Transformative Principal

Naphtali Hoff is an executive coach, organizational consultant, trainer, writer & speaker. How to come back from making a mistake. Think big picture. If you don’t create the right foundation, then you will spend far less time helping kids than When elephants fight, it’s the grass that gets trampled. - Rick Lavoie Where you can support the vision Everything flows from the foundation. We make decisions based on the emotional connection. Trust shields you from other problems. How to be a transformative principal? Continue to invest in yourself. You can’t give what you don’t have. email: nhoff@impactfulcoaching.com becomingthenewboss.com 212-4706139     Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey   LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Naphtali Hoff is an executive coach, organizational consultant, trainer, writer & speaker. Teacher and school leader. Support principals in a way that he had been supported. Get his book, “Becoming the New Boss” Leadership vs. Management You need to manage processes. Leadership is another dimension. What is your priority and what is your main focus? You can delegate management. Leadership is getting people moving in a direction Leadership belongs to everyone in the building. Be a good listener, especially at the beginning. Good leaders are listeners. Demonstrate a willingness to listen and accept a culture. Find ways to make low-stakes, high-success wins. Rick Lavoie, earning chips. Need to go through change strategically. Consensus vs. agreement Data should drive the process. Initiating the process is good, but don’t go down the path if you’re not going to make the actual change. Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey     LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Part time curriculum director in a rural school district and part time consultant. How to stay on top of so many content areas. Framework for quality curriculum Instructional priorities. Looking at research and finding what’s current. Best practices Nearly all PD was sit and get. Spiraling themes of professional development. Able to provide effective supports Gradual release of responsibility. I do, we do, y’all do, you do. Practice feedback reflection That’s what we’ve always done. Peer observation isn’t always received very well. Timeline of job-embedded PD. August 1/2 day with 60 teachers as a pilot on classroom questioning Cohorts of 4-6 teachers in each cohort - meet for 1/2 day with that cohort. Host teacher presents lesson. Facilitator asks questions. Review of data points that people collected after observing a lesson. Scripting - What did the teacher say, what did the kids say? Share data, review host teacher’s goals and visit a new one each month. Don’t invite administrators to take part in the process Walkthroughs at the end of the year. Leadership team looks for strengths and growths for that teacher. Need to make sure your professional development is making it to the classroom. Effective to have a coach position be able to support the group. Give principals patterns in aggregated data. Principals engage in final conversation in the year. How to be a transformative principal? Be intentional about supporting teacher’s growth. Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey     LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

I asked a bunch of awesome leaders one simple question:  What did you wish you knew when you first became a principal?  Here are their answers!  LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Don’t Assume Anything Nicholas A. Fischer is a school-management consultant and coach. He was the superintendent of the New London, Conn., school district from 2009 to 2014. Previously, he was the superintendent of schools in Fall River, Mass., and the Christina School District in Newark, Del.; the assistant superintendent in Fairfax County, Va.; and the associate commissioner for finance and accountability in the Massachusetts Department of Education. Leading a District Can Be Controversial, Embrace it Be clear to yourself about what your values are. Working in public schools is very important. Started working Florida as a principal when corporal punishment was still allowed. Telling kids what we wanted them to do instead of what we don’t want them to do. Problems in American Public education: Our expectations are too low. All of us have special abilities Every child can be expected to be out a maximum effort. What we expect in engagement is different than what kids are taught growing up. What are the ramifications of doing the right thing? What are the right questions to ask a supervisor? Are you mobile enough to find the right places to work? Know what you believe, and talk to your supervisor, let your spouse know the ups and downs you will face. That’s one way of doing it, but here’s a better way. You have to know what the stakes are going in, and be willing to live with them. Average tenure of Superintendent is 2-3 years. Average tenure of principals is a little longer. Reasons for moving vary. In some situations, leaving a situation can be a badge of honor. Why are you staying if you’re struggling? Get candid feedback about how you’re portraying yourself. Much better off being honest with those we are talking with. Don’t use the statement, “Don’t take this personally.” I’d like to hear your version of what you see yourself doing. Set up an active listening conversation. We too often end a statement with “You know what I mean?” Distinguish between what a person is doing and what you would like to see them doing. Tell me what you think I’m asking you to do. Sit down a couple weeks later and talking about what they have changed. I don’t assume anything. How to be a transformative principal? Transformative to do what? If you were to describe what you are trying to accomplish, define what is happening right now in your school. Think through how you frame things. Define what you perceive happening. Start to talk about what the difference is between what people are doing what you want them to do. If you’re going to have a safe school, everyone needs to be involved. Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey     LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In education, we often hear from teachers who think that without us, these kids and families would not know what to do! One time, I had a teacher talk to me about students with disabilities, and she basically said that students with disabilities only get help or have structure. She didn't realize that my daughter has Down syndrome and she was lumping my daughter in with this group of kids that would be lost if not for her and other educators like her. That rubbed me the wrong way. In another instance, as I've talked about Home Visits, people have said, "Oh, you want to visit their home so you can see how awful their life is and have more empathy?" NO! I want to visit their homes so they know that we care enough to leave our ivory tower and go to them and tell them that we care. Here are three tips on how to overcome it: 1. Don't judge parents. Just stop it. Seriously. 2. Have positive intentions. H/T to Melinda Miller. Assume the best. Don't make up their story for them. Learn from them, and ask them what they are doing! Don't just assume we know what is going on. 3. Recognize the good that people are doing the best they can. The numbers of parents who are actively hurting their kids is remarkably small! Are parents struggling because they don't have the skills, abilities, time, resources, etc. to be better? YES! I sure am! I am a well-educated, successful white dude and I still struggle to be as good a dad as I can be! That's just the truth. The truth is, our parents are awesome, and they are doing the best they can. Expectations and Mindsets are powerful, and if we believe parents are doing the best they can, we will see evidence of that. Let's make sure the self-fulfilling prophecy and storyline that we have is that parents are amazing and doing great things!   LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

You Get what You Expect Nicholas A. Fischer is a school-management consultant and coach. He was the superintendent of the New London, Conn., school district from 2009 to 2014. Previously, he was the superintendent of schools in Fall River, Mass., and the Christina School District in Newark, Del.; the assistant superintendent in Fairfax County, Va.; and the associate commissioner for finance and accountability in the Massachusetts Department of Education. Leading a District Can Be Controversial, Embrace it Be clear to yourself about what your values are. Working in public schools is very important. Started working Florida as a principal when corporal punishment was still allowed. Telling kids what we wanted them to do instead of what we don’t want them to do. Problems in American Public education: Our expectations are too low. All of us have special abilities Every child can be expected to be out a maximum effort. What we expect in engagement is different than what kids are taught growing up. What are the ramifications of doing the right thing? What are the right questions to ask a supervisor? Are you mobile enough to find the right places to work? Know what you believe, and talk to your supervisor, let your spouse know the ups and downs you will face. That’s one way of doing it, but here’s a better way. You have to know what the stakes are going in, and be willing to live with them. Average tenure of Superintendent is 2-3 years. Average tenure of principals is a little longer. Reasons for moving vary. In some situations, leaving a situation can be a badge of honor. Why are you staying if you’re struggling? Get candid feedback about how you’re portraying yourself. Much better off being honest with those we are talking with. Don’t use the statement, “Don’t take this personally.” I’d like to hear your version of what you see yourself doing. Set up an active listening conversation. We too often end a statement with “You know what I mean?” Distinguish between what a person is doing and what you would like to see them doing. Tell me what you think I’m asking you to do. Sit down a couple weeks later and talking about what they have changed. I don’t assume anything. How to be a transformative principal? Transformative to do what? If you were to describe what you are trying to accomplish, define what is happening right now in your school. Think through how you frame things. Define what you perceive happening. Start to talk about what the difference is between what people are doing what you want them to do. If you’re going to have a safe school, everyone needs to be involved. Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey     LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

This is my "practice" of my opening day remarks to my staff. I practiced it as though I was going to give it to the staff, so I didn't record when I was giving it to the staff. Here is the Powerpoint to go along with it if you are interested.  The actual meeting with staff took an hour, so this is an abbreviated version.  LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

We make time for what we really believe. Good collaboration takes time, but bad collaboration takes even more time. Tom Hierck can be found at his web site. superintendent department of ed, 34 years in education. Great educators all over the place. Seven Keys to a Positive Learning Environment in Your Classroom I have yet to meet a kid who is connected who disappoints. If you build them, they will learn. Learn every kid’s DNA, Dreams, Needs, Abilities Start with something simple. Every kid wants adult time and we should make that positive. Focus on the kids Kids don’t get consequenced to better behavior. Don’t try to change people, try to change behavior. Have adult conversations about what we are going to do with kids. You can’t manage every classroom from your office. Be the “Judicious Parent” What is managed within and what is managed without the classroom. The difference between rules and expectations. What it looks like, feels, like, sounds like. If we don’t model what we expect, then we should expect what we model. How to work with challenging team members? If everyone is nodding their head in agreement, you know somebody is leaving in disagreement. Sometimes, we just follow someone and deal with what they left behind. Leadership Rule #1, whether you create it or condone it, you own it. How to deal with the comfortable, but not good. Get clarity on our purpose. Knowing the skills you have, how do you see that aligning with our purpose. When it gets tough, we will turn to each other when we have clarity of purpose. We do construction work in times of calm. Ineffective practices = easy. We have to get to the hard stuff and be willing to get messy to service 100 % of our kids. How to find time. We make time for what we really believe. Good collaboration takes time, but Bad collaborations takes even more time. Chase time doesn’t work How to be a transformative principal? Ensure that relationships are healthy and positive. Being positive doesn’t guarantee a good outcome, but being negative does guarantee a negative outcome. Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey   LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Don’t try to change people, try to change behavior.   Tom Hierck can be found at his web site. superintendent department of ed, 34 years in education. Great educators all over the place. Seven Keys to a Positive Learning Environment in Your Classroom I have yet to meet a kid who is connected who disappoints. If you build them, they will learn. Learn every kid’s DNA, Dreams, Needs, Abilities Start with something simple. Every kid wants adult time and we should make that positive. Focus on the kids Kids don’t get consequenced to better behavior. Don’t try to change people, try to change behavior. Have adult conversations about what we are going to do with kids. You can’t manage every classroom from your office. Be the “Judicious Parent” What is managed within and what is managed without the classroom. The difference between rules and expectations. What it looks like, feels, like, sounds like. If we don’t model what we expect, then we should expect what we model. How to work with challenging team members? If everyone is nodding their head in agreement, you know somebody is leaving in disagreement. Sometimes, we just follow someone and deal with what they left behind. Leadership Rule #1, whether you create it or condone it, you own it. How to deal with the comfortable, but not good. Get clarity on our purpose. Knowing the skills you have, how do you see that aligning with our purpose. When it gets tough, we will turn to each other when we have clarity of purpose. We do construction work in times of calm. Ineffective practices = easy. We have to get to the hard stuff and be willing to get messy to service 100 % of our kids. How to find time. We make time for what we really believe. Good collaboration takes time, but Bad collaborations takes even more time. Chase time doesn’t work How to be a transformative principal? Ensure that relationships are healthy and positive. Being positive doesn’t guarantee a good outcome, but being negative does guarantee a negative outcome. Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey LinkedLeaders: You need support. Get just-in-time mentoring at LinkedLeaders.comWe’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.