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

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 Monday Matters, Jen and Will talk about the challenge of the work of any educator, in knowing you are making a meaningful impact , not just a good impression . 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 is scheduled in Miami, Florida, January 15-18,...

Hello listeners! This Friday marks the first Friday that Principal Matters is starting to share out some archival content. We have over 400 episodes worth of content! That is a lot of content for listeners to work through, so we are sharing some old episodes in hopes that new and old listeners alike will find them helpful. This week’s encore episode is PMP197: 10 Tips for New Assistant Principals,...

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 is: How can leaders feel heard and ensure that responses lead to meaningful change, rather than seeming like a waste of time? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Cale Birk Cale Birk is a former teacher,...

In this week’s episode, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker discuss the new weekly show providing listeners some current updates on professional development they are offering to educators. They also discuss topics they come across when coaching or serving education leaders.  In the weeks ahead, they plan to talk about topics like: Legislative issues influencing schools AI and how leaders and princip...

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 is: What strategies help maintain focus on long-term vision and direction in the face of daily challenges? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Jeff Jones Jeffrey C. Jones of Bloomington, Indiana, is a g...

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! We are sharing our weekly episode early this week to avoid intruding on your holidays. In this episode, Will and Jen both share some favorite Christmas memories. Listen to the end, however, for some heartfelt aspirations and hopes for the New Year. We would love to hear from you. Feel free to share your thoughts or photos from the season with us by emailing: Je...

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 is: How do leaders know when to protect staff from initiatives (buffer) and when to connect to initiatives that are handed down to them? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Olina Banerji Olina Banerji i...

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 is: How do you navigate bureaucracy, especially with frequent shifts in focus that make previous efforts seem irrelevant? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet George Couros George Couros is a worldwide leader...

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 is: How do you handle the tendency to catastrophize, which can drain energy and focus? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Kenny Rodrequez Dr. Kenny Rodrequez became Superintendent of the Grandview C-4...

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 is: What strategies work best when dealing with others who are resistant to growth? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! The Principal as a Mentor and Coach In this week’s episode, I interviewed Jen about an...

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 is: What are the best practices for improving communication and fostering a sense of ownership among staff? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Garth Larson Garth Larson, Ed. D, is the Co-Founder and CE...

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 is: How can I use time effectively while also making time for self-care? Here’s a free resource Will refers to by Michael Hyatt: https://assessments.fullfocus.co/lifescore/ Also, check out Will’s book, Pause. Breathe. Flourish.: Living Your...

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 is: How can I exercise my voice as a ‘guardian’ without coming off as ‘challenging’? Will refers to a resource The 5 Voices: How to Communicate Effectively with Everyone You Lead by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram. You can find it here. Li...

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 is: How do you help teachers keep their ‘Why’ in the forefront of their minds?  Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! David Yeager, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the University of...

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 is: How do you create schedules for observing teachers in advance? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Dr. Jim Van Allan Dr. Jim Van Allan is President of The Energy Bus for Schools. He runs The Energy Bus 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 is: What are some best practices in other school buildings to “flatten the walls of the school”? Where did you start on this journey/process? [The idea of flattening the walls means that all stakeholders feel comfortable in sharing their ide...

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 is: How do you manage displacement conversations after teachers find out they are not returning? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet David James David is a managing director at New Solutions K12 and bri...

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 is: What’s the best way to find a ‘balanced’ leadership team when interviewing?  It’s hard sometimes to go ‘deep’ and really see who people are in a formal interview. Will mentions a resource from Jimmy Casas . Go here for a summar...

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 is: We are entering a new quarter. If boundaries need to be reset, what do you suggest? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Frederick Buskey Frederick Buskey helps assistant principals live and lead bet...

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 is: How do you drill down the big buckets in assigning key responsibility areas to the individual involvement of the team? Example: Testing can be led by 1 but is a team effort. Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what ma...

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 is: How do I identify the people I can trust to support me or assign positions of management? Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Meet Elena Aguilar: This week’s podcast is hosted by Dr. Jen Schwanke as she...

A quick note to listeners:   Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered another listener question in a 5-minute response.  The question is: What would you say is the most high-leverage action new principals can take when they begin?  Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket is a wife, mother, principal, public sp...

A quick note to listeners:  Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered another listener question in a 5-minute response.  The question is: I’d love to know more about how to set boundaries that help with individual self-care.  Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Kurtis Hewson is an award-winning former administrator and teacher,...

A quick note to listeners:  Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answered an exit-ticket question in a 5-minute response.  The question is: Reflection on my own leadership strengths and weaknesses: How do they correlate with my current team? Additional ways to grow as a leader. Listen in for our response and thank you for doing what matters! Bobby Dodd is a leadersh...