The Modern Principal Podcast

Communicating Student Behaviors with Parents

It can be anxiety-inducing for a principal to relay negative information to parents but especially when their child has made a mistake or engaged in a major behavior. On this episode of the pod, Karen and Christy talk about: 

- how to get on top of behavior communication before the behavior even occurs

- tips to prepare for a calm conversation

- writing communication plans into behavior plans

and more! 

Check out our website at www.themodernprincipal.com and on social media @themodernprincipal.

This episode is sponsored by: Just Right Reader and Peer-Driven PD.

Impact of Physical Resources on Students and Teachers

In this episode, Christy and Karen interview Dr. Samantha Keppler, Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations, who studies education operations, or the management of human and material resources, in public schools. 

In this episode Dr. Keppler helps principals:

- understand the current data (or lack thereof) regarding how teachers are supplementing resources in their classrooms

- the correlation of funded crowdsourcing projects and student achievement

- the correlation of funded crowdsourcing projects on teacher retention

- the complicated role of the principal in providing physical resources to staff

Samantha M. Keppler received her PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on resource operations and management in public education. Before graduate school, she was a public school math teacher in New York City. Learn more about her work at www.samanthakeppler.com or email her at srmeyer@umich.edu.

Leading Math Instruction with Make Math Moments

On this week's pod, Karen and Christy chat with Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr, the math instructional experts behind MakeMathMoments.com. 

You'll find:

- the best thing a principal can do to improve math instruction

- the importance of content knowledge

- offerings from Kyle and Jon that can help your school

Check them out here: 
www.makemathmoments.com - Math Math Moments Academy, District Improvement Planning, Courses

https://makemathmoments.com/podcast/ - Make Math Moments Podcast

https://makemathmoments.com/districtassessment/  - Mathematics Program Assessment Screener for Leadership Teams

Kyle is the K-12 Mathematics Consultant with the Greater Essex County District School Board and Jon is a high school math teacher at John McGregor Secondary School in the Lambton-Kent District School Board in Ontario Canada. Together, they co-founded Make Math Moments where they develop professional development and classroom resources for K-12 educators and district leaders to spark curiosity, fuel sense making and ignite teacher moves.

Secondary Staff Collaboration and Culture Building

This week's pod welcomes Dr. Danielle Ricci, a high school principal and an educational leader with an expertise in cultivating collaborative cultures. Her research focuses on how school administrators lead teacher collaboration. Her background as an athlete has helped her to keep the concept of team at the heart of her work. Danielle is a wife, a mom to five, including newborn twins, and a cold-water enthusiast who swims in the Atlantic Ocean year-round to save her principal sanity! Danielle shares with us:

- scheduling strategies to optimize staff collaboration

- parent engagement solutions

- student culture considerations!

 

 

The Principal and the SLP: An Interview with Speech Time Fun’s Hallie Sherman

The Speech Language Pathologist is an important role in any school. In this week's episode, we interview Hallie Sherman from Speech Time Fun and discuss: 

- the expertise of your SLP

- how to partner with your SLP

- how to develop a strong working relationship

- evaluation techniques for your SLP

- the importance of helping your SLP connect with others

- ways to retain your SLP

Check out Hallie's online presence here: 
Speechtimefun.com
Shopspeechtimefun.com
Slpelevate.com
Speechretreat.com
https://bit.ly/SLPcoffeetalk
https://bit.ly/STF-ELLABELLABOOK

Check out our sponsors:
Just Right Reader's Science of Reading decodables accelerate reading achievement with decodables packaged to support both in-school learning and family engagement. Each of their 380+ decodables is filled with vibrant illustrations, engaging authentic stories, and diverse characters that represent students in America’s schools. The decodables follow a rigorous phonics progression supported by the latest science of reading research, and phonics instruction is reinforced with a QR code on the back of each decodable that links to a digital phonics lesson in Spanish and English–a great tool for classrooms and families.

Peer Driven PD: We bring you candid conversations from some of the best classroom educators in the country. Get your training directly from the teachers in the trenches as current classroom teachers guide your professional learning with authentic insights and practical strategies you can try immediately.

Should I Go Back to School for a Doctorate?

Are you a principal who has thought about going back to school for your doctorate degree? Check out this week's pod where we discuss:
- what to consider when looking at programs

- if a degree is worth it for you

- systems to help you get it all done

- the importance of your advisor

Check it out and let us know on Instagram @themodernprincipal if this episode helped you in your decision-making! 

Resources: 
6 Tips for Finding Balance During Your PhD

This episode was brought to you by these sponsors:

Just Right Reader's Science of Reading decodables accelerate reading achievement with decodables packaged to support both in-school learning and family engagement. Each of their 380+ decodables is filled with vibrant illustrations, engaging authentic stories, and diverse characters that represent students in America’s schools. The decodables follow a rigorous phonics progression supported by the latest science of reading research, and phonics instruction is reinforced with a QR code on the back of each decodable that links to a digital phonics lesson in Spanish and English–a great tool for classrooms and families.

Peer Driven PD: We bring you candid conversations from some of the best classroom educators in the country. Get your training directly from the teachers in the trenches as current classroom teachers guide your professional learning with authentic insights and practical strategies you can try immediately.

Hiring in a Small Pool of Candidates

We contend that retention is the new recruitment, but sometimes you still need to hire when the pool is small! On this episode of the podcast, we talk about how to hire staff when there are few applicants to fill the roles. 

Check out our sponsors:

Just Right Reader's Science of Reading decodables accelerate reading achievement with decodables packaged to support both in-school learning and family engagement. Each of their 380+ decodables is filled with vibrant illustrations, engaging authentic stories, and diverse characters that represent students in America’s schools. The decodables follow a rigorous phonics progression supported by the latest science of reading research, and phonics instruction is reinforced with a QR code on the back of each decodable that links to a digital phonics lesson in Spanish and English–a great tool for classrooms and families.

Peer Driven PD: We bring you candid conversations from some of the best classroom educators in the country. Get your training directly from the teachers in the trenches as current classroom teachers guide your professional learning with authentic insights and practical strategies you can try immediately.

Principal Hiring Basics

It's hiring season (isn't it always hiring season now? #neverfullystaffed)! Episodes 39, 40, & 41 deep dive the hiring process from the principal perspective, but this episode gives you a quick overview of the things to consider before hiring for a particular position to keep you transparent and get you the best candidate possible! 

What to Do After the Principalship

Decided it's time to leave the principalship but not sure what to do? In this week's pod, Karen and Christy talk about their own experiences leaving the role and other ideas to consider, too! We talk through roles within school districts and also roles outside!

NAESP Life After the Principalship by Laurel Schmidt

Time to Step Down? How to Know You’re Ready to Leave Your Principalship

Feeling a little stuck as a principal? Thinking it might be time to leave your school, district, or the role altogether? You're not alone! It's normal to have those thoughts, and principal burnout is real. This week on the pod, Karen and Christy discuss how you might know it's time to leave the principalship and their own thoughts and feelings when they did the same.