The Commons: Real Talk for Educators

Some of the most frustrating things about schools are probably things those of us inside the system don’t even notice anymore. The form that only makes sense if you already know the process. The website answer buried under the right department tab. The acronym everyone in the building understands. The family that has to explain the same situation three different times to three different people. Ia...

When teacher morale is low, everyone looks at the principal. But is morale really something a school leader can fix? Adam Busch and Jim Wichman are joined by Jill Urich and Kara Halsey-Mitchell to unpack what leaders are actually responsible for when the mood in a building starts heading in the wrong direction. The conversation moves beyond treat carts, potlucks, jeans days, and other quick morale...

We talk constantly about belonging in schools. But did we ever promise that belonging would always be comfortable? Dr. Shelley Jones-Holt returns to Your Morning Boost for a conversation about what belonging actually requires when people bring genuinely different identities, beliefs, experiences, and perspectives into the same organization. Adam and Shelley explore a critical distinction: “I don’t...

The Meeting Isn’t the Work A meeting can feel incredibly productive without actually producing very much. We talked. We shared ideas. Everyone contributed. We may have even scheduled another meeting. But when people walk out of the room, what is actually different? This week, we look at one of the easiest traps in school leadership: confusing conversation with progress. Some meetings absolutely ne...

Kids are different now. We hear it in schools all the time—but is it actually true? Adam Busch and Jim Wichman are joined by Jessica Cabeen and Meg Simon to wrestle with what's really changed about student behavior, attention, relationships, and the way schools respond to young people. Jessica offers a useful challenge: maybe the kids haven't changed as much as leaders need to change. From there,...

Families Don’t Experience Departments. They Experience Your School. Schools organize themselves into departments because it makes the work manageable. Families don’t experience us that way. When a parent reaches out with one problem, they aren’t thinking about student services, communications, counseling, administration, or which department owns the answer. They simply see their child’s school — a...

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿? School leaders know that culture, identity, language, and lived experience matter. We know we shouldn't make assumptions. But sometimes knowing what we don't know can make us hesitant to engage at all. Adam is joined by Dr. Shelley Jones-Holt for a conversation about cultural fluency, curiosity, mistakes, and what it...

Teachers say they want autonomy. Leaders say they want to give it to them. So why does autonomy get complicated so quickly when someone makes a decision a leader doesn't agree with? In this conversation, Adam Busch and Jim Wichman are joined by Jill Urich and Kara Mitchell to wrestle with what meaningful autonomy actually looks like in schools. The discussion moves from the idea of a teacher's “sa...

Schools are really good at launching things. New programs. New frameworks. New language. New training. But what if the work we are trying to improve is already happening somewhere in the organization? In this episode of Your Morning Boost, we reflect on the difference between introducing something new and strengthening what already exists. A story from years ago about a districtwide instructional...

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲? Years ago, Adam found himself frustrated with a successful coach whose decisions were affecting participation in other programs. Adam hinted at the problem, talked generally about supporting the whole school, and waited for the coach to recognize what seemed obvious. There was just one problem: he had never actually...

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢? After a long holiday break, Adam walked into a professional-development day with a packed agenda and plenty to accomplish. The teachers walked in wanting to talk, reconnect, and catch up—and the longer they talked, the more frustrated he became. Then came the uncomfortable realization: part of that day’s professional learning was about why teachers shouldn’t...

You don’t need everyone on board. That may sound like a strange thing for a school leader to say. But there comes a point in leading change when our responsibility has to shift from persuasion to implementation. In this episode of Your Morning Boost, Adam shares a leadership experience that forced him to reconsider what “buy-in” really means. When a significant programming change was necessary to...

When was the last time someone actually changed your mind? Experience should make us better leaders. We recognize patterns, anticipate problems, and learn from mistakes. But experience can also create a subtle leadership trap: the longer we're in leadership, the easier it becomes to accumulate evidence that we're right. In this episode of Your Morning Boost, Adam explores what happens when positio...

What does your walkthrough feedback teach teachers about what you actually value? During the first weeks of school, it's easy for leaders to walk into classrooms looking for November-level instruction. But August has a different purpose. Teachers are building relationships, establishing routines, creating trust, and laying the foundation that rigorous learning will depend on all year. In this epis...

It happens almost every time. A new system launches, something goes wrong, frustration builds, and someone says, “This isn’t working.” But does an early problem mean the idea is bad—or are we simply learning something we couldn’t see during planning? In this episode of Your Morning Boost, Adam Busch shares a real experience implementing a new MTSS system and explores one of the hardest parts of le...

One of the biggest surprises of school leadership is realizing that explaining something well doesn't mean people understood it. We present, send emails, write handbooks, and lead meetings, assuming that if we said it clearly, our job is done. But words don't create consistency—shared understanding does. When staff, students, or families interpret buzzwords like respect, engagement, or collaborati...

Great leadership is rarely built in one massive moment. It is built through the choices leaders make every day—the conversations they have, the environments they create, the questions they ask, and the way they show up for the people around them. In this Season 2 finale of Control Shift Lead, Jim Wichman and Adam Busch look back at some of their favorite conversations from the season and reflect o...

Is your school culture defined by your mission statement or your daily actions? In this conversation, Jim, Adam, and Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket explore the complex and essential role of trust in school improvement. Together we examine how small, consistent acts build a dependable leadership presence and why unpredictable behavior quickly destabilizes a building environment. We sit down with Dr. Rachel...

Why do clear school initiatives stall six months after everyone nods along in your staff meeting? It’s because positional authority can only mandate basic compliance—it can never cultivate true commitment. If your plan is "clearly communicated" but your educators aren't moving, you don't have a communication problem; you have an influence challenge. In this special one-year anniversary episode of...

If you are looking for effective school leadership strategies for late May classroom walkthroughs, it is time to reassess what counts as data in your observations. During the final weeks of the school year, a high cognitive load naturally causes both staff and students to shift into an operational autopilot. When energy dips, it is easy to default to instructions that feel "close enough," mistakin...

Are you and your staff just "crawling to the finish line"? 🏃‍♂️ The "May Slide" can drain the energy out of even the best school cultures. Discover how to stay present, celebrate the journey, and finish the year with purpose. EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode of Control+Shift+Lead, hosts Adam Busch and Jim Wichman host a leadership roundtable with Dr. Jeremy Braden and Dr. Jill Urich. We tackle the...

Modern Grading Reform — Sustaining the Work (Episode 4)Series Finale: 20 Years in the TrenchesIt is one thing to initiate grading reform; it is another to ensure it survives the "implementation dip" and becomes part of a school's cultural fabric. In this final installment of the Modern Grading Reform mini-series, Dr. Chad Lang and Dr. Matt Townsley draw upon two decades of experience to explore th...

𝗜𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹'𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆? ⚾️Dr. Chad Lang joins us to explain why "tightening the strike zone" on assessment is the only way to prepare students for a globalized world where competency is king. In this episode of Control+Shift+Lead, hosts Jim Wichman and Adam Busch talk with Dr. Chad Lang about the intersection of leadership, assessment, and the "real world." Dr....

How do you bridge the gap between "how we've always done it" and "how students actually learn"?Welcome to Part 3 of our 4-part mini-series, Modern Grading Reform, airing on The ForwardEd Network Commons. In this installment, Dr. Chad Lang and Dr. Matt Townsley engage in a comprehensive analysis of the psychological and practical hurdles inherent in transitioning to modern, standards-based approach...

What’s really going on behind the scenes of public school budgets? In this episode, host Lisa Hill pulls back the curtain on the often confusing—and sometimes downright absurd—world of school spending. Through a mix of humor and firsthand experience, she shares stories that highlight the gap between what schools need and what budgets actually prioritize. From overflowing closets of unused supplies...