The Interview Chair

In this episode, Texas Principal of the Year, David Arencibia shares his journey from humble beginnings, overcoming situational poverty and dyslexia to becoming a nationally recognized leader in education. David discusses the essential components that transformed his school campus into a thriving school community.

In this episode, Jennifer Womble shares her journey from a law school dropout to a leader in educational technology.  Jimmy and Jen discuss the challenges and opportunities in education, focusing on the importance of understanding resistance to change, adapting professional development to meet the needs of adult learners, and the role of mentorship and modeling in teaching for all educators.   

In this episode, Jimmy interviews Jordan Montgomery, a USA Today bestselling author and renowned performance coach. They discuss Jordan's journey from financial services to coaching, the challenges he faced during a difficult season in his life, and the importance of aligning values with goals. Jordan shares practical advice for navigating adversity, the power of vulnerability in leadership, and h...

In this episode, Beth Houf shares her journey as principal, discussing the challenges and triumphs she has faced in her career. She emphasizes the importance of support systems, personal growth, and leading authentically. The discussion serves as a reminder that even the most accomplished leaders can face struggles and that reaching out for help is crucial in navigating the complexities of educati...

In this episode, Illinois Superintendent Mike Lubelfeld, shares his experiences in dealing with the trauma of COVID-19, the impact of non-person vs. in-person learning, and the challenges of scaling e-learning with limited resources - all amid a mass shooting in his community.  Mike opens up about how all of this took a toll on him both mentally and physically. 

In this episode, Jimmy is joined by teacher Nick Ferroni, who reminds us that there is no such thing as a perfect teacher. However, every teacher is great at something—and even greater when they stop comparing themselves to others.  

In this episode, Jimmy sits down with current practitioner and Teacher Librarian Shannon Miller. Shannon shares how she lost her sparkle after she felt boxed in and not given the opportunities to lead or contribute in meaningful ways.

In this episode, Dr. Jody Carrington reminds us that to best serve our students and families the biggest investment we can make is on ourselves first and that our job as educators and caretakers is to do the next best, right, kind thing.

In episode 74, we sit down with Dr. Stephen Peters who reflects on his role as a leader as he shares what he did to honor and be faithful to the work in order to make the greatest impact possible.

In this episode, Jimmy sits down with Salinas, CA Superintendent and 2023 ALAS National Superintendent of the Year Zandra Jo Galván who shares how educators can change the narrative and help break the cycle of generational poverty for all kids!

In this episode Weston talks about “that one kid” who almost made him quit the profession. 

In this episode, guest Shane Saeed owns up to the challenges she faced as a first-year teacher and how she almost left the teaching profession. However, these experiences helped her learn and grow and made her a better educator. 

In this episode, guest Baruti Kafele shares two things we can do in life as it relates to our work - We can go along to get along or stand on principle. Hear his story as it relates to his work. 

In this final episode of 2024, Jimmy discusses his thoughts as we close out the year and shares some exciting news about changes coming to The Interview Chair in 2025!

In this episode, Jimmy shares a recent conversation with a principal who felt his feedback was dismissed, leading to a missed opportunity by his director. 

In this week's episode, Jimmy shares an excerpt from Shane Saeed, ConnectEDD author of Be the Flame – Sparking Positive Classroom Communities. Learning can happen in a classroom when we not only make time to build connections and relationships among our students but also normalize mistakes.

It is November and educators have a right to be tired. In this episode, Jimmy gives thanks to all the educators who continue to impact students by finding time to interact with them in meaningful ways. By doing so, we learn they often impact us in even greater ways.   

In this Part 2 episode, Jimmy continues sharing his perspective on the change process from last week's episode and describes his Layering the Change process in order to avoid the favoritism undercurrent and achieve a better result.

In this Part 1 episode, Jimmy breaks down the change process and shares the disconnect between those who are driving it and those who are implementing it.

In this week's episode, Jimmy shares how students may sometimes behave in less desirable ways that are outside of our control. However, we can examine the elements well within our control, such as our tasks, activities, and how we assess our students, which can directly impact how kids respond in our classrooms.

In this episode, Jimmy shares a personal story about a former student to remind us of the impact we can make when we see the best in others and expect the best from ourselves.

In this episode, Jimmy discusses the school leader's role and the impact of leadership on student outcomes, both inside and outside the classroom.    

In this episode, Jimmy shares 3 Essential Elements in developing checkpoints that must occur for us to create a high-performing classroom and school culture.    

In this episode, Jimmy shares valuable examples of Culturize Checkpoints to help bring clarity to what being a Champion for Students truly looks like in our classrooms, and more importantly, what it leads to when it comes to observable impact. 

In this episode, Jimmy shares his perspective on organizational culture. He believes that if we truly want to understand and impact the culture of our organizations, we must dive deeper below the surface to see what’s lurking. In other words, why do people behave the way they behave?