My second part interview with the great Alice Peck. In this episode we focus on her new assignment as a principal of a Title I school in our district. What is Alice going to take with her to her new Title I school? What is Alice anxious about in going to her new school? Why Alice is excited about change. "If you’re not nervous, you probably shouldn’t be doing this!" How Alice is going to overcome her fears. "The greatest way to overcome fear is to face it and address it!" How Alice will deal with building trust as fast as she can. Hint: you can’t speed up trust. The importance of visibility as a school leader. Modeling the kind of work ethic she wants her staff to have. What advice does Alice have to be a transformative principal? Surround yourself with smart people. What helps Alice focus on what is most important? (I forgot to take a picture before I left her office! I’ll see if you can send me one.) Sponsor: Sanebox Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A PrincipalNew Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

I was talking to a student today about what kinds of things she thought needed to happen in her school with the new year coming up. She said something so insightful, that I could not believe that it was a 7th grader saying it to a bunch of adults. She elaborated on a concept that many teachers do not yet grasp. The clarity and simplicity with which she came to her conclusions was astounding. She said (a little paraphrasing from my memory), "We need to do something about the discipline at our school. When I see what these kids who have to go into ISS (in-school suspension) become…well I dot like the kind of people they are becoming. Going to ISS doesn't help them do anything different and that makes me sad."I asked her what she thought should happen and she said, "I don't know what the best thing to do is, but I know ISS is not working for the kids at my school, because it doesn't make them change anything." We were then able to have a discussion about what we, as adults, can do to help kids who make mistakes learn how to make better decisions. This girl was a little sheepish to say these things to a bunch of educated adults, but she was right on the money in her assessment of the situation. I admire this girl for saying what she believed. I admire her for being perceptive and aware of the situation. Have a Good Life. 

This week’s interview is with Tom Whitford, an amazing principal of 3(!) schools in Wisconsin. His mentor that taught him a lot about how to be a leader and how to push yourself and others to be better, book reads, and more. Professional Learning Communities in Tom’s ideal world. PLCs require a whole philosophy change to be effective. How to set the stage to be successful in having discussions with teachers. Power of change comes from stories. Create opportunities for conversation. How can administrators tell stories? Start with true stories. (Don’t make things up.) Provide opportunities for real conversation. What can we do to make this work, and what will prevent us from being successful? It is too easy for things to get said behind closed doors, and we need to address challenges early on, and then address issues as they arise. Focus the conversations on continuous improvement on faculty meeting time. "Jumpstart Fridays" - aides and others work with kids so they can do collaboration times. How Tom gets teachers to feel comfortable sharing their stories with Tom and the other teachers. "Speed of Trust" By Stephen M.R. Covey We don’t get better, unless we can talk about the mistakes that we made. How Tom figured out that his faculty did not like his strategy for getting them to have fun with his emails. (Background blog post - "Learning with your mistakes") Sponsor: Sanebox Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A PrincipalNew Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

This second part of the interview with Tom Whitford delves deeper into the great things he is doing. We discuss the following: Working with 3 different schools How he manages dealing with all that they have going on. Dealing with the new teacher evaluation system using the Danielson model What he has been focusing on as a leader in the three schools: PBIS and RTI. What RTI looks like on a day-to-day basis in his school(s). What ICE looks like at his school(s). What data they use, and how fluid their groups are. Why some students might get less support by entering Special Education than if they stay in their intervention groups. How to create opportunities for fluid movement and appropriate support between groups to meet the needs of the students. WADITW (We’ve Always Done it this Way) What advice would he give to principals? Relationships How being out in the hallways is beneficial (even during parent teacher conferences). What is in his office to motivate him? Great sayings in his office and his kids. Voxer usage helping him communicate with other principals. Shoutout to @gcouros and @mmiller Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey Sponsor: SaneboxNew Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

This second interview with Bob Sonju is really great. You will enjoy every minute of it! We talk about the following: How to deal with cynical stakeholders. Why people need to be ready to change to make things better. How to make a good school even better. Why you wake up with panic attacks in the middle of the night as a transformative principal. The best time to change education was 20 years ago, the second best time to change education is today! The excuses we make to not make changes. There is no such thing as an optimal time to make changes, but we need to have a sense of urgency. The state of Utah lost 19% of students (that didn’t graduate with a diploma). That is 1 in 5 kids! Unacceptable! If you don’t find a better way… You fall back to how you did it before. We need to focus on using research-based best practices to help our students. The importance of the Professional Learning Communities and Response to Intervention. We don’t need to find new things, we just need to get good at PLCs and RTI. There is no quick fix for schools. We need to remove the things that A super quick overview of PLCs and RTI in case you aren’t familiar with them. Based mostly on the work of DuFour and Eaker in Learning by Doing What a principal can do to be a transformative principal today: Identify the research that drives your day-to-day work and recognize the sense of urgency we have to ensure that learning is not optional. What he has in his office or a story: Simplify and focus. Story about teacher telling him that he is right in pushing forward. How to get ahold of him (He is not on the Twitter, but he is willing to help you by giving his email address. Bob [dot] sonju at wash.k12.ut.us) Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey Sponsor: Sanebox New Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

In case you haven't heard, we are moving to Alaska. I will be the principal of Kodiak Middle School! My family and I are really excited! You can follow our journey here:  http://wearedrivingtoalaska.com

My wife and I decided that we wanted an adventure a few months ago, and so we started looking around for principal positions that would be new and different for us.    We found one! New Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

My (former) school district recently hired a new superintendent, and I was able to sit down and chat with him. I think he is just what the district needs and I am really excited for what he will bring to the table. We talked about the following: Where Dr. Briscoe got his start in education and in administration His diverse experience as a leader of schools that were from incredibly high-achieving to greatly struggling. Engaging in the community by being involved in community issues (building new police station, hospital, etc.) The political struggles that lead Dr. Briscoe to retirement from his school district. Why he felt like Canyons School District was a good match for him. Why it is so important to be out and about and seen. How to build trust. Time. What happened in the past, is in the past. Let’s not worry about it. The culture he wants to create: Trust & Collaboration. Honoring the past. How he measures the success of his superintendency, not to be confused with his job description. Why that measure of success is so important. Sponsor: Sanebox Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators SurveyNew Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

As a new principal, I want to get to know all my teachers. I also want to know what they see as the vision of our school. So, I am meeting with them all. I am really excited because meeting new people and getting to know them is something that I really love. In order to make that a reality, I had to something that I really don't like much: I had to use the phone. Despite the hours spent on the phone courting my wife, I have never liked talking on the phone. It is just not fun to me. I had to call people to set up the appointments, which, by how I was procrastinating and delaying, you would have thought was a much more difficult task than pushing buttons on a phone. When I approach a task that I really don't like to do, I deal with it one of two ways:1. I reward myself by doing something fun. 2. I make a game of it. Today, it was all about the reward. The reward for my (hard to me) work is that I get to spend the morning tomorrow talking in person to many of my teachers. That will be worth it. What has been fascinating for me to learn is that different people enjoy different things. To me, talking to people on the phone is near torture for me. For other people, they would much rather call than talk in person. What I think will be vital for me, is to be sensitive to what people prefer and meet them where they are. As the principal, I am much more willing to make myself uncomfortable in order to make sure one of my teachers is more comfortable. Have a Good Life. 

The second half of my interview with Dr. Briscoe, the new superintendent of Canyons District. The strengths of Canyons school district. The importance of the involvement of families. We should try to do what we are doing even better. Teacher and principal input needs to be truly valued. Making sure everyone in the organization feels valued. Honoring the past before you build for the future. Principal qualities Dr. Briscoe is looking for: having a vision compared to implementing a vision. Humility. Accessible and visible. Patience. Admit mistakes. Regardless of the other person’s opinion, you need to respect the person and take their opinion or concern seriously. Focus on the vision and goal of your school, just take the time to meet with people and explain your rationale. Most of the time, if you explain what you’re thinking, the people who disagree are OK with your decision, even if they don’t agree with it. Don’t ask people for their input if you have already made your decision. How to deal with taking the hits: exercise, without your health, you can’t do anything. The importance of being recognizable. Walk up and introduce yourself to people out and about, and ask them if they have school-age kids. A school leader is a leader in the community. You must get out and meet with local clubs and groups. The benefit of being from a small district and being involved in every department in the district. How to be a transformative principal: Take a risk! What is in his office to keep him motivated? A poster that says, "If you don’t climb the mountain, you can’t enjoy the view." Sponsor: Sanebox Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators SurveyNew Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal