Principal Matters: The School Leader's Podcast with William D. Parker

Cultivating a positive school culture is a lot like tending a garden. When you have tilled the soil, pulled the weeds, and watered your plants, your work is not finished. You will need to take the same steps again soon in order to keep a healthy environment for growth. School culture requires the same care. […] The post PMP:144 Building and Maintaining Positive School Culture appeared first on Principal Matters.

When Garth Larson was asked to move from secondary administration to become an elementary principal, he was curious if he could be an effective leader at that level. But his work in early-education combined with his years in secondary education gave him a unique perspective of the K-12 experience. Later, when he moved into a […] The post PMP:143 Learning for ALL with Dr. Garth Larson appeared first on Principal Matters.

It’s that time of year again for hiring and job searches! Whether you are conducting an interview or being interviewed, I have found some common expectations anyone should have when walking into an education interview. If you are looking for sample questions specific to principal interviews, let me encourage you to check out the post, […] The post PMP:Encore027 Ten Tips for Interviewing for an Education Opening appeared first on Principal Matters.

Dr. Douglas Casa began his study of student athletic safety in 1985 when he suffered an exertional heat stroke while running a 10K race. As he explains, “I was fortunate to receive amazing care on-site from the athletic trainer; the EMT’s in the ambulance; and at the hospital from the emergency room physicians and nurses. […] The post PMP:142 Preventing Student Athlete Injury or Sudden Death – Interview with Dr. Douglas Casa appeared first on Principal Matters.

Recently, I had the privilege of talking to Dr. Kyle Palmer about the lessons he has learned in his years as a teacher, principal and district leader. As we talked about the successful professional learning teams his teachers have led, Kyle commented that when our hearts hurts when students fail, then we are willing to […] The post PMP141: How Culture Drives Successful Learning Communities – Interview with Dr. Kyle Palmer appeared first on Principal Matters.

Next week, I have the privilege of gathering together with educators and school leaders for a Leadership & Learning Conference in Norman, Oklahoma. Guest speakers Jeff Zoul, Jack Berckemeyer, and Christine Handy will be on hand to share best practices. I’m looking forward to circling up with other educators who enjoy being life-long learners. Gearing […] The post PMP:Encore079 Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? appeared first on Principal Matters.

I’ll never forget the semester I transitioned from assistant principal to principal. Even though I had been in school administration for nine years at the time, the move to a new position brought back the old feelings of isolation. I also felt the creep of anxiety I had experienced as a new administrator almost a […] The post PMP:140 Strategies and Solutions for New School Leaders – Interview with Jen Schwanke appeared first on Principal Matters.

Great teams understand the importance of depending on one another. With the many roles of a school leader, one of the biggest challenges is moving from independence to interdependence. In other words, how do you shift from a school culture with teachers isolated from one another to a place of shared ideas and teamwork – […] The post PMP:139 Building Stronger Collaboration – Interview with Diana Lebsack appeared first on Principal Matters.

Recently, Education Week shared a post, A Look at How Principals Really Drive School Improvement, with a summary of a study conducted by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Researchers studied over 600 elementary and secondary schools over seven years, comparing student test results with surveys from teachers and students about their experiences […] The post PMP:138 Middle Level Kindness Challenge – Interview with Daniel O’Donnell appeared first on Principal Matters.

One day I was walking through one of my high school buildings when I heard the sound of a teacher yelling for help. I sprinted toward the sound, and I found a teacher trying to guide a student into the hallway. He was a special education student I knew – a teenage boy whose development […] The post PMP:137 Reaching and Teaching Students Exposed to Trauma with Dr. Barbara Sorrels appeared first on Principal Matters.