The School Leadership Show

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang took the reins and had a fascinating conversation with Michael McDowell, author of Rigor Redefined: 10 Teaching Habits for Surface, Deep, and Transfer Learning. Listen to the podcast to hear how Michael challenges our traditional understanding of rigor. Apparently, rigor isn't just about things being "hard" or doing a lot of work quickly. Instead, it's defined as a balance between surface, deep, and transfer learning, and importantly, it's a taxonomy, not a hierarchy. This means you don't have to master knowing facts (surface) before you can relate ideas (deep) or apply learning to new situations (transfer). Jenn and Michael also discussed how this balanced approach can and should be accessible to all students, not just those in advanced classes. A key takeaway seems to be that embedding rigor consistently is about implementing small, doable routines in our daily practice. They even shared examples of routines for fostering deep (like a three-able turn and talk) and transfer learning (like "spot the difference" problems). I'm particularly interested in the advice on how leaders can observe for rigor, focusing on what students are actually doing and saying. Are you rethinking what rigor looks like in your classroom or school? Listen to this episode to learn more about redefining rigor and discover practical habits you can implement today! To learn more about Michael McDowell's work and services, visit his website: hingeeducation.org. If you have questions, feedback, or suggestions for future episodes—including great non-education books with lessons for school leaders—email us at Dr.mike.doughty@gmail.com. Please consider leaving a rating and review on Spotify or iTunes to support the show. Every bit helps! And if you found this episode helpful, share it with your colleagues. Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Contact Mike directly at Dr.mike.doughty@gmail.com. To learn more about Jenn's insightful book summaries and work, reach out at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net or visit TheMainIdea.net.  

In this episode, I'm incredibly excited to be joined by two amazing people: my fantastic co-host, Jenn David-Lang, who's also stepping in as a guest today, and the one and only Kim Marshall! We're diving into a topic that feels more important than ever right now: supporting new teachers. It's something I'm seeing firsthand as my daughter navigates her first year teaching, and believe me, it's a challenge. That's why we're shining a spotlight on the brand-new, absolutely invaluable section on the bestofmarshallmemo.org website. Jenn and Kim have curated the most powerful, practical insights from thousands of articles specifically to help new educators, and the best part? It's all available for free! We get into the nitty-gritty of what new teachers really need to succeed. We discuss everything from crucial steps like onboarding and thoughtful scheduling to helping new teachers build resilience, tackle tough classroom management situations, and the vital role of teacher teams in combating isolation. My biggest hope is that the resources we discuss will help these dedicated new teachers, who face such immense challenges, not just get through their first years, but truly thrive and make a lasting career in this essential profession. Don't miss this conversation—and seriously, go check out the free resources at bestofmarshallmemo.org! Thank you for tuning in! If you have questions, feedback, or suggestions for future episodes—including great non-education books with lessons for school leaders—email us at Dr.mike.doughty@gmail.com. Please consider leaving a rating and review on Spotify or iTunes to support the show. Every bit helps! And if you found this episode helpful, share it with your colleagues. Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Contact Mike directly at Dr.mike.doughty@gmail.com. To explore insightful summaries of top leadership books, connect with Jenn David-Lang at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net or visit TheMainIdea.net.

In this episode, Jenn and I are thrilled to welcome William Parker! A longtime educator from Oklahoma who transitioned into full-time consulting, speaking, and writing, Will is the author of "Messaging Matters" and his new book, "Whose Permission Are You Waiting For?: An Educator's Guide to Doing What You Love" Will shares how his new book, born from coaching conversations with high-achieving leaders at crossroads, is designed to help educators think through career options, get out of ruts, and reconnect with their joy. We dive into key concepts from the book, including: • Avoiding the Binary: Why you don't always have just two options and how to explore multiple pathways. • The Power of Curiosity and Inquiry: How asking questions and reaching out to experts leads to discovery. • Idea to Action: Moving from thinking to doing with intentionality and achievable goals. • Goal Setting and Reflection: The importance of looking back to learn and setting goals for the future across all parts of your life. • Whose Permission Are You Waiting For?: Identifying yourself as your biggest obstacle and realizing you often only need your own permission to take the next step towards what you want. • Figuring Out What You Want: Practical exercises like the 'Doing, Not Doing, Want to Do, Don't Want to Do' framework. Join us to explore how to give yourself permission to dream, inquire, and rediscover the joy of learning in your career. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn has a conversation with one of the educators who was featured prominently in Harry and Rosemary Wong's latest book, THE New Teacher Induction Book: How to Recruit, Train, and Retain New Teachers. Tara Link is a leader who started an induction program 18 years ago in Moberly, Missouri. She joined Jenn to talk about Rosemary and Harry Wong's latest book, and she had so many useful tips to share. Unfortunately, while we are losing a number of our new and newer teachers, we are also not doing as good of a job of supporting our new teachers as well. About 50% of all new teachers receive no induction at all. Tara shared some of the problems our new teachers face. Sometimes they don't receive anything more than a welcome and then the rest of their new teacher support is left up to chance. They also struggle with a whole new generation of classroom management issues that may have looked different in the past. Plus, newer teachers are increasingly coming through alternative certification routes so they may not have had enough training.  Tara really emphasized the importance of DIFFERENTIATING the support we provide to new teachers and being extremely CLEAR. We discussed THREE KEY COMPONENTS of an effective new teacher support system that the Wongs outlined in their book: 1. COLLABORATION New teachers need to connect with a wide range of the people they plan to work with and need to feel they are part of something bigger than themselves. This connects to purpose and our Gen-Z teachers are particularly feeling the need to connect to their purpose. 2. PD TAILORED TO THE NEEDS OF NEW TEACHERS We need to provide new teachers with PD on the basics -- classroom management, lesson design -- and not just jump into training them on the latest fad. As leaders we also need to continually model for new teachers. Be the model of what you want them to be. 3. A COMPREHENSIVE, MULTI-YEAR APPROACH We need to do much more with our new teachers than have them come a day or two before the rest of the staff. Tara developed a model program S.H.I.N.E. (Supporting, Helping, and Inspiring New Educators) that lasts two full years. She shares some successful elements of her program but encourages you to ask your experienced teachers what was helpful in supporting them and look around at your own resources to see how you can use them to support new teachers.  Where to start? Tara recommends just choosing ONE system of support. Choose something you are already doing well and plus-one it, that is, add to what you're already doing well. RESOURCES • THE New Teacher Induction Book: How to Recruit, Train, and Retain New Teachers by Harry and Rosemary Wong (and Jenn's summary for The Main Idea is out in April) • Tara Link's latest book, Teacher Induction that Works: A Lasting Impact from Day One. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

March is Women's History Month! This episode features a conversation with LaVonna Roth, an inspirational speaker and consultant whose work has inspired women leaders everywhere. Jenn introduced LaVonna, highlighting her impactful speaking on leadership. LaVonna shared her "S.H.I.N.E." framework, initially for students but powerfully applicable to adults and leaders. SHINE represents Self, Heart, Inspire, Navigate, and Exceptional, focusing on strengths, passion, inspiration, action, and becoming your best self. We explored how this framework resonates with all leaders because of its human-centered approach. LaVonna shared her journey of growth and emphasized the importance of focusing on strengths over weaknesses and overcoming imposter syndrome by recognizing one's inherent value. She offered practical advice related to self-reflection on one's abilities and letting go of perfectionism. We also discussed creating supportive cultures where leaders uplift others, referencing the idea of a "Firefly Effect," where collective support leads to greater success. LaVonna encouraged leaders to be open, collaborative, and to recognize and nurture the strengths of those around them. You can find more about LaVonna and her work at igniteyoushine.com. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

Responding to emergencies takes two things: leadership and communication. Are you prepared? Mike and Jenn had a truly productive conversation with school preparedness expert, Chris Joffe. He talked about everything from why leaders need to start with themselves and understand how THEY respond to emergencies. He also shared that one of the essential keys is having an emergency org chart and teams to deal with the wide range of emergencies your school might have. Throughout it all, Chris emphasized that humans and relationships are key. Why? Because “emergencies require people to respond.” Unfortunately, his data shows that the vast majority of emergencies are an escalation of an event – an incident in school that leads to fights, weapons, or even worse, a school shooting. To learn more about Chris and the services Joffe Emergencies provides for school: https://www.joffeemergencyservices.com/ Chris has offered to do a free workshop for subscribers to THE MAIN IDEA on the emergency preparedness stuff you won't find in the district handbook – it will be April 7 at 4pm ET / 1pm PT – sign up here (https://forms.gle/TSStmwiAo8jkSmvn7 ) or reach out to me at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

Khalid Oluewu, principal of Webster Elementary School in Chicago, has done what many principals would love to do: He has created structures and practices at his school to ACCELERATE learning for all, and in particular for Black males.  Wow. The idea started when he was a teacher and taught middle school math and had students come to him years behind. He looped with the students and in three short years he not only got them on grade level, but when they went to high school they were able to skip Algebra and start with Geometry.  Now as a principal he put four things in place to accelerate learning - to have students learn one and a half years' worth in just a year): Have teachers focus on PRIORITY standards Have teachers provide JUST-IN-TIME supports not live in remediation Provide more individualized learning by having teachers use small groups and by partnering with organizations who could provide high-impact tutoring Using tech platforms for more individualized learning The results? In one year the overall proficiency level leaped from just 6% to 50% and for Black boys, it went from just 2% to 30%! Truly impressive. And those numbers keep climbing up, far from the single-digit proficiency levels they were before.  To learn more, check out these resources: Read Khalid's research paper: Year of Acceleration for All (Yes, that includes Black Males) Visit Webster Elementary School if you're in Chicago Reach out via email: koluewu@cps.edu  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

After 30 years in the field Elena Aguilar gathered all of her experience and learning and put together the most powerful book on coaching we've seen -- Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching. Elena sees coaching as the way -- one conversation at a time -- that we transform our schools. In this deeply insightful conversation she shares the importance of coaching more than the teacher BEHAVIORS we are all used to coaching. She shared an example of how, when she coached a teacher to change her behavior -- and change her classroom from rows and direct instruction to groups -- once Elena left, she reverted back to the rows. Elena asked, 'Why?" and the teacher was honest in saying she just didn't believe that groups were the best way for students to learn.  So Elena has come to the conclusion that for coaching to be truly transformative, we need to coach teachers' BELIEFS, BEHAVIORS, and ways of BEING, or the "Three Bs" as she calls it. This approach to coaching is so successful because she acknowledges that teachers are human, and we need to address the emotions that are involved in the job.  Listen to this great conversation, and you'll walk away with several ideas you can use immediately. Elena shares how you can transform that staff meeting you're planning by cutting out some of the content and carving out 6 minutes for people to connect before diving in. She also shared a few tools that she uses in her coaching -- the Spheres of Influence and Gaps Framework -- and once you hear her explain them, you can use them in your conversations and coaching with staff as well. Overall, Elena's ideas from her book Arise all aim at helping you to COMMUNICATE better with staff and creating the CONDITIONS so your staff can thrive. Learn more about Elena and her work: https://www.brightmorningteam.com/  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Mike returns to the podcast! Jenn and Mike had a great conversation with Coach Carlos about his book Power Engage: Seven Power Moves for Building Strong Relationships to Increase Engagement with Students. No, he's not a coach of a sports team, but a former school leader who has successfully turned around three failing schools by improving STUDENT ENGAGEMENT.  How? By focusing on relationships. Teacher-student relationships and parent-school relationships are particularly key. Listen as we talk about the 3 indicators every school should examine to detect problems with culture: Three years of recruitment data Three years of retention data (both student and teacher) Response to quality instruction  Then make sure your teachers are having the right type of relationships with students, that is, performance-based relationships. These are relationships where teachers have control and engagement is high. Not punitive relationships, and not permissive relationships.  Coach Carlos also talks about the importance of our teachers having the right MINDSET. Do your teachers have a COACH-DRIVEN mindset? We know coaching is important as a pedagogical tool, but did you know it's important in building relationships, too? To learn more about his book go to: https://www.solutiontree.com/power-engage.html  To learn more about Coach Carlos: https://www.solutiontree.com/carlos-johnson.html   As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

Megan Tshannen-Moran and Jenn had a delightful conversation about the power of trust in schools. It is one of three factors that is so powerful that it oustrips SES in predicting student achievement. Far from being a "soft skill," building trust has become a must-have skill for educational leaders. In this conversation Megan not only defines trust for us, but she also gives us lots of concrete strategies and tidbits to build and keep trust alive in schools. We discussed what happens with betrayals of trust and Megan outlines in detail how leaders can bring their school through a step-by-step Appreciative Inquiry process to help when a school is experiencing a low-trust moment. You can learn more about Megan Tshannen-Moran and her work here: https://schooltransformation.com/ She also kindly offered to answer your emails here: mxtsch@wm.edu As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

What a great conversation about the new book, The Artificial Intelligence Playbook: Time-Saving Tools for Teachers that Make Learning More Engaging! Jenn got to talk to all three of the authors: Meghan Hargrave, Douglas Fisher, and Nancy Frey and learned so much. We discussed everything from what AI is and isn't, to the reasons leaders should address teachers' emotions around AI, to whether AI is going to take over our jobs! (Spoiler alert, the authors quoted Ethan Mollick who says, "AI won't take your job, but someone who uses AI will!" ... so listen to this podcast to be the person who knows how to use AI!) There are, however, things to be careful of — like students using AI for plagiarism — so we discussed some great ideas to address this.  We also got into some concrete examples of the ways AI can help teachers with the important work they're doing: managing content fostering student engagement meeting students' instructional needs assessing student learning providing effective feedback, and  lifelong learning for educators The authors share examples of prompts you can feed into AI and some of the tips they have for making sure you get the best possible answers from AI. Since our listeners are mostly ed leaders, they also shared that on Corwin's website there's a school leader's guide to the book. There's also a study guide for teachers and a boot camp with self-paced modules on the website. The authors are all over social media. You can't miss them. If you've been shy about diving into AI, this conversation and this book are two great places to start! As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

You probably know Charles Duhigg from his book, The Power of Habit. Or maybe Smarter Faster Better. Now he has a newer book out that is another great resource for school leaders — Supercommunnicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection. Charles shares with Jenn how people mess up communication and how to improve it. He says that most miscommunication happens when we are having different conversations, and when we fail to connect. There are basically three conversation types: decision-making, emotional, and social relationships. You don't want to miss this conversation because you'll see how Jenn uses Charles's own techniques to connect with him emotionally in just ONE minute. And later in the podcast, Charles and Jenn role play a teacher and principal and how to diagnose and address a typical conflict. There are so many nuggets of wisdom for educational leaders in this podcast. One small thing you can do tomorrow? Ask deeper questions with staff. Instead of asking WHAT questions, like "What is happening today?" Ask, "How are you feeling about how things went today?" You can find more information at CharlesDuhigg.com or sign up for his Substack. He suggests supporting a local bookstore by picking up this book there. Also, Penguin Random House has a free guide for teachers and students on their website.  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

Jenn had an outstanding conversation with Robert Feirsen, one of the two authors of From Conflict to Collaboration, along with author Seth Weitzman. They chatted about the tough stuff – like how prevalent conflict is in schools and a number of the sources of that conflict. But then Robert shared the positive way he thinks about conflict and how we, too, can use conflict as an opportunity for learning and growth. Robert shared the idea that design thinking – an approach that comes from the discipline of engineering – can be used to address conflict effectively. First you put together a team of people with diverse roles and perspectives, and then they go through the stages of design thinking – empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test – in order to collaboratively come up with and test possible solutions to address a major conflict your school community is facing. To learn more about the authors you can go to TeacherEdge.net.   As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

Jenn made me do this episode. I really didn't wat to, but I'm glad we did. As we approach the upcoming presidential election, you may remember the fallout from the last two elections. Some school communities experienced heightened divisions, increased bullying, more tension in classrooms, and a general sense of uncertainty.  Fortunately, there are some steps school and district leaders can take to proactively anticipate some of these challenges. We need to plan ways to communicate clearly, set expectations, and create a calm and inclusive school environment while also thinking through ways to address challenges that may arise (heightened emotions, legal issues, inappropriate behavior.)  All of this while remembering that our purpose in schools is to educate! We need to remember this election brings plenty of opportunity (and responsibility!) to educate our students about civic issues, media literacy, and respectfully engaging in challenging and often contentious conversations. Take a look at this 2-page resource - 5 Ways School Leaders Can Prepare for a Contentious Election and listen to our conversation with the very thoughtful Debbie McFalone Dr. Debbie McFalone has a long and distinguished career in the field of education – after serving as a Teacher, Principal and Supe she now is a consultant and coach who works with both school-based and district-based individuals and teams across the state of Michigan. Her work focuses primarily on the areas of courage and integrity in leadership. Plus she has her 3rd book coming out in early 2025 Meeting The Moment: A Call For Courage. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

Kim Marshall needs no introduction. He is the most recognized name in the field of educational leadership because he is the person behind the weekly Marshall Memo -- a subscription service that provides curated summaries of the most important articles in education each week.  In this podcast Kim provides an overview of the three essential areas school leaders need to keep an eye on to be successful supervisors and coaches: • Supervising and coaching TEACHING • Supervising and coaching LEARNING • Supervising and coaching PLANNING Most know him because he is the guru of mini-observations. In our conversation he shares what you need to be sure to do to ensure your observations and feedback are effective. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn and I interview Dave Blanchard, a seasoned superintendent from a school district in Upstate New York. Three years ago Dave's district implemented a distraction-free environment, which included no cell phones during the school day. We talk about this leadership challenge in the context of Jonathan Haidt's 2024 book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.  If you would like a summary of the book along with discussion questions to use with families, email Jenn@TheMainIdea.net. If you would like to hear the research and ideas straight from the author, join a free webinar with Jonathan Haidt about The Anxious Generation on 9/24 at 3:00 PM EDT. RSVP here: https://home.edweb.net/webinar/mentalhealth20240924/. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

We were fortunate to get to talk to the renowned Todd Whitaker in today's podcast. He is one of the most influential thought leaders in educational leadership and has written 65 books on staff motivation, teacher leadership, and principal effectiveness! Today Whitaker talks about the latest edition of his classic book, What Great Principals Do Differently: Twenty Things That Matter Most. Todd shares 8 of the 20 things he has found (through research AND personal experience as a principal) the BEST principals do that the average ones don't. He was quite a hoot to talk to and you'll love his anecdotes. But most of all he helps school leaders with what may be the most important task, (and he says all of his books are about this important task) HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO DO WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO. To learn more about him, go to http://toddwhitaker.com/ or follow him on Twitter at @ToddWhitaker. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Teachers spend a lot of time making sure students know what they're supposed to do, and many students struggle to understand expectations and translate them into action. The results are less time for teaching and less capacity for learning.  Schools need to teach executive functions to all students in the context of the learning they are already doing to boost learning and engagement today and equip them for the future. In his book, Executive Functions for Every Classroom, author Mitch Weathers offers a beginning routine and a concluding routine any teacher can adopt to teach executive functions. You can learn more about Mitch and his work at organizedbinder.com or send him an email at  Mitch@organizedbinder.com.  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Students today are suffering from an epidemic of disconnection. School leaders I work with see it in students' disengagement from learning and in their mental health. While there are many factors at play here, there's no doubt that belonging is something that kids (and grown-ups too) desperately need.  In this episode, Jenn and I interview Dominique Smith, who along with his co-authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Vincent Pompei, and Rachael Stewart, wrote Belonging in School Creating a Place Where Kids Want to Learn and Teachers Want to Stay. Belonging in School is an actionable and illustrated playbook that will have you excited to take immediate steps and try out some new strategies today for making your school a place where everyone feels that they belong. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn had the privilege of speaking to three rising juniors in college, all of whom want to become teachers. While we've spent so much time fearing the loss of teachers from our field, it was so inspiring to remember that some energetic young people are going to bring so much to our schools, too. Exciting! The passion of these three young women — Annie Morrison, Audrey Garfinkel, and Isabella Argote — was palpable! First of all, they KNOW kids — from teaching swimming and ballet to being camp counselors to starting an innovative virtual book club for young people during Covid — and will bring these rich experiences to our schools. Whether you want ideas for how to work with our youngest teachers or you just want to be inspired, you should listen to this episode! You may end up wanting their resumes in a couple years... As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

According to Beverly Cleary (yes, that Beverly Cleary), “Children should learn that reading is pleasure, not just something that teachers make you do in school.” Jenn and I couldn't agree more, and that's why in this episode we talk about the book The Joy of Reading by Donalyn Miller and Teri S. Lesesne (Heinemann, 2022). Here's more of what we know: Decades of over-testing and standardized learning has crowded out students' joy in reading. When it comes to reading, students report they are bored and uninterested. Research tells us that this undermines reading achievement. Fortunately, educators at every level can cultivate reading joy by supporting students' reading independence and reading community. And it can be done without abandoning evidence-based instruction. Enjoy the second part of this lively conversation about this critically important topic. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

“If you're not reading by the end of third grade, there's a 70% chance you won't become a proficient reader.” That's what author Karen Gazith told us as we talked with her about her most recent book, The Power of Effective Reading Instruction: How Neuroscience Informs Instruction Across All Grades and Disciplines. Here's more of what we know: Neuroscience and decades of research have provided a clear understanding of how children learn to read and how teachers can help them when they struggle with reading. Teachers in every grade level and content area need to provide their students with evidence-based instruction, strategies, and interventions that will support their reading development and empower them to succeed in school and life. Enjoy this lively conversation about a controversial but important topic. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

In this fifth special episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I talk about resources to help school leaders with building better teams. To support this work, Jenn has gathered her summaries of three must-read books: Learning by Doing by Richard DuFour et al. - This book shows how to effectively implement PLCs so they will raise student achievement and improve the professional lives of teachers. The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle - Great cultures can be built. This book shares the 3 key skills that organizations with extraordinary cultures have mastered — building safety, sharing vulnerability, and establishing purpose. The Art of Coaching Teams by Elena Aguilar - This book provides the tools, tips, protocols, and theory needed to coach teacher teams to become highly effective. These three books are a great place to start if you are looking to work on your knowledge and skills related to improving the teams that you work with. If you head to The Main Idea website, you can see this and other lists of Jenn's Must-Read Books for School Leaders. Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, we're shining a light on a pressing issue in the educational landscape: teacher burnout and attrition. With schools across the nation feeling the impact, we turn to expert Chase Mielke, author of Illuminate the Way: The School Leader's Guide to Addressing and Preventing Teacher Burnout (ASCD, 2023), for insights and solutions. If you're a school leader, educator, or anyone passionate about creating a positive and sustainable teaching environment, this episode is a must-listen. To learn more about Chase and his work, you can find him here: https://www.facebook.com/chasemielkespeaker, https://www.instagram.com/chasemielke/. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

DEI feels like it's becoming the (a) third rail in K-12 education. The quote in the title is from Verna Myers, VP of inclusion strategy at Netflix, and is included in Ruchika Tulshyan's book Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work. In this episode, Jenn and I have a real and practical conversation with Ruchika about what you can do personally and as an organization to help everyone feel like they belong. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Many of us as educators have assumed that the kids with strong grades and strong test scores were set up for success. Isn't that what we were supposed to work toward in schools? Dr. Borba has interviewed scores of students and has found that these 2 areas – grades and test scores  –  are not the markers of success today in the 21st century. Instead, as educators, leaders, and parents we should be focusing on 7 character strengths: self-confidence, empathy, self-control, integrity, curiosity, perseverance, and optimism. Dr. Borba is an educational psychologist, author, and parenting expert. She has written over 20 books and has worked with everyone from Harvard to Sesame Street – mostly about the power of character skills and character education. Dr. Borba's work has profound implications for us in the field of education right now.  Listen to Dr. Borba share how these seven are what truly contribute to our students' well-being and how we can all foster these important skills. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Everyone has hidden potential for growth and achievement, but standard approaches to studying, practicing, coaching, and organizing education often leave this potential untapped. The practices of high-achieving individuals (and a high-achieving school system) reveal the surprising skills, scaffolds,and systems that unlock potential. Even better, anyone can learn them, and anyone can teach them, too. In this episode we have a great conversation about Adam Grant's book Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things and how to apply his insights to our own lives as busy educators. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas  to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this conversation between Dr. Andrea Terrero Gabbadon and Jenn, we talked about the reasons educators of color are leaving: working conditions and leadership behaviors. The good news is that school and district leaders can actually do something about this, and Dr. Gabbadon walks you through how. She shares 6 principles, backed by research, that will help you create the types of inclusive schools where educators of color will want to work and will thrive. Educators of color benefit all students in our schools and it's time to look at the changes we can make in the culture, school practices, and frankly our own leadership behaviors that can make a real difference now in supporting and retaining teachers of color. To learn more about Dr. Andrea Gabbadon Terrero and her work, take a look here: https://www.ilmconsultinggroup.com/. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas  to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, I talk with Becky Gerdes and Ryan Siegle about their book Six Steps Toward Teacher Retention and a Long-Lasting Legacy. We focus mainly on their Six Steps to Maximize Your Leadership Impact and Improve Teacher Retention: Step One: Lead Authentically Step Two: Build Teacher Self-Efficacy Step Three: Foster Collective Efficacy Among Your Staff Step Four: Cultivate a Culture of Trust Step Five: Listen to Your Staff with Empathy Step Six: Unite Around a Shared Vision This was a great conversation with a ton of practical steps that school leaders can use to help build an environment where teachers want to stay, which we all know translates into better experiences for students. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn and I talk about Sharone Bar-David's book Trust Your Canary: Every Leader's Guide to Taming Workplace Incivility. Bar-David provides some simple strategies for helping leaders see incivility (even when it's hard to recognize) plus a whole toolkit of easy-to-implement ways to address it (so you can stop doubting yourself when it's time to intervene). These skills are critically important for school leaders because two of the drivers of incivility are organizational change and high stress levels – both of which are rampant in schools right now.  As we mentioned during the show, Jenn created a this 8 Ways Leaders Fail to Address Incivility at Work document based on the concepts in the book. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Sometimes in education it helps to hear from our end users. In this episode I interview fellow Coke Scholar Raleigh Dewan (‘19). Raleigh is a 23-year-old entrepreneur and business owner (https://steadispoon.com/ and https://sistershaq.com/) from Austin, Texas. Raleigh and I talk about his experiences in K-12 and higher ed. and the advice that he has for aspiring and practicing school leaders. Raleigh has offered a discount at Sister Shaq tea for listeners of the show. Use promo code schoolleadership for 20% off your first order.  Raleigh also helps me brainstorm ideas for the name of a newsletter that I am planning on starting. It's pretty funny listening to him hammer on my suggestions, but we may have gotten there by the end of the conversation. If you have suggestions on a name for the newsletter and/or content ideas, please email me: mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Don't forget to rate the podcast in iTunes and leave a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

More than anything, organizations should strive for organizational health. In this episode, Jenn and I talk about Patrick Lencioni's 2012 book The Advantage Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business. This book clearly and powerfully explains what your organization needs to do to become healthy: 1) Build a cohesive leadership team, 2) Create clarity, 3) Overcommunicate clarity, and 4) Reinforce clarity. Check out this great two minute video of Lencioni describing the 5 dysfunctions of a team: https://www.tablegroup.com/topics-and-resources/teamwork-5-dysfunctions/ And here is the self assessment to see which of the 5 behaviors your team is strong in and needs to improve: https://alonso-cadenas.github.io/team-dysfunctions-assessment/assessment   As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In the field of education, we have no choice, AI is here to stay. So, listen to this whimsical conversation with Technology Coach, Jason Strzalkowski, whose enthusiasm for all-things-AI-in-schools is infectious! Yes, we share ideas to spice up teaching to make learning more engaging, accessible, and equitable. But we know our listeners are busy educational leaders so you will be excited to hear ways to save principals and district leaders TIME with some AI efficiency hacks specifically for our field. And Jason was kind enough to compile a list of AI Tools for Educators: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1WbVM1pubX5FP4m9zcGyvQ07guJz7lFHbl-ilvdTPw/edit  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn and I interview Peter Liljedahl, the author of Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics: 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning. As former math teachers, Jenn and I had a great time talking with Peter about concrete and actionable ways teachers can improve math instruction. The practices are simple, high impact, and are easy and cheap to implement. Given what we know now, not implementing these 14 practices borders on educational malpractice. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

The research is clear: to provide equitable learning opportunities for all, schools must actively include students with disabilities alongside their peers in general education settings.School leaders don't need a degree in special education to lead their school toward more equitable and inclusive education for all, but they do need to watch, listen, ask questions, and learn all they can about the law and research-backed practices. In this episode, Jenn and I interview Belinda Karge, the author of Watch, Listen, Ask, Learn How School Leaders Can Create an Inclusive Environment for Students with Disabilities. Belinda shares practical strategies for school leaders to support all teachers in helping to create an inclusive environment for all students, and for students with disabilities in particular. If you're up for a classic episode about special education. Check out this one from September 2015 where I interviewed two special education attorneys - one who represents students and families, the other represents school districts: Stay Out of Trouble with Special Education Law. It's a lively conversation. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Are you the type of leader who gets up at 4:00 AM to exercise before work? Then this episode is for you. Are you the type of leader who NEVER gets up at 4:00 AM to exercise before work? Then this episode is for you, too. Kelly and Juliet Starrett are highly regarded exercise and health gurus (they mention working with Barack Obama in the podcast!) and they believe that MOVEMENT throughout the day has a much more profound impact on the body (and mind!) than just doing an hour at the gym each day. Plus, they say you can weave it into your already insanely busy day.   Why a podcast about physical health for the busy educational leader? We want you to be healthier, feel better, and have fewer aches and pains so you can stay in school leadership longer. Your school and your district are counting on you, and these practical ideas can help.  Listen as Kelly and Juliet share some super practical ideas for your own health and longevity, and a few great ideas for your school, too (listen to learn about the StandUpKids nonprofit and the idea of encouraging a WALKING BUS at your school!) As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  Additionally, if you have other NON-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  

In this episode, Jenn interviews Mike about what new principals need to think about as they begin the new school year. Here is Mike's top ten list: Listen and Learn Communicate Effectively Lead by Example Stay Visible Manage Your Time Empower Your Teams Build Relationships Set Clear Goals Embrace Conflict Prioritize Self-Care If you would like us to go deeper on any of these individual topics, let us know. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn has a lively conversation with Ann Mausbach and Kimberly Morrison about their book Differentiated Supervision: Growing Teachers and Getting Results and how much of an impact you can have as a school leader by EXPANDING your supervisory practices beyond the typical individual observation and feedback we all do.   Instead, they suggest we include other practices such as observing teacher teams and giving feedback to the whole school. And observing for themes throughout the school and giving whole-school feedback. There's a lot to their DIFFERENTIATED SUPERVISION model so listen in to learn more.    This process is so effective that Kim Morrison (a current principal) has seen a 40% improvement in student achievement in 4 years using this differentiated supervision model.   To find the authors, you can email them at anntmausbach@gmail.com (Ann) and kkazmierczak@cbcsd.org (Kim) or on X (formerly Twitter) @amausbach and @kkimor or they can be found on Corwin's website https://us.corwin.com/books/diff-supervision-278182?id=616349

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea, and I interview Berit Gordon about her book The Joyful Teacher: Strategies for Becoming the Teacher Every Student Deserves. This was a fantastic conversation about teaching and learning and what leaders can do to support teachers. Learn more about Berit and her work at her website. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this fourth special episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea, and I talk about resources to help school leaders with teacher supervision and evaluation. To support this work, Jenn has gathered her summaries three must-read books: Now We're Talking! 21 Days to High-Performance Instructional Leadership by Justin Baeder Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation: How to Work Smart, Build Collaboration, and Close the Achievement Gap by Kim Marshall Leverage Leadership 2.0: A Practical Guide to Building Exceptional Schools by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo These three books are a great place to start if you are looking to work on your knowledge and skills related to teacher supervision and evaluation. If you head to The Main Idea website, you can see this and other lists of Jenn's Must-Read Books for School Leaders. Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea, interviews Adam Drummond about his book The Instructional Change Agent: Instructional Change Agent: 48 Ways to Be the Leader Your School Needs. Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and you can subscribe to The Main Idea at this link: https://www.themainidea.net/subscribe/ As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this third special episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I talk about resources to help school leaders be more organized, productive, and effective. To support this work, Jenn has gathered her summaries four must-read books: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear Getting Things Done, by David Allen The Together Leader: Get Organized for Your Success - and Sanity!, by Maia Heyck-Merlin These four books are a great place to start if you are looking to work on improving your organization and productivity. Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea, and I interview Jim Kright about his book Better Conversations: Coaching Ourselves and Each Other to Be More Credible, Caring, and Connected. While our conversation was mainly about conversations, we did head off on some great tangents. Learn more about the Jim and his work at his website. Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I interview Jane A. G. Kise and Ann Holm about their book Educator Bandwidth: How to Reclaim Your Energy, Passion, and Time. This was a compelling conversation with implications for professionals across our systems. To learn more about the authors and their work, please visit their page at ASCD.org.  Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I interview Michael Hass and Amy Ardell about their book Supporting Student Mental Health: Essentials for Teachers. Specifically, we talked about the authors' 4R framework of helpful skills to develop: relate, recognize, respond, and refer. Michael mentioned the suicide prevention resources at The Lighthouse Project aat Columbia University. Here is the link to the website: https://cssrs.columbia.edu/.  Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net.  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I interview Bill Sommers about his book Responding to Resistance: Thirty Strategies to Manage Conflict in Your School (An educational leadership guide to conflict management in the school community). Bill is a seasoned leader with a ton of experience and the sense of humor to match. This conversation could easily have lasted hours. His no-nonsense, straightforward approach to conflict is something we can all learn from. To learn more about Bill and his work visit his website: http://learningomnivores.com/.  Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net.  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I discuss Dan Pink's book The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. Dan Pink is one of my favorite authors, and I never miss an opportunity to talk about his work. This was a fantastic conversation on a topic that is so important to  everyone's mental health and well-being.  Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net.  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I interview Joe Feldman, the author of Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms. This was an amazing conversation on a topic that is so central to our work as educators. It's amazing that we are still so tied to a system that was designed for the Industrial Revolution. You can learn more about Joe and his great work at the website for the Crescendo Education Group, where Joe is the CEO.  Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net.  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I interview Elena Aguilar about her new book with co-author Lori Cohen The PD Book: 7 Habits That Transform Professional Development. To learn more about Elena and her great work visit her website: https://brightmorningteam.com/.  Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net.  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea flies solo to interview John Heller and Tom Hierck the authors of Trauma-Sensitive Leadership: Creating a Safe and Predictable School Environment. It was a great conversation, and I'm sad to have missed it live, but Jenn did a great job.  Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net.  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I have a conversation about The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. While not written explicitly for an education audience, the author lays  out a fantastic framework for orchestrating any type of gathering. And we have lots of gatherings in education - everything from open houses to faculty meetings.  Jenn has done a brief (two-page) Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net.  As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.