Transformative Principal

In this episode, Rachael Thrash — educator, author, and Senior Director at Big Bad Boo Studios — joins Mike Caldwell to challenge the gap between student voice and student ownership. With 25+ years in education, Rachel argues that GPA-gated student councils and empty surveys exclude the students who need to be heard most. Through real examples of students solving real school problems, she shows what happens when kids are given genuine agency. She also walks through her new book Let the Learners Lead, a practical toolkit for educators ready to co-create school culture with students — not just for them We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this special handoff episode of Transformative Principal, host Jethro Jones announces he's passing the podcast to Mike Caldwell, founder of LinkedLeaders, as Jethro transitions to his new role as Director of Operations at Life Lab, a character education company creating video curriculum for middle and high schools—a move that aligns perfectly with his doctorate in character education, which he's defending the day after this episode airs. The episode explores why this partnership makes sense, as both Transformative Principal and LinkedLeaders focus on supporting school leaders through connection, mentorship, and learning from others' experiences, with Mike's platform connecting principals with mentors who have actually done the work they're struggling with through features like "Leadership Suites" that give districts their own dedicated spaces while accessing a broader community. Jethro shares insights about using AI tools like Open Claw to streamline operations and eliminate repetitive tasks in his new role, while both hosts emphasize a core theme: school leaders desperately need safe spaces to connect with peers who understand their challenges, since they often can't discuss struggles with staff below them or administrators above them. After 13 years and over 10 years of episodes, Jethro confidently hands off the podcast to Mike, who will continue providing valuable conversations for educational leaders worldwide. We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

15:19.5In this episode of Transformative Principal, host Jethro Jones interviews Benny, a 16-year-old sophomore at Alpha School in Austin. Benny discusses his Alpha X project—a YouTube channel explaining how video games are educational.The conversation explores Alpha School's innovative model, which combines AI-based academics in the morning with passion-driven project work in the afternoon. Benny shares insights on how video games teach critical life skills like problem-solving, resilience, teamwork, and communication through active learning environments.Jethro challenges Benny to stop perfecting his first video and start publishing immediately, emphasizing that consistent practice beats endless research. They discuss the importance of learning through doing, the value of failure in video games versus traditional education, and how Alpha School's approach helps students develop real-world skills.Alpha School academics and workshops. Benny’s youtube channelUploading many videos as opposed to researching to make one video. Active worlds do 1.5x better than kids in traditional learning situations.Video games teaching organic skills. Portal 1 and 2 are great for teaching logicProfessor Layton Franchise - puzzle games.What makes you give up? Motivational models - motivating a student for doing a certain task or achievementHow minecraft raised us better than our schools. Brainlift Google DocAbout BennyBenny is a 16-year-old sophomore who attends Alpha High School. He enjoys playing video games, playing instruments, and debating a variety of topics. He has lived in Austin, Texas his whole life and has been attending Alpha for three years. At Alpha, students complete an AlphaX project, an individual project based on their passions. When he was in middle school and during his first year at Alpha High School, Benny’s project was based on music therapy. However, as he progressed through high school, he began to change his project to a YouTube channel that explains how video games are educational. This change was inspired by the first thing he does when he gets home from school, which is playing video games. We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this episode of Reject the Premise, Jethro and Danny challenge three common misconceptions in educational leadership. They argue that leadership development isn't a luxury but a necessity, emphasizing that top performers in every field invest in coaching and that having a coach demonstrates maturity rather than inadequacy. They reject the notion that leadership must be lonely, encouraging leaders to build supportive communities and connections rather than remaining isolated. Finally, they reframe innovation as a mindset focused on problem definition rather than an expensive, technology-dependent endeavor. Throughout the conversation, they stress that leaders must take ownership of their own development rather than waiting for districts to provide it, and they share practical examples of how constraints can actually fuel creativity and meaningful change in schools.Key Takeaways:Leadership development is not a luxury - it's essential. When you get better as a leader, everybody wins. Top performers across all fields have coaches, and school leaders deserve the same investment.Having a coach is a sign of humility and maturity, not weakness. The best leaders actively seek coaching and development opportunities because they know they haven't reached their full potential yet.Leadership doesn't have to be lonely - loneliness is a choice. Connect with other leaders through masterminds, coaching communities, online groups, or professional networks. Isolation is the number one enemy of excellence.Innovation is a mindset, not a budget item. It starts with clearly defining the problem you're trying to solve, not jumping to solutions. Real innovation often costs nothing but requires creativity, relationship building, and rethinking constraints.Don't wait for your district to develop you. Take ownership of your growth through external conferences, coaching, and learning from industries outside education. The best insights often come from beyond the education bubble. We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.