The Principal Leadership Lab

Join Adam & Jeff as we chat with our friend and principal colleague, Santiago Meza! Santiago’s Edu Journey: Not born in USA - Mexico Born in a marketplace Came to US at 10 months First born: college, BA, MA, Educator Great foundation in being Re-Born Parents: 6th grade education EL learner Wanted to be a pro football player; hurt in HS Prom date turned into much more… Dream Circle : people of...

Join Jeff & Adam as we chat with Adam D. Drummond, who has served as a consultant, manager, director, and keynoter for the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). Adam’s servant leadership and passion for making a change in the world has offered him the opportunity to work with students, teachers, and leaders across the country and internationally. Adam’s mantra – 100% of the...

Join Adam & Jeff for this Friday edition as we speak with Craig Randall. Craig has worked as an elementary and middle school counselor, including one intense year in the classroom with students with severe behavior issues. In addition he has served as an academic advisor at the college level. He has worked as a collegiate basketball coach. He has worked as a teacher at the elementary, middle,...

Join Adam and Jeff as we chat with Brian Kulak, K-5 Principal out of South Jersey, Author, and Baseball Fanatic! For Brian, there was only one path to education. By the age of fourteen, when he wrote an essay about Detroit Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas, he had made up his mind that he would never leave school. Since then, he has prided himself on his relationships with students and colleagues,...

Join Adam & Jeff as we have a very special conversation with Lindsay Titus!  Lindsay is a K-12 behavior specialist, Ambassador w/ Teach Better Team, Educational Coach & Presenter, and Podcast host Learn more about Lindsay:  A passionate, influential educator specializing in the field of behavior analysis. She is driven every single day to teach other educators how to redefine wha...

Join Adam & Jeff as we chat with former Principal of Gatewood Elem. in Hopkins School District, MN - Mark French!  Mark is also an author, having written the book, "Principals in Action" w/ Jay Posick & Ryan Sheehy. What’s your leadership story? Started in Houston, TX First taught in 1984 Tells principals or teachers now - contact a former principal or teacher to tell them how much th...

Join Adam & Jeff as we chat with Jim Lynch! Jim has continued to grow the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators through dedication and a focus on serving others.  His leadership has provided building-level administration a voice at the state level.  He will also be the first to tell you that it isn't a solo act, but one of a dedicated group of people that serve within the wa...

Join Adam & Jeff as we chat with Andy Jacks! Dr. Andy Jacks is an elementary school principal, and national speaker. For a decade, Andy and his team have led a transformation at Ashland Elementary to improve culture, student performance, and school discipline. They have sky-rocketed student achievement becoming one of the top-performers in the state all while implementing innovative student-le...

Join Adam and Jeff as we chat with our good friend and principal of WESCOSVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, Tara Desiderio! Tara’s Leader Journey KDG Teacher at a KDG center, then became the principal Last 11 years at her current K-5 Leadership from every season Boss - the “B” word and why she doesn''t use it Embracing the journey around you Every teacher should have some time in KDG Either love it or you...

Join Adam and Jeff as we chat with Peter DeWitt (Ed. D), former K-5 teacher (11 years) and principal (8 years). He is an independent consultant who runs competency-based workshops and provides keynotes nationally and internationally focusing on school leadership (collaborative cultures and instructional leadership), as well as fostering inclusive school climates. His work has been adopted at the s...

Educator, Speaker, Writer, fellow Teach Better Team Podcaster Hans Appel is an educator, speaker, and writer deeply committed to inspiring the whole child. He’s the author of, Award Winning Culture: Building School-Wide Intentionality and Action Through Character, Excellence, and Community. Additionally, he’s the Director of Culture for the Teach Better Team, Co-host of the Award Winning Culture p...

Join Adam and Jeff as we have an incredible chat with Benjamin Koenig, who is in his 8th year as a KDG-6 Music Teacher at Delaware Elementary School in Evansville, Indiana! More about Benjamin: I am the current music teacher at Delaware Elementary School, in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation. This is year 8 for me, and I am teaching from a cart due to COVID-19, but loving it! I'm all a...

Join Jeff & Adam as we chat with Lindsay Nickels, an intuitive mindset and business coach on a mission to help those know they’re meant for more... "drop the excuses & discover your purpose!" More from Lindsey: 5th grade student of Adam’s (first positive role model) - "It was a connection I remembered forever" Imposter Syndrome - she didn’t think she was worth remembering, or that he would...

Join Adam & Jeff as we talk to Josh Stamper! Joshua is a middle school administrator in North Texas. Joshua graduated college with a Fine Arts degree and initially worked in the graphic design field for a number of years. He was always passionate about encouraging students to achieve their goals, initially coaching traveling soccer teams when he wasn’t working. Desiring to further his impact o...

Join Jeff & Adam as we chat with our good friend Dr. Jeff Springer!  Jeff, a former Texas High School Head Football Coach and eleven-year veteran of the classroom, is also formerly the Principal at Magnolia High School (2002-2016). In 2013, Jeff was selected as the State of Texas TASSP State Principal of the year. Besides founding Spring Strategies LLC, Jeff currently serves part time as...

Join Jeff & Adam as we have a GREAT chat with professional author and speaker, Dave Rendall!   From Dave's website: During the last fifteen years, our guest tonight has spoken to audiences on every inhabited continent. His clients include the US Air Force, Australian Government, and Fortune 50 companies such as Microsoft, AT&T, United Health Group, Fannie Mae, and State Farm. “He will...

Join Jeff & Adam as we chat with Jason Leahy, who is the Executive Director for the Illinois Principals Association.  Learn about Jason and the IPA, as he discusses his role within the Principals organization, including: Providing leadership and counsel to IPA Members, Board, and staff regarding Association matters Developing and leading processes to continuously improve Association effec...

Join Jeff & Adam as we chat with our friend and fellow principal, Jay Posick! Principal of Merton Intermediate School in Merton, WI, Jas has spent 33 years in education, 30 of them at the middle school level Other Things we talk with Jay about: Author of “Principals in Action” - how did that come about? Strong Twitter participant - don’t feel pressured; you don’t have to have a presence, just...

Join Adam & Jeff as we have an incredible chat with Pre-K - 5 Principal Paul Erickson! Some notes from our chat: Kansas Elementary School Principal of the Year - 2014 Twitter Chats - co-hosts #leadupchat (all about building leadership skills) How he uses Twitter (classroom) Leading through COVID Collective Efficacy - writes about this a lot Leadership Challenge: What is my identity?  How...

Join Adam & Jeff as we chat with our good friend Raymond Porten!  Ray is currently an elementary principal in Round Lake, IL. Prior to serving in this role, he was a middle school assistant principal as well as elementary teacher. More from Ray: Didn’t see himself as principal at first He is a Golden Apple scholar. Runs two podcasts - one with his 9 year old son! - Livin’ That Online Scho...

Join Adam & Jeff as we speak with educator and author Jeff Kubiak! Jeff taught for ten years as an elementary school teacher in grades 4, 5, and 6 and has eight years of administrative experience. Jeff strives to connect with students by bringing real world experiences to them, getting to know their names, engaging in lessons and play, and becoming a part of the learning process with them. He'...

Join Adam & Jeff as we chat with Charter School Principal & Podcaster David McGuire! From David's episode:  Featured in This American Life:   https://www.thisamericanlife.org/715/long-awaited-asteroid-finally-hits-earth/act-four-7 What is Indy k12 ? AOS Podcast/Recess podcast It's good to see it from the balcony level. “Professionalizing the Profession” - his work around Indy in...

Join Adam & Jeff as we chat with father, elementary school principal and DBC author of Lead With Culture, Jay Billy! Jay is an elementary principal in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.  He received his master's degree in educational leadership from The College of New Jersey in 1997. He first served as supervisor of behavior at the high school before moving to the principal of the Joseph Cappello...

Join Adam and Jeff as we chat with Taylor Armstrong this week!  Taylor is the Assistant Director of Technology at Vestavia Hills City Schools in Alabama. He is also a Google Certified Teacher, Army Veteran, Speaker, Member of the Men in Education (FB Group) and Education Never Dies. He talks with us about the importance of "Being the Compass, and his education background as a teacher, coach a...

Join Adam and Jeff as we chat with elementary principal, optimist and recovering perfectionist, Brad Hughes! We have some incredible conversation around Canadian education, his background in education: 16 years teaching, taught French, went into admin - 25 years overall Brad has been a part of the Teach Better Team Admin Mastermind Setting intentions, “Pivot Positive” How to support new teachers?...