Principal Matters: The School Leader's Podcast with William D. Parker

In this week’s episode Will Parker and Jen Schwanke discuss more about Dr. Schwanke’s new book, The Principal’s Guide to Conflict Management. Jen asked leaders to consider a circle to anticipate, analyze and act as an ongoing movement – a way to visualize how approaching conflict.  Anticipate Anticipate the adult, student, parent and self conflict that comes at different seasons, times,...

Conflicts are inevitable. The question is how do you manage them in healthy ways with the appropriate mindset, anticipation, analysis, and action? This week, Dr. Jen Schwanke shares takeaways with William D. Parker from Jen’s new book, The Principal’s Guide to Conflict Management . Listen-in as Jen explains how to approach conflict with courage. Learn the importance of managing specific conflicts...

Daniel Kelley is an Associate Teaching Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Rhode Island. He previously served as the principal of Smithfield High School in Smithfield, RI. During his tenure, he successfully implemented sustainable change initiatives that profoundly impacted the school’s learning culture. Dan’s contributions to education extend to national leadership...

Jim Wichman is the founder of Inspired Edification, LLC, a seasoned educational administrator with over 25 years of experience. Jim has a rich history of service in both urban and rural public school settings. Coming from a background of poverty and even experiencing homelessness, Jim is a strong advocate for centered, respectful, and value-driven education. Not just an experienced educator, Jim i...

This week Jen Schwanke and Will Parker discuss the dynamics involved in building leadership vs district leadership. Although still a principal at heart, Jen has served in the role of Deputy Superintendent now for three years. Will asked her to reflect on the following: What surprised her more in the transition from building leadership to central office leadership? If she could go back and talk to...

In this week’s episode, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker discuss the difference between systems leadership and people leadership. Here’s a quick summary: Leaders need to understand both. As one of Jen’s advisors told her, “If there is no route for the bus, it doesn’t really matter what people are on it.” In other words, we often are told in leadership that “it’s all about the people.” This is only tru...

Mark Geraets, is an education leader with a career spanning 40 impactful years. Born in New Zealand as the youngest of seven to Dutch immigrant parents, Mark’s university education journey began at 16, as the youngest student at Teacher’s College. By 30, he assumed his first principal role in Whakatane, NZ. Venturing abroad, he taught in Bangladesh, deepening his love for travel and th...

Jennifer Abrams is an international educational and communications consultant for public and independent schools, universities, and nonprofits. She trains and coaches teachers, administrators, and others on new teacher/employee support, having hard conversations, collaboration skills, and being your best adult self at work. In her over two decades at Palo Alto Unified School District (Palo Alto, C...

In this week’s episode, Will and Jen flip the mic, and Jen interviews Will about his experiences with Principal Matters as his full time work in the past six months of 2023. They discuss the emotional ups and downs of the new work, the stats from the previous year, and lessons learned in goal setting and creating systems: Will begins by sharing a poem that has inspired him of late and may be helpf...

A few quick words from Will Parker: Hi, Friends! You’re going to be listening to an interview hosted by Jen Schwanke with our guest, Rachel George, the author of the book, She Leads: The Woman’s Guide to a Career in Educational Leadership , co-authored with Majalise Tolan. You’re going to love this conversation about Rachel’s background in firefighting as well as your powerful feedback on how to m...

Dr. James Flynn has been a teacher, coach, Assistant Principal, Principal of the Grades 3-6 Intermediate School in Burlington City, Principal of Burlington City High School, and is currently the Director of Planning/Research, Evaluation, Operations, and State and Federal Programs for the Burlington City School District, Burlington, New Jersey.  Jim’s principal practice included a number...

Donna Hayward began her professional career as a high school mathematics teacher after earning her Bachelors and Masters degrees from Smith College. Inspired by her own high school principal, Donna completed her Sixth Year through UCONN and served as Assistant Principal/ Principal of Rocky Hill High School for a decade. During this time, she markedly increased Advanced Placement opportunities and...

In this week’s episode, Dr. Jen Schwanke hosts an episode interviewing Drs. Rob Russell and Dustin Miller, with lessons from a recent article they authored on The Power of Principal Mindfulness. Rob Russell, Ed. D., is an assistant principal at New Albany High School in New Albany, Ohio. He is a former science teacher. His research focuses on understanding the relationship between leadership decis...

As a child, I had the privilege of observing my grandparent’s farming responsibilities, so this week’s conversation with Jen Schwanke is important to me personally and professionally. In it, we discuss a documentary about traditional farming methods, and we draw connections between producing healthy soil and cultivating strong school cultures.  How might the story of one farm inform our...

Phyllis L. Fagell, LCPC, is a school counselor in Washington, DC, a therapist who works with children and teens in private practice, and an author and journalist. She is the author of Middle School Matters: The 10 Key Skills Kids Need to Thrive in Middle School and Beyond – and How Parents Can Help , and her new book is Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times . Phyll...

Erika Bare has been an educator for over 20 years, currently serving as the Assistant Superintendent in the Ashland School District in Oregon. A special education teacher by training, she is passionate about supporting all students through individual supports to reach their limitless potential. Tiffany Burns loves working with kids. In her two decades in education, she taught elementary, middle, a...

Hi, Friends. Will Parker here. A quick shout-out to Dr. Jen Schwanke and Dr. Robyn Jackson who agreed to record this special edition of Principal Matters where Jen hosts the show. In this conversation, you’ll find helpful lessons for your leadership as they discuss topics like: Reaching 100% of Students Principals as “Builders” instead of leaders Navigating Leadership as Women Confronting the Impo...

In this episode, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke, talk about her recent article, “Heart and head: A Principal’s Essential Tools,” written for the ASCD Education Leadership magazine. Check it out here . Jen started the conversation by sharing a piece she read about chefs and their essential tools. Many chefs pointed to gadgets, but one chef’s emphasis was on his hands – trusted, adap...

Cale Birk is a former teacher, high school principal, and District Head of Innovation from British Columbia, Canada. In 2015, one of his schools was named one of the first Model PLC Schools in Canada. Feeling like he was only scratching the surface with collaboration, Cale wrote the book PLC 2.0 – Collaborating for Observable Impact in Today’s Schools helping leaders and teachers go de...

Lisa Parry is a veteran English teacher (1994-present) and K-12 principal (2018-present) who is proud to lead a 2021 National Blue Ribbon Elementary School and a 2020 ESEA Distinguished Elementary School. In 2022, her  colleagues recognized her as South Dakota Region 1 Principal of the Year. Some of the most gratifying work she has done has been serving as a co-developer and facilitator of th...

In today’s episode, Will Parker shares poignant takeaways from a summer hiking trip with his son, Jack, applying those insights to the realm of school leadership. The discussion centers on the importance of being present, connecting with students, and celebrating even the small moments. Afterward, Will and co-host Jen Schwanke talk about applying those lessons to leadership, including these...

This week Will Parker and Jen Schwanke respond to a listener question submitted several months ago but still relevant today for leaders: “I’ve been a loyal listener of the Principal Matters podcast and value the insights from both William and Jen. As a new principal of a small school with 125 students and 9 teachers, I’m facing a challenge. The staff has developed a ‘silo mentali...

Dr. Don Parker is a leading voice in professional development and educational transformation. Since beginning his educational journey in 1997, Dr. Parker has served in diverse roles, from teaching in Chicago’s inner-city schools to mentoring future educators as an Adjunct Professor at National-Louis University. As a former principal at both Posen School and Lincoln Avenue School, he made sig...

This week Jen Schwanke turns the tables on Will Parker to place him in the hot seat as an example of reflective coaching. A few weeks ago, in episode 355, Will placed Jen in the hot seat of a conversation using questions from The Coaching Habit , by Michael Bungay Stanier.  Now, it’s Jen’s turn to ask Will the Bungay’s coaching questions: The Kickstart Question: What’s on your mind? The Awe Q...

In today’s episode, Will is joined by Cheryl Step, an authority on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and the profound influence they can have throughout a person’s life. Cheryl Step has extensive knowledge regarding the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences. She has experience training and coaching others about the impact of trauma and a framework of strategies that build a foundat...