The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast | The #1 Downloaded School Leadership Show

Jeff Meade spent 20 years building companies. Then a friend asked him one question on a hike near Mount Fuji — what makes you happy? — and he couldn't answer it. That four-hour conversation led him to Paul Quinn College in Dallas, where he now serves as Chief Innovation Officer and runs a program with one non-negotiable rule: every student, regardless of major, must start and operate a real business before they graduate. No simulations. No worksheets. Real ventures, real customers, real failure. Every school says it wants future-ready students. Most are still teaching them how to pass tests. Jeff Meade decided that wasn't good enough — and built a venture-based learning model that turns a graduation requirement into the most practical education a student can get. If you're a school leader wondering whether entrepreneurship education belongs on your campus, this episode answers the question. ✅ What You'll Learn Why employers stopped wanting graduates who can pass tests — and what they're asking for instead How Paul Quinn structured a seed fund and advisor model so student ventures get real resources, not just pitch competitions Why this generation's biggest professional liability is their inability to talk to strangers — and what to do about it What a theoretical entrepreneurship curriculum gets wrong, and how venture-based learning fixes it How K–12 leaders can apply the same principles without a college-sized program 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules 🎯 Key Insight #1: Entrepreneurship Curriculum That Stays Theoretical Is Useless What's broken: Most school entrepreneurship programs teach students about business through reading, multiple choice questions, and theoretical frameworks — producing students who can define entrepreneurship but have never done it. The shift: Venture-based learning requires students to actually start and operate a business — finding customers, managing limited resources, pricing, pitching, and iterating on failure in real time. Impact: Students graduate having already been an entrepreneur, not just having studied one — and employers notice the difference immediately. 🎯 Key Insight #2: Soft Skills Are the Real Curriculum Gap What's broken: Leaders building entrepreneurship programs focus on funding, advisors, and curriculum structure — the infrastructure — while assuming students already have the interpersonal skills to execute. The shift: This generation has built entire social identities through virtual success and can have 20,000 followers on TikTok without ever sitting across from an adult in a real conversation. Impact: When students are pushed to talk to real people — potential customers, community members, advisors — they build the human connection muscle that no app can replicate, and one student went out to practice cold outreach and came back with an internship. 🎯 Key Insight #3: Failing Fast Has to Be Built Into the Design What's broken: Twelve years of traditional schooling trains students to avoid failure at all costs — honor roll, dean's list, perfect SAT prep — and that fear of failure becomes a ceiling on their entrepreneurial potential. The shift: Jeff flips the frame on day one: the goal is to fail big and fast, then iterate — with a soft landing built in because the stakes are learning, not rent. Impact: Students who learn to process failure as data rather than identity become the exact kind of adaptive, resilient thinkers that employers say they can't find enough of. 💬 JEFF MEAD QUOTES FROM THE RUCKUSCAST "Students don't just study entrepreneurship, they actually do it." — Jeff Meade "The marketplace was telling us that they wanted a different type of student. So when I show up with this idea that every student starts a business, it's like, oh my God, you were answering sort of the prayers that we had." — Jeff Meade "You want somebody who thinks like this and not somebody who is trying to pass a test. That doesn't do anything for anybody." — Jeff Meade "I want you to fail big and fast. And that's so hard because you just graduated high school, you just took your SATs, you want to be on the dean's list. And then you walk into my class and I'm like, oh, you are going to fail so quick." — Jeff Meade "Students are dream chasers. They have these dreams — sometimes they may be uncomfortable sharing them, but they have these really cool dreams. And so we have the power to help them dream bigger and actualize those dreams." — Jeff Meade "In order for you to take it to another level and actually grow a business, you have to sit across from somebody and share your dream." — Jeff Meade 🤗 Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement? Start here: Tomorrow: Audit your current entrepreneurship or career-readiness curriculum and identify one unit that is purely theoretical with no real-world interaction built in. This Month: Identify three local business owners or entrepreneurs who would come to your campus for a career-day-style conversation with students — make the ask. This Semester: Design one student-facing project where the deliverable is a real pitch to a real audience — parents, community leaders, local business owners — with a defined problem, a proposed solution, and a student-built case for why they're the right person to solve it. ⌚️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 - Schools teach compliance, not how to build anything real 01:09 - Jeff Meade and the Paul Quinn entrepreneur requirement 04:32 - The hike on Mount Fuji that changed Jeff's career 10:21 - How Paul Quinn cut football to fund its future 13:37 - What employers actually want from graduates 17:56 - The seed fund and advisor model supporting student ventures 20:34 - What venture-based learning actually means 24:05 - Why Gen Z struggles to talk to people in real life 32:31 - What Jeff tells K–12 leaders about student entrepreneurship 39:09 - The Babson model Jeff is rebuilding for HBCUs 43:10 - Jeff's three principles for his dream school 🔗 Connect With Jeff Mead Website: jeff-meade.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeffmeade 🎧 Listen & Subscribe Listen to Better Leaders Better Schools on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts. If today's episode moved you, leave a review — it helps more Ruckus Makers find the show. 🧔🏻‍♂️ Your SelfMentorship Guide Meet Digital Danny — your SelfMentorship guide. Always available, never forgets, and evolves with you. Think through your next leadership move at myprincipalcoach.com 🤝 Today's RuckusCast Partners ODP Business Solutions has spent 30 years helping school districts build environments where students actually want to show up. From flexible learning spaces to tech integration to sustainable solutions, they deliver it all from a single supplier — simplifying ordering and keeping you compliant with cooperative contracts. One school, Belago Academy, worked with ODP to create collaborative spaces so engaging that students forgot to check their phones. 🔍 Visit ODPbusiness.com/education to see what's possible. Frontline Education's 2026 K–12 Lens Report cuts through the noise with insights from over 1,000 school leaders navigating staffing, student support, operations, and technology — all at once, all interconnected. If your district is managing multiple pressures simultaneously (and whose isn't?), this report shows how other leaders are adapting their strategies in real time. 🔍 Get the full picture at FrontlineEducation.com/leaders IXL's universal screener identifies every student who needs intervention in 20 minutes or less — and then its adaptive learning platform automatically adjusts difficulty for each individual student as they work. Over 1 million teachers use IXL because it makes differentiated instruction something you can actually execute, not just aspire to. 🔍 Get started today at IXL.com/leaders META DESCRIPTION: Paul Quinn College requires every student to launch a real business before graduation. Here's what venture-based learning looks like — and what K–12 leaders can steal from it.

Eight years ago, Chad Weiden walked into one of South Carolina's most underperforming elementary schools — a campus so low-rated that the state took it over, failed to fix it, and handed it back to the district. He just turned it into a good school. The strategy for school turnaround he used wasn't a new curriculum, a fresh initiative, or a culture retreat. It was building beacons of excellence on every team and coaching teachers in real time, in the moment, while students were in the room. Weiden spent nearly three decades building and leading schools across Chicago and South Carolina, including turning around Meeting Street Burns Pre-K through second grade from "unsatisfactory" to "good" on the state report card — in one of the most underserved communities in the state. He's a principal who understands that every child can learn and that the system, not the child, is what needs fixing. Find him on LinkedIn to follow his work. School turnaround is one of the most searched and least understood challenges in school leadership. Most principals know they need to fix culture — what they don't know is which two or three instructional moves actually move the needle. This episode answers that question directly, from a principal who lived it in real time in a school the system had already given up on. 🤩 What You'll Learn Why building one beacon teacher per team matters more than trying to develop everyone at once How to implement real-time instructional coaching — in the moment, mid-lesson — and get teachers to crave it instead of fear it The vulnerability framework you must unpack before jumping into a teacher's classroom Why joy is not performative and what it actually looks like in a high-expectation school How the paradox of high expectations and deep love for students coexist — and why low expectations are never kindness 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules 🧠 Key Insight #1: School Turnaround Starts with One Beacon Per Team, Not Everyone at Once What's broken: Principals in turnaround schools try to develop every teacher simultaneously and end up moving no one. The shift: Identify and build one beacon teacher per grade-level team who sets the standard, holds the expectation, and shows colleagues what great looks like when the principal isn't in the room. Impact: Once a beacon is in place, a second strong teacher develops faster — and within a few years, the entire team performs at a high level because the standard is visible every day. 🧠 Key Insight #2: Real-Time Coaching Builds Better Teachers Faster Than Any Post-Observation Debrief What's broken: Most instructional feedback arrives as an autopsy — a sit-down debrief days after the lesson, long after the muscle memory has hardened. The shift: The principal enters the classroom as a co-teacher, intervenes the moment an instructional error occurs — modeling, adjusting, coaching in real time — the same way elite athletes are corrected mid-rep, not after the game. Impact: Teachers start craving the feedback because they feel the improvement immediately; confidence builds in the room, students re-engage, and the principal's classroom presence shifts from evaluative to transformative. 🧠 Key Insight #3: Joy in School Is Not Performance — It's the Small Moments That Make Learning Stick What's broken: When 53% of students are disengaged, schools respond with programs, pep rallies, or initiatives — and teachers interpret any call for joy as a demand to become entertainers. The shift: Joy lives in small moments — a student nerding out on a text, spotting an algebra pattern in geometry, owning a goal that feels meaningful — not in performative enthusiasm that burns teachers out. Impact: Campuses that build joy into the academic experience — through growth, celebration, and belonging — create environments students don't want to leave and teachers don't want to quit. 🗣️ CHAD WEIDEN QUOTES FROM THE RUCKUSCAST "I had to build a beacon of a teacher on each team. One beacon of what the bar should be — because when you leave, they're really holding the expectations. They're showing other people what it looks like." — Chad Weiden "Act like the school is your classroom. Every classroom is my classroom, and when I walk in, I'm going to co-teach with you. That's how we built really great teachers really quickly — that system of real-time coaching." — Chad Weiden "There's nothing better when you get feedback that helps you feel more effective or confident. You start to crave it. And once people realize this is going to make your job easier — not tomorrow, right now — they're like, okay, this is weird, but dang, that was helpful." — Chad Weiden "To truly love a child is to hold that child to the highest expectation possible. To not love a child is to lower the expectation. I really lived in black and white — what I've deeply changed my mind about is I embrace the paradox." — Chad Weiden "Joy isn't big joy. Joy is in small moments — nerding out in a text with a kid, seeing them light up over a pattern they've spotted. That's joy. It's not performative. Because performative is exhausting and you can't do it every moment of every day." — Chad Weiden "The system is perfectly designed to get the results that it has." — Chad Weiden "Let kids do the work. Teachers hold the learning, hold the modelling — we're talking too much. Let kids do the work. They're ready." — Chad Weiden 🧗‍♂️ Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement? Start here: Tomorrow: Walk into one classroom with the explicit intention to co-teach for five minutes — not to observe, but to intervene and model in real time if you see an instructional gap. This Month: Identify the one teacher on each grade-level team who is closest to beacon status and invest your heaviest coaching hours there first, rather than spreading yourself evenly. This Semester: Build a vulnerability framework with your staff — naming real-time coaching as a school norm during onboarding, modelling receiving feedback publicly yourself, and making the four beliefs explicit: it's okay to fail, it's okay to not know everything, it's okay to ask for help, and we are in this together. ⌚️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 - The real lever behind student disengagement 07:18 - Chad's turnaround story in South Carolina 10:22 - The three moves that drove results 11:05 - Building a beacon teacher on every team 12:26 - Real-time coaching defined and how it works 15:18 - How to introduce real-time coaching without fear 21:06 - Why every educator should take an improv class 30:07 - Joy and growth as the engine of school turnaround 39:16 - What Chad changed his mind about in education 42:57 - Danny on firing yourself from your own organization 44:29 - Marquee message: Let kids do the work 👩🏻‍💻 Connect With Chad Weiden Website: https://berkeleycharter.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-weiden-99a31878/ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe Listen to Better Leaders Better Schools on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts. If today's episode moved you, leave a review — it helps more Ruckus Makers find the show. 🧔🏻‍♂️ Your SelfMentorship Guide Meet Digital Danny — your SelfMentorship guide. Always available, never forgets, and evolves with you. Think through your next leadership move at myprincipalcoach.com. 🎙️ Today's Ruckuscast Partners ODP Business Solutions has been a trusted partner for schools for 30 years — and they're not just a supplier, they're a strategic advantage. They give districts access to negotiated cooperative contracts that maximize every education dollar, and they proved it by helping the Baldwin School District transform an entire campus while staying under budget. From essential supplies to cutting-edge technology to flexible furniture, they're your one-stop shop to do school different. 🔍 Visit ODPbusiness.com/education to get started. Frontline Education's 2026 K12 Lens Report makes the retention argument in hard numbers: districts that manage professional growth with software are nearly twice as likely to report easier hiring — 47% versus 30%. If you're serious about building a campus where great educators want to stay, this report is the data behind the strategy. 🔍 Download the full K12 Lens Report at FrontlineEducation.com/leaders. IXL takes the guesswork out of what teachers do next. Ready-made lesson plans aligned to textbooks and state standards, plus daily student performance insights that let teachers adjust instruction before a gap becomes a problem. It's the kind of instructional support that turns real-time coaching from a principal strategy into a school-wide system. 🔍 Start today at IXL.com/leaders. META DESCRIPTION: School turnaround principal Chad Weiden shares the real-time coaching system and beacon teacher strategy that took a failing school to good-rated in South Carolina.

She helps principals stop surviving their schools and start leading them. Michelle Sloan is an educator, author, and leadership coach who spent seven years building a school from the ground up — which gave her something rare: "firsthand proof that mission-driven leadership isn't a feel-good concept, it's a survival strategy." Her book The Purpose Driven Principal is the framework she wishes she'd had in year one. School leadership burnout is not a willpower problem. It's a systems problem. A principal walks in energized, writes down what matters, and by 6pm hasn't touched a single item on the list. This episode is about diagnosing that drift — and building the structure to stop it from swallowing another year. 📚 What You'll Learn Why your open door policy is actively damaging your relationships (not protecting them). How the four pillars of a purpose-driven school — people, pedagogy, processes, and personal growth — create a filter for every decision. The Assess, Design, Align cycle and how to use it to get back to mission-driven work. Why what's predictable is preventable, and what that actually looks like in practice. The one calendar change that breaks the reactive leadership cycle. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules ✅ Key Insight #1: Principal Burnout Is a Symptom of Missing Purpose Filters What's broken: Principals measure their days by how busy they are, not by whether they're moving toward their mission. The shift: Define the school's mission, vision, and core values first — then use them as a filter for every demand, program, and shiny new thing that shows up. Impact: A principal who knows why their school exists can say no to the college prep program that works down the street but doesn't fit their community — and feel confident doing it. ✅ Key Insight #2: Processes Are a Leadership Superpower, Not an Administrative Chore What's broken: Every knock on the principal's door is treated as an individual problem to solve, so the same problems return every day. The shift: Treat every repeated interruption as a signal that a system is missing — then build the process that makes you unnecessary for that question. Impact: When processes are in place, teachers stop waiting until 5:30 to ask questions only you can answer, and you get to do the work that actually requires you. ✅ Key Insight #3: The Open Door Policy Is a False Virtue What's broken: Principals equate constant accessibility with relational leadership — and end up half-present for everyone, including their families. The shift: Set published hours for availability, protect deep work time with the same seriousness that teacher planning periods are protected, and be 100% present when you are present. Impact: Principals who define when they are available stop the low-grade distraction that makes a 12-hour day feel like zero progress. 🎙️ MICHELLE SLOAN QUOTES FROM THE RUCKUSCAST "A good principal is in their office solving problems. But a great principal is out in the classrooms preventing them." — Michelle Sloan "What's predictable is preventable." — Michelle Sloan "If you never get out of that cycle, you can never be intentional about fulfilling your purpose in your mission. You're just in that cycle of whatever the day brings." — Michelle Sloan "You shouldn't lose yourself in the process because you stepped into leadership." — Michelle Sloan "There's a difference between perfection and being excellent. Do and just loving your people." — Michelle Sloan "You get out of alignment when you don't know who you are and why you exist." — Michelle Sloan "You were created on purpose and for a purpose. You have unique gifts and talents that only you have and the world needs." — Michelle Sloan 🧗‍♂️ Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement? Start here: Tomorrow: Block two hours on your calendar this week and mark it as off-campus — then use that time to highlight in yellow every unplanned interruption from yesterday and ask who else could have handled it. This Month: Write or revisit your school's mission statement and use it to evaluate one program, initiative, or meeting you're currently running that might not actually align. This Semester: Publish your availability hours to your staff and hold them — identify one admin or team member who can serve as the first stop for your three most common interruptions. ⌚️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 - Why principals burn out — it's not weakness 01:52 - Sponsor break 03:34 - Michelle Sloan joins the show 06:21 - What a school looks like when purpose is gone 09:53 - The four pillars of a purpose-driven school 13:55 - The most neglected pillar and its cost 19:12 - How to diagnose when you've drifted from purpose 21:21 - Two hours, twice a week: the proactive leader's calendar 27:34 - Why open door policies are a leadership trap 30:49 - What principals owe themselves (and their families) 36:19 - The Assess, Design, Align cycle explained 39:42 - The first step back to alignment 41:31 - How to work with Michelle Sloan 🔗 Connect With Michelle Sloan 👩🏻‍💻 Website: Sloan Leadership Solutions 🔗 Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn 📕 Book: Purpose-Driven Principal Book 🗞️ Purpose-Driven Principal Weekly Newsletter 🎧 Listen & Subscribe Listen to Better Leaders Better Schools on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts. If today's episode moved you, leave a review — it helps more Ruckus Makers find the show. 🧔🏻‍♂️ Your Selfmentorship Guide Meet Digital Danny — your Selfmentorship guide. Always available, never forgets, and evolves with you. Think through your next leadership move at myprincipalcoach.com 🎙️ Today's Ruckuscast Partners ODP Business Solutions has 30 years of experience helping school districts build spaces where learning actually happens. They helped Belago Academy go from ordinary classrooms to collaborative environments so engaging that students forgot to check their phones — through tech integration, flexible furniture, and sustainable design, all from a single supplier that keeps your purchasing compliant and your budget sane. 🔍 Visit ODPbusiness.com/education to see what's possible. Frontline Education's 2026 K–12 Lens Report exists because staffing, student support, operations, and technology aren't separate problems — they're the same pressure showing up in different forms. Built from insights across more than 1,000 school leaders, this report gives you the clearest available picture of how districts are adapting right now. 🔍 Get the full report at FrontlineEducation.com/leaders IXL takes differentiated instruction from aspiration to 20-minute reality. Its universal screener identifies which students need intervention fast, and its adaptive learning platform then adjusts difficulty for each individual student as they work — so one teacher can actually reach every kid in the room. Over a million teachers are already using it. 🔍 Get started at IXL.com/leaders

A professor at San Diego's High Tech High Graduate School of Education and co-author of PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, Nancy Frey has spent decades studying how teachers actually collaborate — and why most of it doesn't work. Her research-backed PLC+ framework is the difference between a Wednesday morning ritual and a genuine engine of collective efficacy. She teaches full-time at a high school that runs every student through a real-world internship program, so her frameworks aren't theoretical — they're road-tested. Find her work at hightechhigh.org. Professional learning communities were supposed to fix teacher isolation. Instead, most schools turned them into a weekly meeting where teachers explain why students failed. If your PLCs feel like compliance theater, this episode of the Ruckuscast is the reset you need — Nancy Frey breaks down the PLC+ model and the exact questions that shift a team from admiring problems to solving them. 🌟 What You'll Learn Why 85% of PLC conversations focus on student deficits — and the research that proves it. The single wrong question most schools are asking in PLCs (and the right one to replace it). How to organize collaborative teams around common challenges instead of grade level. What "the plus" in PLC+ actually means and why it's the antidote to teacher burnout. How one San Diego high school built a healthcare internship program that sends students into the field every week starting in ninth grade. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules 🧠 Key Insight #1: PLCs Have Become Problem-Admiring Sessions, Not Problem-Solving Ones What's broken: Research shows that 85% of PLC conversations focus on student deficits — language barriers, behaviour, home life, or suspected disabilities — rather than instructional changes. The shift: Name a specific, solvable common challenge your team can actually affect, then spend PLC time designing and evaluating actions toward that challenge. Impact: Teams move from collective helplessness to collective efficacy — and teachers stop feeling like they're carrying student achievement alone. 🧠 Key Insight #2: Organizing PLCs by Grade Level Locks Out the Most Valuable Collaboration What's broken: Grade-level and department groupings leave singleton teachers — art, PE, music — without a collaborative home and trap everyone else with the same colleagues year after year. The shift: Organize teams around a shared common challenge, letting staff self-select based on what's genuinely perplexing them right now, regardless of content area. Impact: Teachers encounter new practices, new contexts, and new colleagues — what Nancy calls a more "vivid" way to experience school as a professional. 🧠 Key Insight #3: The Wrong Question Is Driving Every PLC in America What's broken: Schools open PLCs by asking "how do we raise reading scores?" — a question so broad it guarantees vague answers and no accountability. The shift: Drill down to a problem statement specific enough to act on, like "our multilingual learners struggle to answer questions about details from an audio presentation of an academic topic." Impact: When the problem is scoped correctly, teams can design targeted actions, measure impact, and actually see what's working — instead of chasing a metric nobody controls. 🎙️ NANCY FREY QUOTES FROM THE RUCKUSCAST "It's not problem solving, it's admiring the problem." — Nancy Frey "85% of the time, one of four approaches was used when data were shared — and none of them were about what to do differently instructionally." — Nancy Frey "The plus is us. There's a collective responsibility and a collective efficacy to what it is that we do." — Nancy Frey "When teams don't understand their collective wherewithal to be able to impact in a positive way, and they're left with going, I don't know what else to do — you can either say it's on me or it's on them. And it honestly is kind of easier to say it's on them." — Nancy Frey "They are your top, your advanced students. They already knew it and they did not benefit from what it was that you taught. Because your pre and your post information looks exactly the same. Those students are also hiding in plain sight." — Nancy Frey "Nothing is lonelier than feeling like you are the only person taking on all of these challenges." — Nancy Frey 🧩 Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement? Start here: Tomorrow: Pull your next PLC agenda and replace any open-ended "how do we raise scores" question with a specific, scoped challenge statement your team can investigate and act on. This Month: Audit your current PLC structure — identify which teachers have no natural collaborative home and design one cross-content team organized around a shared common challenge. This Semester: Implement the PLC+ "who is benefiting and who is not" question as a standing agenda item for every data conversation, and document what instructional changes result. ⏳ Episode Timestamps 00:00 - Teachers wildly underestimate their students 01:55 - Why PLCs became a compliance checkbox 05:04 - What teachers predicted vs. what students actually scored 07:46 - Old PLC models schools are still running 10:06 - Collaboration isn't just Wednesday mornings 11:11 - Why standards debates still waste PLC time 13:39 - Organizing PLCs around common challenges instead of grade level 14:57 - How PLCs drive deficit thinking — the research 20:01 - The wrong question most schools ask 22:53 - What strength-based PLC conversations sound like 24:34 - What the "plus" means in PLC+ 30:20 - Building student internship partnerships with healthcare 33:05 - Advice for Ruckus Makers who want to start internship programs 🔗 Connect With Nancy Frey 👩🏻‍💻 Website: https://fisherandfrey.com/ https://x.com/NancyFrey https://www.facebook.com/nancy.frey1/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyfreysdsu/ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe Listen to Better Leaders Better Schools on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts. If today's episode moved you, leave a review — it helps more Ruckus Makers find the show. 🧔🏻‍♂️ Your SelfMentorship Guide Meet Digital Danny — your Selfmentorship guide. Always available, never forgets, and evolves with you. Think through your next leadership move at myprincipalcoach.com 🎙️ Today's Ruckuscast Partners ODP Business Solutions has been a strategic partner for schools for 30 years — from designing STEAM innovation centers to keeping eight campuses stocked from a single supplier with cooperative contract compliance built in. Whether you're upgrading from whiteboards to interactive displays or building out a new learning space from scratch, they handle the full process. 🔍 Visit ODPbusiness.com/education to learn more. Frontline Education's 2026 K–12 Lens Report makes the staffing case for structured professional learning: districts with targeted, individualized PD report easier hiring at nearly twice the rate of those without it. The data shows that summer is when the culture work starts — and this report shows exactly how. 🔍 Download it at frontlineeducation.com/leaders IXL gives classroom teachers an adaptive platform that makes differentiated instruction genuinely manageable — and gives you dashboards that show growth at the individual student level so you're never guessing. Customize your reports to surface the data that actually drives your decisions. 🔍 Get started at ixl.com/leaders META DESCRIPTION: PLCs in most schools spend 85% of time on student deficits. Nancy Frey's PLC+ framework shows principals how to fix that — fast.

A Chicano educator from Los Angeles has spent nearly 20 years building the infrastructure that schools won't — the kind that catches students before they fall through the cracks. Hector Chaira is the Director of Education Programs at the Latino Film Institute , home to the Youth Cinema Project, a filmmaking mentorship program now operating in 21 California school districts across 61 classrooms. YCP brings professional filmmakers into English classes to guide students from concept to screen over a full school year. The results — in test scores, reclassification rates, graduation, and lives redirected — are impossible to ignore. Find ALIFI at latinofilm.org. Arts integration in schools has been underfunded, undervalued, and cut first for decades. This episode is the case against that pattern — told through data, two schools that are outperforming their affluent neighbors, and a story about a kid living in a motel who just won Best High School Actor. 🧠 What You'll Learn How the Youth Cinema Project uses filmmaking to drive measurable academic gains in English, writing, and student engagement.. Why arts integration consistently outperforms traditional instruction in Title I schools — and two real examples that prove it. What "redefining success" actually looks like inside a classroom — not the bumper sticker version. How high expectations plus creative purpose pulls students away from the wrong path. The three guiding principles Hector would use to build his dream school from scratch. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules 🎯 Key Insight #1: Student Engagement in Schools Requires Creation, Not Consumption What's broken: Schools treat students as passive recipients of content — sit down, absorb, test, repeat. The shift: When students become creators — directing, writing, acting, producing — they develop ownership over their learning that no worksheet can replicate. Impact: More than 78% of YCP students report feeling confident using their voice in the classroom, and teachers are seeing measurable jumps in writing skills within a single semester. 🎯 Key Insight #2: Arts Integration Drives Academic Outcomes in Title I Schools What's broken: Arts programs get cut first in under-resourced schools precisely where student engagement is most at risk. The shift: Schools that fold the arts into core content — not as an elective, but as the engine — are consistently outperforming even the most well-funded campuses nearby. Impact: One Title I high school in the LA area, where every elective is arts-based and integration into core content is a priority, is outperforming the most affluent school in its community on graduation rates and college entry. 🎯 Key Insight #3: Redefining Success Unlocks Student Potential That Test Scores Miss What's broken: Success is defined by what's measurable — test scores, failure rates, attendance — which leaves purpose, confidence, and trajectory entirely off the ledger. The shift: Anchoring success to where students actually are — their identity, their interests, their community — gives them a reason to show up that compliance-based schooling never will. Impact: A senior at a continuation high school, living in a motel with his family, went from headed toward street life to winning Best High School Actor and asking his mom about college careers in film. 🎙️ HECTOR CHAIRA QUOTES FROM THE RUCKUS-CAST "We firmly believe that students need to be creators and not just consumers." — Hector Chaira "Access is everything. When we can bring quality program and meet them where they are — that reinforce that investment in time, talent, treasure leads to impact." — Hector Chaira "We need to redefine what success looks like. It's not a new conversation, but if we can anchor it where our students are, then they're going to show up." — Hector Chaira "It only takes one person to lead a difference. Had I not walked up to mom, you would not have heard this story." — Hector Chaira "Art isn't extra — it's actually essential. It physically shapes the brain, strengthening learning, memory, and executive function." — Hector Chaira "Take the first step. If your intentions are aligned with the goals and the purpose — take the first step. You're going to find a way." — Hector Chaira "We're stepping into a very traditional system and shaking it up. Anyone can lead a difference." — Hector Chaira 🧗‍♂️ Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement? Start here: Tomorrow: Email your arts department lead and ask them to walk you through one specific student outcome — academic or otherwise — that happened because of their program this year. This Month: Identify one core content class in your building where arts integration could be piloted next semester and schedule a 30-minute conversation with that teacher about what it would take. This Semester: Build a formal pathway for at least one arts-based program to present student work publicly — film screening, performance, exhibition — so that student creation has an audience and a finish line. ⌚️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 - Student finds purpose through filmmaking 03:08 - Hector introduces the Latino Film Institute 07:17 - What access and high expectations actually produce 10:10 - Youth Cinema Project explained 13:19 - Academic results from arts integration 19:35 - Why arts get cut — and why that's wrong 21:44 - Two schools proving arts integration works 26:15 - Identity, culture, and who this work is for 34:10 - Marquee message: take the first step 37:52 - Dream school: three guiding principles 41:50 - One thing every Ruckus Maker should remember 🔗 Connect With Hector Chaira 👩🏻‍💻 Hector Chaira Website LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/latinofilminstitute/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latinofilminstitute_/ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe Listen to Better Leaders Better Schools on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts. If today's episode moved you, leave a review — it helps more Ruckus Makers find the show. 🧔🏻‍♂️ Your Selfmentorship Guide Meet Digital Danny — your Selfmentorship guide. Always available, never forgets, and evolves with you. 👉 Think through your next leadership move at myprincipalcoach.com 🤝 Today's RuckusCast Partners ODP Business Solutions has been equipping schools for 30 years — and their edge isn't just competitive pricing, it's access to negotiated cooperative contracts that maximize every dollar you spend. They helped the Baldwin school district transform their entire campus while staying under budget by combining smart design with smarter purchasing, from essential supplies to cutting-edge tech to flexible furniture. One supplier, simplified ordering, full compliance. 🔍 Visit ODPbusiness.com/education to learn more. Frontline Education's 2026 K12 Lens report found that districts with structured, automated professional growth are nearly twice as likely to report easier hiring compared to those without it. If you're building a campus where great educators want to stay, the data on what actually drives retention is all in one place. 🔍 Download the full report at FrontlineEducation.com/leaders IXL takes the guesswork out of lesson planning — ready-made plans aligned to your textbooks and state standards so teachers spend less time preparing and more time teaching. Principals who want their teachers working smarter, not harder, start here. 🔍 Visit IXL.com/leaders to get started today. META DESCRIPTION: Arts integration in schools is changing student trajectories — here's how one program does it across 21 California districts and what principals can learn from it.

Ten years of school leadership podcasting reveals one consistent truth: most principals are doing it alone when they don't have to. In this special anniversary episode, Danny Bauer sits down with co-host Dan Watt to trace the arc from isolated AP to category-defining podcast host — and what he's learned coaching hundreds of school leaders along the way. Dan Watt is a school principal, leadership coach, and Mastermind coach for Better Leaders Better Schools, based in northern British Columbia, Canada. He joined the Ruckus Maker community as a member before stepping into a coaching role, and now co-writes the weekly Ruckus Makers newsletter. He brings a practitioner's lens to every conversation — someone still in the building, still doing the work. Find him through the Ruckus Makers community at ruckusmakers.news. ☑️ What You'll Learn Why Danny started the podcast and what leadership gap drove the decision How the Ruckus Maker Mastermind was built to fill a void no one else in education had addressed The mindset shift that separates thriving principals from burned-out ones What patterns Danny sees repeatedly in the leaders he coaches today Where the Ruckus Maker brand is heading — and why it's bigger than school leadership 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules 🧰 Key Insight #1: Working More Hours Is Not a Leadership Strategy What's broken: Districts treat effort and visibility as the measure of a leader's worth — the longer you're on campus, the more you're seen as committed. The shift: Value created and culture built are the real metrics — not hours logged or sleeves rolled up. Impact: Mastermind member Justin stopped seeing more hours as the solution to feeling overwhelmed, found his North Star, and called it transformative. 🧰 Key Insight #2: Isolation Is a Choice, Not a Condition What's broken: Most school leaders wait for the district to provide mentorship, community, or coaching — and the district almost never delivers. The shift: Choosing yourself means actively seeking a community, a coach, and the tools to grow on a weekly basis — not waiting for permission. Impact: When Danny built the Mastermind in 2016, he introduced peer coaching to an industry that had nothing like it; leaders who join stop leading alone. 🧰 Key Insight #3: You Become What You Think About What's broken: Leaders absorb a deficit mindset — kids are broken post-COVID, resources are disappearing, the system is against them — and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The shift: The Beautiful Constraint mindset asks: given this reality, what needs to be true to accomplish what we want? Impact: Principals who reframe obstacles as constraints to work within — rather than walls to hide behind — lead higher-engagement campuses regardless of what the district hands them. 🗣️ DANNY BAUER QUOTES FROM THE RUCKUS-CAST "The strangest secret is we become what we think about." — Danny Bauer "I no longer see putting in more hours as a solution to this feeling. I very much feel like I'm failing forward with this approach, but I feel like I've found a North Star." — Danny Bauer (quoting Mastermind member Justin) "You can work in isolation and get bumps and bruises and learn from sparring in real life — or you could join a community and hear about everybody else's war wounds and scars, and learn from that without having to go through it yourself." — Danny Bauer "I don't want it to be like a cult of personality. I have an expiration date. And also, I'm only one guy with one perspective, and it's not always the best." — Danny BaueR "Every school leader that wants to grow and meet their potential should join our Mastermind. If you don't want to do that, don't join." — Danny Bauer 🧗‍♂️ Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement? Start here: Tomorrow: Identify one place you're measuring your leadership worth in hours instead of value — and write down what the actual result looks like instead. This Month: Audit your professional development diet: if a conference once a year is your only growth structure, find one weekly or monthly touchpoint — a book, a community, a coach — and commit to it. This Semester: Build or join a peer learning structure where you're both giving and receiving feedback on real leadership challenges, not just sitting in a room listening to a presenter. ⌚️ Episode Timestamps 00:00 - Why Danny started the podcast 10 years ago 04:35 - Danny's early leadership gaps as an AP 08:49 - The public feedback mistake and what it cost 13:38 - Why principals always learn even off the hot seat 20:12 - What were the real stakes 10 years ago 29:54 - How the Mastermind started from a void in education 34:11 - Justin's email: stop measuring worth in hours 40:46 - The Beautiful Constraint mindset for today's climate 48:56 - How Danny lives "you're worth it" daily 55:32 - Where the Ruckus Maker brand is going next 🎧 Listen & Subscribe Listen to Better Leaders Better Schools on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts. If today's episode moved you, leave a review — it helps more Ruckus Makers find the show. 🧔🏻‍♂️ Your Self-Mentorship Guide Meet Digital Danny — your self-mentorship guide. Always available, never forgets, and evolves with you. Think through your next leadership move at myprincipalcoach.com. 🤝 Today's Ruckus-Cast Partners ODP Business Solutions has been a trusted partner for schools for 30 years — helping districts move from whiteboards to smart boards, static classrooms to collaboration zones, and single-vendor chaos to streamlined cooperative contract ordering. If you're trying to design a learning environment students actually want to show up to, 🔍 visit ODPbusiness.com/education. Frontline Education's 2026 K12 Lens Report found that districts using software to automate professional growth are nearly twice as likely to report easier hiring than those that don't. If staffing and retention are keeping you up at night, 🔍 Download the full report at frontlineeducation.com/leaders — it shows exactly what high performing districts are doing differently. IXL's diagnostic identifies every student's knowledge gaps and delivers a personalized growth plan — so teachers stop guessing and start teaching to what students actually need. Close the gaps, accelerate learning, and 🔍 Get started today at ixl.com/leaders. META DESCRIPTION: 10 years of school leadership coaching distilled into one conversation. What Danny Bauer learned building the top 1% podcast for principals who do school different.

📋 The Ruckus Report Quick take: Most principals accept their school building as a fixed constraint. Anne Seeley proves it's actually your most under-utilized leadership tool — and you don't need a construction budget to start. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Anne Seeley, a Senior Associate Project Manager, NCARB, LEED, AP, AIA is an accomplished architect with a distinct blend of expertise. For over 20 years, she has focused on educational architecture, creating everything from visionary master plans and engaging student Centers to complex campus renovations. Anne doesn't just design buildings; she creates thoughtful environments that reflect the goals and ideas of the people she works with. Anne's commitment to improving the user experience makes her a leading figure in educational design. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules In this episode, Anne Seeley challenges how school leaders think about physical space: 🧰 Key Insight #1: Space is named, not designed for purpose What's broken: Rooms are labeled — classroom, corridor, cafeteria — and that label locks in every expectation about how the space gets used. The shift: Name the activity, not the room. A "peer-to-peer instruction zone" unlocks possibilities a "hallway" never will. Impact: Ravenscroft School opened a reimagined student center and students claimed full ownership within the first week — filling it from 7am to 7pm daily. 🧰 Key Insight #2: Bus riders get the back door What's broken: Car drop-off gets the front entrance. Students who ride the bus — often from lower-income households — enter through a secondary, less welcoming entry. The shift: Hilltop Needmore Road Elementary redesigned both entries with equal prominence, a canopy, and a shared convergence point so every student arrives feeling welcomed. Impact: Equity gets built into the physical infrastructure of the school day — not just the curriculum. 🧰 Key Insight #3: Underused spaces sit idle most of the day What's broken: A school stage gets used once or twice daily for music and theater, then goes dark. The shift: Design the stage with a folding wall so it opens to the cafeteria for dining, closes for performances, and opens the back side to the corridor as a teaching space and after-care zone. Impact: A single space now serves three distinct functions across the full school day instead of one. 🎙️ Quotable Ruckus "Rather than giving a name to something — this is a classroom, this is a corridor — what if the space is a space for engagement? – Anne Seeley What if it's a zone for peer-to-peer instruction? When you start naming the activity, it breaks down our association of what the space looks like and starts to give us opportunities to reimagine it." – Anne Seeley 🧩 Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here: Tomorrow: Walk your building and identify one underused or unnamed space — a wide corridor, an empty stage, a forgotten corner — and ask: what activity could happen here? This Month: Remove or repurpose a row of unused lockers in one hallway and add a marker board and two chairs to create a visible collaboration moment. This Semester: Convene students and staff to co-design one shared space on your campus — name the activity, not the room, and give students the ability to reserve and own it. 🔗 Connect & Continue 👩🏻‍💻 Follow Anne Seeley: Website: Littleonline.com | Blog | LinkedIn | Instagram | Vimeo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-seeley 📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act If education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? This show isn't about doing school better. It's about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what's possible. 🧠 Four Ways We Can Help You on Your Do School Different Journey 📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter — An opportunity to Do School Different 3x a week. Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: https://ruckusmakers.news 🗞 Read Ruckus Maker Media — Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom GPTs, new books before the bookshelf. https://ruckusmakers.media 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more: https://ruckusmakers.club 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus: https://betterleadersbetterschools.com/mastermind 🤝 Today's RUCKUScast in Partnership with: ODP Business Solutions®: Looking to create the kind of campus experience students never forget? ODP Business Solutions® transforms ordinary spaces into extraordinary learning environments. 🔍 Learn more: odpbusiness.com/education IXL: Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it empowers better decisions with reliable data and adapts instruction based on student performance. 🔍 Learn more: ixl.com/leaders Frontline Education: Strong school culture doesn't happen by accident — it's built through meaningful support and growth. Frontline Education's 2026 K-12 Lens Report shows how districts are connecting professional development to stronger staffing outcomes. 🔍 Get the full report: frontlineeducation.com/leaders Twelve Practices LLC © 2026 | Create a Campus Experience Worth Showing Up For

📋 The Ruckus Report Quick take: Schools didn't gradually adopt tech — they surrendered to it. This episode is a wake-up call for leaders ready to reclaim learning, relationships, and childhood from screens. 🎓Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Emily Cherkin, M.Ed., The Screentime Consultant, is leading the fight for a Tech-IntentionalTM childhood. Emily works with schools, families, policymakers, and advocacy organizations to ensure the future of education prioritizes skills, safety, and relationships over screens, EdTech, and A.I. Emily is an author, speaker, consultant, and associate professor of public policy at the University of Washington. She is also co-chair of Fairplay's Screens in Schools Action Network and the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against one of the largest EdTech companies in the world. Emily is also the creator of the UnPlug EdTech Toolkit. 🌱 Breaking Down the Old Rules In this episode, Emily Cherkin challenges traditional education paradigms: 🧰 Key Insight #1: EdTech = Innovation What's broken: Schools assume more devices = better learning. The shift: Question the role of Tech through a child development lens. Impact: Leaders prioritize cognition, focus, and real engagement over screen time. 🧰 Key Insight #2: Convenience Over Relationships What's broken: Grade portals, emails, and AI replace human conversations. The shift: Bring back friction — phone calls, dialogue, real connection. Impact: Stronger trust with families and deeper student-teacher relationships. 🧰 Key Insight #3: Teach Tech Early and Often What's broken: Giving young kids constant access to devices in the name of "preparation." The shift: Later is better. Less is more. Skills before screens.. Impact: Students build communication, resilience, and critical thinking first. 🗣️ Quotable Ruckus "If Tech is doing the thinking, your students aren't!" – Emily Cherkin 🧩 Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here: Tomorrow: Audit one tech tool on your campus — ask: Is it effective, safe, and necessary? This Month: Reintroduce one human-centered practice (phone calls, in-person feedback, discussion-based learning) This Semester: Build a campus-wide "tech intentional" philosophy rooted in relationships and skill development 🔗 Connect & Continue 🎯 Get the full episode transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Follow Emily Cherkin: 💻 Website: https://thescreentimeconsultant.com 😎 The Unplug EdTech ToolKit https://thescreentimeconsultant.com/resources/unplug-edtech-toolkit 🤝 Emily speaking to UK Parliament: https://firstfish.substack.com/p/testimony-to-uk-parliament?r=250yb9 📕 Book: https://www.amazon.com/Screentime- Solution-Judgment-Free-Becoming- Tech-Intentional/dp/B0CB9JS5KB Instagram: @thescreentimeconsultant LinkedIn: @emily-cherkin Facebook: @thescreentimeconsultant Youtube: @thescreentimeconsultantllc6072 BlueSky: @emilycherkin.bsky.social First Fish Chronicles: Unplug EdTech, Save Democracy http://firstfish.substack.com 📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act If education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? This show isn't about doing school better. It's about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what's possible. 🧠 Four Ways We Can Help You on Your Do School Different Journey 📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter — An opportunity to Do School Different 3x a week. Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: https://ruckusmakers.news 🗞 Read Ruckus Maker Media — Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom GPTs, new books before the bookshelf. https://ruckusmakers.media 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more: https://ruckusmakers.club 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus: https://betterleadersbetterschools.com/mastermind ✅ Every tool, community, and coaching program we offer is built to help visionary school leaders play the new game — one where leadership is creative, tech-enabled, and unapologetically student-centered. The podcast is your starting point. The movement is just getting started. 🎙️ Today's RUCKUScast in Partnership with: ODP Business Solutions®: Looking to create the kind of campus experience students never forget? ODP Business Solutions® transforms ordinary spaces into extraordinary learning environments. 🔍 Learn more: https://odpbusiness.com/education IXL: Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it is empowering, it helps them make better decisions with reliable data, and it adapts instruction based on student performance. 🔍 Learn more: https://ixl.com/leaders Frontline Education: 1,000+ school leaders just weighed in on staffing, absenteeism, AI, and funding shifts. The 2026 K-12 Lens Survey Report gives you a national view of where the pressure is — and where momentum is building. 🔍 Learn more: https://frontlineeducation.com/leaders Twelve Practices LLC © 2026 | Create a Campus Experience Worth Showing Up For

🎯 The Ruckus Report Quick take: You can't force engagement — but you can design for success. Tommy Floyd breaks down how one meaningful win can transform disconnected students into confident, motivated learners. 🎓 Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Tommy Floyd originally became involved in NASP® in 2003, while serving as a high school principal and NASP® coach. Several of the first NASP® state champions were on the Somerset High School team that Tommy coached. He has seen, first-hand, how the program positively impacts students, parents, and teachers. He has seen NASP® promote constructive teacher/student relationships, academic motivation and the promotion of students becoming involved with their school – many for the first time. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules In this episode, Tommy Floyd challenges traditional education paradigms: 😎 Key Insight #1: You Can't Force Engagement What's broken: Schools rely on surveys, incentives, and interventions to "drive" engagement. The shift: Create authentic success experiences first. Impact: Students become intrinsically motivated and eager to participate. 📌 Key Insight #2: The "Invisible Middle" Doesn't Need More Programs What's broken: Schools focus only on high achievers or behaviour problems. The shift: Design opportunities for the disengaged majority to feel capable and connected. Impact: 68% of students report feeling more connected to school. 🧰 Key Insight #3: Motivation Comes After Success (Not Before) What's broken: Expecting students to care before they've experienced competence. The shift: Give students a win → build confidence → unlock effort. Impact: 34% of students say they work harder in class after experiencing success. 🎙️ Quotable Ruckus "Every child needs success. What are you doing?" – Tommy Floyd 🧗‍♂️ Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here: Tomorrow: Identify 5 "invisible middle" students and ask: where can they experience a quick win? This Month: Launch or pilot one new opportunity (club, program, experience) designed for belonging — not performance This Semester: Build a system where every student experiences success in at least one meaningful domain on campus 🔗 Connect & Continue 🎯 Get the full episode transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Follow Tommy Floyd: Website: https://www.naspschools.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naspschools/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ArcheryintheSchools/videos 📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act If education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? This show isn't about doing school better. It's about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what's possible. 🧠 Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey 📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter — An opportunity to Do School Different 3x a week. Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: ruckusmakers.news 🗞 Read Ruckus Maker Media — Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom gpts, new books before the bookshelf. ruckusmakers.media 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more: ruckusmakers.club 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus: Apply Now 🎙 Today's RUCKUS cast in Partnership With: ODP Business Solutions® For over 30 years, ODP Business Solutions® has helped schools transform from whiteboards to smartboards. Why? Because when you get the right tools, everyone wins. 🔍 Visit odpbusiness.com/education to revolutionize your school's learning spaces. IXL Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it is empowering, it helps them make better decisions with reliable data, and it adapts instruction based on student performance. 🔍 Get started today at ixl.com/leaders Frontline Education: 1,000+ school leaders just weighed in on staffing, absenteeism, AI, and funding shifts. The 2026 K-12 Lens Survey Report gives you a national view of where the pressure is — and where momentum is building. 🔍 Learn more: https://frontlineeducation.com/leaders © 2026 Twelve Practices LLC | If Education Ain't a Bit Disruptive, Then What Are Your Students Learning?

🧰 The Ruckus Report Quick take: This episode flips the script on school culture and student motivation. Adrian Ireland shows why most engagement issues aren't about effort — they're about environment — and what to do instead. 🫂 Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Adrian Ireland is an international educator, systems thinker, and author who reimagines the architecture of learning by challenging traditional, standardized education models. With experience leading across Asia and Europe, he champions learner-centered approaches that elevate curiosity, individuality, and creativity. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules 😎 Key Insight #1: Schools don't have effort problems — they have architecture problems What's broken: We blame students and teachers for being unmotivated. The shift: Redesign the system so motivation is the natural outcome, not a constant battle. Impact: Transforms passive learners into engaged problem-solvers without more effort. 📌 Key Insight #2: Culture isn't spoken into existence — it's built by design What's broken: Leaders treat culture like a vibe or vision statement. The shift: Treat culture as the emergent result of your systems, structures, and incentives. Impact: A culture of belonging and excellence that sustains itself beyond PD days and posters. 🧰 Key Insight #3: Startup Week proves a different architecture delivers better results What's broken: End-of-year burnout and throwaway lessons. The shift: Reclaim that time with a high-agency, high-authenticity program rooted in design thinking. Impact: Students work harder, retain more, and surprise themselves — even in the last week of school. 💬 Quotable Ruckus "Culture is really system architecture in disguise." – Adrian Ireland 🧗‍♂️ Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here: Tomorrow: Audit your current systems. Where are students swimming upstream? This Month: Start planning a low-stakes sandbox where your staff can test new structures. This Semester: Launch a Startup Week-style program to unlock student agency and authentic learning. 🔗 Connect & Continue 🎯 Get the full episode transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Follow Adrian Ireland: Website: https://designingdifferent.carrd.co/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adrian-ireland-413191278 📕 Book: Designing different 📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act If education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? This show isn't about doing school better. It's about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what's possible. 🧠 Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey 📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter — An opportunity to Do School Different 3x a week. Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: ruckusmakers.news 🗞 Read Ruckus Maker Media — Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom GPTs, new books before the bookshelf. ruckusmakers.media 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more: ruckusmakers.club 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus: Apply Now 🎙 Today's RUCKUS cast in Partnership With: Play Piper Every student starts with curiosity — Piper keeps it alive. Our hands-on STEM kits turn gaming passion into real engineering skills. 🔍 Spark confidence in your students at playpiper.com/ruckus. ODP Business Solutions® Still scrambling for supplies like it's 1999? ODP streamlines everything from pencils to projectors so you can focus on what matters — making an impact. 🔍 Visit odpbusiness.com/education to learn more. IXL If you could differentiate instruction in 20 minutes or less, would you do it? Over 1 million teachers use IXL to make data-informed instruction effortless. 🔍 Start today at ixl.com/leaders. © 2026 Twelve Practices LLC | If Education Ain't a Bit Disruptive, Then What Are Your Students Learning?

🧨 The Ruckus Report Quick take: Most leaders say they want innovation… then rebuild the same dusty campus experience with newer paint. Will Campbell shows what happens when you press reset, redesign the human experience of school, and trust students to build the culture while teachers get time to grow inside the workday. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Will Campbell is redefining what's possible with modern education. As the Founding Head of Franklin School in Jersey City, named the The Most Innovative School in the World by T4 Education, Will has built a learning ecosystem that fuses timeless educational wisdom with breakthrough innovation. His work challenges the traditional playbook, empowering students and educators to think boldly, act with purpose, and lead with vision. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules In this episode, Will Campbell challenges traditional education paradigms: 🧰 Key Insight #1: Building from scratch isn't freedom, It's leadership under uncertainty What's broken: Leaders wait for the perfect plan, perfect clarity, perfect conditions… and then wonder why nothing changes. The shift: Get comfortable "building the bridge while you're walking on it," with feedback loops, iteration, and a team that can handle a little wobble. Impact: Faster learning, better decisions, and a school design that improves because it's alive — not because it's locked in. 🧠 Key Insight #2: Student voice isn't a survey. It's shared ownership of culture What's broken: Adults control the experience, then blame kids for not buying in. The shift: Trust students to lead earlier — then coach them with guardrails: "Not everything can be a yes, but everything doesn't have to be a no." Impact: Students build real leadership skill through reps, culture becomes self-sustaining, and the building stops depending on one adult to hold it all together. 🧰 Key Insight #3: Partnerships beat "exposure." Bring the real world into the building What's broken: Schools talk internships and career pathways, but keep professionals at arm's length — so students stay stuck in fantasies and assumptions. The shift: Build partnerships that put experts in front of students now (micro-courses, real conversations, real constraints, real options). Impact: Students pivot earlier, choose pathways with eyes open, and develop the confidence that comes from proximity to real work. 🎙️ Quotable Ruckus "Not everything can be a yes, but everything doesn't have to be a no." – Will Campbell 🧗‍♂️ Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here: Tomorrow: Pick one decision you're still hoarding "because it's faster." Give it away — with clear guardrails — and let someone lead. This Month: Create one student-led culture move (advisory, house system, rituals, onboarding, peer mentorship). Make it real. Make it visible. This Semester: Build a partnership pipeline: 10 professionals, 10 micro-sessions, 10 career reality checks — inside your building, not just on a poster. 📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act If education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? This show isn't about doing school better. It's about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what's possible. 🧠 Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey: 📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter — An opportunity to Do School Different 3x a week. Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: https://ruckusmakers.news/subscribe 🗞 Read Ruckus Maker Media — Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom gpts, new books before the bookshelf: https://ruckusmakers.media/ 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more: https://ruckusmakers.club/join 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus: https://betterleadersbetterschools.com/mastermind 🎙 Today's RUCKUS cast in Partnership With: ODP Business Solutions® For over 30 years, ODP Business Solutions® has helped schools transform from whiteboards to smartboards. Why? Because when you get the right tools, everyone wins. 🔍 Visit odpbusiness.com/education to revolutionize your school's learning spaces. IXL Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it is empowering, it helps them make better decisions with reliable data, and it adapts instruction based on student performance. 🔍 Get started today at ixl.com/leaders PLAY PIPER This episode is brought to you by Play Piper. At Piper, we believe STEM doesn't have to feel out of reach. Too many kids love gaming but give up on science and engineering because school doesn't spark their interest. That's where Piper comes in - They have hands-on STEM kits designed to turn curiosity into confidence and keep the pipeline of future innovators flowing strong. 🔍 Learn more at playpiper.com/ruckus © 2026 Twelve Practices LLC | If Education Ain't a Bit Disruptive, Then What Are Your Students Learning?

📣 The Ruckus Report Quick take: What if the cure for disengagement isn't better apps, but real tools in real hands? In this episode, Kris Rockwell challenges the one-way screen model that dominates modern classrooms — and makes a powerful case for hands-on learning that sparks joy, confidence, and curiosity. 🤝 Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Kris Rockwell works at the intersection of venture capital, technology, and non-profit initiatives. After spending over fifteen years in the eLearning field, he went on to lead the S. Kent Rockwell Foundation, supporting initiatives in conservation, entrepreneurship, and addiction recovery. He currently serves as Head of Product Development at Play Piper Inc. an edtech company based in San Francisco, the founder of AoS Ventures, a Pittsburgh-based venture capital group, and the co-founder of Praxis Science, a company that focuses on blockchain applications for decentralized science. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules In this episode, Kris Rockwell challenges traditional education paradigms: 🧠 Key Insight #1: The Tyranny of the One-Way Screen What's broken: One-way screens that keep kids passive and addicted. The shift: From screen consumption to hands-on creation and feedback loops. Impact: Students build confidence and competence through real-world tinkering and tech. 🧰 Key Insight #2: Tools Aren't Enough Without Freedom to Try What's broken: Classrooms full of unused tech due to lack of support or fear. The shift: Providing kids with approachable tools, open-ended projects, and the psychological safety to fail forward. Impact: One student went from bullied and silent to proudly presenting her own 3D-printed dragon — and finding her voice. 🚀 Key Insight #3: Preparing Kids for the Jobs That Don't Exist Yet What's broken: Teaching only for predictable answers and standardized tests. The shift: Making infotech and digital literacy foundational, just like math. Impact: Students learn coding, robotics, and cybersecurity by building their own devices — laying the groundwork for creative, tech-enabled futures. 💬 Quotable Ruckus "Confidence doesn't come from clicking — it comes from building." – Kris Rockwell 🧗‍♂️ Your Do School Different Challenge 👉 Ready to implement these ideas? Start here: Tomorrow: Ask one student what they'd build if they could learn anything. Then listen. This Month: Introduce one hands-on STEM project that doesn't require a final grade. This Semester: Reframe screen time — swap passive clicks for real-world tinkering. 🔗 Connect & Continue 📌 Get the full episode transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Follow Kris Rockwell: Website: www.playpiper.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/krisrockwell Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StartWithPiper X: https://x.com/StartWithPiper Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startwithpiper YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlayPiperLLC TikTok: @play.piper 📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act If education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? This show isn't about doing school better. It's about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what's possible. 🧠 Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey: 📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter — Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: https://ruckusmakers.news 🗞 Read Ruckus Maker Media — Premium insights and early book drops: https://ruckusmakers.media 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Private network, AI Prompt Library, and more: https://ruckusmakers.club/join 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Coaching + The Ruckus Maker Flywheel: https://betterleadersbetterschools.com/mastermind 🎙 Today's RUCKUS cast in Partnership With: ODP Business Solutions® For over 30 years, ODP Business Solutions® has helped schools transform from whiteboards to smartboards. Why? Because when you get the right tools, everyone wins. 🔍 Visit odpbusiness.com/education to revolutionize your school's learning spaces. IXL Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it is empowering, it helps them make better decisions with reliable data, and it adapts instruction based on student performance. 🔍 Get started today at ixl.com/leaders PLAY PIPER This episode is brought to you by Play Piper. At Piper, we believe STEM doesn't have to feel out of reach. Too many kids love gaming but give up on science and engineering because school doesn't spark their interest. That's where Piper comes in - They have hands-on STEM kits designed to turn curiosity into confidence and keep the pipeline of future innovators flowing strong. 🔍 Learn more at playpiper.com/ruckus © 2026 Twelve Practices LLC | If Education Ain't a Bit Disruptive, Then What Are Your Students Learning?

🎙 The Ruckus Report Quick Take: What happens when a high school sophomore builds the tool he wishes his teacher had? You get Markify — a collaborative, accessible classroom platform now used by 20,000+ students. In this episode, Anthony Beckett shares how a missed note sparked a movement and what school leaders can learn from a student-led disruption. 👋 Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Anthony Beckett is the founder of Markify, an EdTech startup transforming classrooms into collaborative learning environments. After building the prototype while still in high school, Anthony scaled Markify to 1,500+ schools and continues to grow the company as a college student. He's presented at ISTE, FETC, and speaks nationally about accessibility, student agency, and rethinking how classrooms operate. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules 🧠 Key Insight #1 — Make Classrooms More Accessible What's broken: Teachers lecture. Students copy notes. And if you miss it, you're out of luck. The shift: Markify puts the whiteboard on every student's desk — live, editable, and archived. Impact: All students — even those in the back row or with attention challenges — can review, interact, and participate at their own pace. 🧠 Key Insight #2 — Design for Collaboration Without Chaos What's broken: Classrooms are still built for compliance, not contribution. Group work is rare, and many tools are either clunky or chaotic. The shift: Markify allows controlled collaboration with real-time editing, permissions, and engagement features. Impact: Shy students speak up. Peer feedback flows. Classwide documents become shared artifacts — not worksheets in isolation. 🧠 Key Insight #3 — Fight Fire With Fire (Engagement > Distraction) What's broken: Schools treat phones and tech as threats instead of opportunities. The shift: Build experiences so engaging, students choose learning over scrolling. Impact: One student hid in the janitor's closet to avoid speaking in class — until Markify gave her a voice. Two weeks later, she was leading a group project. 💬 Quotable Ruckus "The real challenge isn't distraction — it's disinterest. If school isn't more engaging than TikTok, we've already lost." — Anthony Beckett 🎯 Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here: Tomorrow: Ask students how they would redesign one traditional lesson. Try one of their suggestions. This Month: Pilot a collaborative tool like Markify in one unit or course. This Semester: Launch a student-led innovation — let learners solve a real campus problem with tech, process, or design. 🔗 Connect & Continue 🎯 Get the full episode transcript here 👩🏻‍💻 Follow Anthony Beckett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckett-anthony Markify LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/markifyapp Markify Twitter/X: https://x.com/markifytool Markify Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markifytool Markify YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@markifyexotek Markify Website: https://markifyapp.com 📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act If education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? This show isn't about doing school better. It's about Doing School Different — and joining a movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what's possible. 🧠 Here Are Four Ways We Can Help You on Your Do School Different Journey 📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter — Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: ruckusmakers.news 🗞️ Read Ruckus Maker Media — Premium Substack content, AI prompts, book previews: ruckusmakers.media 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Private network, workshops, The Automatic School toolkit, and more: ruckusmakers.club 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system: Apply Now 🎙 Today's RUCKUS cast in Partnership With: ODP Business Solutions® For over 30 years, ODP Business Solutions® has helped schools transform from whiteboards to smartboards. Why? Because when you get the right tools, everyone wins. 🔍 Visit odpbusiness.com/education to revolutionize your school's learning spaces. IXL Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it is empowering, it helps them make better decisions with reliable data, and it adapts instruction based on student performance. 🔍 Get started today at ixl.com/leaders PLAY PIPER This episode is brought to you by Play Piper. At Piper, we believe STEM doesn't have to feel out of reach. Too many kids love gaming but give up on science and engineering because school doesn't spark their interest. That's where Piper comes in - They have hands-on STEM kits designed to turn curiosity into confidence and keep the pipeline of future innovators flowing strong. 🔍 Learn more at playpiper.com/ruckus © 2026 Twelve Practices LLC | If Education Ain't a Bit Disruptive, Then What Are Your Students Learning?