Sponsor: Sanebox, erase email insanity!  Sharyle Karren has been a principal for the last 22 years! She has a lot of experience and this interview is a really great opportunity to learn from a great principal about how much she has helped students over the years. In this interview, we talk about the following: Her history as a principal and some of the trials she went through. The common theme through her experiences is that she had a positive attitude and knew that the people she worked with were amazing individuals. How she opened a new school, her current school. Establishing positive community relationships. How she went to each local organization and “dug her roots into the community”. How she established walking field trips to further establish a positive community relationship. How she manages intern principals. She has a great balance of allowing interns to make decisions, but making sure that they know that they need to talk to her. She gives them an opportunity to learn, but allows them the authority to make decisions What things she keeps for herself and refuses to delegate to her AP or interns. Challenges associated with training interns and Assistants. How she establishes relationships with schools that are close by.   We’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.

Sponsor: Sanebox Avoid email insanity. Start saving time by using Sanebox which acts as a personal secretary, keeping all the unimportant emails from interrupting my day. I get an email digest of all the emails that I missed during the day at a time when I choose. I love Sanebox and I think you will, too! I’m really excited about this interview with Eric Sheninger@NMHS_Principal. Eric goes over the 7 pillars of Digital Leadership in his new book: Communication Public Relations Branding Student Engagement/Learning Professional Growth/Development Reenvisioning Learning Spaces and Environments Opportunity Eric talks about how his school’s journey and how that can be a template for changing from a mandate-driven school to one of empowerment. Our conversation includes the following: How social media has changed and pushed his view of the world. What we don’t know we fear. Why it is important to give students a voice. How to get students to be the focus on the essential skill sets. How to make learning for students applicable to their (and our) real lives. How to change midstream from one way to do things to how he does them now. We need to be the lead learners. How to get all teachers on board with a vision (hint: it is all about mindset). How he gives his teachers autonomy in what they are doing in their classrooms. How making learning fun contributes to higher scores, graduation rates, and college graduation rates. What you can do to be a transformative principal today. Get on Social Media and don’t reinvent the wheel. What motivates and inspires him. His students. He has pictures on his walls in his office that help him focus on what is most important. Eric talks about how he pulled 5 teachers aside in 2009 to instill his vision in their minds. He joined Twitter in March 2009, and so he really did have a change of heart. He shows that when he learns something new, he knows that it is important to implement it and change his life. Have a Good Life. Eric's Book Summary: It’s time for the next generation of leadership. Digital leadership is a strategic mindset and set of behaviors that leverages resources to create a meaningful, transparent, and engaging school culture. It takes into account recent changes such as ubiquitous connectivity, open-source technology, mobile devices, and personalization to dramatically shift how schools have been run and structured for over a century.  Leading in education becomes exponentially powerful when using technology to your advantage.

 Eric Sheninger—“Principal Twitter”—shares his Pillars of Digital Leadership to help readers: • Transform school culture by initiating sustainable change• Use free social media tools to improve communication, enhance public relations, and create a positive brand presence • Integrate digital tools into the classroom to increase student engagement and achievement • Facilitate professional learning and access new opportunities and resources The time is now, whether you are a building level or teacher leader, to boldly move schools forward in the digital age. We’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 this episode I have the great opportunity to interview Melinda Miller (@mmiller7571). I have followed her for a long time on Twitter, and I loved the podcast she did with @ScottElias called Practical Principals. That great podcast partly inspired me to start this podcast. I still haven't found a podcast that talks about the real issues that are facing to Our conversation covers these topics: Positive intentions - how she approaches teachers who need to be corrected. Turnover and how she gets great people to come to her school. Her quick-start personality and how she shares results of her evaluations with the teachers. Adaptive schools trainings were conducted at her school, and here is more information about it. How she uses Twitter for her own learning and how she teaches others, she is a Twitter grandmother according toSpike Cook. How she uses Pinterest to help her teachers. Using a Voxer group of principals to talk a little more privately about topics that are Jethro's Twitter failure when he was a teacher. What is one thing a principal can do to be a transformative principal like you are? What is something in her office that is meaningful to you? She has a lot of great information on her blog. If you read blogs by principals and you aren't reading hers, you are missing out. Have a Good Life. We’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 this episode I have the great opportunity to interview Melinda Miller (@mmiller7571). I have followed her for a long time on Twitter, and I loved the podcast she did with @ScottElias called Practical Principals. That great podcast partly inspired me to start this podcast. I still haven't found a podcast that talks about the real issues that are facing to Our conversation covers these topics: How she gets teachers on board with technology. How she allows teachers to filter out what she says and when. She gives her thoughts on requirements for teacher's blogs, which are a requirement for her. How Melinda deals with the roadblocks of implementing new things (including technology). How she knows how hard to push her teachers, and what to focus on when she is pushing her teachers. How she allows her faculty to talk to her about when she is pushing too hard. How she implemented 1:1 Chromebooks in 4th grade when a bunch of other stuff was coming down the pike. How she prepares for the beginning of a new school year. (And here is the ASCD article on her flipped faculty meeting.) Keep your flipped faculty meetings short, to the point, and give teachers plenty of time to look at the information. Most important tip for starting flipped facutly meetings. How important it is to have video or audio to help people not misunderstand what they are doing wrong. We’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 this second part of the interview, I am priveleged to talk with Doug Hallenbeck. Doug was recently named the Assistant Principal of the year from the Utah Association of Secondary School Principals. Doug has worked under four really great principals and he shares some great insight about how to be an amazing assistant principal. I wanted to interview Doug because he has a great story. He is a thoughtful, caring, and transformative leader. He has been a guiding force in our district since its inception. We are very fortunate to work with him. In this second part of the interview, Doug discusses: How to attract and retain great talent. A nice little side discussion about general trends in teaching hiring. His advice for an assistant principal to be a transformative assistant principal like him. What special thing he has in his office. His experience discussing education with Chinese educational leaders. How he makes parents feel good when their kids get in trouble. What he suggests APs should do to be transformative Assistant Principals. Here is more information about the Tier 2 retirement in Utah You'll really enjoy this interview with Doug. He is amazing. Let's make sure to give him a few hundred more followers on Twitter. He is @Hallen100. We’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 this episode, I am priveleged to interview Doug Hallenbeck. Doug was recently named the Assistant Principal of the year from the Utah Association of Secondary School Principals. Doug has worked under four really great principals and he shares some great insight about how to be an amazing assistant principal. I wanted to interview Doug because he has a great story. He is a thoughtful, caring, and transformative leader. He has been a guiding force in our district since its inception. We are very fortunate to work with him. In this first part of the interview, Doug discusses: How he got to where he is. How he manages working under someone who has a different leadership style and may make different decisions than he. The mentors that have helped him become a better leader. Why he turned down a principalship and stayed as an assistant. Advice for new principals from his perspective as an Assistant Principal. You'll really enjoy this interview with Doug. He is amazing. Let's make sure to give him a few hundred more followers on Twitter. He is @Hallen100. We’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 this second part of the interview with Jeff Paul, we will learn about: How he handles the stress of being a principal How you can be a transformative principal Why you should follow the people below on Twitter The special thing in his office Jeff says these are the twitter accounts to follow: @williamparker, @KleinErin, @principalspage (MichaelSmithSupt), @ToddWhitaker, @educationweek, @NMHS_Principal (Eric Sheninger), @drjolly (Darin Jolly), @principalJ, @andyrgreene. We’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.

Jethro is joined by Jeff Paul (@okprincipal), principal of Smith Elementary, where he had the unique opportunity to take over for a principal who had been there for the previous 25 years!  In this part of the two-part interview, Jeff talks about the challenges and positives associated with his unique situation. He also talks about the evaluation system his district recently started.  I hope you enjoy this. Please tweet, post on facebook, or email to share it with your principal friends.  Also, if you have someone that you think is a transformative principal, please let me know who they are by emailing me at jethro.jones@gmail.com. Or you can hit me up on twitter @jethrojones.  We’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.

Sandra is a great principal at Sandy Elementary. She has received numerous awards in her 7 years as an administrator: Community Leader of the Year  Rookie of the Year  Distinguished Principal of the Year  CITES Recognition  National Board Certified Teacher And, she is pretty much always being praised and recognized by her peers. I am fortunate to be able to work with her. Here is Sandy’s web site and Twitter. Big Goals: Wants to make people feel like they are at home-that her school is a family. Wants to be with the children as much as possible. Wants to provide a holistic education, especially to her disadvantaged students. It is interesting to hear that she strives to really know her students, but is ok with not knowing every student’s name. I find this fascinating. In the last episode, Dr. Villar was very focused on knowing every student’s name. I don’t know that either way is the best method, but I do believe that their intent is the same. They both want their students to know that they are cared for and feel safe. That is what matters. We’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 this second part of the interview with Bernardo Villar, we will learn about the following: How Dr. Villar communicates with parents enough that they miss his communication when he leaves a school. Twitter and Facebook How Dr. Villar acknowledges the positve in every teacher and every student... ...which leads to improved student behavior.  What you can do to be a transformative principal, according to Dr. Villar A focus on making sure every student feels comfortable in his school.  Thanks to our sponsor: Paperless Principal We’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.