Have a Good Life

Today, I am talking with Brad Gustafson @GustafsonBrad, principal of Greenwood Elementary School #GWGreats. I’ve been a follower of Brad’s blog for a long time. He is inspiring and helps me want to be a better principal. I hope you learn a ton from him, just like I have.

In this episode we talk about:

• Mobile makerspaces
• Sphero balls - Draw and Drive
• Working on the Work (Buy the current book: Engaging Students: The Next Level of Working on the Work)
• Passport to Passion
• ClickToTweet: We are saying let’s celebrate creative genius!
• Three goals: high student achievement, cultural relationships, meaningful technology integration
• Constructive pushback
• Keeping it simple

Part 2

• Teachers are talented.
• Failure - Moodle forums research
• Monthly theme - optional vs. required.
• Transparency builds trust
• Teachers do great things no matter what, either openly and transparently or behind closed doors.
  *Invest in digital connections to deep your learning.
• Educational malpractice to limit learning based on what we refuse to learn.

WorkflowED podcast

Earning Freedom Podcast

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show.

Buy Communication Cards

Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com

Download Paperless Principal.  

New Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

I had the great opportunity to interview Michael Santos this week. He is a former convict who spent 26 years in prison for running drugs. He says he never touched the drugs, but organized other people to do it. Pretty amazing story.

Michael has a podcast out, now as well. He pipes it into the prison system to help people learn to change.
You can learn a little bit more about Michael here:
• PBS NewsHour (7-minute profile)
• NBC Bay Area Proud (5-minute profile)
• San Francisco Chronicle (Front-page profile)

We talk about the following:

• How Michael became incarcerated.
• How he had a change of heart.
• Philosophy and Socrates.
• Tweet: I needed a string to lead me out of the labyrinth. via @MichaelGSantos @TrnFrmPrincipal http://ctt.ec/B0z64+
• Our system of corrections is designed to extinguish hope.
• Michael’s 3 pronged plan:
  • Educate myself
  • Contribute to Society
  • Build a Support Network
• Tweet: Every human being has the potential to become something amazing.
  
• Students may see you and tune out the message because you are an authority figure.
• Tweet: People thought they were insulting me by saying I wasn’t hard enough.
• Using the socratic method.
• Define the values students need.
• Tweet: If they can define success, we can ask what we do to get you there.
• There’s a path to a better life and it doesn’t happen by accident. Click to Tweet
• Establishing values vs. defining values
• Straight A Guide: Attitude, Aspiration, Action, Accountability, Awareness, Achievement, Appreciation
• When people feel like they have no control, they are less likely to become the best they can be.
• The Scandinavian system provides a panel to help acclimate the offender to society after a prison sentence.
• We need an innovative disruptive approach to change things.
• People want a better life, but don’t know how to get there.

New Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

I had the great opportunity to interview Michael Santos this week. He is a former convict who spent 26 years in prison for running drugs. He says he never touched the drugs, but organized other people to do it. Pretty amazing story.

Michael has a podcast out, now as well. He pipes it into the prison system to help people learn to change.
You can learn a little bit more about Michael here:
• PBS NewsHour (7-minute profile)
• NBC Bay Area Proud (5-minute profile)
• San Francisco Chronicle (Front-page profile)

We talk about the following:

• How Michael became incarcerated.
• How he had a change of heart.
• Philosophy and Socrates.
• Tweet: I needed a string to lead me out of the labyrinth. via @MichaelGSantos @TrnFrmPrincipal http://ctt.ec/B0z64+
• Our system of corrections is designed to extinguish hope.
• Michael’s 3 pronged plan:
  • Educate myself
  • Contribute to Society
  • Build a Support Network
• Tweet: Every human being has the potential to become something amazing.
  
• Students may see you and tune out the message because you are an authority figure.
• Tweet: People thought they were insulting me by saying I wasn’t hard enough.
• Using the socratic method.
• Define the values students need.
• Tweet: If they can define success, we can ask what we do to get you there.
• There’s a path to a better life and it doesn’t happen by accident. Click to Tweet
• Establishing values vs. defining values
• Straight A Guide: Attitude, Aspiration, Action, Accountability, Awareness, Achievement, Appreciation
• When people feel like they have no control, they are less likely to become the best they can be.
• The Scandinavian system provides a panel to help acclimate the offender to society after a prison sentence.
• We need an innovative disruptive approach to change things.
• People want a better life, but don’t know how to get there.

New Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal

Mr. Gregory Leavitt is the principal of Draper Park Middle School in Draper, UT. Draper Park has experienced some great success recently as a top-scoring school in the state in Math, ELA, and Science. He was the 2013 Canyons District Administrator of the Year Award Winner.

In this episode we talk about the following:

Cross Curricular Teaming and PLCs.

• Agenda consists of activities, common vocabulary, student problem solving, and team activities and celebrations
• Vocabulary is a powerful way to connect content areas.
• How he reviews all 9 PLC teams’ notes.
• Consistency as key to long-term success.
• How they use a Friday late start collaboration time.

Subject Area Teaming and PLCs

• Large focus on data
• Common Formative Assessments
• Bringing everybody up, instead of comparing for comparison sake.
• Easy to take big end-of-year test when you are assessing for mastery to the standards all throughout the year.
• No need for a big push at the end.
• Nothing fancy, just some Google Docs that are shared between the team.

Standards-Based Grading

• 100% of grades are based on assessments, what the kids can actually demonstrate as mastery.
• Rick Wormeli - “Fair Isn’t Always Equal”
• Objective Tracker, student-reported grades, and success.

How you can be a transformative principal:

Pick one thing that you can sustain for the next 5–7 years and stick with it.

Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. 

Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show.

Buy Communication Cards

Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com

Download Paperless Principal.  

New Episode of @TrnFrmPrincipal