Most school administrators are committed to good leadership, so why is becoming an ideal school leader often so elusive? In this episode, we take off the masks, gaze deeply in the mirror, and search for real answers. 

Follow on Twitter: @randybw15  @PrinCoach81 @BrassTacksInno1 @gustafsonbrad @benjamingilpin @bamradionetwork @Jonharper70bd

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James Bailey and Randy Weiner co-wrote Leading SEL by Modeling It. James Bailey's career has encompassed teacher, principal, school turnaround, principal consultant, and superintendent roles spanning Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming. As Superintendent in Wyoming, his district was the first member in the state to join the League of Innovative Schools after reform efforts around personalized learning and social-emotional development. In San Antonio, he led the turnaround efforts for the Carpe Diem Schools. His deep-seated commitment to equity and supporting school leaders led to him training as an executive coach and co-founding Brass Tacks Innovations focused on adult SEL development, school redesign, and the use of improvement and implementation science to help all schools and learners meet the demands of our emerging society. Randy Weiner has worked in start-ups, education, and education technology throughout his career. He is a co-founder and served as the founding Chairman of the Board at Urban Montessori Charter School  (UMCS) in Oakland, CA—the nation’s first public Montessori, Arts Integration and Design Thinking school. Randy is also a co-founder and the CEO at BrainQuake, a two-time U.S. Department of Education Small Business Innovation Award winner. Randy taught for five years in Oakland and Madagascar. He provides educational consulting services, along with James Bailey and Elana Feinberg, through Brass Tacks Innovations.

Most school years are challenging during the best of times. Given the exceptional challenges students, teachers and parents are struggling with during the pandemic, how can school leaders maintain motivation during this unique school year?

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Positioning himself as an “arms dealer for the creative revolution”, Todd Henry teaches leaders and organizations how to establish practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of five books (The Accidental Creative, Die Empty, Louder Than Words, Herding Tigers, and The Motivation Code) which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks and consults across dozens of industries on creativity, leadership, and passion for work. With more than ten million downloads, his podcast The Accidental Creative offers weekly tips for how to stay prolific, brilliant, and healthy. His latest book, The Motivation Code, is a practical guide to discovering what truly drives your best work.

In this episode, we pick the brain of one of our “Washington insider” colleagues for clues about the road ahead under the new U.S. Secretary of Education.

Follow on Twitter: @thomascmurray @gustafsonbrad @benjamingilpin @bamradionetwork @jonHarper70bd

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Tom Murray serves as the Director of Innovation for Future Ready SchoolsⓇ, a project of the Alliance for Excellent Education, located in Washington, D.C. He has testified before the United States Congress and has worked alongside that body and the US Senate, the White House, the US Department of Education and state departments of education, and school districts throughout the country to implement student-centered learning. Murray serves as a regular conference keynote, was named one of “20 to Watch” by NSBA, the “National/Global EdTech Leader of the Year” in 2018, the “Education Thought Leader of the Year” in 2017, and the “Education Policy Person of the Year” by the Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015. His best-selling book, Learning Transformed, was released in 2017 with ASCD, and his new book, Personal & Authentic was released last fall. Connect with him at thomascmurray.com

As school leaders, we often consider busyness a badge of honor — until we hit the wall. Our guest says, “There were days I felt so low that if I didn’t do something I don’t know what could have happened.” In this episode, we talk about knowing when to hit the pause button and take care of ourselves.

Follow on Twitter: @Dwight_Carter @gustafsonbrad @benjamingilpin @bamradionetwork @Jonharper70bd

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Dwight Carter is a nationally recognized school leader from Central OH. Because of his collaborative and innovative leadership, in 2010, he was inducted into the Jostens Renaissance Educator Hall of Fame. He was also named a 2013 National Association of Secondary School Principals Digital Principal of the Year, the 2014 Academy of Arts and Science Education High School Principal of the Year, and the 2015 Ohio Alliance of Black School Educators Principal of the Year. He is currently an Assistant Director and Eastland Career Center in Groveport, OH. He is the co-author of three books: What’s In Your Space? Five Steps to Better School and Classroom Design (Corwin, 2015), Leading Schools in Disruptive Times: How to Survive Hyper-change (Corwin 2017), and the second edition of Leading Schools in Disruptive Times (Corwin, 2021. Additionally, he has contributed to several educational books and articles.

As we celebrate our 100th episode we take a look back and reflect on the myriad lessons we’ve learned from three years of talking with educators, and school leaders about teaching, leading schools, and lifelong learning.

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Brad Gustafson is the principal and lead learner at Greenwood Elementary in Minnesota and author of Renegade Leadership: Creating Innovative Schools for Digital Age Learners. Ben Gilpin is currently the principal at Warner Elementary School in Spring Arbor. He has a Master’s in education from Spring Arbor University and has an Educational Leadership Certification through Eastern Michigan University.

School leaders are on the front lines of moving our discussions about race beyond stereotypes to facilitate the candid conversations required to teach students of color. In this episode, we look at what it takes to create the right climate.

Alexs Pate is President and CEO of Innocent Technologies. He is a New York Times bestselling author who has written five novels – including Amistad, a children's book, a book of nonfiction and has curated numerous literary anthologies. His latest book The Innocent Classroom: Dismantling Racism for Children of Color was published in 2020 by ASCD. Throughout his career, Alexs has attacked the virulent racial stereotypes that limit the realities of people of color. He has worked to create worlds in which the humanity of everyone is recognized, known and finally assumed. Alexs founded Innocent Technologies to build the world in which we can live our authentic humanity, uninhibited by the stories about who we are supposed to be.

Teaching during the pandemic is taking its toll on the most positive and energetic educators among us. In this episode, we learn some practical strategies for managing the exceptional levels of stress and overwhelm many of us feel.

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Beth Joselyn is a practitioner of teaching and empowering humans to regulate their nervous system using simple tools accessible to them- BREATH, intentional movements and heart intelligence practices. She has a Masters in Art Education and currently teaches Elementary art. She is also a certified id Yoga instructor and has trained under James S. Gordon, MD, a Harvard-educated psychiatrist, a world-renowned expert in using mind-body medicine to heal depression, anxiety and psychological trauma. .

In this episode, we take a look at what we are seeing in the first few weeks of the new school year and how it compares with insights from a recent survey about what’s working with students and what’s not.

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David Byron is Manager of Design and Innovation Strategy at Sundberg-Ferar where he works identifying the right user needs and find emotionally compelling solutions. David was lead designer on the Saleen S5S Raptor supercar and the Hyundai ELEVATE walking car concept. David is also the president of the Michigan Design Council, where he produced ‘The State of Design’ documentary and leads the annual Michigan Design Prize for K-12 students.

We start with the belief that most education leaders bring a good heart to the challenge of managing their school communities. In this episode, we discover what good intentions are insufficient to meet the leadership needs of the moment. More importantly, we look at what school leaders must add to their skills to cultivate systemic change in the areas of social justice and equity.

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Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator. He works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support equitable literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. His latest book, We Got This, explores how the work of creating more equitable school spaces is embedded in our everyday choices -- specifically in the choice to really listen to kids. He has been featured in Education Week, Brooklyn Magazine, and Teaching Tolerance Magazine. He has partnered with The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, The New York City Department of Education, The International Literacy Association, Scholastic, and Lesley University’s Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative.

Are we ready for the sensitive, complex discussions about race and social justice that will be coming to our schools next term? Black lives matter, policing, social justice, equitable education are the big themes, and the prevailing sentiment is no. Join us as we take the first step toward getting ready to manage the challenging road ahead.

Follow on Twitter: @gustafsonbrad @benjamingilpin @MisterMinor @jonHarper70bd @bamradionetwork

Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator. He works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support equitable literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. His latest book, We Got This, explores how the work of creating more equitable school spaces is embedded in our everyday choices -- specifically in the choice to really listen to kids. He has been featured in Education Week, Brooklyn Magazine, and Teaching Tolerance Magazine. He has partnered with The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, The New York City Department of Education, The International Literacy Association, Scholastic, and Lesley University’s Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative.

Our attempts to support great teaching often fall short of our objectives, time table, and consistency. What practices do we need to unlearn or completely abandon to support teachers more effectively?

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Robyn Jackson is the CEO of Mindsteps Inc. a professional development firm for k12 Educators. She’s the author of 10 books and the host of the podcast School Leadership Reimagined.