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Principal Matters: The School Leader's Podcast with William D. Parker
Principal Matters: The School Leader's Podcast with William D. Parker
Author: Principal Matters: The School Leader's Podcast with William D. Parker
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William D. Parker reveals his school leadership strategies, insights from other leaders, and practical tips so that you can have the tools to achieve your own goals. A former teacher of the year and Oklahoma assistant principal of the year, he is also an author, blogger, speaker and education consultant. The former Principal of Skiatook High School, near Tulsa, Oklahoma, and past Executive Director for the Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Principals and the Oklahoma Middle Level Education Association, he now leads Principal Matters, LLC, proudly supporting educators with Grow Academies, Masterminds, Executive Coaching, and Keynote Presentations.
Co-host, Dr. Jen Schwanke, is an ASCD author, speaker and Deputy Superintendent of Schools in Dublin, Ohio. A former teacher and principal, she is the author of "You're the Principal, Now What?" and several other helpful books for education leaders. She brings her background in teaching, principal leadership, and district leadership -- as well as her wit and practical tips -- regularly to the show as well as to audiences through in-person PD across the country.
Listen to this podcast to rediscover healthy motivation, resolve conflicts and challenges, maximize your communication, grow your instructional abilities, and learn to streamline responsibilities—all while building positive communities among your team members, students, parents, and patrons.
Co-host, Dr. Jen Schwanke, is an ASCD author, speaker and Deputy Superintendent of Schools in Dublin, Ohio. A former teacher and principal, she is the author of "You're the Principal, Now What?" and several other helpful books for education leaders. She brings her background in teaching, principal leadership, and district leadership -- as well as her wit and practical tips -- regularly to the show as well as to audiences through in-person PD across the country.
Listen to this podcast to rediscover healthy motivation, resolve conflicts and challenges, maximize your communication, grow your instructional abilities, and learn to streamline responsibilities—all while building positive communities among your team members, students, parents, and patrons.
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A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker take some time to answer a listener question. This week’s question is: How do we balance the expectations and challenges of system-wide leadership vs. site-specific leadership? Listen in to hear their response! Meet Kate Anderson Foley, Ph.D. Kate Anderson Foley, Founder […]
The post PMP474: Radically Excellent School Improvement with Dr. Kate Anderson Foley appeared first on Principal Matters.
Welcome back to another episode of Monday Matters! This week, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke take some time to have a conversation about the use of AI in public schools. They talk about how AI has blown up and the ways that it is impacting education. One concern about AI that is often cited is […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Addressing AI appeared first on Principal Matters.
Meet Darrin Peppard: Dr. Darrin Peppard is a dynamic keynote speaker, leadership expert, and consultant with a passion for transforming organizational culture and developing the next generation of leaders. A former award-winning principal, Darrin draws from nearly 30 years of experience in education to inspire leaders to embrace clarity, purpose, and joy in their work. […]
The post PMP473: Road to Awesome with Darrin Peppard appeared first on Principal Matters.
In this week’s episode of Monday Matters, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke take some time to highlight the extraordinary skills of school leaders. Using the image of a Swiss Army Knife, Will and Jen tie that image to the image of the job description of a school principal. The job of a principal often requires […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Being a Swiss Army Knife appeared first on Principal Matters.
A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s episode, Will and Jen take some time to answer a listener question. This week’s question is: How do I face a team of teachers who resist collaborating and like to “admire the problems” more than look for solutions? Listen in to hear their response! Meet Tyler Comeau: […]
The post PMP472: Elemental Educator with Tyler Comeau appeared first on Principal Matters.
In this week’s episode of Monday Matters, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke discuss the challenges that school leaders face as they navigate both the mundane and complex aspects of their job. They offer advice on how to lead through the ordinary and fight boredom in the job of a school leader by reconnecting to one’s […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Leading Through the Ordinary appeared first on Principal Matters.
A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s interview, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke take some time to answer a listener question. This week’s question is: Do I HAVE to appease parents? How can I shut down a cycle of unproductive conversation? (I’m referring to the most unreasonable situations) Listen in to hear their response! […]
The post PMP471: Lead with H.O.P.E with Dr. Brandi Kelly appeared first on Principal Matters.
Welcome back to another episode of Monday Matters! This week, Jen Schwanke and I are talking about a post Jen wrote for her newsletter about staff meetings. Running a staff meeting can be a daunting task! We hope that this episode will provide principals with ideas to run staff meetings in a way that makes […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Staff Meeting Glow-Up appeared first on Principal Matters.
A Note to Listeners: Before this week’s interview, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke take some time to answer a listener question. This week’s question is: What tips do you have for someone transitioning to a support role without specifically defined responsibilities? Listen in to hear their response! Meet Tim Villegas: Tim Villegas is the Director […]
The post PMP470: Staying Committed to Inclusivity with Tim Villegas appeared first on Principal Matters.
This week on Monday Matters, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke discuss the article below written by Will about left brain and right brain leadership. Listen in to hear their conversation! Left Brain and Right Brain Leadership, by William D. Parker There’s an old ad from Mercedes-Benz that shows an illustration of the human brain divided […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Left Brain and Right Brain Leadership appeared first on Principal Matters.
Meet Crystal Williams: Crystal Williams is a dedicated instructional leader with 20 years of experience, currently serving as a District Literacy Coach in Houston, Texas. Originally from Albuquerque, NM, she holds a BA in Psychology and MA in Elementary Education. Now in her sixth year as an instructional coach, Crystal is passionate about equity, justice, […]
The post PMP469: Instructional Coaching with Crystal Williams appeared first on Principal Matters.
This week on Monday Matters, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker discuss a post written by Will. Check out the post below and listen in to hear their thoughts on it! Random Moments, Major Outcomes by Will Parker I recently listened to an insightful episode of Hidden Brain that really provoked my thinking. In the interview, […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Random Moments, Major Outcomes appeared first on Principal Matters.
A Quick Note to Listeners: Before this week’s episode, Will and Jen take some time to answer the following listener question: Is achievement only dependent on the perfect leader happening along at the perfect time? Listen in to hear their response! Meet Tony Frontier: Tony Frontier, PhD, is an award-winning educator, author, and consultant who […]
The post PMP468: AI with Intention with Tony Frontier appeared first on Principal Matters.
This week on Monday Matters, Jen Schwanke and I discuss happiness among educators. We cover an article by Elizabeth Dampf, The Cost of Happiness, and Jen talks about some articles she has written about joy in educators. School leaders face a lot of stress on the job. We spend a lot of time pouring into […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Whose Happiness Are You Responsible For? appeared first on Principal Matters.
A quick note to listeners: Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker take a few minutes to discuss the following question: What is missing that keeps every school from moving forward at high levels all the time? Listen in to hear their response! Meet Danny Bauer: Daniel Bauer is the founder of Better […]
The post PMP467: Being a Ruckus Maker with Danny Bauer appeared first on Principal Matters.
Welcome back to another episode of Monday Matters! This week, join Will Parker and Jen Schwanke for the final discussion about Jen’s new book, Trusted: Trust Pillars, Trust Killers, and the Secret to Successful Schools. Chapter 7 is about self-trust for principals. The work of a principal is inherently very self critical. When a principal […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Self-Trust and Beyond appeared first on Principal Matters.
LaDonna Chancellor is the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning for Bartlesville Public Schools in Oklahoma. With over 25 years in education, she began as a special education teacher, later serving as assistant principal and principal at Central Middle School and Bartlesville High School. As a high school principal, she led major transitions, expanded STEM […]
The post PMP466: Leading Collaboratively with LaDonna Chancellor appeared first on Principal Matters.
This week on Monday Matters, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker are talking about building trust with students. Their conversation is a follow-up to last week’s episode, where they talk about what kills trust with students. If you haven’t already listened to that episode, go back and give it a listen! Building trust with students is the […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Building Trust with Students appeared first on Principal Matters.
Derek is the principal of Alleghany High School in Covington, Virginia, where he led the merger of two rival schools into a unified school community. Instead of allowing division to define the transition, he focused on building culture first, ensuring students, staff, and the community had a voice in shaping a new identity under a […]
The post PMP465: Better Together with Derek Cantrell appeared first on Principal Matters.
Happy Monday Principal Matters listeners! This week, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke are discussing a topic from Jen Schwanke’s new book, Trusted: Trust Pillars, Trust Killers, and the Secret to Successful Schools. Today’s conversation is part one of a two part conversation about building trust with students. Building trust with students is an essential skill […]
The post MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – Trust Killers with Students appeared first on Principal Matters.




Hey there, I just started listening to your podcast. Thanks for putting this info out there. I am an aspiring leader in education from Australia and wanted to ask; If you could go back to your first appointment as principal, what would you do different?
Also love the tips on having difficult conversations with young people... I'll be using them. Thanks William for bringing Josh to the podcast!
Wow... Great tips! I really love the tip on simulating scenarios before they actually happen. It really reveals a lot, even though it takes great thought to accomplish but guess it'll be very effective.