Educational Leadership with Principal JL

Connect with the Show Here! The conversation you keep delaying is probably the one shaping your school culture right now. We talk with superintendent Erika Bare and instructional leadership coach and former principal Tiffany Burns about how educational leaders can handle tough conversations with students, staff, and caregivers without slipping into power struggles, mixed messages, or avoidance. We dig into what “caring out loud” really looks like in classrooms and hallways, especially for st...

Connect with the Show Here! What happens when the stories educators tell about their work turn into the strongest recruiter, or the loudest warning, about our profession? We dive into Stop Eating Our Own by Robert Hinchliffe and Shawna Quenneville and unpack how a single choice of words online can shape school culture, public trust, and the pipeline of future teachers who are watching us closely. We explore the difference between honest critique and public venting, why negativity travels fas...

Connect with the Show Here! What does it take to lead a single school so well that your influence reaches across a district, and into state and national conversations? We sat down with Dr. Jess Quinter, Principal of Park Forest Elementary in Pennsylvania and NAESP Zone 2 director, to unpack a career built on learning, trust, and steady systems that actually help kids. Jess shares how teaching across grades and serving as a Title I reading specialist shaped her leadership lens, and why becomi...

Connect with the Show Here! Laws that feel distant in a statehouse become very real in a classroom. We sit down with Dr. Mike Dulaney of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators and consultant Tim Heckenlively to map what the new legislative session actually means for students, teachers, and leaders, and how your voice can change it. From a projected $470M budget shortfall to hot-button bills on option enrollment and school surveillance, we walk through the decisions most likely to hit y...

Connect with the Show Here! Ready for a fast, no-fluff leadership reset that actually translates? In this 2025 Year in Review, we highlight twelve standout leaders and the single move from each that shifted trust, culture, and learning in real schools. You’ll hear how visibility strengthens belonging, why behavior is communication, and how a “no visible student” mindset transforms climate. We unpack the systems that steady culture—clear expectations, reinforced routines, and a peer-observatio...

Connect with the Show Here! What if the most powerful leaders in a school aren’t the ones with the titles? We sit down with Dr. Chris Jochum department chair, coach, and author of You Don’t Have To Leave To Lead, to unpack how everyday teachers can move culture, improve learning, and lift colleagues without stepping out of the classroom. Chris traces his journey from rural roots and language classrooms to higher education, highlighting mentors who asked bigger questions at pivotal moments. W...

Connect with the Show Here! A trumpet, a baton, and a blueprint for real school change. James Lane went from touring musician to teacher, principal, superintendent, state chief, and ultimately a senior leader at the U.S. Department of Education and he never lost sight of the same question: what happens the moment a student struggles? This conversation turns that question into a repeatable system any school can use. We start with the early days: a tiny band program that grew into half the sch...

Connect with the Show Here! Doors closed, minds open or the other way around? Our conversation with NASSP’s 2025 National Principal of the Year, Tony Cattani, pulls back the curtain on how a large high school built a culture where teachers learn from teachers every single day. Tony walks us through the exact system that turned isolation into collective efficacy: a strengths inventory across four core areas, 25-minute targeted classroom visits, collegiality cafes that showcase teacher-designed...