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

Tyler Vawser is the Vice President of Marketing at Apptegy. Tyler leads Apptegy’s Marketing & Media teams, which offer a number of resources to school leaders including guides to school marketing and SchoolCEO suite including a print magazine, website, and podcast, SchoolCEO Conversations . Tyler was the VP of People and focused on recruiting, onboarding, and culture for 3.5 years at Apptegy....

A listener who is an administrator on the middle and high school level who has the opportunity to become a Vice Principal wrote to Will and Jen: “As a classroom teacher this year has been quite challenging because there are some students who resist learning and either not coming to class prepared or asking to go to the bathroom repeatedly during the lesson, distracting or socializing during instru...

Naheed Bardai is the Principal of UWC Atlantic and arrived in south Wales in August 2021 from Upper Canada College in Toronto, where he was head of upper school for six years. Before that, he served as dean of students and senior school principal during his 10 years at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya. For Naheed, education is a deeply moral endeavor and the exercise of leadership demands a...

Joshua Spikes is Assistant Principal at Richwood High School, in the Ouachita Parish School Board, in Monroe, Louisiana.                                              … A...

Dr. Mary Beth was named Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Louisville on July 1, 2021 after serving as Assistant Superintendent for seven years. Dr. Bowling has served in the Archdiocese of Louisville her entire career, serving in the role of elementary principal for 25 years.  Amy Nall serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Louisville. She has...

Dr. Mary Beth was named Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Louisville on July 1, 2021 after serving as Assistant Superintendent for seven years. Dr. Bowling has served in the Archdiocese of Louisville her entire career, serving in the role of elementary principal for 25 years. She attended college at the University of Louisville where she received a bachelor’s degree in elementary ed...

Setting goals is a practice that I’ve used to help me grow in my own work. Not only is goal setting important in your professional life, but in your personal life as well. It helps you visualize where you want to be at the end of each year and gives you something to work towards throughout the year. In this week’s episode, co-host Jen Schwanke and I discuss how we each set and achieve our goals in...

Michael Alpert is a Crystal Apple Award Winning educator, and has worked in both small, rural districts and large, suburban districts in the Portland metro area, even serving overseas as a teacher and Central Administrator in Prague, Czech Republic. Mike is also a founding board member of Ex Novo Brewing Co, a benefit corporation donating all net proceeds to charitable organizations. Mike founded...

Dr. Eric H. Tornfelt is Assistant Principal at Sedgefield Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Furman University in 2003 and began his teaching career in the fall of 2004 at Sun Valley High School in Union County, NC, teaching Social Studies and coaching the Men’s Varsity Golf Team. From 2007-2013, he served on the inaugural...

Jason Jedamski is a 24 year educator who has served schools as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, activities director and school culture coach.  While serving as the activities director of Broken Arrow (OK) High School, Jason ignited a school culture turnaround that … .. resulted in the Varsity Brands company recognizing Broken Arrow High School as the Nation’s Most...

What is the best way to find out/gather information on how others see me?  Should I create a questionnaire and have teachers/staff respond or hold conversations with teachers to find out how they view/see me and my leadership? Do you have any suggestions for questions? Any assistance you can offer would be greatly appreciated! Jen’s feedback: Proceed with care: where is the line between...

A quick note: This will be the final post for 2022. Our next post will be January 4. Please use the “time off” to enjoy your loved ones. If you are curious what lessons or guests you missed in 2022, please enjoy some past episodes . If you’d like to skip to the “Big News for 2023” scroll ahead. Anyone who takes time to read this entire post or listen to the audio version, you are a really go...

This week, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke are tackling some listener questions. The question they are covering this week is: “Do you have any tips on becoming well versed in becoming knowledgeable about content areas other than my own and scheduling classroom observations?” Jen’s Ideas: Ask questions Admit what you don’t know Ask, “This looks like it’s working. Is my view accurate?...

Dr. Lute Croy is currently an assistant principal at Prosper High School in Prosper, TX where he serves about 3800 students. Lute has been a teacher, coach, instructional coach, and assistant principal. He’s moved 12 times during his education career. In every move, he’s met new people, discovered new systems, developed new relationships, observed pros and cons of other leaders. He is in his...

Dr. Lute Croy is currently an assistant principal at Prosper High School in Prosper, TX where he serves about 3800 students. Lute has been a teacher, coach, instructional coach, and assistant principal. He’s moved 12 times during his education career. In every move, he’s met new people, discovered new systems, developed new relationships, observed pros and cons of other leaders. He is in his...

Shenita Perry is a native of Newport News, Virginia. She attended Alabama State University where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education (BME) in 1994, a Master’s Degree in Music Education (MME) in 1996, and Certification in Educational Leadership in 2005. Shenita also recently completed the Certification in School Management and Leadership from Harvard University in July of 2022.&nbsp...

Last week we introduced the topic of tips for seeking a new education position, and Will and Jen shared four of ten tips, they included: Update your resume. Talk to your leadership at the appropriate time. Connect with your network. Research your prospects. This week, you will find six more tips and some practical ways to plan in advance for transitions. Here are the remaining 6 tips: Demonstrate...

Whenever leaders are looking for new opportunities, each situation is unique. Not everyone lives in the same setting, history or opportunity. At the same time, some common practices can be kept in mind when it comes to considering a new position or transitioning in your education career.  Here are 10 ideas to keep in mind (we will discuss 4 in this episode and the other 6 in next week’s...

This week Will Parker is joined by Jen Schwanke to talk about returning the joy to teaching in learning and leading. As the year winds down, teachers and school leaders are getting tired and working hard. It is important for school leaders to encourage themselves and their teachers to look for the joy in the middle of all this hard work. Will and Jen discuss Jen’s recent article with Dr. Trac...

This week, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke tackle the topic of discipline in schools. More specifically, they discuss how to discipline with dignity as school leaders. One of the questions that they explore is: As discipline ramps up this time of year, how can principals empower teachers to manage discipline in Tier One?  Some topics teams might discuss:  10, 10, 10 rule  In what ways...

Jimmy Casas has been an educator for over 30 years, serving twenty-two years as a school leader, including fourteen years as Principal at Bettendorf High School. Under his leadership, Bettendorf was named one of the Best High Schools in the country three times by Newsweek … and US News & World Report. Jimmy was named the 2012 Iowa Secondary Principal of the Year and was selected as runne...

Jimmy Casas has been an educator for over 30 years, serving twenty-two years as a school leader, including fourteen years as Principal at Bettendorf High School. Under his leadership, Bettendorf was named one of the Best High Schools in the country three times by Newsweek and US News & World Report. Jimmy was named the 2012 Iowa Secondary Principal of the Year and was selected as runner-up NAS...

Dr. Tim Elmore is the founder and CEO of Growing Leaders. His work grew out of 20 years of serving alongside Dr. John C. Maxwell. Elmore has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, Psychology Today and he’s been featured on CNN’s Headline News and Fox and Friends. Tim has written over 35 books, including Habitudes: Images That Form Leadership Habits and Attitudes and h...

Last episode, guests Danny Massey, Superintendent of Brazosport ISD and Kristi Krischner, Chief Human Resources Officer at Brazosport ISD shared ways their district is using innovative approaches for teacher recruitment. This week they share more ideas as well as ways they are working for retention of highly effective teachers. Question: As you look forward, what other ways (grants or additional p...

Schools across the U.S. continue to respond to teacher shortages. On September 1, the White House announced recruitment partnerships to addresses the challenges . Groups like the National Center for Grow have partnered with states including California, Florida, Missouri, North Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming, to design apprenticeship programs to help shape policy and provide feedback to t...