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

This past weekend, NASA broadcasted the final transmission of the spacecraft, Cassini, as it plunged into the atmosphere of the planet Saturn that it had orbited and monitored for the past 13 years. Cassini’s mission actually began in 1997. It took six years for it to reach Saturn, an its exploratory orbiting mission began. The […] The post PMP:082 How Can You Accomplish a Mission? appeared first on Principal Matters.

This past week I hosted a webinar for principals as a part of a book study over Principal Matters: The Motivation, Action, Courage and Teamwork Needed for School Leaders In 2012, after being named Oklahoma’s Assistant Principal of the Year, I was asked to share ideas with new or aspiring leaders in graduate classes, workshops […] The post PMP:081 Leadership, Courage and Caution Lights for Principals appeared first on Principal Matters.

The other night I was invited to visit a university classroom with sixteen educators who are working on graduate degrees in educational leadership I listened to each of them present vision and mission statements related to their work with students. It was obvious they had a strong understanding of the road ahead–they understood the “why” […] The post PMP:080 A Reality Check for New or Aspiring Principals—10 Takeaways for the Road Ahead appeared first on Principal Matters.

Last week I heard a presentation by Will Richardson, educator and author, who shared stories about new ways students are interacting with learning today. Here are three examples he shared: He talked about Nate Butkus, a 7-year-old boy who has started his own science podcast. He shared the story of a young man in India, […] The post PMP:079 Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? appeared first on Principal Matters.

The other day, a principal friend emailed me this question: >>Will, I’d like your thoughts on something I grapple with: that is the importance I place on staff approval of what I do or present…the need to be liked I know is crazy and irrational, but how do you deal with the knock back, hearing […] The post PMP:078 How To Respond to Resistance appeared first on Principal Matters.

I’ve noticed a group of principals trending on Twitter lately using the hashtag #dadsasprincipals. And my friend Daniel Bauer recently interviewed a group of these dedicated dads at last month’s National Principal Conference. You can hear their talk here. These dads have picked up on the #momsasprincipals movement they saw happening among their female colleagues, […] The post PMP:077 Four Tips for #DadsAsPrincipals appeared first on Principal Matters.

Last month, Justin Baeder, from Principal Center Radio, invited me as a guest on his show to talk to me about my new book Messaging Matters: How to Inspire Teachers, Motivate Students, and Reach Communities.He was gracious enough to allow me to re-post the interview here. Here are some takeaways from our conversation: Why is […] The post PMP:076 Messaging Matters–How to Inspire Teachers, Motivate Students and Reach Communities appeared first on Principal Matters.

Reflection is such an important part of growth — whether that involves your own growth or the growth of your school or team.Jon Harper from BAM Radio’s podcast “My Bad” is a school leader who explores how our mistakes can teach us important lessons. In this interview, we explore how reflecting on your own mistakes […] The post PMP:075 Learning from Mistakes with Jon Harper appeared first on Principal Matters.

Jethro Jones is principal of Tanana Middle School in Fairbanks, Alaska. He is also the host of Transformative Principal Podcast. As NASSP’s Principal 2017 National Digital Principal of the Year, he was honored this month at the National Principal Conference in Philadelphia. I’ve known Jethro for years from connecting online and have had the privilege […] The post PMP:074 Growing Your Digital Leadership with Jethro Jones appeared first on Principal Matters.

Recently I was speaking to school leaders at Okaloosa County Schools’ Summer Leadership Academy in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida I decided to combine my travels there with an opportunity for my family to stay at the beach. My wife and I loaded up all four kids in a Dodge Caravan, and we hit the road. […] The post PMP:073 Three Takeaways for Your Leadership Journey appeared first on Principal Matters.