Principal Center Radio

Get the book, Ethical Ed Tech: How Educators Can Lead on AI and Digital Safety in K-12 Schools on Amazon Visit Priten's website, www.priten.org About The Guest Priten Soundar-Shah is an educator, philosopher, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of humanistic values and frontier technology. He is the CEO of PedagogyVentures and leads three nonprofits: PedagogyFutures (Executive Director), Academy 4 Social Civics (President), and ThinkerAnalytix (CTO). Priten is the author of AI & The Future of Education (Wiley, 2023), translated into Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, and Vietnamese, and the forthcoming Ethical Ed Tech (Wiley, 2026). He teaches courses on Ethics of Ed Tech and Epistemic Justice at College Unbound, and is a visiting researcher at the Harvard Department of Philosophy. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Harvard College and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  

Get the book, The Four Cornerstones of Effective Schools: How to Build Lasting Success on Amazon Get the book, The Four Cornerstones of Effective Schools: How to Build Lasting Success on Solution Tree's Website Visit Darin's website, www.DrDarinThompson.com Follow Darin on Youtube @drdarinthompson Follow Darin on Instagram @drdarinthompson About The Guest Darin A. Thompson, PhD, is a veteran K-12 leader with nearly 20 years of experience and founder of Pivotal Leaders Group. A two-time outstanding principal of the year semi-finalist within his region, Dr. Thompson has led transformative school improvement efforts across multiple school divisions, resulting in double-digit gains in student outcomes and significantly closing achievement gaps for historically underserved populations. A regular presenter at conferences such as NAESP/NASSP’s United Conference, Making Schools Work, and VA Alliance of Black School Educators, Dr. Thompson has contributed to Education Week, the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research, and other publications. Dr. Thompson has become a trusted voice in educational leadership. He has delivered professional development workshops on building constructive school cultures for improvement at major conferences, including the 2024 and 2025 Virginia Alliance of Black School Educators Conference, the 2025 National Association of Secondary School Principals United Conference, and the Southern Regional Education Board’s Making Schools Work Conference. Dr. Thompson’s thought leadership has been featured in Education Week, including the articles “How My School Is Fighting the Surge in Chronic Absenteeism” and “How Pandemic Isolation Damaged School Culture.” He has also published in the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research and is a contributing author of Preparing to Lead: Narratives of Aspiring School Leaders in a “Post”-COVID World. Dr. Thompson earned a bachelor of science in criminal justice and a master of public administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a master of education and a doctor of philosophy in educational leadership from Regent University. He is also a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. To learn more about Thompson’s work, follow him on LinkedIn or at @drdarinthompson on Instagram and YouTube.

Get the book, In Support of Student Data: A Data Workbook for MTSS Teams Visit the Commonwealth Consulting Agency website, www.cca-pr.com Follow Kristan on X @dr_rodriguez21 Connect with Kristan on LinkedIn About The Author Kristan Rodriguez, Ph.D., is an award-winning educational leader and former superintendent and principal. She is the creator of the MTSS² Framework™ that replaces fragmented referral practices with proactive, data-informed structures. Dr. Rodriguez is the founder and CEO of Commonwealth Consulting Agency (CCA), a trusted partner to state agencies, districts, and schools nationwide. Dr. Rodriguez is the best-selling author of In Support of Student Data: A Data Workbook for MTSS Teams (Wiley, 2025) and In Support of Students: A Leader's Guide to Equitable MTSS (2023).   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

Get the book, Becoming The Delegating School Boss Visit Naphtali's Website, www.ImpactfulCoaching.com   About The Guest  Dr.  Naphtali Hoff is a former educator and school leader who serves as an executive and performance coach and trainer, and he's the author of three books Becoming the New Boss a leadership Book that helps new leaders hit the ground running and enjoys sustained success, Becoming The Productive Boss, which helps leaders and their teams get more of the right work done and Becoming The Delegating School Boss, which helps school leaders clear their plates and empower their teams.

Get the book, A Level Playing Field: Strategies to Ensure Public Schools' Success Visit the Caissa K12 Website, www.CaissaK12.com About The Author Brian J Stephens is the Founder and CEO of Caissa K–12, a strategy firm serving public school districts nationwide. He has presented at national conferences and organizations, including the AASA, The School Superintendents Association, the National School Boards Association, and the Consortium of State School Boards Associations. He served in the United States Army, rising to the rank of Captain, and is an attorney and psychologist by training. Brian is the author of A Level Playing Field: Strategies to Ensure Public Schools’ Success.   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

Watch Lauren on The Teaching Show Substack: Lauren Brown on Education Lauren Brown’s articles on MiddleWeb About The Guest Lauren Brown spent about 20 years teaching US history in middle and high schools and another eight years working at the university level with future social studies teachers. She now works as a consultant and writer on MiddleWeb and her own Substack. She writes about education with a special focus on why social studies and history in particular matter. Much of her work is about helping people see how good history teaching strengthens, not just literacy, but our democracy as well.  

Get the book, The Complete Guide for New Elementary Teachers: Discover Joy and Success with a Whole Child Approach Visit Steve's Website, www.SteveReifman.com About The Author Steve Reifman has been an elementary school teacher for the past 31 years, and during that time he's earned National Board certification, traveled to Japan as a Fulbright Memorial Fund scholar, and completed two master's degrees. He has experience working with students in all the elementary grade levels, and he's taught in both public and private schools. He's the author of several books for educators, such as The Complete Guide for New Elementary Teachers: Discover Joy and Success with a Whole Child Approach   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

Get the book, Morph Mastery: A Morphological Intervention for Reading, Spelling and Vocabulary Visit Louise's website, LouiseSelbyDyslexia.com About The Author Louise Selby is a dyslexia specialist trainer, consultant, author, assessor and teacher. She has 25 years’ experience of working with SEND within Hertfordshire local authority in teaching, special needs coordinator and advisory roles. She now works freelance, providing training and consultancy for schools as well as dyslexia assessment. Louise believes in partnership and collaboration and this is at the heart of all that she does. She is the author of Morph Mastery: Morphological Intervention for Reading, Spelling and Vocabulary and All About Dyslexia: A Practical Guide for Primary Teachers and All About Dyslexia: A Practical Guide for Secondary Teachers.

  Get the book, The Daily SEL Leader Get the book, A Blueprint for Teacher Retention: Leading Schools that Teachers Don't Want to Leave Visit the Brass Tacks Innovations website, www.brasstacksinnovations.com View the Teacher Retention Model PDF  About The Authors James Bailey’s career has encompassed teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, school turnaround leader, consultant and superintendent roles spanning Texas, Colorado and Wyoming. He holds a PhD in Educational Leadership and Innovation from the University of Colorado-Denver, is a prolific publisher and presenter, and currently serves as a core faculty member at Walden University in the area of educational leadership. Randy Weiner has worked in education and education technology and consulting throughout his career. He co-founded the country’s first public Montessori, arts integration, and design thinking school in Oakland, CA. A Teach for America alum and father to two daughters, Randy taught for 5 years in Oakland and Madagascar, and holds two BAs from Middlebury College and an MA in Education from Stanford. They are the founders of Brass Tacks Innovations, a consultancy focused on leadership development, workplace culture, teacher retention, and other challenges. James and Randy are the co-authors of The Daily SEL Leader and James is the author of A Blueprint for Teacher Retention: Leading Schools that Teachers Don’t Want To Leave.   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

Get the book, The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids’ Learning—And How To Help Them Thrive Again Visit the LME Global website, www.LMEGlobal.net Follow Jared on Youtube @JaredCooney About The Author Jared Cooney Horvath, PhD is a neuroscientist educator who has conducted research and lectured at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, and The University of Melbourne, and over 750 schools on 6 continents. Jared has published 7 books, over 60 research articles, and his work has been featured in popular publications, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Economist, and on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s science show Catalyst. Jared currently serves as Director of LME Global: a team dedicated to bringing the latest brain and behavioral research to teachers, students, and parents.   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

  Get the book, Dealing with Difficult Parents (Teacher Edition): How to Get Parents Off Your Back and On Your Side Get the book, Dealing with Difficult Parents (School Leader Edition): How to Model, Coach, and Support Your Teachers About The Authors Dr. Todd Whitaker is a research professor at the University of Missouri and professor emeritus at Indiana State University. Prior to moving into higher education, he was a math teacher and basketball coach in Missouri. Todd then served as a principal at the middle school, junior high, and high school levels. Dr. Whitaker is a leading presenter in the field of education and has written more than 65 books, including the bestseller What Great Teachers Do Differently. He's the author of Dealing with Difficult Parents (Teacher Edition): How to Get Parents Off Your Back and On Your Side, and Dealing with Difficult Parents (School Leader Edition): How to Model, Coach, and Support Your Teachers.   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

Read the Holyoke "Relay Leadership" Case Study About The Author John Travis is senior program officer for Education at The Barr Foundation where he focuses on teacher and school leadership pipelines to help recruit, develop, retain, and cultivate the talented, diverse educators needed for the schools of today and tomorrow. John came to Barr after nearly 15 years as a frontline educator, first as a high school mathematics teacher in New Jersey and then as a school and district leader in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). In his most recent role, he served as the principal of the Ohrenberger School in West Roxbury.    Prior to leading at the Ohrenberger, he trained as a principal fellow at the Harvard-Kent Elementary School in Charlestown and worked as Director of Human Capital Strategy with the BPS central office, supporting school leadership pipeline development.   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

  Get the book, Cultivating Exceptional Principals: A Guide for Principal Supervisors to Hire, Develop, and Retain School Leaders About The Authors Jasmine K. Kullar, EdD, is an assistant superintendent of a large metropolitan school district. She is also a faculty member in the College of Professional Studies Educational Leadership Department at Albany State University in Georgia.   Bruce R. Fraser, EdD, is an assistant superintendent with a metro Georgia school district. He has been in education for over 25 years, serving as teacher, principal at the elementary- and middle-school level, and director of human resources   Lisa M. Reddel recently retired as executive principal of school improvement in a large metropolitan school district in Northern Virginia. She has over 32 years of experience in schools and districts as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, district director, executive principal, and educational consultant.   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

Get the book, The Scientific Principles of Reading and Writing Instruction Bridging the Divide Between Educational Practice and Research  Visit Nate's Website www.PedagogyNonGrata.com Follow Nate on X @Natejoseph19 About The Author Nathaniel Hansford has taught every grade from preK to 12th, in places as diverse as South Korea, the United Kingdom, the subarctic of Quebec, and Ontario, Canada. In 2022, he won the Literacy Leader of the Year award from the Ontario International Dyslexia Association. Nathaniel has written hundreds of articles on the science of teaching. He is most interested in using meta-analysis research to help teachers implement methodologies that have been proven to work. He is the founder of SAGE Online Academy. To learn more about Nathaniel’s work in education, visit teachingbyscience.com, or follow him @Natejoseph19 on X (formerly Twitter). He is the author of The Scientific Principles of Teaching: Bridging the Divide Between Educational Practice and Research.   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

  Get the book, A New School Leadership Architecture: A Four-Level Framework for Reimagining Roles Visit the Holdsworth Center website, www.HoldsworthCenter.org About The Author Lindsay Whorton is president of The Holdsworth Center, a non-profit organization in Texas dedicated to building educational leaders. Initially serving seven school districts and 42 leaders in 2017, The Holdsworth Center has served more than 1,900 leaders in 89 public school districts. Lindsay is a teacher, writer, speaker, and advocate for public education and educators. She was a Rhodes and Fulbright scholar, and holds a master’s degree in comparative social policy and a doctorate in social policy from Oxford University. She is the author of Teachers Unions and Education Reform in Comparative Contexts.

Get the book, All About Dyslexia: A Practical Guide for Primary Teachers Get the book, All About Dyslexia: A Practical Guide for Secondary Teachers Visit Louise's website, LouiseSelbyDyslexia.com About The Author Louise Selby is a dyslexia specialist trainer, consultant, author, assessor and teacher. She has 25 years’ experience of working with SEND within Hertfordshire local authority in teaching, special needs coordinator and advisory roles. She now works freelance, providing training and consultancy for schools as well as dyslexia assessment. Louise believes in partnership and collaboration and this is at the heart of all that she does. She is the author of Morph Mastery: Morphological Intervention for Reading, Spelling and Vocabulary and All About Dyslexia: A Practical Guide for Primary Teachers and All About Dyslexia: A Practical Guide for Secondary Teachers.   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

  Get the book Autopilot: Practical Productivity for School Leaders Visit the 4 O'Clock Faculty Website Follow Rich on Twitter @RACzyz About The Author Rich is a principal and former teacher and instructional coach, and he's the author of four books, including Autopilot: Practical Productivity for School Leaders

Get the book, Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives: How Students’ Reading Achievement Has Been Held Back and What We Can Do About It Visit Timothy's website, www.ShanahanOnLiteracy.com About The Author Timothy Shanahan is distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He served as the director of reading for the Chicago Public Schools, is the former president of the International Literacy Association, and served on the advisory board of the National Institute for Literacy under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In 2007, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame.   This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.   

Get the book, Leading Educator Wellness: Six Critical Actions to Support All Staff About The Authors Bill Barnes is the superintendent of the Howard County Public School System in Maryland. He has served in leadership roles with the Maryland and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and has won a number of state and national teaching awards. Barnes holds a master of science in mathematics and science education from Johns Hopkins University, and has served as an adjunct professor for Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland–Baltimore County, McDaniel College, and Towson University.   Dr. Erin Lehmann is an associate professor for the University of South Dakota. She has experience as an elementary principal at a Title I school, as well as being a math teacher, math coach, and curriculum specialist. Dr. Lehmann is the author or co-author of several books, including Teaching Mathematics Today. She is a frequent speaker at national conferences, advocating for mathematics and grading practices. She holds EdD in educational leadership from the University of South Dakota.

Get the book, Singletons in a PLC at Work®: Navigating On-Ramps to Meaningful Collaboration  Visit Brig's website, www.BrigLeane.com Follow Brig on X @BrigLeane About The Author Brig Leane is an education consultant and former principal of Fruita Middle School in Colorado, which under his leadership became a national Model Professional Learning Community. A veteran of the United States Coast Guard, he began his 2nd career as an educator in 2000, and has served as a principal, assistant principal, and teacher at the middle and high school levels in inner-city, suburban, and rural schools. He has also been an adjunct professor at Colorado Christian University. Brig's work has been published in Phi Delta Kappan, Principal Leadership, and elsewhere, and he's the author of The PLC Dashboard: Implementing, Leading, and Sustaining Your Professional Learning Community at Work as well as Singletons in a PLC At Work.     This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12. Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data. Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.