#PrincipalPLN

In this week's episode, Theresa and Spike discuss how they are preparing for the upcoming school year. They begin by talking about how each of their district's update discipline and dress codes. Even though this may seem to be a boring or redundant activity, Theresa and Spike try to put a lot of thought into the process. They also discussed how policies should be updated to create an inclusive environment. For instance, Theresa went through her school's policies to ensure they reflect equity and diversity in terms of gender. The discussion then went into how to prepare the students and staff for the long haul (180 days) as opposed to over-hyped welcome back sessions. Theresa and Spike want to keep that topic for the next podcast and get ideas on how to work with their staff on the marathon of the school year, not the sprint.

In this episode Jessica and Spike discuss a bunch of different things going on in the life of a Principal. They begin by discussing the summer responsibilities and how to complete the end of the year, manage the day to day and plan for the upcoming year. They discuss the role of the vice/assistant Principals, student use of cell phones, and summer learning.  Resources mentioned in our discussion: Cell Phones In School? - Away for the Day   Books Jessica read/plans to read this summer: Creating a Culture of Reflective Practice: Capacity-Building for Schoolwide Success Swimming in the Deep End: Four Foundational Skills for Leading Successful School Initiatives Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace Relentless:Changing Lives by Disrupting the Educational Norm by Hamish Brewer   Spike:  Crucial Conversations: Tools For Talking When The Stakes Are High The Artist's Way: A Spiritrual Path to Higher Creativity  Here is a Principal to follow who is doing things differently and getting amazing results: Hamish Brewer  Relentless: Changing Lives By Disrupting  Principal of the Year: Hamish Brewer, Fred Lynn Middle School  Ted Talk - How Radical Love Transformed a School 

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 Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). The AVID site team have provided weekly instructional practices, developed a Google Form to collect best practices, and they meet with Spike on a monthly basis to coach him how to use HOTS in the weekly email, staff meetings, and for teacher feedback. They are also correlating the McREL Walkthrough data from last year as the compare the instances of remembering and understanding with analyzing and evaluating. The revalidation process has definitely caused the school to improve in areas to make student learning better.     Here is a link to Spike’s blog “5 Ways to Increase Higher Order Thinking Skills at Your School”   PrincipalPLN is a part of the Education Podcast Network

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.   As they talked about Social Emotional Learning, here are links to some of the resources/programs mentioned: Second Step Curriculum Zones of Regulation Pyramid Model Playworks Handle with Care Referral The Fire Within book Fostering Resilient Learners book Lavonna Roth Web and Link Crew from The Boomerang Project Playspent.org Poverty simulation  

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 Significant 72 by Greg Wolcott. The Lakeside staff and students spent a significant amount of time building relationships with each other as well as reviewing the expectations of the school. Spike plans to blog about this initiative and also will discuss upcoming ideas for follow up.    Theresa shared ideas to make the weekly communication more collaborative. Her administrative team writes their information on a shared Google Document which is generated from a weekly reminder email from Theresa through Boomerang. She also uses Boomerang to manage her email inbox by using the tools such as pausing, scheduling and having emails re-delivered for emphasis and reminders. Boomerang can be used for Gmail and Microsoft Office. Be sure to check it out! 

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" activities as well as instructions to cover all expectations. The Significant 72 places emphasis on students knowing teachers, teachers knowing students, students knowing students. Spike and his staff added students knowing the school. Spike will report out on this on the next podcast.

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), our discussion may challenge your thinking about grand events. A post that started some interesting discussion on Twitter was: Your Back to School Message is Hurting Teachers.    Jessica shared Greg Wolcott’s idea of the Significant 72 and how important the first 72 hours (or 3 days) of school should be all about relationship building. And that also goes for the first 72 after a break. Read about the Significant 72 here: https://www.smore.com/ddc84-significant-72

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 of the school year. Over the course of the Podcast, you will learn about the following: Transformative Leadership Summit 2018 - Spike visited with Danny from #TLS18 to discuss How to Spread Gratitude Throughout Your School  The Principals Playhouse - Allyson Apsey (Author of the Path to Serendipity) and Jonathon Wennstrom Challenges with Time Zones :)  Social Emotional Learning - Jess is reading Back to School Preparation Thank you for listening! Connect with us on Twitter @principalpln or #principalpln on Twitter or Instagram.

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 of changes in our lives.   In this episode, we brought back a few of our friends (who happened to be guests) to talk about the latest changes in education, books we are reading, and inspirational words. We all have something in common that we want to inspire each other and to have a purpose in our lives. More importantly, we were able to do what we do best... hang out and chat!   Guest List - Please follow and connect with them!  Tony Sinanis - @TonySinanis Jessica Cabeen - @JessicaCabeen Sarah Johnson - @SarahSajohnson Jay Posick - @posickj Curt Rees - @CurtRees   Show highlights  Throughout the show, we were able to catch up and reminisce about our favorite PrincipalPLN episodes. We talked about running, job changes, Donkey Basketball, Time Zones as well as educational issues. We also gave away a few of our favorite books:

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 summer in Chicago and New Jersey. If you are interested in finding out more/how to register, go to: www.coachapproach4schools.com/register. If you're in need of inspiration to fuel your leadership soul at this time of the year, or any really, you should read The Power of Positive Leadership by Jon Gordon. Jessica shared a couple of her favorite books, but she has been creating many images of quotes from the book so check out the blog post for some end-of-the-year inspiration!  https://principalpln.blogspot.com/2018/05/party-like-its-episode-99.html

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 students. Are you using snapchat as a student engagement tool? Please let us know. Our conversation also touched on communication and how many different ways information needs to be shared. Spike shared all about being an AVID school.

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 article that discusses this: TomsGuide We talked about staff meeting ideas and building collective commitments together with our staff.

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. He also talked about the conference that he coordinated with local Millville City Commissioners, Millville Youth Empowerment Summit. The Summit was attended by about 60 students and 20 parents and featured area speakers helping students become empowered. They are already beginning the planning process for next year. Jessica shared how her school staff is inspiring their elementary students to dream big, using March Madness to promote college awareness. Here's a blog post she wrote last year to share about this (although this year they added even more to what they do at her school): Promoting College Awareness in the Elementary with March Madness. 

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 students for the 21st century. How does this work in the confines of the school? How do you get buy-in? How much change is too much change? These are the questions that both ponder as they share their experiences.   In the podcast, Spike also referred to The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller. He learned about this last week when talking with Jethro Jones and it has already helped him as the school plans for next year.

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 eliminate from your to-do list How to empower your staff and students How to hire the right people for your school Why and how to keep calm in a crisis How to recognize and avoid “culture crushers” How to create a positive culture for your school community   Implement the strategies and practices in The Principled Principal, and fast-track your way to becoming the leader your school needs. The list of what you'll learn goes on, along with stories from practicing principals in each chapter. We know you'll enjoy listening to Jeff and Anthony chat about their book just as much as we did! Want to tweet about the book? Use the hashtag #10principles to join in the conversation with others.

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 mind, and break free financially then you will want to listen to him on the podcast and read his book!

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 tame the subscription emails you receive. Theresa mentions the following studies to give reason for why you need to be efficient with your email: UC Irvine Study Carnegie Mellon Study - A Focus on Distraction   In our discussion about engaging in conversations and being able to listen, Jessica mentioned this must-watch TED Talk: TED Talk: 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation   We are excited about future podcasts to come: We are scheduled to have Justin Ashley, author of The Balanced Teacher to join us. When we read about him in this article: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/article144336674.html , we just had to seek him out to join us. He went from Teacher of the year to Rehab. Please let us know if you have any questions you want us to ask him when he’s on the podcast.   We also have Jeff Zoul and Anthony McConnell scheduled to join us to talk about their new book, The Principled Principal. In addition, we will be having Ben Gilpin and Jethro Jones    

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 Todoist 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 about she continues to use Evernote. She takes all her notes, articles, tasks, and documents and scans them to Evernote.    Spike shared how he stays organized throughout the day by using the SAMs Time Tracker System. This system, developed by former Principal Mark Shellinger, creates a calendar for Principals to track their time and work on improving their time spent with instruction.   Please share any apps/tips/tricks you use for staying organized. We'll be tackling email next, so share those things, too via twitter, email, or commenting on the blog post.   PrincipalPLN is a part of the Education Podcast Network

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 is. Something interesting about Lindsy is her family was in Josh Turner’s music video for his song, Find Me a Baby! Check it out here: Josh Turner (about 30 seconds in). Not only does Lindsy have horses, but she also has dogs that size too (we got to see them while we're recording, so couldn't help but ask for photo evidence to share! Spike discussed his use of the SAMs Time Tracker System for Principals. He is going to their National Conference in a few weeks. For more information, the SAMs Time Tracker System, check out their website. Lindsy is currently reading:  Love Languages of Children and Wild Card: 7 Steps to an Educator’s Creative Breakthrough   She also recommended the app Pocket, a handy app that lets you save tweets, posts, articles to return to later. We hope you enjoy listening to Lindsy as much as we did. You can connect with her at: @lmstump https://principalinboots.wordpress.com/   Principal_in_boots on instagram

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 change the setting.   We also talked about what happens when staff have a countdown or stir up excitement for a snow day...what message does that send our students and families? Thank you Tom Murray for this tweet:     Spike talked about "One word 2018." Have you picked "One word?" Spike's is Gratitude, Theresa's is Aware, and finally Jessica agreed to one word… Balance We talked about pop news and how a youtube video caused quite a stir for students when a famous youtuber recorded a video from the suicide forest in Japan:  http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/03/health/japan-suicide-forest-intl/index.html   On a much more positive note we celebrated Adam Welcome, our crazy running principal friend, for completing 103 miles in 24 hours!   Jessica shared a discussion activity she used in a recent staff meeting with the purpose of building shared understanding and then brought up an issue that happens in staff meetings...do you have this issue?  

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 then got into a discussion about screen time. Jessica shared an app called (OffTime) and Theresa shared the app RealizD. Do you have a favorite app to keep track of the usage on your phone and what is taking up too much time in your day? Another recommendation on this topic included the book Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zambrodi, who is also the host of the podcast Note to Self.   We chatted about New Year's Resolutions and goals for balance. A podcast recommendation shared by Jessica included Lead to Win by Michael Hyatt.

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 disconnect. She talked about the book Culturize, by Jimmy Casas and the Twitter group that is going along with that. In addition, she has some plans for writing and maybe even organizing her office.   Spike's goals for the break are very similar. He recently purchased, Brene Brown's new book Braving the Wilderness and plans to read it. In addition, he might try to do a Float session, yoga and or a hike in the woods to decompress.   Tell us what you are doing over the break. Tweet us @drspikecook, @principalstager, @principalj and use the #principalpln.

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 Blog Post - Progressive PD Culturize - Jimmy Casas Coherence - Michael Fullan @DGriffin3 Flipgrid Fever Introduce parents to teachers over summer/new semester/trimester Conferences Foreign Language students

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

Episode 83: Support for New Administrators by Dr. Spike Cook, Jessica Johnson, Theresa Stager

Episode 82: Random Thoughts in the August 'Crunch Time' by Dr. Spike Cook, Jessica Johnson, Theresa Stager

In this episode, we are joined by Ann Smart (@annsmart17), an Ed Tech Consultant from Michigan to have her answer our question: What is BreakoutEdu? Listen to find out how you can use this for team building/collaboration in a staff meeting/PD to model taking risks and then let your teachers brainstorm how they could use this in their classrooms. There are many ways teachers are already using BreakoutEdu in their classes to make learning tons of fun! If you are excited to get going with BreakoutEdu then here are some links to help you get started: (live links at principalpln.com) http://www.breakoutedu.com/ Follow BreakoutEdu on Twitter Check the hashtag #breakoutedu Join the Facebook Group to network with others for ideas Lock App Pinterest Page of BreakoutEdu ideas

In this episode we chat with Melissa Emler, a former principal and now Director of Innovations, about using Facebook as your tool to communicate with your parents and community. While we thought we were great at using Facebook to communicate with our parents/community, Melissa blew our minds with awesome ideas and better ways to tell our story and engage our families! Listen to learn how Melissa used social media interns to help manage her school Facebook page, which also helped her high school students learn digital citizenship and great communication skills. Did you know that Faceook's algorithm has changed, so unless you're posting something every day, your community is likely not seeing your school posts showing up in their feed! Melissa teaches us how to change this and how to inform your families of this change. She talks about the use of Facebook analytics, how to make posting easier with a content calendar and then blew our minds about utilizing Facebook live. Melissa hosts the podcast, On the Vendor Floor, and has a few episodes that you can listen to about managing your school Facebook page. You follow her on Twitter: @MelissaEmler Some other great links to learn from (live links available at http://principalpln.blogspot.com/2016/07/episode-80-leveling-up-your-school.html): Melissa's podcast series on Facebook for School Leaders 5 Mistakes You Are Already Making On Your School's Facebook Page Social Media Intern Objectives and Expectations Presentation Slides from one of Melissa's Conference Sessions

Episode 78: When Was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time? with Dr. Tony Sinanis by Dr. Spike Cook, Jessica Johnson, Theresa Stager

In this episode we talk with Tia Henriksen, a current Vice Principal, but soon to be Principal in British Columbia starting on January 1st, 2015. We discuss inbox zero, making the transition to principal and what to change (not change) right away.  You can follow Tia on Twitter @TiaHenriksen or her blog at https://henriksenlearning.wordpress.com/.     Resources for new principals mentioned: The First Year Principal by Pete Hall The Question by Dan Sullivan Principal's Monthly Checklist

In this episode we are joined by Curt Rees, Elementary Principal and Recess Kickball legend in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Curt’s school is recognized by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as a model school for their implementation of Response to Intervention.  Curt is also a current doctoral student at UKSTL. You can find Curt online at @CurtRees and http://curtrees.com/ Curt is also mentioned in chapter 4 of Spike’s book, Connected Leadership.   Some of Curt's Email Wisdom: Don’t sit down and browse email. Sit down and “crank” through them when you’re ready to work on them. Don’t touch an email more than once. Decide on your action for it once you read it. If it takes more than 2 minutes to respond, he sends it to his to-do app (OmniFocus) to schedule when to work on it. Don’t let a read email sit in your inbox, schedule it and get it out of your inbox! Curt recommends not having work email on your phone and was so convincing that Jessica “ripped the bandaid” off and took work email off of her phone while listening to Curt explain why.  Can you do it?   Curt’s Top 5 Tips: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (or anything by David Allen) Have a system: this is beyond just email, to keep track of what you’re going to do and when Don’t let email dictate how you’re going to spend your time. Our jobs are busy enough!  Make yourself available in other ways. Don’t let your email inbox be your to-do list! Don’t clutter up anyone else’s email inbox. Recognize when you need to go and talk instead of sending an email.   Other resources/thoughts on email... OmniFocus http://five.sentenc.es/ IFTTT If This Then That Jessica’s blog post: The Email Monster Nudgemail

In this episode, Jessica and Spike explore the ever present "to do list."   The show starts out with the realization that the modern day Principal probably needs ADD or ADHD to survive (or it is just induced by the many interruptions to our day!). Jessica then shares her tools she uses for organizing the "to do list."   Jessica's Tools: Remember the Milk Google Calendar     Spike shared how he is very traditional in dealing with his "to do list." He uses note pads, post it notes, and Microsoft Office to create his school calendar and monitor his email.   Both Jessica and Spike felt the 20 minutes went just too fast. They agreed to do a follow-up show dedicated to email. Until tonight, Spike didn't think a show on email could work. Now he is not only convinced, but ready to tackle the subject.   Jessica also shared about her experience at the National Distinguished Principals Program and joining in the press conference for the release of the Early Learning Competencies for principals.   Enjoy!

In this episode, Theresa and Spike discuss the importance of non-evaluative walkthroughs. Theresa mentioned how her school has used TeachBoost and how it helped her work collaboratively with her teachers.   Spike talked about how is district has been using the McREL Power walkthroughs for the past 4 years. He agreed with Theresa that the most important aspects, despite the tool, is how administrators are encouraged to visit classes and interact with teachers and students.   Want more information on the key points? Check out these resources     One of Spike's Screen casts on his walkthroughs How using Kahoot is great for formative assessments Using TeachBoost in your school Importance of non evaluative walkthroughs article   

In this episode we invite Adam Welcome, a Principal of the Year from Lafayette, CA. You can find Adam on Twitter @awelcome or his blog at adamwelcome.blogspot.com.  Adam shares with us some great tips to stay connected, stay healthy, and stay out of your office to be in classrooms and share the great things your students are doing!   Some of his favorite apps shared include: Twitter Remind Touchcast Google Drive Evernote   Check out his school's hashtag: #teamkid         And a call for help from our connected administrators: We are collecting data on how administrators are connecting, and what are the drawbacks to being connected. The results from this survey will be used in an upcoming book on Isolation in Leadership. Please go help us by completing this survey. Thank you!

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter

While catching up on what we've been up to Theresa talked about the upcoming NAESP convention and we had to mention that Jessica Cabeen (Principal that was featured in this episode) will be receiving the NAESP award for Digital Leader of Early Learning. You can see all of the great things her school is doing to integrate technology in her Kindergarten center in this video. Jessica and Theresa talk about the upcoming EdCamp Leader (#edcampldr). EdCamp is a great way to learn about what you want, following the rule of 2 feet (if you don't like the session, then walk out and go to another). EdCamp is such a great way to connect with others, expand your PLN and just have conversations about what you want to learn more about for your own professional learning. Check out the EdCamp Leader site to find out where your closest #edcampldr is. Last year Theresa and Jessica finally got to meet in person for the first time. Yes, after podcasting for two years and writing a book together (along with Spike), they never met in person until this...

The PrincipalPLN is a weekly podcast hosted by Theresa Stager, Jessica Johnson and Spike Cook. We are committed to creating podcasts that are informative, innovative and fun! The concept of the podcast was developed by Theresa Stager, who at the time, was a first-year principal seeking ways to learn from others. Theresa reached out to Jessica Johnson, and they invited Spike Cook to join. The crew began podcasting in September of 2013.  Each week we interview teachers, principals, superintendents, authors and presenters to learn  how to become more effective educators! We are dedicated to being the lead learners in all that we do.   Stay tuned for more details as we organize our schedule! Follow us on Twitter