective instruction in middle school social studies. He is also on the adjunct faculty at National Louis University and Loyola University Chicago in the Department of Educational Leadership. Mike earned an IASA School of Advanced Leadership Fellowship and he also graduated from the AASA National Superintendent Certification Program. He was the 2017 Lake County Superintendent of the Year. He can be found on Twitter (@mikelubelfeld) and is the co-moderator of #suptchat— the superintendent educational chat on Twitter. He and Nick Polyak co-authored the 2017 Rowman & Littlefield book, The Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow’s Schools Today and he, Nick, and PJ coauthored the 2018 Rowman & Littlefield

Own It with Deidre Roemer, Deontay Torres, and Dayzia Marek Transformative Principal Deidre Roemer is Leverage Points, @deidre_roemer, is the Director of Leadership and Learning in West Allis-West Milwaukee School District. We also talk to two students, Dayzia and Deontay about their experiences as students. Dottke Project-based Learning School * I was searching for something different. * I’m allowed to be creative * Aquaponics lab, * able to create and learn * Need one-on-one and personalization. * Quarter is 3 months and designed my own t-shirts. * Designed own t-shirt with a dripping heart. * Slow down and learn a process. * The speed of learning is exactly what I need. * I wasn’t challenging myself. * It may seem like a longer process. * Time is never stagnant and it keeps going. The world is changing, and we need to work towards that. * Challenge them to do something themselves first. * Don’t start with aquaponics. Start with something smaller. * Aquaponics took a lot of time before. * “Your comfort zone

Dr. Roy Pope has served as a teacher, coach, college professor, and school administrator in the United States and the United Arab Emirates for more than two decades.  When he and his wife moved to the UAE 8 years ago, they saw a global need for an efficient, effective, multilingual professional development platform for educators.  As a result, they created EdGuru.  Being a school leader at an international school. Visiting schools while on vacation. Produce productive high performing students. Advocate connecting learning to research. Teachers should be able to access it multiple time for success. Relevancy Make sure the people behind the platform have been in the trenches. Multilingual. How to be a transformative principal? Pull teachers together and listen to their ideas. Sponsors InControl SEL for Middle School In Control created an effortless social and emotional, character development video curriculum for your students that’s ZERO-TEACHER-PREP AND it’s so cool looking- it feels like a Youtube or Netfli

Dr. Eric Stephens helps people transition from education to industry. Go to https://www.changehighered.org During a pandemic we have an ethical obligation to help other people find work. Education does have a bottom line. There is a lack of communication between academia and industry. Industry: recognize this has never happened before. Job seeker: Just because I have a degree and experience, doesn’t mean that I am the best candidate. How to translate what we do to be valuable. People in education value different things than those in industry. Every educator is self-employed! Educators need to understand their value and describe their work in their jargon. Articulating those skills in a way to make your opportunity make sense. Not everybody that can teach can learn. How to get people to want to listen to you? Connect with Eric on LinkedIn.   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 te

Brett Weiss is the author of Just Give Them a Hug … and the Rest Will Be Easy: How One Person Can Make the World a Better Place, One Child at a Time. He is also the founder of Weiss Scholarship Foundation, where he works to empower Kenyan children through education. 79 students sponsored overall. Vocational School and university. I didn’t know if I could help. Boarding schools Equal opportunity for boys and girls. $3500 for all four years. Sponsors and recipients zoom calls. Christine’s story. Alliance Girls School in Nairobi. Sponsors InControl SEL for Middle School In Control created an effortless social and emotional, character development video curriculum for your students that’s ZERO-TEACHER-PREP AND it’s so cool looking- it feels like a Youtube or Netflix Series- and that’s purposeful, they meet students right where they’re at. The videos are 5–6 minutes, kids love them, teachers love them, and you will too. There’s no guesswork in the program because there’s a 21-video progression for each grade leve

As a keynote speaker, best-selling author, and host of the top-rated podcast, The Next 24 Hours, Curtis Zimmerman has impacted over one million people around the globe with his life-changing message. People connect with Curtis through his high energy as he incorporates the skills he gained from over twenty-five years in the entertainment industry as a nationally-recognized mime, juggler, and fire-eater into his powerful programs. But don’t be fooled by the fun: With the perfect interactive keynote to open or close a conference, Curtis mobilizes audiences to manage rapid change, invigorate their company culture, lead with integrity, and engage customers. Check out his special school assembly program. Realsume is much better than a resume. Brick and mortar, staff, customer relations. The resume is what gets you the job, the realsume is what lets you leave a legacy. Remember who your customers are. Surprise and delight them! What can you do that makes them say, “That’s amazing!” What we’re missing is connection

Culture of Care with Jose Celis Transformative Principal 407 Jose Celis is a principal in Wayne Township in New Jersey. He believes that schools should promote wholeness, equity, and hope. In various administrative capacities, he has devoted his energies to ensuring students, families, and educators develop strong partnerships, grounded in mutual support and respect. Having served in diverse communities in both New Jersey and Illinois, he has recognized the need to support teachers in areas where they may not have received adequate training. His passion areas include restorative justice for education, culturally responsive teaching, sheltered-instruction, and inclusion for equity Remember my goal and vision and reflect all my decisions on that. Jose talks about moving from assimilation to becoming a community with diverse individuals. Three concentric circles - community - Inclusion & Restorative Justice, and why he is in education (his back story) Sponsors InControl SEL for Middle School In Control cre

PrincipalED with Kate Barker and Kourtney Ferrua Transformative Principal 406 That data represents the faces of the kids that we care about. Via @Kate_s_barker and @kourtneyferrua The book PrincipalED: Navigating the Leadership Learning Curve by Rachael George, Kate Barker, and Kourtney Ferrua helps principals understand the core concepts to help them lead their schools. Kate Barker is a principal at Cherry Park Elementary in Portland, Oregon.  This is her 30 year in education and 17th year as a principal.  She works with a very diverse population which includes over 28 different languages in her community.   Kourtney Ferrua currently serves as the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in the McMinnville School District. Prior to working at the district office, she served as the principal at Wascher Elementary School for six years. In 2019 Kourtney was awarded Oregon Elementary Principal of the Year and as a National Distinguished Principal. You can have high expectations and infuse them with a

Getting to the Root of the Problem with Sarah Lavezzo Transformative Principal 405 Mastery learning allows them to feel confident with where they are in that moment. Via Sarah Lavezzo Sarah Lavezzo is the founder and director of Ascend Micro School in Colorado Springs. She is a gifted intervention specialist and has also co-authored several curriculums for the United States Institute of Peace and Heartwork. She is passionate about learner-driven education, global education, and empowering children and young adults. She is the mom of a delightfully unique little girl and loves to build community with other parents and support them in their journeys. She can be reached at sarah@ascendmicroschool.com Sponsors TeachFX Innovative school leaders across the country have started tracking online student participation using TeachFX because it’s one of the most powerful ways to improve student outcomes during COVID — especially for English Learners and students of color. Learn more about TeachFX and get a special offer

Managing your Unmanaged Mind with Julia Barrow Transformative Principal 388 We have unmanaged minds. Students in a positive peer culture would change the way they were thinking. You’re coming at them from a label, but coming from specific behaviors will make your conversations more effective. Dr. Julia Barrow is a former Teacher, Principal, Executive Principal of 19 schools PK through 12, Vice President of Operations for Alternative Ed Programs and Partnerships with School Districts - over thirty years of experience. Curriculum Writer, Program Developer, Assessment Developer, Trainer, Grant Writer,  all the things.
 Doctorate in Professional Leadership - dissertation study focused on normative culture and positive peer pressure.
 * Before and after - detached * It all goes down to the culture on your campus. * Who do you want to be and what you want your students and staff to say about your leadership? * Students in a positive peer culture would change the way they were thinking. * Deliberate culture. * Bef

  Chloe Sutterfield is a student at Virginia Commonwealth University. Chloe is studying to become a journalist and wants to travel the world. She also really loves making music and playing sports. Her favorite type of music is rock’n’roll and pop. Her favorite sport is skiing. Chloe believes that everyone has a purpose in the world and her purpose is to give people a different perspective on life. This podcast is also available as a video here. Proving them Wrong with Chloe Sutterfield Transformative Principal 403 from Jethro Jones. What are some of the things that you like doing?  Sports, music, travel What got you to where you are? A particular moment? A certain mantra? Family, especially mom saying if you want to do it, do it, but you’ll have to be the one who does it Please share a story about a principal who made a big difference in your life.  Sr. year got a new principal who was very involved in what I wanted to do at school. He saw me as a student, not someone with a disability. Mr. Mar

  Tom Sherrington (Twitter) is a former principal and teacher and is now a writer and trainer. He is the author of Teaching WalkThrus: Visual Step-by-Step Guides to Essential Teaching Techniques by Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli Walkthrus professional learning package. Visual guide to key instructional practices that most instructors should know about it. Each page represents 1 technique in 5 steps. ADAPT - Attempt, Develop, Adapt, Practice, Test You’ve got to have a go at something to see if you can get some mileage out of it. Properly evaluate after trying something out. If teachers think you’re telling them what to do, they tend to not do it. You’ve got to get that teacher to feel that the thing you’re suggesting is something they can sustain. Focus on the learning problems. Sometimes teachers are made to think about their performance. It is often not a fair judgment of their performance. I’m not here to judge you, but I’m here to help your students learn more. The strategies you focus on are the

The Addiction Inoculation with Jessica Lahey Transformative Principal 401 Jessica Lahey is a teacher, writer, and mom. Over twenty years, she’s taught every grade from sixth to twelfth in both public and private schools. She writes about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Atlantic, Vermont Public Radio, The Washington Post and the New York Times and is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed. She is a member of the Amazon Studios Thought Leader Board and wrote the educational curriculum for Amazon Kids’ The Stinky and Dirty Show. Jessica earned a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Massachusetts and a J.D. with a concentration in juvenile and education law from the University of North Carolina School of Law. She lives in Vermont with her husband and two sons. Her second book, The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence, will be released in April 2021.

Links I talk about: Join the Mastermind How to Be a Transformative Principal Cybertraps Podcast Webinar this month will be with Julia King Pool around communication Where I’m at now. Consulting - mastermind leadership team trainings, cybertraps. Talk about student driven learning academy Kids wanting schedules for themselves (and unique) Center for Cyberethics Cybertraps podcast Mastermind - single best Pd for principals. Links to other podcasts about it. Got some stuff in the hopper. Episode 400 This is that special time where I give some updates about what is going on in my life. As you may know, several of my podcast episodes are recorded ahead of time. So, I like to give these updates at around the 50-show mark. First things first, last June, I left being a principal to focus entirely on serving principals and schools through consulting. It’s been awesome. I’m really enjoying it, although I was a little nervous to leave education when Coronavirus hit and there was time to do things so differ

  Janet Hale Twitter is passionate about supporting educators in making curriculum decisions that ensure, enhance, and enrich learning and teaching experiences. She specializes in curriculum mapping; curriculum design using various models and frameworks; standards literacy and alignment; and documenting learning to assist schools, districts, dioceses, higher-ed programs, and educational organizations and businesses with their curriculum, instruction, and assessment needs and improvement plans. Her Masters of Arts degree in educational leadership and curriculum development; plus teaching in elementary, secondary, and special education classrooms, enable Janet to provide insights and information conducive to making decisions that improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices for all learners—including teachers and administrators. Beyond her own consultancy, Janet is a member of the Global School Consultant Group and works with clients worldwide to aid them in their curriculum decisions to create inn

  Kimberly Vaiana is a principal in San Francisco, Education is her second career and she has spent most of the 20 plus years in middle school. She’s been an administrator in both high school and middle school. Currently she has been serving her middle school community, as principal, for the last three years. She was born and raised in San Francisco and have raised my children in the East Bay where she taught and worked in partnership with families and teachers for the future of our world. * The core of who I am is about meeting and getting to know people. * Getting kids to learn their story and share it. * Starting brand new with people she never met before. * The first thing you do as a principal is don’t change anything. * Getting to know their why. * I met with every single staff member. * It is every staff member, not just the teachers. * All staff members have an impact on our kids. * Status quo was easy. It was easy to just do your job. * Playing games. Sharing pictures. * once we got to know each oth