A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s interview, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke share an update on the United Conference they will both be attending in Seattle this week. Listen in to find out what time they will be presenting and how you can connect with both of them at the conference. They would […] The post PMP456: Empowering Student Agency with Dr. Mike Nicholson appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jul 09, 2025•52 min
Happy Monday, Principal Matters listeners! This week, Jen Schwanke and I are talking about chapter 12 from my new book, Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? An Educator’s Guide to Doing What You Love. The premise of this chapter is on something I like to call “life liturgies”: practices, routines, and rituals that define a […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Life Liturgies appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jul 07, 2025•15 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s interview, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke spend some time talking about Jen’s upcoming book: Trusted: Trust Pillars, Trust Killers, and the Secret to Successful Schools. Listen in to hear more about this book, as well as where you can pre-order it. Thank you for doing what matters! […] The post PMP455: Cybersecurity in Schools: Risks, Prevention, and Best Practices with Mike Fitzpatrick appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jul 02, 2025•42 min
Welcome back to another Monday Matters! I can’t believe it is already summer. This week, our Monday Matters Podcast is going to be a little different than usual. As listeners may already know, the focus of recent Monday Matters episodes have been on the chapters of my new book Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? […] The post MONDAY MATTERS Bonus Episode – Mastermind Lesson with Legacy Leaders appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jun 30, 2025•29 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s interview, Will Parker answers a question from a student in Jen Schwanke’s graduate class at OSU. The question is: From your experience as a podcaster, what are the most compelling or surprising insights you’ve gained from other educational leaders regarding human capital management? (This question is asked […] The post PMP454: Maximizing Systems, Focus, and Impact with PJ Caposey appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jun 25, 2025•45 min
Welcome back to another Monday Matters. As school leaders across the country are wrapping up their school years, Jen and I are wishing everyone a happy summer! This week’s episode is a discussion of a chapter on coaching from my book, Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? An Educator’s Guide to Doing What You Love. […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – The Value of Coaching appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jun 23, 2025•22 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s interview, Will Parker answers a question from a student in Jen Schwanke’s graduate class at OSU. The question is: Through your consulting work, what common human capital challenges do you see schools facing and how can principals proactively address them? (Question from Madeline Platfoot, 6th grade math […] The post PMP453: Leading with Wellness in Mind with Dr. Angela Diggs appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jun 18, 2025•45 min
Hi, Principal Matters listeners! Thank you for tuning in for another episode of Monday Matters. This week, Jen Schanke and I are talking about chapter 10 from my book, Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? An Educator’s Guide to Doing What You Love. Before we jump into that discussion, Jen announces all of the places […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Cycles of Reflection appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jun 16, 2025•20 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s interview, Will Parker answers a question from a student in Jen Schwanke’s graduate class at OSU. The question is: How did you ensure equity and fairness in staff evaluations, promotions, and leadership opportunities? (Question from Diona Ross, High School Intervention Specialist from Columbus, Ohio) Listen in to […] The post PMP452: Reaching Every Student with Dr. Tracie Anderson Swilley appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jun 11, 2025•36 min
Hi, Principal Matters listeners, and welcome back to another episode of Monday Matters! This week, Jen Schwanke and I are talking about building systems that produce the outcome you want (Chapter 8 in Whose Permission). I want to talk about systems on Monday Matters because Jen Schwanke has helped me understand systems better. Jen shares […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Building Systems That Produce Outcomes You Want appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jun 09, 2025•19 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s interview, Will Parker answers a question from a student in Jen Schwanke’s graduate class at OSU. The question is: What practical strategies did you use to boost staff morale and prevent burnout, especially during times of high stress or change? (Question from Cameron Carter, first grade teacher […] The post PMP451: What is My Value Instructionally with Baruti Kafele appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jun 04, 2025•47 min
It’s Monday, so that means it’s time for another Monday Matters episode! This week, Jen and I are continuing a series of conversations that revolve around the chapters from my new book, Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? An Educator’s Guide to Doing What You Love. The chapter we’re discussing this week is called “Let’s […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Let’s Talk About Money appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Jun 02, 2025•20 min
Happy Friday, Principal Matters listeners! This week’s encore episode is a conversation between myself and Pete Hall from 2022. Pete is a veteran school administrator and education consultant who has authored many books and articles on leadership. In this episode, we talk about his book Chasing the Show, a YA novel. Listen in to hear […] The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP287: Chasing the Show with Pete Hall appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 30, 2025•30 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks.Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this […] The post PMP450: Instructional Excellence with Michelle Steingart appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 28, 2025•40 min
Hi, Friends! Welcome back to another installment of Monday Matters! This week, I am joined by Jen Schwanke to talk about a chapter called “Will It Fly?” in my new book, Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? An Educator’s Guide to Doing What You Love. When I wrote this chapter, I wanted to share with […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Will It Fly? appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 26, 2025•16 min
Happy Friday! We’re back this week with another encore episode. This one is an interview from 2022 with Dr. Keri Launius, an administrator who has served in various roles throughout her education career. At the time of this interview, I was working alongside her team to facilitate learning and growing for her team of aspiring […] The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP291: Growing Leadership Teams with Dr. Keri Launius appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 23, 2025•31 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks. Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before […] The post PMP449: Inclusive and Supportive Schools for Every Learner with Dr. Eric Mace appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 21, 2025•45 min
Welcome back to another episode of Monday Matters! This week, Jen and I are talking about chapter 6 from my new book, Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? An Educator’s Guide to Doing What You Love. But before we jump into that discussion, we would like to share some details about some upcoming conferences we […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 19, 2025•15 min
Happy Friday! We’re back this week with another encore episode. This week’s pick is from 2022, when I talked with Brad Gustafson about his book The 6 Literacy Levers. Our conversation is filled with great advice for school leaders to rethink literacy through the use of Brad’s six literacy levers: We also discuss questions about […] The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP274: 6 Literacy Levers with Brad Gustafson appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 16, 2025•24 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks.Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this […] The post PMP448: The Antiracist School Leader with Dr. Daman Harris appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 14, 2025•46 min
Hi, friends, and welcome back to Monday Matters! Today Jen and I are discussing the value of consistency, which is one of the chapters in my new book Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? An Educator’s Guide to Doing What You Love. To start out the conversation, Jen shares the heartwarming story of a nurse, […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – The Value of Consistency appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 12, 2025•12 min
Happy Friday! This week’s Encore Episode is one from 2022, a dynamic interview with Dr. Chris Jones. We discuss teacher-centric leading and supporting teachers, to name a few discussion areas. I feel like this is the perfect encore episode to wrap up teacher appreciation week. Listen in to hear our conversation or check out the […] The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP279: Support, Empower, Engage with Chris Jones appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 09, 2025•34 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks.Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this […] The post PMP447: The Blueprint for Administrators with Todd Bloomer appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 07, 2025•44 min
Welcome back to another episode of Monday Matters! This week, Will and Jen are talking about another chapter from Will’s new book, Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? An Educator’s Guide to Doing What You Love. Throughout their conversation, Will and Jen discuss how important it is for school leaders to stay curious. One of […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Curiosity Plus Inquiry Equals Discovery appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 05, 2025•11 min
Happy Friday! This week our encore episode is a conversation between Jen Schwanke and I, focused on encouraging and motivating staff. Listen in to hear us discuss the following reminders for education leaders: Tune in to hear the full conversation or check out the original blog post to learn more. Thank you doing what matters! The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP278: Encouraging & Motivating Staff with Jen Schwanke appeared first on Principal Matters ....
May 02, 2025•33 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks.Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this […] The post PMP446: Recovering After Fire with Lana Penley & Jen Schwanke appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Apr 30, 2025•49 min
Welcome back to Monday Matters! This week, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke are discussing a chapter from Will’s new book, Whose Permission Are You Waiting For? An Educator’s Guide to Doing What You Love. The chapter is on avoiding the binary, and discusses innovative ways for readers to approach decision making in their work through […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Avoiding the Binary appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Apr 28, 2025•12 min
Happy Friday! This week’s encore episode is one from 2021, a conversation between Will Parker and Jen Schwanke about school discipline. Listen in to hear them talk about several different ways to approach consequences for student discipline, as well as some great advice and practical applications to approaching discipline. You can learn more by tuning […] The post ENCORE FRIDAY – PMP271: Answering Questions on School Discipline with Jen Schwanke appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Apr 25, 2025•30 min
A Quick Note to Listeners: —- The Question of the Week is supported by Summer Pops Math Workbooks.Principals, when students practice math over the summer, math scores go up. What’s your summer math plan this year? A great way to start is by ordering FREE summer workbook samples at Summer Pops Workbooks.com. —- Before this […] The post PMP445: Powerful Voices in Education with Donna Hayward and Jen Schwanke appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Apr 23, 2025•54 min
This week on Monday Matters, Will and Jen talk about professional pathways for educators and getting through the end of the school year. They discuss strategies for powering through what Will and Jen call the “slog” at the end of the school year, and share how they have each adjusted their mindset to have a […] The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Professional Pathways for Educators appeared first on Principal Matters ....
Apr 21, 2025•17 min