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

“These are the times for stepping forward with courage.” – Enid Lee. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are three things that make our country and our schools strong. I believe that it is vital to engage in conversations about these things in a time when our government in the US is cracking down on DEI. For that reason, I have selected to share this conversation with Enid Lee from...

A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks. Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answer a listene...

This week on Monday Matters, Will and Jen are doing something they have not done before: talking about books they’re currently reading. Will talks about reading the book, T he Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. Jen recently finished a book called Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. Listen in to hear their reflections on their readings and the lessons t...

Welcome back to Encore Friday! This week’s episode from the archives is PMP281: Paradoxes of Leadership with Dr. Tim Elmore, originally released in 2022. In it we discuss his book, The 8 Paradoxes of Great Leadership: Embracing the Conflicting Demands of Today’s Workplace . Listen in to hear Dr. Elmore talk about the complexities of leadership and how to avoid getting stuck in frustrat...

A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks. Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answer a listene...

Happy Monday! This week, Jen and I cover the topic of decision making for school leaders. Specifically, we consider the question: What goes in to the thought process when a leader has to make a decision? Some of the pieces of the decision making process we cover are: Recognizing it’s not as simple as just looking at data Outcomes need to be analyzed Compliance, requests outside of your control, th...

Happy Friday! This week’s encore episode is one from 2022. In it, Will Parker interviews Shenita Perry about her unique leadership experiences and the lessons she learned along the way. Listen in to hear the full conversation or check out the original blog post here ! The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP321: Lessons in the Leadership Journey with Shenita Perry appeared first on Principal Matte...

A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks. Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answer a listene...

By William D. Parker When we lived in the basement, Daddy would wake up long before the rest of us. He would stir the remaining coals in the wood stove, adding fresh sticks to the barrel-sized belly and stoking it until the new wood caught fire. As we crawled out of our beds, we would make our way straight to the kitchen, circling around the wood stove as if it were a wise sage, radiating warmth a...

It’s Encore Friday! This week’s episode is an interview from 2023 with Jen Schwanke and Robyn Jackson. Listen in to hear them discuss topics like: Reaching 100% of Students Principals as “Builders” instead of leaders Navigating Leadership as Women Confronting the Imposter Syndrome You can also check out the original blog post for this episode here . Thank you for doing what matters! Th...

A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks. Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answer a listene...

For this week’s Monday Matters topic, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke talk about AI in schools. While neither of them are experts on the subject, they acknowledge that AI is something that impacts everyone in the education world. Some of the points they address in this conversation are: AI for educators  AI for students The rapid development of AI Ways that using AI can help save time Tension be...

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for another encore episode! This week’s episode from the archives is PMP358, an interview with my friend Timothy Alexander. Timothy’s story is moving and inspirational. Give this episode a listen or check out the original blog post from 2023 to learn more about him! The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP358: Inspired to Be Faithful with Timo...

A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks. Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answer a listene...

In this week’s Monday Matters, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke talk about their word for 2025.  Upcoming Events If you’re going to be in St George, Utah, February 12-14, 2025, let Jen know as she’s speaking at the Utah Association of Elementary School Principals.  Word for 2025: Jen’s word for 2025 is equanimity – defined as mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especial...

It’s Friday and that means it is time for an encore episode! This week’s encore episode is on from 2020, featuring Dr. Anthony Muhammad. Check out the original post here , or listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts! This episode is full of great advice for leaders and is as relevant today as it was 5 years ago. Thanks for listening in and thank you for doing what matters!...

A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks. Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered a quest...

In this week’s episode of Monday Matters, Will and Jen talk about time spent and 5 areas of trust.  Upcoming Events : If you’re going to be in St George, Utah, February 12-14, 2025, let Jen know as she’s speaking at the Utah Association of Elementary School Principals. Will has some upcoming PD in Columbus, Ohio. He and Jen note that every time he goes to Ohio, they try to meet up, but those...

Happy Friday! This week I am sharing out an old episode from 2021. In it, Jen and I answer a listener question about managing people who ‘stir the pot’ – teachers or faculty who gossip or cause drama. Check out the original blog post now to learn more about the episode! Thank you for doing what matters! The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP273: How to Manage When Someone is ‘S...

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 of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks. Principals , when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbo...

In this week’s check-in, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker discuss habits and intentions surrounding commitments to your well-being as a leader.  Both of them share reflections on seasons in life, challenges we face in our personal and professional lives, and ways to stay present in our mindsets and practices. You can stay connected with our professional development services through our websites,...

Happy Friday! This week, the episode I have chosen to share from the Principal Matters archive is PMP283: How to be a Transformative Principal with Jethro Jones . We talk about self-care and growth for leaders, along with the challenges that school leaders face on a day-to-day basis. Click on the link above to read the original blog post or listen in to hear our conversation from 2022. Thank you f...

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 of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks. Principals , when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbo...

I’ve been thinking about some of the tensions leaders feel when trying to guide improvement among students and teachers.  In a recent interview with David Yeager , author of 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People: A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation―And Making Your Own Life Easier , we discussed how good classroom teachers know that their own expectations of stu...

Happy Friday! This week we are re-releasing an archival episode, from 2022, where Jen Schwanke joins me to discuss her book, You’re the Principal, Now What? Check out this link to read the original blog post about PMP304 or listen in wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for doing what matters! The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP304: You’re the Principal, Now What? Revisited Part 1...