Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast

Leaders have lots of amazing ideas.  And sometimes, those ideas can turn into multiple priorities. This is absolutely normal.  But when there’s a new idea, a new priority, every month, week, or day, it’s exhausting and confusing for the whole school. As the focus shifts constantly from one urgent matter to the next, everything becomes a priority. In a culture like this, the team learns t...

Summer is coming, faster than we could have anticipated.  Have you figured out what you and your family are doing for the break? “What are your summer plans?” It sounds like a simple question—one you’ll probably get asked a bunch over the coming weeks—but the reality is anything but easy. If you’re feeling panic or irritation at having to make yet another decision about summer break (or even...

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ:  https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/    More about the show: If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast...

When my business was new, I was in the practice of waking up at 5:00am to work on some big, exciting projects. I would reply to emails and write content while my house was asleep, so I could get some focused work time in. But when I had my fourth child, Yossi, I suddenly could no longer set an alarm for 5:00am and expect to be productive—because I was also waking up at 12:00am, at 2:00am, at 4:00a...

“We were only closed for two weeks when the pandemic started, but I swear it felt like we were closed for four months.” This is what Paige Kepner, Glen Allen, VA center owner, told me during a recent conversation. I find this is such a common experience for school leaders when they're in the midst of a crisis. The sheer amount of pressure, communication, decision-making, and information-gathering...

A director I was coaching a few weeks ago told me about a repeat problem that kept coming up in her center. She was constantly being interrupted by teachers coming to her office asking for help with little things. She was glad to support them, but it was getting to a point where she couldn’t focus on her own tasks. Her own behavior—going out of her office to give them what they asked for, every si...

Recently, I was speaking with a school owner who was selling a location. She had truly done her due diligence in her preparations for this moment, crossing every T and dotting every I. The only thing left to do was to inform her team. Feeling anxiety about the conversation, she came to me for coaching and guidance. Many coaches might give general advice about drinking water, going on a walk, or me...

Recently, I was on a coaching call with two ECE center owners. The first owner had just purchased her second location. This was a huge milestone for her, and she expected to feel accomplished. And yet, she was struggling to step into a double identity as both an owner and the director of the second site, until it could get fully staffed. The second owner had just sold her second location. She refl...

When’s the last time you went to a huge buffet? While it seems like a treat to eat anything you want, you can’t eat it all—and that means you have to choose. The number of decisions you have to make in the buffet line is totally overwhelming. In the same way, too many choices can feel paralyzing when it comes to our centers—for leadership, teachers, parents, and children. Will the kids play with b...

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ:  http://Chanie.me/jointhedic      More about the show: If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mo...

In 2022, Catherine Doberstein had just started listening to my podcast. In an episode, I mentioned the live, in-person Summit of Excellence that was coming up, and she decided to attend. She told me, “I had been looking for a community of young business owners to be surrounded by, but I didn’t realize there was a whole group of early childcare leaders who wanted a higher level of education for chi...

 Back in 2017, I had the immense pleasure of interviewing author and speaker Simon Sinek about how to be an effective leader. It's a topic that many people talk about but few can agree on. During the interview, I asked Simon to define what it means to be a leader. Rather than give me a simple statement, he chose to tell a story that I'll never forget. During his stay at the Four Seasons hotel...

Communication is about more than just your words. Years ago, when I was still working as a teacher, I was preparing for parent–teacher conferences with my mentor, Dana Levy. She was guiding me through a role-play exercise to help me feel more confident in my communication with parents. When I got to the part of the interaction where I was supposed to express some concerns about the child, Dana sto...

When my husband Mayer and I moved to Florida, we had a pool for the first time ever. But as New Yorkers, we had no idea how to take care of it. So when we were told we didn't have to do much to maintain it, we took those words at face value. Over time, different parts of the pool started to break down, and we had no choice but to call a maintenance company to evaluate the situation. When they fina...

When I was a new parent, I thought I could give my kids more by simply loving them more. Spoiler alert: I was mistaken. Don't get me wrong—my heart was in the right place. Like so many before me, I wanted to give my kids a life even better than the one I had experienced. But with time and maturity, I came to realize you can't give what you don't have. You can't pour into your kids if you don't fir...

Has someone ever told you to calm down? It's one of the most aggravating statements ever . Recently, I was having a conversation with my husband, Mayer, and things were getting a little heated. Before things got out of hand, I wanted to regulate myself so I could operate from a more level mindset.  Instead of giving me the space to work through my emotions, Mayer decided it would be helpful i...

Are you living by your values? While you think that question over, let me tell you a story. In our family, generosity is a core value, and one of the ways in which we embody that value is by hosting members of the community in our home. So when the High Holiday was approaching this past year, our initial intention was to host two or three out of the four meals that take place over the holiday, jus...

School leadership can be a lonely journey.  When you're at the top of the org chart, it's your responsibility to support your team—meaning there's no one to catch you when it's you who has fallen down. That's the harsh reality that Mandy Moore came face-to-face with when she became the owner of her center, Steadfast Academy in Texas, a few years ago. Transitioning from director to owner was a...

Last year, after speaking at a conference, I was contacted by, Sophie Kerr, the owner of Little Foxes Nursery School in Wiltshire, England, an early childcare center that believes in the power of strong role models in children's learning and development. She had heard me speak about B.R.I.D.G.E., the 6 key meta skills you need as a childcare center leader, and it immediately resonated with her. Al...

When you write out a to-do list—whether for your team, your family, or yourself—does it give an accurate representation of everything that goes into completing each task? Take laundry, for example. When I put "do the laundry" on my to-do list, I would be kidding myself if I thought it was a one-step process. There's sorting, washing, drying, ironing, folding, putting the clothes away… and even tha...

When my husband Mayer and I still lived in NYC, he held a position at a college that was highly demanding (to put it lightly). As part of his role, he was required to work 7 days a week, with very limited PTO. And when he did have time off, he fell ill—just like clockwork. That wasn't a coincidence. When we work ourselves to the bone without allowing ourselves proper time to rest and recover, we b...

No matter the industry, leaders are often afraid to be honest about why they're firing someone. They think that by sugar-coating the truth or dancing around the issue, they're protecting the person's feelings. But the reality is that being dishonest doesn't help anyone but you . Rather than protect them, you actually protect yourself from uncomfortable feelings.  In reality, the best thing yo...

Many years ago (when my kids were a lot smaller), my husband Mayer and I took a trip to Niagara Falls. As usual, I had organized everything in advance, including reserving adjoining rooms for our family. Because our kids were so young at the time, it was really important that we had that adjoining room. So, I made sure to call the hotel—both the day before and the day of the trip—to confirm that t...

No one enjoys having to fire an employee.  In most cases it's uncomfortable and unpleasant to have to let someone go, especially if they didn't do anything "wrong." But hanging on to a team member who's not the right fit for your center's vision and values can have some serious consequences… maybe more than you realize. In the case of Janine, a Schools of Excellence Owner's HQ member, her rel...

Every year, flu season seems to come as a surprise. We know it’s coming. And yet, it always seems to catch us unaware, putting us into all kinds of highly stressful situations.  Like having to find a sub for your subs' sub. Seriously. I was dropping off one of my kids at school one day, and I didn't recognize one of the teachers. When I asked her who she was, she said "Oh, I'm subbing for Rac...