Transformative Principal
by Jethro Jones
Latest episode
Stop Owning Their Improvement: Put the Ball in Their Court
Stop Owning Their Improvement: Put the Ball in Their Court
About this podcast
Jethro Jones interviews instructional leaders from around the nation to learn and teach what it takes to become a transformative principal. Episodes address topics like Response to Intervention (RTI), Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), the latest advances in educational research, standards-based grading, and interviews with industry leaders like Bill Daggett, Rick Wormeli, Todd Whitaker and even people outside the education like Seth Godin, JeVon McCormick, Liz Wiseman, and more.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 874 episodes
- Stop Owning Their Improvement: Put the Ball in Their Court · 16 min · Season 13 Episode 740Jethro shares a My First Million clip with coach Joe Hudson, then shows principals how to hand an improvement plan back to the teacher so you stop policing every step.
- Project Paideia: Teens Build with AI Instead of Consuming Slop · 20 min · Season 13 Episode 741Jethro Jones explains Project Paideia, a teen AI build-a-thon on November 21, and why using AI to expand learning differs from using it to shortcut the thinking.
- Developing the Leader Within with Christopher Grode · 46 min · Season 13 Episode 735Christopher Grode, a retired Illinois superintendent, shares his monthly 90-for-90 plan and five-minute morning journal, and why every school leader needs an honest coach or peer.
- How Play Builds Belonging and Resilience with Elizabeth Cushing · 27 min · Season 13 Episode 739Elizabeth Cushing, CEO of Playworks, shows how organized recess builds belonging, cuts conflict and supports student attendance, and how schools can pay for it.
- ISTE 2026: Inside the iSTAR Writing Tool · 50 min · Season 13 Episode 738University of Kansas researchers demo iSTAR, a teacher-led writing tool with auto-scoring and adaptive practice, and explain how your school can join the pilot study.
- Lessons from Dozens of Charter School Visits with Nanette Merrill · 48 min · Season 13 Episode 736Nanette Merrill, executive director of the Idaho Charter School Association, shares what strong school culture looks like after visiting about 60 schools, and how coaching helps…
- Handle Disagreement and Share Good News as a Principal with Kip Glazer · 18 min · Season 13 Episode 733Kip Glazer, principal of Mountain View High School and author of Ready to Lead with AI, explains how to handle upset parents and counter bad press with your school's good stories.
- Practical Ways to Use AI in Your PLC with Kevin Donohue · 18 min · Season 13 Episode 732Kevin Donohue, a former Catholic school principal now with FACTS Education Solutions, shows how to use AI in professional learning communities while protecting student data.
- Teacher-Led Projects That Get Funded with Evin Schwartz of Thinkering · 20 min · Season 13 Episode 731Evin Schwartz, co-founder of Thinkering, explains how a 10-week teacher cohort turns ideas like a school garden or poetry slam into funded projects.
- ISTE 2026: Building a Reading Culture with Dr. Erin Bailey · 10 min · Season 13 Episode 730Dr. Erin Bailey of Reading Is Fundamental explains how the Skybrary app gives any household with a device 100 free picture books and why joy comes first in building a reading…
- Coaching vs. Mentoring for School Leaders with Kate O'Connell · 36 min · Season 13 Episode 734Kate O'Connell, a leadership coach and former head of school, explains coaching versus mentoring and how Link Leaders' Leadership Studios give school leaders peer support.
- ISTE 2026: ClassVR's Vision for VR in Education · 11 min · Season 13 Episode 729Simon and Jill from ClassVR describe Thrive, a VR sensory regulation tool, and preview a STEM library for experiments schools often can't run, plus advice on adopting VR.
- ISTE 2026: Rethinking Career Readiness with Jamie Candee · 27 min · Season 13 Episode 728Jamie Candee, President and CEO of Edmentum, explains how schools can build career readiness by getting students into career exploration and real work experience before graduation.
- Hugging Porcupines: Support Kids Who Struggle with Behavior with Mike Anderson · 18 min · Season 13 Episode 727Mike Anderson, author of Hugging Porcupines, shows you how to support student behavior with a three-legged stool of engagement, respectful discipline and relationships.
- ISTE 2026: Reaching Kids Who Don't Fit in the Box with Pete Hall · 11 min · Season 13 Episode 726Pete Hall, author of Reaching and Teaching Kids Who Don't Fit in the Box, names five reasons students disengage and simple classroom strategies to bring them back, recorded live…
- Building Iowa's Charter School Movement from Scratch with Mike Huguelet · 49 min · Season 13 Episode 725Mike Huguelet, executive director of the Iowa Coalition of Public Charter Schools, explains how he is building a charter market in a new-law state and what traditional schools…
- Burn the Script: Coach Beliefs, Not Just Skills with Jo Lein · 31 min · Season 13 Episode 724Jo Lein, principal coach and author, explains why teaching a skill fails when beliefs block change, and how skill, identity and value help leaders find the real barrier.
- Translate Your Educator Experience into a Better Role with Jason Leshowitz · 34 min · Season 13 Episode 716Jason Leshowitz, arts supervisor and career coach, shows teachers and assistant principals how to reframe resumes and interview answers to move into leadership or ed tech roles.
- Life Ready Students and a Culture of Innovation with Glenn Robbins · 27 min · Season 13 Episode 723Glenn Robbins, principal of Northfield Community School, shows how daily talks with his union president and a design thinking charrette built staff buy-in and a Life Ready…
- Listening to Students to Transform School Culture with Amy Fast · 32 min · Season 13 Episode 722Amy Fast, then assistant principal at McMinnville High School, shows how to survey 2,100 students about wellbeing and connection, then act on what they say to improve school…
- Let the Learners Lead with Rachael Thrash · 49 min · Season 13 Episode 721Rachael Thrash, author and director at Big Bad Boo Studios, shows principals how to move from student voice to student ownership and build school culture with kids.
- Small Schools, Big Vision: Microschools and AI Scheduling with Scott Bess · 51 min · Season 13 Episode 720Scott Bess, president of the Indiana Charter Innovation Center, explains how microschools and AI scheduling can move schools past seat time, and how a principal can start a…
- Making Mondays the Best Day of the Week with Jonathon Wennstrom · 26 min · Season 13 Episode 719Jonathon Wennstrom, principal of Rosedale Elementary in Michigan, shows how a 20-minute weekly school assembly starts every Monday on a positive note and builds school community.
- The Nonlinear Path from Teacher to Microschool Founder with Bill Knous · 45 min · Season 13 Episode 718Bill Knous of the Colorado League of Charter Schools and co-founder of Gran Via explains how he built a microschool and why seat time should stop being the measure of schools.
- Addition Through Subtraction: Redesign Learning Spaces with Robert Dillon · 28 min · Season 13 Episode 717Robert Dillon, author and director of the Bright Bytes Institute, shares low-cost ways to redesign classrooms, from removing clutter to a 30/40/30 buying plan.
- Developing Teacher Leaders with Kyle Palmer · 24 min · Season 13 Episode 715Kyle Palmer, principal of Lewis and Clark Elementary, explains tight/loose leadership and how he trusts teachers to lead so you can develop leaders, not followers.
- Building Relationships That Outlast Leadership Transitions with Danny Bauer · 28 min · Season 13 Episode 714Danny Bauer, assistant principal in Chicago, explains how trust and succession planning matter when your principal leaves, and the first steps to start yours.
- Read to Lead: Annotate Books for School Improvement with Kimberly Miles · 29 min · Season 13 Episode 713Kimberly Miles, principal of East Gresham Elementary, shows how she reads, annotates and summarizes books so you can turn your reading into school improvement.
- Unleash Aliveness: Fix School Culture in Small Sprints with Alisha De Lorenzo · 39 min · Season 13 Episode 712Educator Alisha De Lorenzo explains how to improve school culture by asking staff for answers, running four-week sprints and checking in on people before talking work.
- Merging Two Rival High Schools: Better Together with Derek Cantrell · 43 min · Season 13 Episode 711Derek Cantrell, principal of Allegheny High School in Virginia, shows how he led a school consolidation by planning relationships, blending traditions and putting people first.
- The Science of Kindness with Dr. Chris Culver · 33 min · Season 13 Episode 710Dr. Chris Culver, founder of Orange Sparrow, shows school leaders how kindness works as a science and how keep-start-stop surveys and clear expectations build a positive school…
- Instructional Coherence: Make Your Programs Fit Together with Dr. Gene Kerns · 26 min · Season 13 Episode 709Gene Kerns of Renaissance Learning explains instructional coherence and how principals can make core, tier two and tier three programs work together instead of in silos.
- Executive Functions for Every K-3 Classroom with Mitch Weathers & Sarah Oberle · 55 min · Season 13 Episode 708Sarah Oberle and Mitch Weathers explain how to shape K-3 classrooms around working memory, inhibition and cognitive flexibility, with fixes principals can spot on a walkthrough.
- How to Lead Change Without Leaving Your Team Behind with Dr. Kristilynn Turney · 33 min · Season 13 Episode 707Former principal Dr. Kristilynn Turney shows how to lead change in schools by building relationships first, then holding firm only on the non-negotiables that serve students.
- Avoid Principal Burnout by Setting Boundaries with Marie Bordeleau · 37 min · Season 13 Episode 705Dr. Marie Bordeleau, a school leader with 25 years of experience, shares how to handle criticism, stay calm in a crisis and set boundaries so principal burnout does not wear you…
- The 3 Keys to Leading Every Human with Nick Pretasky · 46 min · Season 13 Episode 706Nick Pretasky, a former Alaska backcountry guide, shows principals how bond, mastery and belief help a whole staff reach the summit, and why every leader needs a coach.
- Lead Innovation by Modeling It, Not Mandating It with Brad Gustafson · 31 min · Season 13 Episode 702Brad Gustafson, an elementary principal in Minnesota, shares four ways to start innovating at your school, from student voice and trying new things to modeling instead of…
- Jethro's Dissertation: Use AI for Cognitive Equity, Not Just Efficiency · 1 h 8 min · Season 13 Episode 704Jethro Jones defends his doctoral dissertation on how principals can use AI in schools to solve problems that were not possible before, and what 11 Wyoming principals built in…
- Why Jethro Is Handing the Podcast to Mike Caldwell · 33 min · Season 13 Episode 703Jethro Jones passes the show to Mike Caldwell of LinkedLeaders, explains his move to Life Lab, and both make the case for principals finding mentors outside their own building.
- Building Accountability Through Key Responsibility Areas with Will Parker · 31 min · Season 13 Episode 700Will Parker, a high school principal near Tulsa, shows how Key Responsibility Areas give every staff member a clear written list of what they own and who backs them up.
- Learning Through Video Games at Alpha School with Benny · 31 min · Season 13 Episode 699Benny, a 16-year-old Alpha School sophomore, explains his AlphaX project on how video games teach, and Jethro Jones challenges him to publish before he perfects.
- The Power of Principal Self-Efficacy with Stan Koterba · 27 min · Season 13 Episode 698Ohio administrator Stan Koterba explains principal self-efficacy, how visualizing a hard conversation helps, and how to cut email so you spend your day in classrooms.
- Reject the Premise, Part 8: Get a Coach, Skip the Loneliness with Danny Bauer · 35 min · Season 13 Episode 697Danny Bauer and Jethro Jones argue leadership coaching is not a luxury, loneliness is a choice, and school innovation starts with a mindset and a clear problem, not a budget.
- Supporting Students and Families with ADHD with Mike Goldstein · 38 min · Season 13 Episode 695Mike Goldstein of Reset Teen Coaching shows principals how to support teens with ADHD and executive function struggles, including evening Zoom help and a school software audit.
- The Jethro 2025 Episode: Process Over Assignments with Mike Caldwell · 1 h 1 min · Season 13 Episode 696Mike Caldwell interviews Jethro Jones on 13 years of podcasting, using AI for innovation and replacing assignments with process-based project learning in schools.
- Run the School Before It Runs You with Rich Czyz · 23 min · Season 13 Episode 694Rich Czyz, principal of Yardville Elementary, explains how to audit your time, hand work to students and close your door so you can eliminate one task this week.
- Reject the Premise, Part 6: Serve Parents, Not Test Scores with Danny Bauer · 37 min · Season 13 Episode 693Danny Bauer and Jethro Jones show how to serve parents instead of lecturing them, track inputs over test scores, and model change in your school.
- Make Your Parent Teacher Group Easier to Run and Fund with Ben Downey · 24 min · Season 13 Episode 692Ben Downey, founder of Big Nest, explains how parent teacher groups can simplify online fundraising and show families the work behind school events, and what principals can do to…
- Get Answers From a Mentor Who Has Solved Your Problem with Mike Caldwell · 27 min · Season 13 Episode 691Mike Caldwell, founder of LinkedLeaders, explains how principals can find and book a mentor in about three clicks and get on-demand coaching from outside their own district.
- AI Exposed the Lie of Schools, Let's Focus on Learning Again · 57 min · Season 13 Episode 690Jethro Jones says formulaic, easy-to-grade assignments made schools an easy target for AI, and shows how real audiences and human skills put learning back at the center.
