In this episode, Jenn and I interview Dave Blanchard, a seasoned superintendent from a school district in Upstate New York. Three years ago Dave’s district implemented a distraction-free environment, which included no cell phones during the school day. We talk about this leadership challenge in the context of Jonathan Haidt’s 2024 book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

If you would like a summary of the book along with discussion questions to use with families, email Jenn@TheMainIdea.net. If you would like to hear the research and ideas straight from the author, join a free webinar with Jonathan Haidt about The Anxious Generation on 9/24 at 3:00 PM EDT. RSVP here: https://home.edweb.net/webinar/mentalhealth20240924/.

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

We were fortunate to get to talk to the renowned Todd Whitaker in today's podcast. He is one of the most influential thought leaders in educational leadership and has written 65 books on staff motivation, teacher leadership, and principal effectiveness!

Today Whitaker talks about the latest edition of his classic book, What Great Principals Do Differently: Twenty Things That Matter Most.

Todd shares 8 of the 20 things he has found (through research AND personal experience as a principal) the BEST principals do that the average ones don't.

He was quite a hoot to talk to and you'll love his anecdotes. But most of all he helps school leaders with what may be the most important task, (and he says all of his books are about this important task) HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO DO WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO.

To learn more about him, go to http://toddwhitaker.com/ or follow him on Twitter at @ToddWhitaker.

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Teachers spend a lot of time making sure students know what they’re supposed to do, and many students struggle to understand expectations and translate them into action. The results are less time for teaching and less capacity for learning.

Schools need to teach executive functions to all students in the context of the learning they are already doing to boost learning and engagement today and equip them for the future. In his book, Executive Functions for Every Classroom, author Mitch Weathers offers a beginning routine and a concluding routine any teacher can adopt to teach executive functions. You can learn more about Mitch and his work at organizedbinder.com or send him an email at Mitch@organizedbinder.com.

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Students today are suffering from an epidemic of disconnection. School leaders I work with see it in students’ disengagement from learning and in their mental health. While there are many factors at play here, there’s no doubt that belonging is something that kids (and grown-ups too) desperately need.

In this episode, Jenn and I interview Dominique Smith, who along with his co-authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Vincent Pompei, and Rachael Stewart, wrote Belonging in School Creating a Place Where Kids Want to Learn and Teachers Want to Stay.

Belonging in School is an actionable and illustrated playbook that will have you excited to take immediate steps and try out some new strategies today for making your school a place where everyone feels that they belong.

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this episode, Jenn had the privilege of speaking to three rising juniors in college, all of whom want to become teachers. While we've spent so much time fearing the loss of teachers from our field, it was so inspiring to remember that some energetic young people are going to bring so much to our schools, too. Exciting!

The passion of these three young women — Annie Morrison, Audrey Garfinkel, and Isabella Argote — was palpable! First of all, they KNOW kids — from teaching swimming and ballet to being camp counselors to starting an innovative virtual book club for young people during Covid — and will bring these rich experiences to our schools.

Whether you want ideas for how to work with our youngest teachers or you just want to be inspired, you should listen to this episode! You may end up wanting their resumes in a couple years...

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

According to Beverly Cleary (yes, that Beverly Cleary), “Children should learn that reading is pleasure, not just something that teachers make you do in school.” Jenn and I couldn't agree more, and that’s why in this episode we talk about the book The Joy of Reading by Donalyn Miller and Teri S. Lesesne (Heinemann, 2022). Here’s more of what we know:

• Decades of over-testing and standardized learning has crowded out students’ joy in reading. When it comes to reading, students report they are bored and uninterested. Research tells us that this undermines reading achievement.

• Fortunately, educators at every level can cultivate reading joy by supporting students’ reading independence and reading community. And it can be done without abandoning evidence-based instruction.

Enjoy the second part of this lively conversation about this critically important topic.

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

“If you’re not reading by the end of third grade, there’s a 70% chance you won’t become a proficient reader.” That’s what author Karen Gazith told us as we talked with her about her most recent book, The Power of Effective Reading Instruction: How Neuroscience Informs Instruction Across All Grades and Disciplines. Here’s more of what we know:

• Neuroscience and decades of research have provided a clear understanding of how children learn to read and how teachers can help them when they struggle with reading.

• Teachers in every grade level and content area need to provide their students with evidence-based instruction, strategies, and interventions that will support their reading development and empower them to succeed in school and life.

Enjoy this lively conversation about a controversial but important topic.

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

In this fifth special episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I talk about resources to help school leaders with building better teams. To support this work, Jenn has gathered her summaries of three must-read books:

• Learning by Doing by Richard DuFour et al. - This book shows how to effectively implement PLCs so they will raise student achievement and improve the professional lives of teachers.

• The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle - Great cultures can be built. This book shares the 3 key skills that organizations with extraordinary cultures have mastered — building safety, sharing vulnerability, and establishing purpose.

• The Art of Coaching Teams by Elena Aguilar - This book provides the tools, tips, protocols, and theory needed to coach teacher teams to become highly effective.

These three books are a great place to start if you are looking to work on your knowledge and skills related to improving the teams that you work with. If you head to The Main Idea website, you can see this and other lists of Jenn’s Must-Read Books for School Leaders.

Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.