Educational Leadership with Principal JL

Principal JL is an educational leader who explores various topics facing educational leaders today! The Mission of this podcast is to inform and inspire other Educational Leaders on how to be their best for their Schools by honing their skills and talents so they may impact their teachers, staff mem...

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June 8, 2026

Episode 72: Principal Mo on AI, Leadership, and the Future of Education: Practical Strategies for Today's School Leaders

Connect with the Show Here! Your to-do list is not the job, and it definitely isn’t leadership. Principal Mo is back, and our catch-up turns into a real blueprint for how educational leaders can protect their time, build stronger systems, and still show up for kids and staff with energy. We talk ab…

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May 18, 2026

Episode 71: The Missing Link Between PLCs and MTSS: How Schools Improve Student Achievement with Kurtis Hewson

Connect with the Show Here! PLCs can be strong and MTSS can be strong, and schools can still feel like they are missing the connector that turns good work into a coherent system. That “missing piece” is what Kurtis Hewson calls the collaborative team meeting, a simple but highly intentional structu…

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May 4, 2026

Episode 70: School Leadership, Culture, Social Media, and Comedy: How Nick Holtvluwer Builds Trust, Teams, and Impact

Connect with the Show Here! A lot of leaders feel pressure to be polished, serious, and unshakable. I do not buy that, and neither does Nick Holtvluwer, Principal of Mammoth Heights Elementary in Parker, Colorado, who somehow manages to lead a school for a decade, build a huge online following, and…

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April 27, 2026

Episode 69: Principals’ Perspectives: Hiring Teachers, Staffing Shortages & Real Talk on School Leadership

Connect with the Show Here! Thirteen hires by April. Internal transfers that “go over like a turd in a punch bowl.” Schools trying to keep construction, CNA, phlebotomy, and dual enrollment alive while staffing gets tighter. If you’re leading a building right now, you know the feeling: everything m…

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April 20, 2026

Episode 68: How Principals and School Leaders Grow: Educational Leadership Lessons from Dr. TJ Vari and Dr. Joe Jones

Connect with the Show Here! Your leadership isn’t defined by your intentions, it’s defined by what your week actually looks like. We sit down with Dr. Joseph Jones, superintendent of Newcastle County Vocational and Technical School District, and Dr. TJ Vari, former deputy superintendent and senior …

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April 13, 2026

Episode 67: Principal Baruti Kafele on Transformational School Leadership, Turnaround Strategies & Instructional Leadership

Connect with the Show Here! Some schools don’t need a new program, they need a leader whose voice actually lands. I sit down with Principal Baruti Kafele, a nationally recognized turnaround principal, author, and longtime educator, to unpack what transformational educational leadership looks like w…

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April 1, 2026

Episode 66: Trust and Inspire Leadership in Schools: How to Move Beyond Command and Control

Connect with the Show Here! If leadership feels like you’re carrying the whole school alone, the problem might not be your work ethic. It might be the model you’re using. We get real about how easy it is for principals and school leaders to slip into command and control leadership and why that appr…

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March 16, 2026

Episode 65: How Principals Can Hire Great Teachers in a Shortage: Recruiting, Retaining, and Building a Teacher Pipeline (2026)

Connect with the Show Here! Hiring in education isn’t just “hard” right now, it’s faster, noisier, and far less forgiving than it used to be. If you’re still waiting to collect a perfect candidate pool before you act, you’re probably watching your best applicants accept offers somewhere else. We ta…

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March 2, 2026

Episode 64: How to Build a Real PLC Culture: Dr. Chad Dumas on Collaboration, the 4 PLC Questions, and Guaranteed Learning

Send a text What if the reason your PLCs feel flat is because they’re treated like a calendar event, not a culture? We sit down with Dr. Chad Dumas, former music teacher, principal, director of learning, author, and Solution Tree PLC at Work associate, to unpack how schools move from working hard t…

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Feb. 23, 2026

Episode 63: Assistant Principal Leadership Playbook with Dr. Sonia Matthew: Equity, School Systems & Student Achievement

Send a text A single line can change a career: “You’re not just an assistant principal.” Dr. Sonia Matthew joins us to show what that looks like when reflection, equity, and well-built systems collide to keep students in classrooms and learning at high levels. From her beginnings as a first-generat…

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Feb. 16, 2026

Episode 62: 2025 Pennsylvania Principal of the Year Laura Tobias on Restorative Leadership, Culture, and Student Engagement

Send a text What if a high school could heal and improve at the same time? Principal Laura Tobias, 2025 Pennsylvania Principal of the Year, shares how she led a 2,400‑student campus through crisis into a culture defined by love, restorative practices, and relentless follow‑through. The story begins…

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Feb. 9, 2026

Episode 61: Stop Eating Our Own: How Educator Language Shapes School Culture and the Future of Teaching

Send us a text What happens when the stories educators tell about their work turn into the strongest recruiter, or the loudest warning, about our profession? We dive into Stop Eating Our Own by Robert Hinchliffe and Shawna Quenneville and unpack how a single choice of words online can shape school …

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Feb. 2, 2026

Episode 60: School Culture Over Programs: Robert Hinchliffe on Principal Leadership That Actually Works

Send us a text What if the fastest way to better scores isn’t another program, but a stronger culture? We sit down with Las Vegas principal and author Robert Hinchliffe to unpack how trust, clear systems, and teacher autonomy transform schools into places kids and adults love. Robert’s journey from…

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Jan. 26, 2026

Episode 59: Leading as a Learner: Dr. Jess Quinter on MTSS, School Culture, and Principal Leadership

Send us a text What does it take to lead a single school so well that your influence reaches across a district, and into state and national conversations? We sat down with Dr. Jess Quinter, Principal of Park Forest Elementary in Pennsylvania and NAESP Zone 2 director, to unpack a career built on le…

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Jan. 19, 2026

Episode 58: Dr. Danny Steele on Becoming an Instructional Leader: How Principals Reclaim Time, Support Staff, and Strengthen School Culture

Send us a text Feeling stretched thin by the demands of school leadership yet determined to move learning forward? We sit down with Dr. Danny Steele; teacher, AP, principal, and author of The Instructional Leader in You; to unpack the practical mindset shifts that turn busy administrators into true…

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Jan. 12, 2026

Episode 57: Nebraska Education Advocacy: How the 2026 Legislative Session Will Impact Schools with Dr. Mike Dulaney & Tim Heckenlively

Send us a text Laws that feel distant in a statehouse become very real in a classroom. We sit down with Dr. Mike Dulaney of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators and consultant Tim Heckenlively to map what the new legislative session actually means for students, teachers, and leaders, and h…

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Jan. 5, 2026

Episode 56: Lindsey Allen’s Leadership Journey: How a Principal Scaled Influence, Protected Teacher Time, and Boosted Student Achievement

Send us a text A school changes course when leadership starts by listening and then protects what matters most: time, clarity, and opportunity. We sit down with Lindsey Allen, Georgia’s 2025 Principal of the Year and principal of Walnut Grove High School, to unpack the simple, rigorous moves that d…

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Dec. 29, 2025

Episode 55: Year-In-Review 2025 (Part 2): Leadership Lessons From 12 School Leaders

Send us a text Ready for a fast, no-fluff leadership reset that actually translates? In this 2025 Year in Review, we highlight twelve standout leaders and the single move from each that shifted trust, culture, and learning in real schools. You’ll hear how visibility strengthens belonging, why behav…

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Dec. 23, 2025

Episode 54: Year-In-Review 2025 (Part 1): Leadership Lessons From 14 School Leaders

Send us a text This episode distills one powerful insight from each of our standout guests this year, practical moves you can use the moment you’re back in the building. From consistency and clarity to purpose, recognition, and sustainable habits, these strategies strengthen culture and improve out…

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Dec. 15, 2025

Episode 53: You Don't Have to Leave to Lead: Dr. Chris Jochum's Leadership Journey

Send us a text What if the most powerful leaders in a school aren’t the ones with the titles? We sit down with Dr. Chris Jochum department chair, coach, and author of You Don’t Have To Leave To Lead, to unpack how everyday teachers can move culture, improve learning, and lift colleagues without ste…

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Dec. 9, 2025

Episode 52: The Principal’s Playbook: Building Trust, Retaining Teachers, and Driving Change (Unfiltered)

Send us a text Culture is not a poster on the wall, it’s the engine that determines whether any strategy, policy, or program actually works. We walk through a practical, field-tested playbook for principals who want to build trust, retain great teachers, and lead lasting change without burning out …

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