#PrincipalPLN

In this episode, Spike and Jessica catch up on the new initiatives in their school and how things are going. Jessica discussed the progress of PBIS and Playworks in her school. Spike discussed how his school is going through the revalidation process to continue being an AVID National Demonstration School. Based on the feedback from a prior visit, the staff have been working on increasing Higher Or...

In this episode, Theresa and Jessica discuss what they're up to with welcome staff back to school. Jessica finally tried out  Flipgrid  thanks to  Eric Ewald 's encouragement when she attended his session at the National Principals Conference.  Here's a quick video Jessica made to show her staff how to do this:  Flipgrid intro .  Theresa shared some other awesome ideas she's seen Flipgrid used for...

In this episode, Theresa and Spike sit down to discuss the first week of school and reflect on their openings. Both Theresa and Spike discussed how they were in the "cycle of sacrifice" due to the high levels of stress in opening up school for the year. Are you in the cycle of sacrifice?  Spike discussed the First Three Days project he did with his school. This was an idea that was inspired by the...

In this episode, Spike and Jessica talked about their school plans for the first days of school. Spike talked about the  Significant 72  and Jessica talked about  Playworks.    Spike and his staff took the Significant 72 and used it as an outline for the first 3 days. They made a Google Slides presentation for all staff to use period by period. Within the presentation are "get to know you" activit...

In this episode, Spike and Jessica catch up on what they’ve been doing to relax in the final days of summer and had a discussion about how we welcome kids back to school. As we’re seeing awesome back to school ideas, like rolling out the red carpet ( Click here for the time RM Bacon literally rolled out the red carpet forthe welcome back and tied it to the You Matter movement by Angela Maiers), ou...

In this episode, Theresa, Spike and Jessica catch up from the summer break. They each discussed how July goes so quickly and provides a much needed down time from the business of the school year. Now, as they are quickly realizing, is the time to make sure all of the Back to School lists are completed such as scheduling, organization of the school and the most important part... the first few days...

We want to start out by thanking everyone who has ever listened to the PrincipalPLN podcast. We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to share our learning with you over past 5 years.   We finally made it to 100 episodes of the PrincipalPLN podcast. Theresa, Spike, and Jessica began this journey in the fall of 2013. They have been together with their #principalPLN network through all types...

It's May, a crazy time of the year. We hope you're not only surviving, but also trying to thrive. Theresa and Jessica don't have a topic today, but naturally, discuss the busy-ness of May while trying to remain positive. We shared ideas for transitions from one building to the next for students and the end of the year. Jessica talked about the upcoming Coach Approach Institute taking place this su...

In this episode, Jessica and Spike talk about the weather during this month of Apruary. After Jessica got her venting out about the weather our conversation moved into state testing and she shared her idea of using Bitmoji to make stickers for the back of student test tickets for motivation. They also chatted about Snapchat and want to learn more about how teachers are using snapchat to engage stu...

All 3 of the PrincipalPLN crew were here today, so we started out catching up on Influenza recovery and post Spring break updates. We talked about our morning routines to start each day out on the right foot and the importance of having a gratitude habit. In our random discussions, we mentioned the hot new games kids are playing:  Fortnite  and  Prodigy . Why is Fortnight so popular? Here's an art...

In this episode, Jessica and Spike continue the conversation from Episode 95 regarding next year. Throughout the conversation, both shared the various plans for overcoming budgeting and staffing obstacles as well as how to stay positive with the additional requirements of being a Principal. Spike discussed his recently published article in Innovate My School -  Team Activities for Budget Planning...

In this episode, Theresa and Spike discuss how each school is focusing on planning for next year. They begin by describing the specific schedules for their middle school and the high school. Theresa's school operates on a Trimester schedule and Spike's is on a block schedule.   As they plan for next year, both schools are looking at initiatives that will foster student learning and prepare student...

In this episode we are fortunate to be joined by Jeff Zoul and Anthony McConnell , the authors of the hot new book, The Principled Principal: 10 Principles for Leading Exceptional Schools. The Principled Principal examines ten guiding principles, using stories and real-life examples to make them relevant and applicable for every school leader. You’ll learn . . . What to prioritize and what to elim...

We discovered Justin Ashley in this article: He was a classroom star. But CMS teacher’s success masked depression, addiction and just knew we had to have him join us on the podcast to help us learn from his journey and be able to support our teachers to prevent them from burnout.   If you’re ready to inject more joy into your personal life, get more meaning from your job, strengthen your body and...

In this episode, Spike talked about his big takeaways from attending the national SAMS conference, which you can read about here: 5 Takeaways from the National SAM Conference One of the keynotes he talked about was Valerie Burton, author of Successful Women Think Differently.   We spent quite a bit of time talking about the email beast. Theresa shared email tips Boomerang and Astro , and Unroll to...

In this episode, Theresa and Spike discuss how 2018 is going while Jessica is Ice Fishing! As the discussion unfolds, Theresa talked about how she has been using the app  Todoist . She uses T odoist  to organize all of the tasks that she has to do throughout the week.  Todoist  connects with her Gmail and allows her to schedule time to get the important things accomplished. Theresa also talked abo...

In this episode, we chat with Lindsy Stumpenhorst, elementary principal in Illinois, also known as “Principal in Boots.” Lindsy shares all about leading an amazing staff, living in the country, balance, using social media, and her one word for 2018: Awe. Have you heard of Instagram? Spike and Lindsy both work hard to convince Jessica to revitalize her Instagram account and connect where the action...

In this episode, we warm up with hot coffee and blankets to stay warm in this frigid winter. Spike talks about the Bomb Cyclone in New Jersey, which caused his school to close for two days, we compared temperatures and talked about indoor recess/school closure decision making. A fun app share to enjoy your weather is: WTForecast - Caution, the profanity can be offensive in this app, but you can ch...

In this special end of the year episode, Theresa, Jessica and Spike discuss their Winter Break.   Spike talked about his floating experience. He will be posting a blog about what he learned from the time in the sensory deprivation tank.  Click here for the blog post on floating.    Jess talked about her trip to the North Pole (aka Minnesota).   Theresa talked about couch time (SO important!)   We...

In this episode, Theresa and Spike share their final week leading up to the Winter Break. It is clear from the discussion that no matter the school you work in or the area of the country, that it can be a very stressful time. Spike and Theresa shared some ideas for student and staff recognition.   What do Principals do over the break? Theresa, who has a two-week break, plans to read, relax and dis...

Episode 85: Breaking Out Of Isolation   In this episode, Theresa, Spike and Jessica catch up after about a year hiatus from the podcast. It is clear that everyone needed a break to work on other projects, focus on family, and work/life balance.     Where our thumbs are going:   Flipgrid vs Recap Brene Brown   Braving the Wilderness Snow Day Calculator Lucy Calkins Reading/Writing Melinda Miller's...

Episode 84: Happy New Year #PrincipalPLN by Dr. Spike Cook, Jessica Johnson, Theresa Stager