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

This past month, we sent our third daughter to college. More than a year ago, she began to explore the possibility of studying abroad. As a result of months of apply to schools, virtual meet-ups, and 5,000 miles of travel, she is now a student at Aberystwyth University in Wales. Sending off another Parker child has been an emotional roller coaster. But the experience also brought back some memorie...

A few weeks ago, I was invited to provide some virtual professional learning with a wonderful group of aspiring and assistant principals from Pecos Barstow-Toyah Independent School District, in Pecos, Texas.  As a part of our time together, I shared content from my book Principal Matters , including “8 Hats” that school leaders wear. For the sake of this podcast episode, I am including a shor...

In last week’s podcast episode, I shared the second part of a keynote presentation I provided on August 12, 2021, to the Archdiocese of Louisville for a welcome-back ceremony of educators from thirty nine Pre/K-8 elementary schools and nine high schools collectively serving 18,000 students. In Part 3 of this keynote series, you will learn the power of your friendships, legacy and laughter. Learn t...

In last week’s podcast episode, I shared the first part of a keynote presentation I provided on August 12, 2021, to the Archdiocese of Louisville for a welcome-back ceremony of educators from thirty-nine Pre/K-8 elementary schools and nine high schools collectively serving 18,000 students in six counties.  In Part 2 of this keynote series, you will learn the power of your own influence: How a...

On Thursday, August 12, 2021, I had the privilege of providing a keynote from my book Pause. Breathe. Flourish.: Living Your Best Life as an Educator at the Archdiocese of Louisville welcomed back ceremony for the new school year.  Although my teaching and administration work has been for public schools, Superintendent Mary Beth Bowling, invited me to address teachers from thirty nine Pre/K-8...

Trevor Goertzen was recognized in 2020 as a National Digital Principal of the Year. He currently serves as the Principal of Spring Hill Middle School in Spring Hill, Kansas, and is an adjunct professor of Educational Technology for Harding University. Trevor recognizes the personal impact that technology can provide by bridging academic and social gaps in his students, staff and community when lev...

Seven year ago, our son Jack was diagnosed with a rare disease. Kawasaki causes an inflammation of blood cells in young children. If untreated, it can lead to heart damage or death. He was hospitalized for two weeks. During that time, my wife and I sat many days watching medical teams work to bring down his fever and provide life-saving care.  His doctors, nurses, technicians – even tho...

Eric Sheninger is an Associate Partner with the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). Prior to this, he was the award-winning Principal at New Milford High School. Under his leadership, his school became a globally recognized model for innovative practices. Eric oversaw the successful implementation of several sustainable change initiatives that radically transformed the learnin...

This week, Jen Schwanke, author and education leaders, shares the second half of a conversation on Reconstructing Place and Space. With credit to Dr. Miller,  director of the EdD in Educational Administration and an assistant professor – clinical in the Department of Educational Studies at The Ohio State University, Jen probes into several questions his feedback has generated. Listen to...

This week, Jen Schwanke, author and education leader, shares thoughts on why education leaders should consider how ‘place and space’ play a role in learning outcomes. With credit to Dr. Miller,  director of the EdD in Educational Administration and an assistant professor – clinical in the Department of Educational Studies at The Ohio State University, Jen probes into several questions h...

One year ago, June 4, 2020, D.J. Klein was a guest on the Principal Matters podcast when we shared advice for his first year as a school administrator. You can hear the 10 Tips for First Year Assistant Principals we discussed by listening to PMP:197 .  One year later, D.J. Klein has finished his first year as Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at Terry High School, south of Jackson, Mi...

Leadership requires relationships, understanding others, and negotiating through conflicts. This week I am privileged to share a conversation from Chris Zervas about his book, Bomb-Proof Constructive Feedback . Chris Zervas helps busy leaders improve their communication, leadership and employee engagement to impact their organization’s bottom line. Chris’s trainings have helped organizations incre...

This week marks the end of June 2021, and just today I heard from a principal friend, Andrew O’Farrell,  West Islip Unified School District in Massapequa, New York, who is enjoying his first week of summer vacation. Other schools across the U.S. have been enjoying break since the end of May.  Wherever you are, I bet it is safe to say that graduation has been one of the most exciting times as you w...

In this episode, Jen Schwanke, principal of Indian Run Elementary in Dublin, Ohio, and author of two books on school leadership, joined me for a conversation with two principals from the Principal Matters Mastermind community: Samantha Bartrom, Principal of Coastal Academy in Oceanside, California, and Erin Igoe, Assistant Principal at Piedmont High School in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Listen to...

This week’s post is an encore episode I shared a few years ago. Since I’m hoping you can enjoy some well-deserved vacation this summer, I thought I would remind you why your time away from school may help you better serve your school. Photo by Holly Mandarich – Creative Commons No known copyright restrictions https://unsplash.com/@hollymandarich?utm_source=haikudeck&utm_medium=referral&am...

On May 27, 2021, Jen Schwanke, principal of Indian Run Elementary in Dublin, Ohio, and author of two books on school leadership, joined me for a conversation with two principals from the Principal Matters Mastermind community: Samantha Bartrom, Principal of Coastal Academy in Oceanside, California, and Erin Igoe, Assistant Principal at Piedmont High School in the San Francisco Bay Area.  This enti...

Latrese D. Younger is an instructional lead learner in Virginia. Her passion is English language arts and she believes that she will always be a teacher at heart. Latrese has a servant mindset, spirit, and attitude that she believes helps keep her grounded. She resides with her son, husband, and English bulldog. In her spare time, she loves writing, reading, and social media curating. WDP: What ha...

Dr. Kimberly Miles is the Principal of East Gresham Elementary in Gresham, Oregon. A former elementary teacher and reading coach, she transitioned into a district instructional coach before becoming a principal. She has eleven years of experience in school leadership, and is a turnaround principal – having led a school community that has seen marked improvement in student outcomes. Balancing...

During the fall semester, I invited listeners to some virtual meetings to share protocols for re-opening their schools. We formed a free Re-opening Mastermind and met once a week for six weeks to brainstorm and collaborate. Just a few days ago, I hosted a meeting to re-connect with some of these same leaders in a virtual reunion. This time principals were invited to share updates on how each princ...

Joy Kelly is the co-author of the new book, Handle with Care: Managing Difficult Situations in Schools with Dignity and Respect, co-authored with Jimmy Casas.  Joy has more than twenty-five years of educational experience in public and parochial schools as a teacher, coach, mentor, associate principal and principal. In 2015, she was named the Iowaa Associate Principal of the Year. She al...

Marita Diffenbaugh is honored to serve as principal of Elevate Academy North, a public Career Technical charter school for students in 6th-12th grades.  She has served as a teacher, administrator, and has provided leadership support for districts, schools, and classrooms. As a partner with Elevate Academy Inc., Marita is connecting education with industry and community by developing, planning...

Jessica Wee is the Principal of Rainbow Centre Yishun Park  School in Singapore. She has previously served in the school  as Vice Principal before taking over principalship six years ago.   Rainbow Centre School serves 400 students with autism and multiple disabilities. The school aims to nurture young persons with disabilities (aged 7-18) into adults who are able to live indep...

Brittainy Harris has been working at Xi’an International School, located in China, since 2010. With her undergraduate degree in education, she landed at this American-based international school (that was founded in 1996 with the help of Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Education) and began to teach multicultural students in a 4th grade classroom for a total of 4 years. In 2015, she shifted to Mi...

Loredana Borello is the Principal of Brescia House Secondary School in Johannesburg, South Africa. Brescia House School is a Catholic Ursuline All Girls Independent School from K-12.  As a principal, she is passionate about empowering and educating girls to take up their place as leaders in society, equipped with courage and compassion. She also is interested in mentorship, which was the focu...

Seán Óg Ó Duinnín is Principal of Scoil Mhuire, a small Irish language medium school in Ballingeary, Co. Cork, Ireland since 2006.  In his time there, he has seen many developments of physical facilities with the support of Cork Education and Training Board and implemented a Restorative Practices approach to school-based relationships. He recently completed his Masters in Gaeltacht & Iris...