Episode 81: Finding Your Red Bench: Sustainable School Leadership, Self-Care & Avoiding Burnout with Todd Bloomer

Big Questions About Sustainable Leadership

Principal JL 1:21

What happens when you spend years leading a school and then suddenly your responsibilities become helping leaders across multiple school buildings succeed? How does your perspective on principalship change when you're no longer sitting in the principal's seat every day, but instead you're coaching, supporting, developing the people who are? And maybe even a bigger question for all of us in educational leadership: how do we find our red bench, that place where you can slow down, reflect, reconnect with your purpose, and become more intentional about the way you lead? Well, that's what we're going to do today. Today I'm bringing back our good friend Todd Bloomer. Todd Bloomer has been in the education circuit for about three decades. Right now, his role is the director of school leadership for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas. And he's also an author of a brand new book called Finding Your Red Bench. And I really love this episode because we get a catch up with Todd and all the great things he's doing, but we also get down to talking about how can we keep going in this profession. And that's where finding your red bench comes in. Now, Todd is no stranger to the show. If you want to go back and check out his work in episode 35, I strongly recommend you guys to do that. I love the conversation that we had with Todd on this one. So without further ado, let's get to the conversation with Todd Bloomer.

Todd Bloomer Returns And Reconnects

Principal JL 3:03

Welcome back, everybody, to another exciting episode of the Educational Leadership Podcast. Today I'm so excited. I'm bringing back on the show Todd Bloomer. Todd, it's been a minute, been about a year since we probably talked. We kind of text back and forth and do that once in a while. But when it comes down to it, just for us to sit down and catch up, I welcome you back on the show. Todd, welcome back to the show. You know, what have you been up to, my friend?

Todd Bloomer 3:30

Thank you, Jeff. I appreciate it. It's an honor to be back with you. You know, big fan of yours on social media, stuff that you're doing, you know, uh in Nebraska, stuff that you're doing on social media. You know, before we hit record, talk a little bit about your faith. I'm really, you know, proud of you for sharing your faith and the conversation of us sharing each other was pretty powerful. I mean, year two, I worked for the Archdiocese of San Antonio here in San Antonio, Texas. It's it's super hot. We have a heat dome going on. So as soon as this podcast drops, I'm gonna go jump in the pool and cool off after a long day. Um, I work with uh school leaders. I'm a director of school leadership, and I have the great opportunity to be able to go into Catholic schools and work with the adults, but also jump back in and I've done some teaching. I've been a kindergarten teacher, I've been a second grade teacher, jump back in to help out wherever God truly needs me. You know, hoping to be able to talk a little bit about my latest book that just got released about three weeks ago called Finding Your Red Bench, which is a very practical month-by-month guide for school leaders for kind of taking a look at three things, through the lens of three things campus operations, campus culture, and self-care, and how it looks different each month, how it looks different in October, how it looks different in February. And so, you know, life is good, you know, on a on a family standpoint. One of my daughters went to England this summer for an internship. She just got back. So we're excited about her. Another one of our daughters just got a you know, a great job and moved to Chicago, so we kind of miss her. My wife and I are empty nesters, got a dog, uh, you know, getting ready to get ready for football season to start. And so life is good. God is good all the time. You know, he's blessed me more than than I truly deserve.

Principal JL 5:08

Yeah. And if anybody knows anything about Texas high school football, that's a pretty big deal down there in Texas. I know it's a big deal up here in Nebraska, but you guys probably take it to a little bit different level than we do up here. But Friday night lights is always a good time. I'm getting excited because we'll have our first Friday night light game next Friday. And so we're gonna get our season rocking and rolling here as well.

Leading Without Authority Requires Influence

Principal JL 5:30

So you've been the director of school leadership for the Archdiocese of San Antonio for about a year. So kind of talk about like recap your year a little bit. What are some things you learned? What are some things that you're like going, man? I wasn't like, you know, that was something that was, you know, I wasn't quite ready for that, but I learned through that process. Or, you know, what are some things that surprised you, you know, in your first year of that role?

Todd Bloomer 5:56

Yeah, great, great question. One of the things that that I really think was an excellent eye-opener for me this school year was really John Maxwell's, you know, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership was basically his number one law, you know, or second is is is is influence. And and I start by the this the your answering your question by talking about influence, because as a public school guy coming into parochial schools and coming into Catholic schools, you know, there's a little bit of, you know, we do things a little bit differently around here, and there's a little bit different when it comes to the structure. Like we talked a little bit, you know, your school board, your superintendent, they're your boss. And if they told you, you know, put your desk on the roof, you put your desk on the roof. Well, in the Catholic school system, there's basically three different ways of governance. There's a superintendent who oversees about eight schools. The pastor in a parochial school oversees about 22 schools that we have. And there's a board, a board of directors that oversees about eight. And so going in as a public school person to go into this system, I assume that I would have a little bit of not any other kind of way, but like I was a director. And if I came to you and said, Jeff, hey, this is what we need to do, like you know, that you you you got that from central office, and and that was that was gospel for for lack of better words. But what I found was really I'm a suggestion. Like, like I'm I'm I am a suggestion, I am advice, and that took a little bit of time to get used to. But what I really caveat, I caveat that by saying it forced me really to be able to talk with people, to get to know people, and to really have them see the value that I could add in helping them walk this journey. You know, I was a print high school principal for seven years, middle school principal for five years, and so I've seen it all. And so just coming in and saying, Jeff, this is the way you're gonna do it, obviously we know that doesn't work. But this just reminded me this is a people business. We need to listen to people, we need to take care of people, we need to lift up people, we need to hear what they need. And when you need something, I need to deliver. Sometimes it's just calling me on the phone and walking me through some things. Sometimes it's like, tell me what to do because I need some advice. And sometimes it's just like, what would you do in this situation? And kind of role-playing and talking it through. So the thing I've really learned through this whole situation, and it's just a reminder that like great leaders, they don't they don't rule with the with a with a stick. You know, they they they walk the walk, they influence you through what they do, they model for you. All the things we talked previously about being Christ-like. If you're gonna talk about it, you better walk it. If you're gonna talk it, then you better back it up. And so that really that really allowed me to be able to get on campuses for people that I didn't know, that I had to build a rapport with, that they might have been struggling and they've never had someone come on the campus that wanted to help. So there might have been a trust issue that went there. So, really, over the course of the year, it just reinforced and re-honed in on getting to know people, loving on people, just like kids, seen, valued, and appreciated. And if you knew that, if someone, if someone, if they knew that Todd Bloomer had their back and they called right now, I'd have to say, stop, let's let's stop. I somebody needs me, and I'd have to take care of that principle right now. And so that's been the biggest challenge, but reward as I've gone throughout the year.

Principal JL 9:08

Awesome. I really like how you talked about you know getting to know your people because I know anytime you go into a new role, learning new people is like essential, right? You kind of have to go in and kind of have an open mind and kind of like figure out their needs and what makes them tick and and all those things. And that first year, no matter what, where you're at in education, just learning about your people is so important. I think that's you know, something that anybody that takes on a new role, I think that's vital. You have to be intentional on that. And it sounds like, you know, knowing you, Todd, I mean, you're you're that kind of guy, right? You're gonna get in there, you're gonna, you're gonna learn the people, you're gonna figure it out because you wanna help them. You want to impact their their leadership and and help them uh throughout their journey. So is there any like story that sticks out from the past year with somebody that you worked with that you would like to share?

Wearing Every Hat As Interim Principal

Todd Bloomer 10:03

Yeah, you know, uh quite a few, you know, honestly. The Archdiocese of San Antonio stretches so far. And, you know, one of the yeah, I the I had the great opportunity to be to step in for a principal that retired. So a principal retired at spring break. And so I had the great opportunity to be able to step in uh to a campus and fill in as a K-8 principal. And so, you know, you know, walking the walk now. And to be honest with you, what what it really allowed me to do, we always talk about like walking in their shoes. Like, you know, as we become an assistant principal, we all we don't want to forget what it was like to be a classroom teacher. We don't when we become principal, we don't want to forget what it was like to be an AP or a classroom teacher. And then as we go up to a central office, we don't want to forget what it was like to be on a campus. And so, really, the best story that I have was, you know, my boss called me in and God needed me to go to this campus, and I went to this campus, and we thought it would be a couple of weeks, and it ended up being three months. And so, really, the the the moral of this story is I was able to step in and gain more credibility with the principles of the archdiocese because I was walking the walk that that that they do each and every day. We didn't have a custodian, so the the the mantra became if not you, then who when it came to cleaning stuff up. You know, I took trash out in the morning. I I became the the maintenance guy. Like I hit YouTube to try to figure out how to fix things, like you know, because we didn't have a maintenance guy. We didn't have anybody to do the lawn keeping and the upwork of that. And so I had a weedy. And I had to, so when principals talked about being stressed because they had multiple things on their plate, I was able to now, you know, dive in and say, you know what, there's a reason this principal might not have turned something in because they're doing X, Y, and Z. So it really allowed me to be able to jump in this year and it gave me the opportunity to get back on a campus. Like, let's be honest, like I love being on a campus, I love the energy of a campus, I love the excitement, you know. But this was this was cool, dude, because we had we had a daycare attached to the the pre-K three, so three, four kindergarten to eighth grade in a daycare, so 18 months to three years. And a funny story, like in a in in you know, in in a public school like yours, you've got multiple people you can call for subs. We had a very, very thin bench when it was in the Catholic schools. So I stepped in a lot. I was a religion teacher in sixth grade, I was an art teacher in sixth grade while I was the principal. And every once in a while at noon, I would have to go cover the daycare while the kids took a nap. And so, like one of the things that really, you know, gave me a little bit of street cred, you know, or church cred, I don't know if street cred is is what you say, right? Give me gave me some some some some some credibility in there was I walk the walk with them. So when they talked about things, I was able to really say that. And I really wish as a high school principal, I would have done more with with being an AP for a day, being a teacher for a day. I wish I would have done more of getting back into that because this really reminded me. And it made me, as I present to people, it really makes me think, okay, what are they going through right now? Where is their mind going to be? And then how can I be succinct? How can I be clear? And how can I give them some value and not take three and a half hours and read a PowerPoint to them?

Principal JL 13:35

You bet. I appreciate that. Yeah, you're being thoughtful uh when you're presenting. When you talk about wanting to be intentional with your presentations, I think that's really important because I know, like for me, when I presented at our state conference this past summer, I wanted to make sure when they left they had something they could take with them that they could use, not just like you said, you're clicking through PowerPoints and talking the whole time. So I really appreciate that when you do those presentations that you you give them something that they can take with them and and uh utilize right away.

Todd Bloomer 14:07

Well, well, let's let's do this. Let's let's let's co-present Nebraska next year.

Principal JL 14:10

Hey, let's do something over the summer. Let's see what we got to figure out. Well, I am the president-elect of our state association this year.

Todd Bloomer 14:18

Oh, let's go.

Principal JL 14:19

So I don't I don't know how this all works, but I'll I'll learn about it this year and then I'll be president next year. I would have to say I might be in the in some capacity, in some capacity, I'll have some insight on how they select people for workshops and different things like that.

Todd Bloomer 14:38

I'd love, I'd love to jump in. Uh, we're we're that'll be an offline conversation, but I'm you bet, you bet.

Principal JL 14:43

Yeah, no, that's all good. It's all good, my friend. You know, and I know you've kind of been doing those things. You've been kind of presenting and guest speaking and keynoting and things like that. Like, how I mean, what I really love about that story you talked about is you talk about that K-8 experience. I know you were in the middle school, I know you're in the high school, but now you can truly say, I've done it all because I did the K8, you know, you know, leadership. And you kind of hit on something there, you know, you kind of gave me a picture of what it's the difference is a little bit. Because like I run a I'm in a public school and I have a lot of people that I have to like, hey, this person does this, this person does this, and making sure, and you're like going, well, um, I am all those people, right? And I remember doing that in a small rural school where I had to wear a lot of different hats. And I think people don't understand that every school's different, and sometimes as leaders, we have to wear a lot of different hats. Even like today, I was out sweeping the floors, I was picking up trash, I was doing things around the building just to help out. Not because I have to do it, but I did it to help out. Like I became a plumber.

Todd Bloomer 15:51

You're modeling that for your teachers, and you're modeling that for your students. Like, like I didn't make that mess, but I'm gonna clean it up because if not me, then who? Like, you're gonna leave that peanut butter jelly and jelly sandwich on the ground for the custodian to pick up. That's not right. Like, we don't do that, that's not what we do at our house, and this is our home. Like, I commend you for doing that because I know a lot of people that would step right by it or call somebody to clean up, or or or they think that job's beneath them.

Principal JL 16:17

Well, I don't want to do everybody's job, but I will help out. I'm like going, you know what? I can do this, I don't need to like call somebody for that. That's not a big deal. And so, yeah, so today I got to be a little bit of a plumber, had to figure out why the hand wrist and stations in the bathroom weren't working. Well, it's because no one turned on the power. So we got to figure out no big deal on that one. So, you know, kind of talk about you know, speaking and keynoting, how what's that journey been like for you?

Todd Bloomer 16:43

It's been enjoyable, to be honest with

Keynotes Built From Failure And Self-Care

Todd Bloomer 16:45

you. Had a great summer, like a really awesome opportunity. Got to get up to Kansas, was in Fort Hayes State University, got to speak to you know, a group of aspiring leaders and teachers there, did multiple ones here around San Antonio and Dallas, and in and just been really enjoyable. And so honestly, you know, I think everybody's got a story inside of them that needs to be told. And I think educators, like just like your podcast, is like a moral obligation that we have to give back to the to the to the youngins that are coming up to be able to shape them because they someone did that to us, and so the opportunity, I don't take it for granted. It's like you talked about Friday night lights. I wake up in the morning with the with the game day jitters, and I got to get a good workout in to get those game day jitters in because somebody trusts me to come in and talk to their staff and really try to motivate and inspire their staff. And I take a ton of pride in trying to give back things that I didn't do a good job of. And so everything is that I share are things that on the outside, I look like, you know, I was, you know, everything was rosy, but on the inside, like there were there were struggles on the inside. And I put my family second, and I put my health third, and I put my faith fourth, and you know, just all of those things that that I just, you know, I'm lucky that my wife stayed with me. I'm lucky that my children still love me. And so really, as I wrote book number one and transitioned into book number two, I thought, you know what, if I had the opportunity to get out and talk to staffs and tell them, you know, putting yourself first is not being selfish. You know what, you know, when you wake up in the morning, you know, you got to get a good workout. And I my my my doctor is a former student of mine, and that's a very humbling experience, you know. And he basically said to me, you know, you you gotta you gotta put your health, you know, at the forefront. Otherwise, you know, what when you are a grandpa, you're not gonna be able to do the things that you want to do with them. And, you know, when you're retired for officially, you and your wife want to go on those trips, you know, you won't be able to do that. And so, you know, I looked at the standpoint, you know, basically Americans live to be 77 or 80 years old. And I've lived two-thirds of that. And and I want to live a long time. And and I turn my life over to God when I hit 50, and like my life has been transformed. And, you know, like I've I you know, we talked earlier, I'm an empty nester. And so, like now spending time with my wife is is like extremely important. So, long story short, I get to share what I did wrong and where I failed with other people that are just starting their career to be able to say, don't do this. And that's easier said than done because guys like me and you were the first in the parking lot or the last to leave. So now I say, do one or the other, be the first or be the last, but don't be two. Small things like that that you can maybe implement. You know, Jimmy Casas, our friend Jimmy Casas, I talk about his 2%. Give me 30 minutes a day, give me 30 minutes a day of physical activity. You know, in the morning when I get up, you know, when I after I work out, I hit the Bible. I find my my strength in working out in God. And I calendar everything for my wife. And I go and I share these things with staff to try to be able to say, when you are right, you can do everything else right. So when you're right with yourself, when you're right with God, when you're right with your family, you can be the best social studies teacher, be the best counselor. Your PLCs will be high functioning, your test scores will be great. You won't take days off, you won't be burnt out because you're right, your mission is centered. And so then we weave our way into some funny stories, some humorous stories about, you know, recognizing kids and taking care of kids and, you know, like like just really embracing the job. And then really we end with like a like a story of like why do we in education allow so many people's opinions to matter? And so, really, just things that have allowed me to be 29 years in public education has given me the opportunity to stand in front of faculties and staff and kind of pour some stuff into them that I think I wish I would have heard 30 years ago that would have added some value or maybe some longevity to my life. And then not to toot my own horn, but the message tends to resonate with people to say, thank you for reminding me my family is important. Thank you for reminding me that being open with God and being thankful to God and reaching out to God is important. Thank you for reminding me that just because a parent went to third grade doesn't mean their opinion of third grade teachers matter. Because in education, we let that stuff live rent-free. And just because you went to school doesn't mean you have a clue. Think about the parent that might reach out to you, Jeff, and tell you how to do your job. Just because they went to a high school in Nebraska doesn't mean they got a clue on how to do it, but we allow that to live in our mind. And so it's telling some kind of humorous stories, but then also we we do some activities in there where we try to symbolically, you know, throw that away, that pebble in the shoe type stuff. So to be honest with you, I finished up a keynote uh just this week and I told my wife, I'm really done for the year. Schools are starting. I wish I had more because with each one, like it really resonates and really connects. And the people that kind of come up and say thank you for sharing that, or they reach out after the fact, just gives me strength to keep doing it because more people need to hear messages like this that are not PLC related, you know, career in college, military readiness real. Not that that stuff's not important because it so is, but if you're not right, nothing else matters. That's the message that I need to get out there.

Principal JL 21:59

But I appreciate that. And I appreciate that you allow yourself to be vulnerable in those keynotes and let people know like we are people, we are actual human beings, we're not robots, and you know, and being able to share those messages are important. I really appreciate that you did that. So when we uh first you came on the show, you talked about your red bench, right? Yeah, a little bit in that in that episode.

The Red Bench Origin Story

Principal JL 22:25

You just talked about it, it was kind of like your place where you started the day and things like that. Well, now you have the book called Finding Your Red Bench. And so, I what what I want you to do is I want you to like let us like what is the inspiration of that book? I just find it a really cool, like full circle moment for you because you had your actual red bench that you used and having a book about finding your red bench, helping others find their red bench. What was the inspiration? What was the reasoning behind the book? So tell us the backstory.

Todd Bloomer 23:03

Now I might be the only principal, but one time I had a parent that really ticked me off and it made me really upset. And my secretary came in and said, Hey, go take a walk, go leave the office. You know, she could tell I was upset, she could tell that the parent had got to me with whatever was said. And I went out and I sat on the red bench. And in the Churchill High School, where I was principal for seven years, was an open campus, nine buildings, probably about 30 acres of land. I mean, and and for the most part in San Antonio, you can you can be outside all year. It might be hotter than heck, but you can be outside all year. And I went and sat on this bench. And I remember my football coach came. Up and sat next to me, and I, you know, cheered me up. The secretary probably called him and said, Hey, go check on Bloomer. He's you know, down in the dumps or something. And I sat out there. And then next morning, next morning, I went and sat on the bench, had a cup of coffee, and pretty soon that became my my starting point. And and guys like us, Jeff, we probably remember the old commercial, Kelgon Take You Away. And it was this old bath, you know, bath woman takes a bath and she dumps this in there and she's peaceful. And outside of her bathroom, the kids are going nuts. They're probably fighting and throwing things. And it was Kelgon Take You Away. And that Kalgon take you to a place of like happiness and joy and peace. And remember sitting there at the bench and laughing about Kelgon Take You Away as I looked out at a highway and looked through these fences. And I thought, maybe I'm at the beach or maybe I'm at the mountains, or like, wouldn't that be cool? And a young teacher, she's probably 25 or so, sat down. She goes, What are you doing, Bloomberg? And I said, Do you remember the commercial Kelgon Take You Away? She had no clue, none at all. And I said, Well, right now I'm picturing that I'm at the beach. And she kind of looked at me and she goes, Really? And I said, Well, kind of. And so, like, she and she says, Oh, that's kind of cool. And so, like two or three days later, she saw me sitting at the bench again. She came and sat by. She goes, Yeah, you at the beach. And so pretty soon it just became this moment. And then as I sat there, you know, I could spend two or three minutes in quiet. And you think about a high school principal, how many times can you just get a moment of just peace and quiet? And you know, I pray to God, dear God, you know, I know somebody on this campus needs me. Open my eyes, my ears, my heart. You know, God, if you would, just tell me who needs me, because that would be really easy. But I know you don't do that. So, so, you know, who is it? And I'd sit there. And then pretty soon, to be honest with you, I started taking my iPad and I'd go work out on the red bench. And pretty soon, people that wanted to see me, my secretary would say, Bloom, are you on the red bench? And I'd call my head football coach, hey, meet me on the red bench. Or I had meetings outside. And it just became that moment where I could get some peace, I could center my day, I could drink my coffee, and then I could go about my day. And on days I didn't have my red bench, I could feel it. So then I started to write a book. And my book was going to be called The Blueprint 2.0. But the more that I wrote about the book, I was like, this is a little bit different. This is finding your red bench. So throughout the entire book, it hits on three things. Like I said, operations, culture, and self-care. But throughout the book, it talks about creating moments for yourself and finding your red bench. And that red bench for you might be sitting in a band hall. That red bench for you might be sitting in a great English teacher's classroom. That red bench for you might be, you know, going out and watching the one act play. You know, whatever brings you joy on your campus, that's your red bench. And it can change. It could change from one week to another, from one season to another, from one school year to another. But it's a mindset and a mentality that you are the decider of what brings you joy. Like I get to decide if I'm going to have a good day or not. I'm not going to allow that parent to get to get to me. And so I'm going to go sit on the red bench and I'm going to have a great day. Because you know what? Today I'm in the mountains. And you know, I've never fly fished, but I'm going to pretend I'm out in the water fly fishing right now because that is peaceful for what we have. And I'll drink a cup of coffee, I'll do some work out there until it got too hot, and then I'll move along. So the the coolest part was when I retired, that red bench, they put a plaque on it and they put Bloomers Bench and put my years at Churchill High School. And that might have been the greatest gift that I've ever received. And then I'll show you one more. Hold on. Um a teacher gave me a bobblehead of me on a red bench. And I thought that was like one of the coolest things in the whole red world was that I had a bobblehead of me on a red bench. And so every once in a while I'll get a text message, miss you on the red bench. Every once in a while, I'll get text message pictures of teachers sitting on the red bench saying, I miss you. So really it's in to tie into the speaking part of it, like we talk about that in the second pillar of finding your blueprint to success, is finding your red bench, finding your happiness, finding your joy. Because the job is difficult, the job is demanding, the job can suck the life out of you. But if you you allow that, then you're gone. But on those bad days, when my secretary told me, get out of the office and go find yourself some happy, like, go sit in the band hall, go watch practice, go sit in that first year teacher's class that's just markable, remarkable. You know what? Those AP classes that are like calculus BC, you don't even know what it means. Go sit in there and watch those smart kids just get after it. You know, that is the joy. Go sit at lunch. Fantasy football's coming up. We talked about Friday Night Lights. One of the things I miss about high school, I would go sit at tables with kids and say, you know what, guys, I got the third pick this year in the draft. Gibbs is gonna be gone. You know, Bijan's gonna be gone. Who do I pick at three? Everybody had an opinion. Everybody wanted to talk about that. That was that bond. That was my joy. Like that was my red bench at the moment, it was a table in a cafeteria. So, really, it's it's a mindset that you can find your joy wherever on a campus you are in control of that. And find your joy and find your red bench because they're everywhere. And if you look for it, it'll slap you in the face because it's everywhere. But if we don't look for it, we'll be in the office, excuse my French, pissed off about that parent that called, angry about it, griping about things, sitting in front of a computer, missing out on all the greatness that goes on in your campus.

Principal JL 29:36

You bet. No, I really appreciate that. I mean, that's a lot of just great advice in there. And I call I call I talk about don't let people steal your joy. Don't let people take the things that make you joyful about what you do because they're out there. You know, if you you know know anything about John Gordon, energy bus, about you know, energy vampires and things like that, you can't let those things get to you. But if you find a place, like in this case, finding your red bench or where your happy place is, like Happy Gilma, right? Go to your happy place. You know, it just helps. And and for me, I do that too. I can, you know, if I'm having a rough day, I have an area I can go to and I can just decompress, I can, you know, meditate real quick, pray, and then move on for my day. And just that little bit of time is really, really needed, especially you know, when when the when the bullets are flying and things are really, really happening rapidly. Now, with your book, you this format's you know a little different than some other books that I've seen, to where it's like a month-by-month guide for educational leaders. So what was the what was your main goal behind that when you decided this is how I want to write out

A Month-By-Month Guide For Principals

Principal JL 30:48

this book? Like I've got to read quite a bit of it, but at the same time, I mean, it's really cool.

Todd Bloomer 30:55

Yeah, you're you're in it. So yeah.

Principal JL 31:00

I'm September, but you know, none the point. You know, what what was the motivation behind that? And what was the purpose? Like, what are you trying to help principals with?

Todd Bloomer 31:11

So, you know, when you become a principal that first year, you know, everybody tells you, call me if needed. Call me if needed. And I remember a few times my first year thinking, I don't even know what to call about. Like I don't know who to call or or what to call about. Luckily, you know, as an ex-coach, you know, I was was was one that wasn't gonna fail and I was gonna reach out to people and I was gonna figure it out. And I had great structures in my my district that I was in, great support staff, great people above me that mentored me. And so as I traveled around the district and as I traveled around other districts and recognized people that smaller central office might not have had the support that they they had. I saw on Facebook and groups of people throwing in their keys and saying, uh, you know, I can't do it anymore. You know, I thought, you know, we talk about 30, 60, 90-day plans, we talk about those, and I thought, you know what, what if we took from July to to June and we looked at each month and we tried to look at what it takes to be a successful principal from three lenses operations, culture, and self-care. But then we also weaved in uh stuff to plan for next month. And then the goal started to become like, let's make this very practical, let's make this like a companion or a coach, but also from a standpoint of actually a sitting point of what if this was a book that was like me and you sitting on a red bench talking about leadership? So not a like an academic book, like a book that would be like reading with citing and in statistics, but like if me and you were sitting on a bench, you know, talking about a concern that you had or I had, this would be that companion to it. And then it became the standpoint of okay, well, what if they don't have someone at central office they can they can reach out to or they don't feel comfortable with it? They could carry this book with them through the months, and it would be able to give them a peek ahead, but also things that you that I felt and through other leaders that shared you in September. Here are things that this month, here's how September's different. Like here's how like October, here's how October's different. Like October is just full moon, Halloween, 31 days. People quit during Halloween, like people quit during October. So, like, what does that look like? And I try to weave in stories, I try to weave in some failures that I had that I was able to overcome. I tried to weave in how to take care of people, spend a lot of time with like real culture, but also really just making sure that you have the structures and systems in place, not just to survive, but to thrive. So, really, the goal was a conversation with two guys or two gals or a guy and a gal sitting on a bench, having, you know, just talking leadership, but also something that you could take, you could read ahead, you could come back to it. And then as I started to work through it, it wasn't just designed for first-year leaders, it was designed for leaders of all levels as reminders. And I was working with a principal just yesterday, and he was in Louisiana. I was doing a phone call with him, and he read the book and he was talking about something, and he said to me, you know, I've been doing this eight years. And he goes, Some of the stuff that you've got in June, I'm sorry, in July and August, I never thought about. And he said, I want to thank you for writing that. And it's not about that, but I was like, well, cool, because like that's what it was designed for. It was designed to have us reflect and think about. And then at the very end, I have three red bench and red bench questions. And I challenge you, go find your red bench, sit on your red bench at the end of each month and reflect on each one of these questions to see how you're doing that month. And so, really, that became just kind of the goal, became very practical. And honestly, I didn't see anything else out there like that. Like I didn't see any other books out there. There's, I mean, there's way better authors than me, way better leaders than me that got insight, but this is very unique. And the feedback that I've started to receive early on has been thank you for writing this. And the last part that I thought was really cool, my wife wrote the foreword. My five kids wrote the advanced praise, and my brother wrote the only thing on the back of the book when it came to praise. I didn't ask anyone else to write any of the advanced praise because it's about family. And I have a good friend, Tracy, if she's listening. She she texted me the first night she got the book and my wife, and she said, Hey, I'm crying based on what your wife and kids wrote about it. And so that was, I was like, that's pretty cool because that's a reminder of taking care of your family.

unknown 35:26

Yeah.

Principal JL 35:26

And what I love about it is the month by month part to where you're giving insight to people. And like you said, there's gonna be somebody out there, and I was gonna talk about my personal experience. There's gonna be somebody out there in the middle of a cornfield in a rural school, they pick up this book, it's gonna help them think things through, you know, almost like just like a little coach, you know, coaching guide to where you have something to that's practical. Yep, you have something practical, you have something that you can refer to, but I would almost say it's like an evergreen book to where you can be five years down the road, the things in this book are going to apply five years later.

Todd Bloomer 36:08

Thank you.

Principal JL 36:09

Because, like you said, education is pretty consistent, and depending on where you're at, you're gonna probably take something out of that book every year if you read it every year. I mean, that that's kind of where I look at it because you give them that month-to-month guide and four educational leaders, and it you're like you said, it could be people that have experience, people that are new. I think it's gonna benefit anybody that's doing the work and have something tangible that they can hang on to. So I really appreciate it. Go check out September, go check out the end of September. End of September, yeah. Actually, read it. I read it read it today because I was just thinking back, what did I write? Go back and remember, but it was it was good. I really, really enjoyed being a part of that. I thank you for even inviting me. Like that was kind of one of those things where never thought I'd be in a book, but here I am. All right, so Todd, we we've talked a lot about just your journey and where you're at and you know your book. And I'm gonna put you know a link to your book in the show notes so people can go get it. I'm gonna strongly encourage people to pick up a copy because this is something that you're gonna find useful year in and year out. I'm telling you, I've read a lot of the book already, but at the same time, go ahead and pick that up. Now, Todd, before we go here, what excites you about the future of education?

Todd Bloomer 37:39

It's the students that are sitting in those desks. And as we're coming back, you know, you started you know a week ago and San Antonio's, you know, starting up now, and you know, New York will be after Labor

Why Students Give Hope For Education

Todd Bloomer 37:49

Day. And so as kids are coming back and sitting in those desks and being able to be in schools, Catholic schools, and public schools, I am inspired by the passion of kids, the worldly vision of kids, the ability to stand up for what kids feel is right, and the ability to say what is wrong. And you know this at a high school, telling a kid, hey, because I told you, it just doesn't fly. Like you've got to, kids gotta be they kids want to know why. And and whether we like it or not, you know, I mean, you can't just say, because I told you so. Like it, I think kids understand when you explain to them, but but they don't they don't take that. And so kids know when adults treat them right, kids know when kids treat each other right, and kids stand up when that when when that doesn't happen. And our world is is a is a is a very difficult place right now. It's tough to watch the news at night to see the the the worldly events, the the state events, the national events. And I really, really have great faith that the students that we are graduating, whether it be Nebraska or Texas or anywhere in between, are empathetic, are kind. I think they're coming back to church. I think they're finding God. And I think all of those things coming together, I also think they've got great sense of humor. I think they're creative, I think they're collaborative, I think they're the friend groups are strong, I think they're advocates of each other. I think that is going to be the change that we need to see in the world that somehow we tried, but you know, we look look where we're at. And so the the next hope is those kids. And really, you know, and part of my keynote as I talk about the second pillar of finding your blueprint to success is really recognizing and acknowledging the kids in your class and breathing life into them and helping them to see what what they may not be able to see right now if they don't. And like when when kids are kids know that adults got their back, like what does Rita Pearson say? You know, kids don't care how much you know to them, how much you care? And I just think that is so important when it comes to this. And so I'm really excited about the kids that are graduating. I'm really excited about just their empathy and their knowledge of world views, whether it be environmentalist issues, whether it be standing up to say no to you know data stations and you know, data centers that are being, you know, stood up for you know AI type stuff, like that. Like the kids today are advocates of the world. And I just think we need to continue to build them up and give them the tools needed to do it in a polite, humane, respectful way so they don't grow up to become some of the examples that we show them as adults on how to, you know, that I mean, I don't want them arguing on Facebook, I don't want them arguing on social media, I don't want them arguing in real life. Like these kids today, if you look at a lunch table, I'll end it this way if you look at a cafeteria table, the cafeteria table is a great equalizer in schools. You got kids who got a lot of money and you got kids who got no money, and you got kids everywhere in between. And at that lunch table, all they care about is that's my buddy. Like, you need a burger, I'll get you a burger. You need advice in fantasy football, I'll get you advice. You need me to pick you up and take you home from practice, I got you. And somehow we need to take that analogy of that lunchroom and bring it to adulthood because we don't care at 16. We don't care who you are at 16. We just want to know you got my back and you're cool and you're friends and you take care of me. And you, but in adulthood, we don't. So I'm convinced that this group, when they leave the lunch table, they're gonna be able to go out and be the change that we need to see in the world.

Principal JL 41:13

Awesome, man. I really that really gets me excited just to think about that because I agree. I think today's youth, they they are, I mean, they are, I think, gonna make some make some noise when they get to, you know, when they get older, just because I find just even in my own school, there's a lot more kids that that that have belief and have faith in in God and Jesus. And so I'm like, I'm really inspired by that because I later realize how many kids in my own building, you know, have that that passion and that they want to make a difference.

Todd Bloomer 41:52

Would you have been comfortable at 16 or 17 expressing your faith or or you know, two-year principal when you were that age? I wouldn't have. No, I was not. I wasn't I wasn't worldly, nor did I care what was going on outside of my neighborhood when I was growing up in New York. I did not care, I didn't care what was going on overseas, I did not care about data centers, I didn't care about those type of things that weren't around. So, like, really just saying to those kids, like, and and and the hard part becomes this like if you read the narrative on our kids today, the narrative is negative. Like, the narrative is kids don't care. They're lazy, they're apathetic, they fight, they vape, you blah blah blah blah blah. That's true. We had the same problem when we were in high school, we had the same problems we were in high school, he's got social media to expand to expand that. But we need to be the ones, as public school, as parochial school people, we need to champion those kids and tell those stories. And in my keynote, one of my things I tell a story about a student named Carlos, and I won't go into it because it's a tearjerker and it's a wonderful story. But like we have to be humanizing these kids that are gonna go out and change the world if we're gonna change the perception of adults who only think what they read on on Facebook is true. And so I guarantee you can go out. Was it Hastings High School? Yeah, you can go out at Hastings High School and you can tell the story of like 10 kids right now that inspire you, motivate you, they're great kids and make you laugh. And those are the kids we need to talk about. But a lot a lot of times, educators, myself included, we go out and we talk about that kid Jeff. And man, Jeff is disrespectful. And Jeff was this. Well, the nine kids that are sitting at another table at lunch, they're great kids, they're dorky kids. They want to talk about, you know, they want to they want to do this or do that, talk fantasy football, they're in the band, they're in the orchestra, they're swimming. They're great kids. And we need to be their champions. We need to, as Jimmy Casa says, carry their banner. We need to be talking about them. So if somebody stops me at the aisle of a grocery store and says, Tell me what it's like to be at your school, man, how long you got? Because I got an hour and a half, or I'm gonna talk to about my students. You're gonna regret stopping me, young lady. Boom. Yeah, it's our challenge moral obligation to champion kids.

Principal JL 44:02

Well, I feel your passion, I feel it right now. That was awesome. Yeah, I mean, like you said, I could probably rattle off five stories right now about all the great things that are happening in the school. And the thing is, is we talk about sharing our stories and all those things, and you know, like that's a whole nother podcast if we want to get into that when it comes down to it. So, Todd, it's been really great having you on the show today. Is there anything you would like to leave the audience before we go today?

Todd Bloomer 44:34

Yeah. You know, as over the summer, I'll share this. Over the summer, we probably do a really good job of taking care of ourselves. We probably get enough sleep, we probably get a little diet or exercise routine in. You know, we're probably pretty, pretty, you know, when it comes to you know reading the Bible or taking care of yourself, we probably have a good routine.

Protect Your Joy As School Ramps Up

Todd Bloomer 44:52

As the school year starts, it is so important that you continue to build upon whatever progress you had over the summer. And so, you know, if you are getting up early and continue it, even though you're gonna come home from a board meeting, a game, it's 7:30 at night, you're tired, the last thing you want to do is work out. I encourage you to continue to put yourself first. Encourage yours to continue to put yourself first. I encourage you to continue to look for joy on the job. And if you find yourself getting jaded, if you find yourself allowing those pebbles in the shoe to, you know, you're coming home and you're telling the first thing you tell your spouse is is, you know, what a terrible job you have or how difficult your job is or how miserable you are, find your red bench. Take a moment and just go find something on your campus that brings you joy. Remind yourself why you became the principal of Hastings High School. And if it is, you know what? Because the staff is great, go spend time in those teachers' classrooms. If it's the students, go sit and get fantasy football advice from them. Ask them how you look, what's my fit look like, what kind of music should I be listening to? All of those type of things. So I would strongly tell you over the course of the year, don't forget to continue to put yourself and your family first. When you are put yourself and your family first, you can do anything in your job. You can tutor, you can give great lessons, you can be a great PLC member. But if you've got nothing left to give, you can't give to anybody else.

Principal JL 46:15

Awesome. And with that, we're gonna go ahead and catch you guys loose. It was great having you on the show, Todd. Thank you, sir. God bless you. Appreciate what you do. What a great conversation with our good friend Todd Bloomer. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. If you did, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. Also, please, if you have time, write a review. We'd love to hear from you about what we're doing well on the

Closing Thoughts And Listener Requests

Principal JL 46:42

podcast, or maybe what we're not doing so well, but also rate the podcast only five stars, please. Only five stars ratings and it helps the algorithm find new people. If you would go ahead and do that, I really appreciate you guys um joining me on this episode. What I really liked about this episode is finding your red bench, right? You know, that place where you can physically and mentally slow down, reflect, and make sure you're leading with purpose instead of simply just reacting to what's in front of you. And if you guys would like to learn more about Todd, I'll have his stuff in the show notes down here. But also go back to episode 35. I'll go ahead and link that in the bottom as well so you guys can hear about Todd's educational leadership journey from that first conversation we had here on the podcast. I appreciate you guys tuning in to this episode. And as always, be curious, and one percent better.