#principalpln

In this episode, Jessica and Spike continue the conversation from Episode 95 regarding next year. Throughout the conversation, both shared the various plans for overcoming budgeting and staffing obstacles as well as how to stay positive with the additional requirements of being a Principal. Spike discussed his recently published article in Innovate My School - Team Activities for Budget Planning. He also talked about the conference that he coordinated with local Millville City Commissioners, Millville Youth Empowerment Summit. The Summit was attended by about 60 students and 20 parents and featured area speakers helping students become empowered. They are already beginning the planning process for next year. Jessica shared how her school staff is inspiring their elementary students to dream big, using March Madness to promote college awareness. Here's a blog post she wrote last year to share about this (although this year they added even more to what they do at her school): Promoting College Awareness in the

In this episode, Theresa and Spike discuss how each school is focusing on planning for next year. They begin by describing the specific schedules for their middle school and the high school. Theresa's school operates on a Trimester schedule and Spike's is on a block schedule.   As they plan for next year, both schools are looking at initiatives that will foster student learning and prepare students for the 21st century. How does this work in the confines of the school? How do you get buy-in? How much change is too much change? These are the questions that both ponder as they share their experiences.   In the podcast, Spike also referred to The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller. He learned about this last week when talking with Jethro Jones and it has already helped him as the school plans for next year.

In this episode we are fortunate to be joined by Jeff Zoul and Anthony McConnell, the authors of the hot new book, The Principled Principal: 10 Principles for Leading Exceptional Schools. The Principled Principal examines ten guiding principles, using stories and real-life examples to make them relevant and applicable for every school leader. You’ll learn . . . What to prioritize and what to eliminate from your to-do list How to empower your staff and students How to hire the right people for your school Why and how to keep calm in a crisis How to recognize and avoid “culture crushers” How to create a positive culture for your school community   Implement the strategies and practices in The Principled Principal, and fast-track your way to becoming the leader your school needs. The list of what you'll learn goes on, along with stories from practicing principals in each chapter. We know you'll enjoy listening to Jeff and Anthony chat about their book just as much as we did! Want to tweet a

We discovered Justin Ashley in this article: He was a classroom star. But CMS teacher’s success masked depression, addiction and just knew we had to have him join us on the podcast to help us learn from his journey and be able to support our teachers to prevent them from burnout.   If you’re ready to inject more joy into your personal life, get more meaning from your job, strengthen your body and mind, and break free financially then you will want to listen to him on the podcast and read his book!

In this episode, Spike talked about his big takeaways from attending the national SAMS conference, which you can read about here: 5 Takeaways from the National SAM Conference One of the keynotes he talked about was Valerie Burton, author of Successful Women Think Differently.   We spent quite a bit of time talking about the email beast. Theresa shared email tips Boomerang and Astro, and Unroll to tame the subscription emails you receive. Theresa mentions the following studies to give reason for why you need to be efficient with your email: UC Irvine Study Carnegie Mellon Study - A Focus on Distraction   In our discussion about engaging in conversations and being able to listen, Jessica mentioned this must-watch TED Talk: TED Talk: 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation   We are excited about future podcasts to come: We are scheduled to have Justin Ashley, author of The Balanced Teacher to join us. When we read about him in this article: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/a

In this episode, Theresa and Spike discuss how 2018 is going while Jessica is Ice Fishing! As the discussion unfolds, Theresa talked about how she has been using the app Todoist. She uses Todoist to organize all of the tasks that she has to do throughout the week. Todoist connects with her Gmail and allows her to schedule time to get the important things accomplished. Theresa also talked about she continues to use Evernote. She takes all her notes, articles, tasks, and documents and scans them to Evernote.    Spike shared how he stays organized throughout the day by using the SAMs Time Tracker System. This system, developed by former Principal Mark Shellinger, creates a calendar for Principals to track their time and work on improving their time spent with instruction.   Please share any apps/tips/tricks you use for staying organized. We'll be tackling email next, so share those things, too via twitter, email, or commenting on the blog post.   PrincipalPLN is a part of the Education Podcast Network

In this episode, we chat with Lindsy Stumpenhorst, elementary principal in Illinois, also known as “Principal in Boots.” Lindsy shares all about leading an amazing staff, living in the country, balance, using social media, and her one word for 2018: Awe. Have you heard of Instagram? Spike and Lindsy both work hard to convince Jessica to revitalize her Instagram account and connect where the action is. Something interesting about Lindsy is her family was in Josh Turner’s music video for his song, Find Me a Baby! Check it out here: Josh Turner (about 30 seconds in). Not only does Lindsy have horses, but she also has dogs that size too (we got to see them while we're recording, so couldn't help but ask for photo evidence to share! Spike discussed his use of the SAMs Time Tracker System for Principals. He is going to their National Conference in a few weeks. For more information, the SAMs Time Tracker System, check out their website. Lindsy is currently reading:  Love Languages of Children a

In this episode, we warm up with hot coffee and blankets to stay warm in this frigid winter. Spike talks about the Bomb Cyclone in New Jersey, which caused his school to close for two days, we compared temperatures and talked about indoor recess/school closure decision making. A fun app share to enjoy your weather is: WTForecast - Caution, the profanity can be offensive in this app, but you can change the setting.   We also talked about what happens when staff have a countdown or stir up excitement for a snow day...what message does that send our students and families? Thank you Tom Murray for this tweet:     Spike talked about "One word 2018." Have you picked "One word?" Spike's is Gratitude, Theresa's is Aware, and finally Jessica agreed to one word… Balance We talked about pop news and how a youtube video caused quite a stir for students when a famous youtuber recorded a video from the suicide forest in Japan:  http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/03/health/japan-suicide-forest-intl/index.html   On a

In this special end of the year episode, Theresa, Jessica and Spike discuss their Winter Break.   Spike talked about his floating experience. He will be posting a blog about what he learned from the time in the sensory deprivation tank. Click here for the blog post on floating.    Jess talked about her trip to the North Pole (aka Minnesota).   Theresa talked about couch time (SO important!)   We then got into a discussion about screen time. Jessica shared an app called (OffTime) and Theresa shared the app RealizD. Do you have a favorite app to keep track of the usage on your phone and what is taking up too much time in your day? Another recommendation on this topic included the book Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zambrodi, who is also the host of the podcast Note to Self.   We chatted about New Year's Resolutions and goals for balance. A podcast recommendation shared by Jessica included Lead to Win by Michael Hyatt.

In this episode, Theresa and Spike share their final week leading up to the Winter Break. It is clear from the discussion that no matter the school you work in or the area of the country, that it can be a very stressful time. Spike and Theresa shared some ideas for student and staff recognition.   What do Principals do over the break? Theresa, who has a two-week break, plans to read, relax and disconnect. She talked about the book Culturize, by Jimmy Casas and the Twitter group that is going along with that. In addition, she has some plans for writing and maybe even organizing her office.   Spike's goals for the break are very similar. He recently purchased, Brene Brown's new book Braving the Wilderness and plans to read it. In addition, he might try to do a Float session, yoga and or a hike in the woods to decompress.   Tell us what you are doing over the break. Tweet us @drspikecook, @principalstager, @principalj and use the #principalpln.

Episode 85: Breaking Out Of Isolation   In this episode, Theresa, Spike and Jessica catch up after about a year hiatus from the podcast. It is clear that everyone needed a break to work on other projects, focus on family, and work/life balance.     Where our thumbs are going:   Flipgrid vs Recap Brene Brown Braving the Wilderness Snow Day Calculator Lucy Calkins Reading/Writing Melinda Miller's Blog Post - Progressive PD Culturize - Jimmy Casas Coherence - Michael Fullan @DGriffin3 Flipgrid Fever Introduce parents to teachers over summer/new semester/trimester Conferences Foreign Language students

Episode 84: Happy New Year #PrincipalPLN by Dr. Spike Cook, Jessica Johnson, Theresa Stager

Episode 83: Support for New Administrators by Dr. Spike Cook, Jessica Johnson, Theresa Stager

Episode 82: Random Thoughts in the August 'Crunch Time' by Dr. Spike Cook, Jessica Johnson, Theresa Stager

In this episode, we are joined by Ann Smart (@annsmart17), an Ed Tech Consultant from Michigan to have her answer our question: What is BreakoutEdu? Listen to find out how you can use this for team building/collaboration in a staff meeting/PD to model taking risks and then let your teachers brainstorm how they could use this in their classrooms. There are many ways teachers are already using BreakoutEdu in their classes to make learning tons of fun! If you are excited to get going with BreakoutEdu then here are some links to help you get started: (live links at principalpln.com) http://www.breakoutedu.com/ Follow BreakoutEdu on Twitter Check the hashtag #breakoutedu Join the Facebook Group to network with others for ideas Lock App Pinterest Page of BreakoutEdu ideas

In this episode we chat with Melissa Emler, a former principal and now Director of Innovations, about using Facebook as your tool to communicate with your parents and community. While we thought we were great at using Facebook to communicate with our parents/community, Melissa blew our minds with awesome ideas and better ways to tell our story and engage our families! Listen to learn how Melissa used social media interns to help manage her school Facebook page, which also helped her high school students learn digital citizenship and great communication skills. Did you know that Faceook's algorithm has changed, so unless you're posting something every day, your community is likely not seeing your school posts showing up in their feed! Melissa teaches us how to change this and how to inform your families of this change. She talks about the use of Facebook analytics, how to make posting easier with a content calendar and then blew our minds about utilizing Facebook live. Melissa hosts the podcast, On the Vendor

Episode 78: When Was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time? with Dr. Tony Sinanis by Dr. Spike Cook, Jessica Johnson, Theresa Stager

In this episode we talk with Tia Henriksen, a current Vice Principal, but soon to be Principal in British Columbia starting on January 1st, 2015. We discuss inbox zero, making the transition to principal and what to change (not change) right away.  You can follow Tia on Twitter @TiaHenriksen or her blog at https://henriksenlearning.wordpress.com/.     Resources for new principals mentioned: The First Year Principal by Pete Hall The Question by Dan Sullivan Principal's Monthly Checklist

In this episode we are joined by Curt Rees, Elementary Principal and Recess Kickball legend in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Curt’s school is recognized by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as a model school for their implementation of Response to Intervention.  Curt is also a current doctoral student at UKSTL. You can find Curt online at @CurtRees and http://curtrees.com/ Curt is also mentioned in chapter 4 of Spike’s book, Connected Leadership.   Some of Curt's Email Wisdom: Don’t sit down and browse email. Sit down and “crank” through them when you’re ready to work on them. Don’t touch an email more than once. Decide on your action for it once you read it. If it takes more than 2 minutes to respond, he sends it to his to-do app (OmniFocus) to schedule when to work on it. Don’t let a read email sit in your inbox, schedule it and get it out of your inbox! Curt recommends not having work email on your phone and was so convincing that Jessica “ripped the bandaid” off and took work email off o