Cool Coffee w/ Kansas Principals

SHOW SUMMARY: In this heartfelt conversation, two seasoned educators, Mike Wiley, Principal of California Trail Middle School of Olathe Public Schools (USD 233) and Dr. Mark Schmidt, Assistant Superintendent of Special Education in the Blue Valley School District (USD 229), both retiring at the end of the 2025-26 school year, share insights on their careers, leadership, and the evolving landscape of education. They reflect on impactful moments, mentorship, and the importance of resilience, listening, and purpose in shaping future educators. Connect with the guests: Mike Wiley Dr. Mark Schmidt Other Cool Coffee Episodes Featuring Principal Mike Wiley CC#9: “See you at the Crosswalk” https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-gx8ec-16eadbd CC#25: “Father’s Club” https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-572p4-1728fd6 CC#30: “The Interview Episode” https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ddt7a-1789436 CC#86: “Responding to Parents” https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-xpfxa-198a4fe ----------------------------------------------------- Contact Cool Coffee host, Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] Episode Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Retirement Reflections 02:52 Navigating the Transition to Retirement 05:28 Mentorship and Leadership Development 08:00 Reflections on Career Experiences 10:36 Changes in Education and Student Dynamics 13:14 Post-COVID Educational Landscape 15:52 The Importance of Listening in Leadership 24:20 The Evolving Role of Principals 25:22 Impacting Students' Lives 26:57 Transitioning to Retirement 34:48 Advice for Aspiring Principals 39:00 The Power of Mentorship

In this insightful interview, Dr. Michael Martin, a high school principal and AI enthusiast, shares his journey with AI, its impact on education, and practical strategies for integrating AI responsibly in schools. Discover how AI can be a powerful tool for teachers and students alike, and learn about the innovative approaches at Buckeye Central High School. Principal Martin is also the 2024 Principal of the Year from Ohio and published author on the subject. Connect with the guest: [email protected] Books by Michael Martin: Blending Instruction with Technology AI Powered Leadership: 50 Prompts to Transform Your School Today ----------------------------------------------------- Contact Cool Coffee host, Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected]   SHOW TRANSCRIPT Rick Sola (00:02.824) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas Principals. My guest today is Dr. Michael Martin, a sitting high school principal at Buckeye Central High School in Ohio, also the 2024 OASSA principal of the year. He's an author and what he calls an operational realist. While tech futurists talk about what AI might do in 10 years, Dr. Martin helps overwhelmed leaders figure out how to use it safely by next Tuesday. As the creator of the ART leadership model, he shows organizations how to escape administrative drudgery and win back time for intentional human connection. He is the author of Blending Instruction with Technology, and he's here to help us turn AI anxiety into a competitive advantage. Michael, welcome to Cool Coffee. Mike (00:53.035) Hey, welcome Rick. Thanks for the invite. I appreciate it. Rick Sola (00:56.702) Yeah, I am super excited to have you on. And as we connected about this podcast and this topic, AI, I literally this morning was in a district meeting where AI was a topic. And there are so many different, I guess, thoughts about AI. And you, I think, it very well, kind of talking about the good, the bad, the ugly, or maybe the helpful as well. So I'm really excited to get into AI here with you. So I would love to just start with AI, you, where did this connection, I mean, this is a new technology, when did you get connected with AI? Mike (01:44.076) Yeah, that's a fair question. I've I've always been really interested in technology, the integration of technology, how to utilize it in schools, how to use it in classrooms to better what we do. When blended learning was a big deal back 10, 15 years ago, I did a lot of research on that. That's actually where I wrote my first book, Blended Instruction with Technology. And it's really when I started, know, to kind of do some speaking and touring and speaking and just kind of laying out how to utilize technology in the classroom. And ever since then, I've always been kind of trying to my best to, you know, to perfect, I shouldn't say perfect, but to use the science of teaching and the art of teaching and integrating that with the technology that we have at our disposal. And so obviously AI is a big deal now, but. I was on the AI bandwagon pre-COVID. I was reading about AI, I was thinking about AI. I'm like, this is coming down the road, right? I was reading about it then. I didn't know what I know now, obviously. But I was thinking about it, I was looking in the future regarding that. And when we came out of COVID, I took an MIT class and I built my own AI just to get a fundamental understanding of how it all works. So I've always had this appreciation for technology. I've always had this... Rick Sola (02:45.478) Okay. Mike (03:11.912) I don't know this need to be on the edge on the cutting edge of what we're doing. I just, it's just a lot of fun for me. So I've always been, you know, trying to look to the future to see how things are being used. And of course, you know, we're smack dab in the middle of AI right now. And I'm hoping that the Buckeye Center, what we're doing here is just a little bit, you know, ahead of the curve compared to other schools, just because of, you know, my interest in the and the topic of technology. And I'm gonna add this real quick, Rick. I don't think it's just me that has this interest in technology and how it's being utilized, not only in schools but in the workforce. I mean, we can go back to the 1930s, right? And I can show you articles, I can pull up speeches by presidents that advocate for the use of technology and how it's gonna change the American life, right? How it's gonna change our work week. mean, the next... There were presidents who promised that with the advent of technology by the 1960s, we will cut our work week in half. Well, that hasn't happened. Actually, I think it's doubled. I think it's doubled, right? But so I think there's always been this fascination. There's always this urge, this want to utilize technology to help us live better lives, to help us do what we do better, right? And so it's just been a lot of fun for me. Rick Sola (04:15.252) No, that's not. Rick Sola (04:32.915) Yeah. Well, it's interesting. I'm familiar with AI. I use it every now and again. I am very much surface level as far as I use it to research vehicles or things like that. know, very surface level. But you mentioned pre-COVID AI and that you were involved in. this is my ignorance. didn't even... really, as I think of AI, I think of a technology, at least that's been widely available to the public over the last two to three years really coming onto the scene. What did AI look like pre-COVID and then this many years, six, seven years later, that's almost, I mean, that's almost a lifetime for technology ramp up. So. Mike (05:19.15) It is a lifetime, yeah. The terminology back then was machine learning. Remember the machine learning, which is in essence the birth of AI. Rick Sola (05:23.994) Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Rick Sola (05:30.546) Yeah, okay. Well, you know, and I remember it all started with, you know, predictive, your Netflix queue and what, you know, some of that sort of thing or Amazon. So, Mike (05:36.802) Yes, it was, yes. Amazon also knows what you want to purchase, right? Netflix knows what you want to watch. Predictive analysis. Rick Sola (05:44.648) Well, you said you took a course at MIT about how it all works. And for those who might be listening who are maybe very primitive with their knowledge of AI, or they've maybe purposefully stayed away from it, how would you, in a nutshell, just describe, OK, how does it all work for those who are new to the game? Mike (06:05.664) It is an imperfect but getting a lot more accurate predictive machine, as you mentioned. That's what it is. It runs numbers and it predicts based on the algorithms. What's really fascinating is everything is a number. For example, when I was building the first AI that I built through this course with MIT, I was using Google, of course, and Google's tools. Well, one of the ones that we built was, I should say, I built was we, I took pictures, I don't know, using the software through Google, a thousand pictures of a basketball. I took a thousand or so pictures of a football and took a thousand or so pictures of a soccer ball, right? And then I would categorize those pictures by what ball they were, what sport they were. And what would happen then is the machine would take every little single pixel, right? Every single pixel of that picture is a number, right? And it formed patterns out of all those numbers of all those pictures. And it knew that this pattern of numbers represented a basketball. This pattern of numbers represented a soccer ball. This pattern of numbers, right? represented a football. I knew that, right? Because it was just a pattern of numbers. And then based on the new pattern numbers I would give it, it would try to predict what that was. So for example, like I, again, I threw a thousand pictures of a basketball on there. After I set it all up, I would take a picture of a basketball. I had an AI take a picture of the basketball and it would tell me what it was. It would accurately say this is the basketball, this is a football, this is a soccer ball. And I know that's very simplistic, but that really is the basis of what AI is, right? It's just using numbers and patterns, right? To recognize, it's just using numbers to recognize patterns, right? It's using numbers to recognize patterns and it's using patterns to predict other patterns. Rick Sola (08:25.524) Okay, so it's predictive because it recognizes a pattern of numbers and you throw out another picture of a basketball, it figures out, this is a close match to what we've, you what's been programmed. So that's kind of what's been programmed. Of course, we can go down a total rabbit hole because I'm totally intrigued at the learning machine and how it starts to, I don't know if making decisions is the right word, but you know, Mike (08:36.127) Yeah. Yeah. Rick Sola (08:51.922) The good, the bad, the ugly, I would maybe even add the scary. There's some things in there that start to get brought up. OK, no, so that's a really good kind of baseline for how it works. And you've done a lot of talk talks on how it works and how it looks in your school. And we haven't talked really about this before, but it sounds like you have you have embraced it. And so at your school, it's it's very intentional about. Mike (08:56.074) Good. Rick Sola (09:21.012) teaching kids how to use it, your staff, yourself as a principal. What does that look like? Mike (09:27.007) You know, first of all, the reason I'm really intentional about using AI in our school is without government oversight, the genie's on the bottle and we're not putting it back in, right? The good, as you said, the good, the bad, and the ugly, right? Without some sort of government overreach, AI is not going away. people are using it more and more every single day. When I step back and I look at the students that walk our hallways and I start thinking about how I'm preparing them for the workforce right now, but how am I also gonna prepare them for the workforce in 10 years? I'll go hang out in our preschool. And I started thinking that 13 years, those kids are gonna be seniors. And in 17 years, they're gonna be graduating college. What's the world gonna look like when they've been working for 10 years, which is 27 years down the road? So I think about that a lot. And again, AI is not gonna go away. So I've come to the realization that there is an equity gap when it comes to artificial intelligence. And it's not necessarily who has access to AI, because every single kid has a phone these days. So every single kid has access to AI. What I think the equity gap is, which kids are taught to utilize the AI? right, as a thinking tool. Like I hear the phrase thinking partner a lot. I use the phrase thinking tool, right? A partner sounds more human to me, right? I mean, I love my wife, she's my life partner. You know, she's not a tool, right? And so I call it a thinking tool. So who teaches their kids to utilize AI as a thinking tool, right? Not to think for them, not to replace their thinking, not to take away the struggle of the thinking. but as a tool to enhance their thinking, as an add-on to their thinking, as a way to think more and learn more and critically evaluate on another level, right? If you can do those things. Mike (11:36.426) in the world four to seven to 10 years from now, I think you're gonna be a better spot than those students where schools are not talking about it, schools are not using it. And those kids are just using it all willy nilly. They're not utilizing it with any forethought, without any reasoning, right? They're not using it to the extent that our kids are using it, right? And that's a competitive advantage for us, right? That's the equity gap. Rick Sola (11:59.422) First. I really, you the perspective you brought up about talking about your preschoolers and when they graduate and then when they're in the workforce, 10 years and that's 27 years down the road. That's a real perspective kind of, you know, we tend to think of graduation and what does that upon exiting college job look like, which for some of our students in the system are maybe within five years. And we just mentioned, you know, technology changes so, so quickly. What you were just describing really segues very nicely into it. I've read that you've talked about this before and perhaps probably in your book, the 80-20-2080 rule. And I mentioned before we went recording here is just reading just the brief little bit I did. That really kind of, it just kind of clicked, it resonated, but explain that 80-20-2080, the rule. Mike (12:38.227) Yeah. Mike (12:53.801) Yeah, so the 80-20-20-80 rule really is the fundamental part of it is the first part, the 80-20. So I get the opportunity to travel and talk and speak about artificial intelligence and its uses in not just the classroom, but as a principle in the building, whatever it may be. And the presentation that I use, it took me six months to build, right? It took me six months. I would read, I would read, I would read and I would write. I would read and I would write. I would read and I would write. And so I wrote this outline. It took me six months to write this outline. And then I would, when I got to the point where I was feeling pretty good about where it was and how it felt, I felt really good that it was pretty comprehensive. I uploaded it to AI and I asked it, so listen, if this is the outline that I... I gave it the appropriate prompt, had all five parts to it or seven parts, whatever it is you believe makes up a good prompt. So I wrote the appropriate prompt, but ultimately asking it to critically evaluate this outline that I have of this presentation. I asked it to then provide me with a list of errors. I asked it then to provide me with a list of best practices I might be missing. This is the critical part, right? I tell it, don't just write it for me. Don't just put it in the outline. Give me links. Give me live links and resources so I can go read about those best practices I'm unaware of, right? So then that's what I did. It gave me a list of stuff. I spent, I don't know how much time going out and reading all that, thinking about all that. Some of it made sense to me and I utilized it. Some of it did make sense to me and I didn't utilize it. And so when I got done with that outline, 80 % of that outline was my original beginning draft, my original beginning thoughts, which I struggled with, which I did the reading, the heavy lifting and the messiness of the struggle of learning. I did all that. The additional 20 % was artificial intelligence being a a thinking tool for me. Mike (15:18.983) which expanded my world, expanded my knowledge base, I went out, learned more, added more, and then put that into my outline. So 80 % of the outline was my original, 20 % was the enhancement because of AI. That 20 % I never would have had, had it not been for the tool. Never would have had it. The 2080 then comes in, the 2080 then comes in, I turned that then into the presentation, right? So I uploaded that into, and you can choose whatever. AI presentation software you want to choose, but I uploaded it in there, right? And it spent, I don't know, about three minutes creating an amazing presentation for me, right? And I went through that presentation, I looked at it, it created the product for me. I went through that product, I evaluated it, I critiqued it, but then I went and added some parts I thought was missing, the human parts to it as well, right? Some things in there that I thought was, innately, naturally me that I would want to see or hear myself give in a speech, in a presentation. I added that to it. So the product was 80 % generated by that artificial intelligence based on my outline, and then the additional 20 % of me going in and being the human in the loop. So that's the 80-20-20-80 rule. Does that make sense? Rick Sola (16:39.654) It makes total sense. what I love about that is it, you know, if you had, you know, where you're at, I don't know how many assistant principals you have there, but zero. Okay. Okay. Or you have your, you have your office staff and you have some others, but if you pulled them in and you ask them to do basically what you typed in as a prompt, but like, Hey, I need some feedback. This is specifically, that's what collaboration is. And so you're kind of simulating collaboration with Maybe not a thought partner, as you say, but it's a tool. You're using a tool there. And so taking 80 % and just enhancing that to create what it is you're ultimately trying to achieve. There's people all over the country that spend hours in rooms full of people brainstorming different things. You're just brainstorming with the platform that you're on. Mike (17:31.927) That's what I'm doing, right? I really do get an opportunity to brainstorm with maybe some of the smartest minds in the industry, right? I do, right? Which I would never have the chance to do had it not been for the technology. But I think it's critical that we also address that the first 80 % of that thing was me, right? Because that's the true learning. When we start thinking about our kids, Rick Sola (17:42.685) Right, yeah. Rick Sola (17:48.372) So how do you, go ahead, go ahead. Mike (18:01.275) And this whole idea of cognitive offloading or what I call a cognitive atrophy, you know, that struggle, that messy struggle of learning, right, where the synapses in your neurons are firing and they're connecting, you know, that beautiful messiness, that beautiful struggle, right, that's the heart of learning. And I hate when schools allow or organizations allow or families allow AI to replace that. Rick Sola (18:29.62) How do you create a, I guess, a culture and understanding, expectations even, building that into your school, into the classrooms amongst your teachers? Because 80, 20, how tempting for students is it to, let's go 70, 30, blah, blah, blah, you know, and they start sliding that over. Can we slide that over? Mike (18:47.069) I know, I know. And that's a great question. It's not hard to sell it to my staff, because I think every teacher in America is scared of this thing cheating for them. Cheating for the students, I think all teachers are scared of that. So it's not a hard sell to the staff. But I'm one of those leaders where I literally meet and I talk with our kids, right? It's just me and them. and I address them at the beginning of every school year. What I think is a rather inspirational talk, whether they think that or not, I don't know, but I leave rather inspired. And we do these last two years, we've talked about AI and I talk about them and where I want them to be in 10 years, where I want them to be in 15 years. And I show them, you know, the impacts of cognitive atrophy or cognitive awful and whatever you want to call it. Right? And then I show them, you know, again, what I call the messiness of the struggle, the beautiful struggle, right? And the benefits of that. And then we equate it to lifting in sports. I equate it to exercising in sports. I equate it to all of that. Right? So I get them to, I'm trying to get them to understand that the brain is a muscle. you don't want it to atrophy. It truly is, I think, the great differentiator as we move forward in future. Because if you look at AI, products or AI outputs, you do find a lot of similar words, a lot of similar phrases. You find a lot of similarities, right? You really do. And I do. I get afraid of our voices becoming too similar. And the way to keep yourself more authentic, the way to keep yourself not being similar to everybody else is to use your own. brain, is to use your own thoughts, is to develop your own voice. And I do, I talked to our kids about the importance of developing their own voice and their own thoughts. you know, does that solve all the problems? No, but it certainly helps to mitigate that, right? And that's just how we start. And then after that, we start talking about in our classrooms, when we're using AI, for example, we're adopting magic school for next year. And why are we magic school for next year? Because you can see the conversation between Mike (21:05.844) the teacher, I mean, I'm sorry, between the student and the AI. You can see that process. You can see the thought process, the communication, the collaboration, as you will call it, right? You can see all of that. So then that becomes my next conversation with our staff members is, if we wanna make sure that we're sticking to this 80-20 rule, and that's not a hard, fast number, it's just the number I use. If we wanna stick though to the majority of the thinking being our kids, then we have to... to see the process of the conversation. We have to see that the prompt, the response to the prompt, and then our response to that output, right? We have to see how kids are interacting with the AI, and we have to be able to see all of that. And that's really for us the best judgment of whether or not kids are maintaining that 80-20, 70-30 balance we talked about. Does that make sense? Rick Sola (21:58.132) Yeah, it does and you mentioned that the prompt and you said earlier, you know the five or seven points of a good prompt and I'm thinking I don't I don't know I don't know those prompts and so that's something that you know, I've kind of learned by failing or you know, I go you kind of tweak it but How does a person know? mean, I guess in a school you can be intentional but about teaching it you've had a lot of real kind of you know Personal experience, I guess with with that you've also had a class Mike (22:07.156) Yeah. Rick Sola (22:26.516) Is that potentially something we're missing in our schools right now is we're not teaching how to use AI? You know, I know there's some resistance to it like hey, you're right and I brought this up on on here before it reminds me so much I remember when Google really started to explode back in like 07 08 or whatever and there was there were like two camps of teachers of hey, we need to teach them how to use Google it's not going away and then there was the other side of No, they are not allowed to use Google and this is, it's like Google's not going anywhere. Now here we are. It's like, yeah, it's still around. We better teach them how to use it and how to use it responsibly. I see that with AI, but there are the resistors. Are we missing something in schools, do you think? Mike (23:10.942) You're talking to a tech enthusiast, right? So I'm gonna say yes. I'm also gonna tell you that I can show you some articles, some op-eds in the newspapers back in the 1840s, where they were upset and fired up over the damnation of the future of America, the number two pencil, right? I can show you that, right? We've always been afraid of technology. You know what mean? The Luddites existed for a reason, right? We've always been afraid of technology. We always have. Rick Sola (23:14.472) Hahaha Rick Sola (23:28.819) Ha Mike (23:39.645) But we've always managed to harness the power of technology. And I'm not gonna say that we've always managed to harness it to the benefit us the way that we thought it could, because I don't think we've ever done that. But we've managed to harness the power of technology to at least avoid the pitfalls that everybody was afraid of. You know what saying? We've always done that. But I will say this, AI is a different beast. It's not a number two pencil. It really is a different beast. But I again as I said earlier, I don't think it's going away. It's not you know, it's not going away I think you are missing something you are missing the boat if you're not teaching your kids how to use it because I am Right and when my kids leave here and they're competing against your kids in this world I think my kids are gonna have the upper hand right they're gonna have a competitive advantage. I think they are Rick Sola (24:26.718) Yeah, I really feel like I remember very vividly a pre internet world. That's how old I am. I can remember the world before the internet. But I remember it coming onto the scene and I remember the changes. And of course, here we are. think AI is this generation's kind of internet. They're going to remember the world before AI. Mike (24:33.348) Yep. Rick Sola (24:47.686) And then it's going to be like, how do we ever have it, not have it, you know, it's that big and it's just evolving so quickly. What have you seen and what do you acknowledge is truly a real challenge of working with AI in schools with students? What do you see as the biggest? Mike (25:06.735) This is not just students, It's human beings. Human beings always, it's how we're wired. It's not your fault, right? But we're like water, right? We wanna find the path of least resistance. It's natural. Your brain needs to manage the energy that's being expended, right? It just, does. So you try to find the path of least resistance. So kids will, and adults, Right? We'll try to utilize AI to cut corners. They just will. And so I think the biggest struggle, or at least one of the struggles, I shouldn't say the biggest, but one of the struggles we have is really convincing all of us how to use it right. Right? Don't let it replace your thinking because it's so easy to do. Right? Like, how do you still want to make sure that you're, again, as I say this all the time, get into the messiness of the beautiful struggle of learning, Still making sure that we're doing it. So I think that's a problem, not just for kids, but for adults in general. And then here's the other thing too, right? And this is an old number, and you're gonna laugh when I say it, because it came out in October, but it's old. It's six months old, it's a bit outdated. But... When chat GPT released some data back in mid late October a million a million users per week, right? We're we're utilizing a conversation with chat GPT regarding suicide, right? That's a problem. All right that that is you know, and one of the things that if you follow me if you read by right Rick Sola (26:49.054) Right. Mike (26:54.922) One of the things I talk an awful lot about is what I call the, it's called AI squared, right? I think in every organization, in every school, there's two forms of AI. You have artificial intelligence, and then you have the adult inhabitants of that organization, right? You have two of them. Here's my question for people. Why are kids turning to AI, right, for the social-emotional issues, instead of the adult inhabitants in the building? What's going on there? Why is that happening? Why is there a million users per week having conversations with AI regarding suicide? Why is that happening? That's a concern. It really is. Rick Sola (27:40.114) Are there any statistics, you know, and I wonder if it has to do with the anonymity they feel like they have with with AI, but is there any statistics of? Yeah, I have heard and read so many of the just the awful tragedies that have occurred out of it, and I think that's what you know that those are our headlines that people who aren't as familiar with AI, they see, and I think that's where some of the fear of AI comes in. But statistics where AI has. has helped or has it been kind of a one-sided deal just based on your your research? Mike (28:12.78) You know, I can't tell you the number you're asking for right now, because I don't know that, but I can tell you this. In Ohio, we have help lines that the kids are allowed to call and contact when they're struggling. That's anonymous. Yeah, we're not getting a million hits per week in Ohio. We're not getting 10,000 hits per week in Ohio. We're not getting a thousand hits per week. I don't know if it's a thousand, but we're not getting those numbers, right? And that's anonymous, right? So why are they turning to AI? Because it's in your back pocket? Because it's your back pocket? Or is it because it's on your phone and you just dealt with a social media issue on your phone? Rick Sola (28:40.03) Right, right. Rick Sola (28:44.136) Yeah. Yeah. Mike (28:51.666) you know, and you don't know how to deal with it. So you're just taking your phone and going to the next app, which is your, you know, your Gemini app, whatever it may be. And that's where you're I don't know. But I will tell you, I don't think creating a an SEL AI bots the answer, you know, I don't think creating another AI bots the answer to that, which I know some people are doing. And here's the other thing too, that that I think we need to keep in mind, when we train AI, We're training AI with every available data that we can pull off the internet, That's where it's coming from. Well, all of our social media is on the internet, right? All of our social media is on the internet. Social media is being fed into AI to help train it, right? That's a big source of the training, at least it used to be, for AI. And I don't know if you've noticed, but people aren't always kind on social media, right? They're not always nice on social media. They're not. And if that's what we're feeding into AI, doesn't surprise you sometimes that AI is not always nice back? Doesn't surprise you sometimes that AI suggests that maybe you should probably commit suicide? Rick Sola (29:59.262) Right. No, that's. Rick Sola (30:04.404) Yeah, it's very interesting. There's so many layers. I feel like truly I scratched the surface, but it's so intriguing because you can kind of see where it's going. Technology, it's an exponential graph on its growth. with AI, just like you mentioned, October, I joked about pre-COVID, that's ancient history. But October kind of is when it comes to AI. But I know you are using this at your school. And as a principal, it's being very helpful for you, like you mentioned, as a tool. I'd love for you to share a little bit about what does AI do to help you on your day to day? What does it look like? Mike (30:52.478) Yeah, and give me one second. I'll jump into that, but I do want to give a shout out. I'd be remiss if I didn't. I have a STEAM teacher here who's amazing. She's also our athletic trainer and she's also finishing her degree in admin. And so she had to do a project this year for her admin and she chose to do AI. And she's worked really hand in hand with our staff this year with surveying kids, surveying staff, trying to find out, you know, where our students are when it comes to AI use, where our staff is when it comes to AI use. She set up some PD for our staff as well. So what we're doing at Buckeye Central simply is solely is not me. I am really, really blessed to have Amy Betts. That's the other individual who's been doing a lot with us too. So let me give a shout out to her. I'd be remiss if I did not. She's been amazing. But to answer your question, there's a lot of ways that you can use AI as a principle. So again, I don't want AI to replace me. I don't want AI to replace my thinking. But I do want to find ways that AI could save me time, help me be a little bit more strategic with my time use, help me be a little bit more consistent. So if there's something that I use a lot, like if there's a task that I do a lot, I try to use AI. I don't like to go to Gemini and or chat and write a prompt, because if I do it a lot, I'm always writing the prompt. So I like to build bots or gems or GPTs, whatever you want to call them, for tasks that I do a lot. So, and then I also, I like to look for pain points. Like what's a pain point that impacts my world that maybe I could use AI to solve? For example, you may have this problem in your school, and I'll bet you to guess that most of our listeners have this problem. It's hard to find substitutes, is it not? It's hard to find substitutes. It's even harder to find really good substitutes. I mean, there's days we just get people who have heartbeats that are in the building, right? Just so we're covered for liability reasons. And so one of the things that I wanted to make sure I did for our staff was I wanted to find, create a better way for them to make quality lesson plans Mike (33:14.355) for substitutes, right? And so I sat down and I did the 80-20 thing. I wrote what I think would be the ideal lesson plan for a substitute, not for a teacher, but for a substitute. I'm thinking about my building. I'm thinking about the instruction that happens in my building. I'm thinking about the instruction that happens in each classroom and the expectations that I have. And if I'm gonna have a substitute in there, I still have expectations, right? And so I wanna create a lesson plan that meets that level of expectations. So I developed that lesson plan. And then I connected that lesson plan to every single standard that exists for every single class that we have. I built this bot. And I also have a number of teachers, you know, who have young children and young children get sick at six o'clock in the morning and are vomiting. And now the teacher can't come to school, but the teacher didn't have a lesson plan. So what are you going to do that day? Right. So now all my teachers need to do is they need to log on, type in the standard or the topic. that they're teaching in the grade level, and it creates a lesson plan for them, right? Devised specifically for substitutes, right? And it generates it within seconds. And then they simply just share it with me and my secretary, and we print it out and we're ready to roll. We're ready to roll, right? Rick Sola (34:34.014) So you're talking about building a bot. I think I know what you're talking about, just in case, just in case there's people listening that don't, explain that. What do mean you're building a bot? Mike (34:40.223) Okay. Mike (34:47.73) So, and maybe I'm oversimplifying the term for our listeners, we're a Google school. I'm guessing most of your listeners are probably Google schools as well. So we use Gemini. And inside of Gemini, you can create gems, right? So I created a gem that's specifically designed to develop high quality instructional lesson plans for substitutes, right? And I mean, when I say high quality, mean, it gives, creates, you know, I can statements, measurable I can statements, I want those, right? Measurable I can statements. It's a high, thinking back to when you were in college, the lesson plan wasn't that intense because sometimes they're over the top, but it really is the most important parts of what you need. And then I even, when it was being used, I still noticed that when I do some walkthroughs that, Some of the substitutes were struggling still, to deliver the content the way I wanted to. And some of them were just heartbeats and didn't know how to deliver the content. So then I added to this gem. Now it creates the lesson plan, but it also creates a script too. So all the teacher has, all the substitute has to do is get up and just start reading the script, right? And then it stops and tells, now the kids will do this and the kids go do this. But that was a pain point for me. It was a pain point for me because I have high quality teachers, great teachers, and there is no substitute for good teaching, but I also want my teachers to be really, really good parents. I want them to be really involved with their families. And so when they have a sick child, I don't want them to have to worry about the lesson plan or coming to school because I want them to be a parent, take care of their kids. So how can we create, how can I use that as a pain point to use AI to alleviate that pain point? So that's what we did. We built these gems. So that's one way. I use gems to do data analysis for me. Rick Sola (36:54.516) How does that look? And I know there's a lot of talk about being careful. can't put personally identifiable information. You've got data. You've got students attached to that data. How do you dump it into a Gemini and let it do its thing safely? Mike (37:07.058) It's anonymity, right? Like you literally just replace the names with the code, right? So I have spreadsheet, has all the names and the data on it. I make a copy of that spreadsheet, right? And then I just give the names a number. That's all I do, right? And so spreadsheet A, Mike Martin, spreadsheet B, number one. Mike Martin is number one, right? I upload spreadsheet B and we're off and running. Rick Sola (37:30.228) Sure. You've got your spreadsheet of student data. Give an example of a prompt you would use that would be effective, you think would be effective to, let's say it's discipline data, and you're trying to use it to determine either infraction or time of day or whatever, just from an effective prompt standpoint. Mike (37:55.558) Yeah, so I'd start off probably telling the the prompt that you know it is a it is a high school principal in state of Ohio. Who is an expert at data analysis. who has uploaded some of your discipline data and that you are working with your PBIS team and you want to analyze the data that we have for discipline. We also want to analyze the data that I've uploaded for attendance. I also want to maybe analyze the data that I've uploaded for some of our grades, whatever data I have, right, for PBIS I uploaded, right? And then I also say for us, you know, there are certain goals we have for our our PBIS and I'll let them know here's the goals that our PBIS is focused on, our PBIS is focused on this year. know, highlight for me, or based on the data, provide for me some high level data analysis of what we can pull from the data, know, high level data analysis that we can use to interpret and to... move forward and meet these goals. Something like that, right? I'm sorry, you kind of caught me wicking in on my feet, but something like that. in essence, I'm giving it a name. It knows what its role is, right? I'm giving it some information. has information with the data that's being uploaded to it. It knows that it's Ohio and Ohio is PBS and here's my goals. And it knows that, you know, we want to look at the data as opposed to those goals. What are some areas of strength? What are some areas of weaknesses? I may ask for it to do a Rick Sola (39:12.05) Yeah. Yeah. Mike (39:38.295) a Mike (39:41.835) Shoot. A SWOT analysis too, right? What are some strengths, weaknesses? What are some areas of threats that we have as well? mean, somebody asked me to do a quick SWOT analysis if I wanted to. I can do a lot of things with it, and within seconds it generates it for us. Rick Sola (39:59.392) Yeah, that's really cool. And like I said, I mentioned, yeah, I say on the surface, I'm more more familiar with it, but super intrigued. actually had, I don't know if you know the name, Trevor Gertson, but out here, I know he tours around a little bit, but he did some PD with staff. And this was about a year and a half ago. And it was really about how you can help yourself and some tool building and being. having this tool work for you and be an assistant essentially. so, no, super, super intriguing. And I feel like I could just keep asking all sorts of questions. And it is, you mentioned the, it is not a number two pencil. You know, it is not. There's definitely the hesitation with technology, but this is unique. But there's certainly, there's a lot of... Mike (40:43.852) It was not. Rick Sola (40:55.444) Just a lot of things to kind of think of. And I really enjoyed hearing about just all the positive ways. Let's say there's someone listening right now and they're just, Mike, I hear you, but we gotta keep this away as long as we can. What would you say to that? Because certainly there's not just value in the short term, but kind of like you mentioned, 27 years from now, what Mike (41:22.99) My first question is why? You know, why? What are the fears you have? What are the concerns you have? Right? Let's get those down. Because to be fair, Rick Sola (41:24.126) what the workforce might look like. But what would you say to someone who's really just digging in heels with AI? And as you see it, as you understand it, and as you kind of forecast it, what would you say to that person? Mike (41:51.821) there are some legitimate concerns, right? I mean, let's face that head on. Let's face it head on. I'm going to ask why. And then we're going to get a list of all those concerns and all those fears have, right? And then we're going to have discussions about those. And we're going to talk about how we can create systems, how we can utilize this tool to still reach the means that we want and still mitigate those fears and those concerns. Because don't. You're going to get the cheating thing, right? That's going be the number one concern you're to get from teachers. Well, they're going to cheat with this. Well, it's going to do this. Well, you're right. Kids have been cheating though, ever since they've been asked to learn on their own, right? Ever since they've been asked to take a test. Human beings have found ways to cheat, right? That's always going to be there. And we've always tried to find ways to stop them from cheating, right? This is just the next iteration of that, right? So how are you going to stop them from cheating? Let's discuss how we're going to do that, right? What do we need to do on our end to do that? And so that's the first thing I'm do. The second thing I'm gonna do is I really am gonna try to show them the benefits that it has, not only for them, but for the kids too, right? And let's find out where they are, where's their comfort level when it comes to utilizing AI. one of the things that I've done is I've built a survey that can tell me where you fall on what I call the ART spectrum, the ART, right? And so where do you fall in that spectrum? And if your person's been fighting and resisting it, you probably fall into A, right, on the lower end of the spectrum. And if you do, that's fantastic. Let me show you some AI tools. Let me show you some AI prompts. Let me show you some ways you can use AI at your comfort level where you're at that's not gonna, that's gonna mitigate some of those risks and concerns that you talked to me about. And you can see the product and how that not only helps your students, but it can also help you too. All right, that's my two-pronged approach. Does it always work? No, it doesn't. But I do find that it works more often than not. And then I'm gonna come back to this. It's not going away. It's just not. Let's not send our kids out into the wild west without having a gun at least, right? Let them put some bullets in the gun for them for love of me. Let them know how to go out there and survive. Rick Sola (43:52.126) Yeah, that's great. Rick Sola (43:58.292) Yep, 100%. No, is not. Rick Sola (44:11.122) Yeah, it's not going away. It's more and more relevant. And even just in this school year, have seen just more of the understanding of just that sentiment. It's not going away. We need to really be more proactive, whether it be at an individual school, a district or even states, as you mentioned, you know, government involvement potentially and all that sort of thing. No, I love this and really enjoyed your insight on all of this and could. certainly spend more time on that. want to make you reference your book. What is the name of your book again for AI? Mike (44:46.764) Well, yeah, the first one I wrote was learning instruction with technology, which is actually still relevant. But the other one I wrote was AI-powered leadership. Rick Sola (44:57.492) All right, I will link those in the show notes as well. No, all really good stuff. Mike, we have a tradition on this show. We always finish with an opportunity to brag on your people. You already mentioned Amy Betts. You already bragged on her. But you know, as well as I, we cannot do the job and we cannot do the job well without amazing people around us. So this is your opportunity to brag on the people of Buckeye Central High School out in Ohio. Mike (45:13.002) He's amazing. Mike (45:28.117) Listen, the high school staff at Buckeye Central is barring on the best there is. They're amazing in every way. I know all principals probably say that about their staff, but I'm here to tell you, that's true for ours, right? Listen, they understand that this is the direction we need to go. They may not all think it's the best direction to go. They all have some fears and some concerns with it, but they are pro kids so much that they're willing to put their fears aside. They're willing to put their concerns to the side, right? And try their best to make sure that we teach our kids how to use this right. And so listen, a huge shout out to the staff just in general. They really are really, really good. As I said, Amy Betts has been an absolute rock star this year. Zach Capel is, I think, maybe one of the best teachers in the state of Ohio, if not the best math teacher in state of Ohio. And he is such a tech guru himself. He's been using AI, he's been embracing gems. He did some PD for our staff using gems again, Google's gemini's version of bots, right? So he's been a rock star. I can go on and on and on and I will if you want me to. But certainly I am blessed, I know that. I am blessed to be around some pretty amazing people who've made what I do. a whole lot easier. Sometimes I'm just the madman behind the desk with crazy ideas and they make it actually happen, right? That's why I'm certainly blessed. Rick Sola (47:01.054) Well, it's awesome and some really, really nice words about your people out there and really enjoyed hearing about all the great things that you're doing at your school, specifically with AI, a topic that is not going away and only more more important that our kids have an understanding so that they can be responsible with it. Like I said, this is kind of the Google of this generation potentially. It's not going to go away and. Mike (47:27.57) Nope. Rick Sola (47:28.414) they're going to use it too, that's the thing. They're going to use it so we need to show them how and how that can be appropriately used and beneficial. Mike (47:38.44) That is accurate. I think the stat IREV is like 86 % are using it. All so we're already behind. We're already behind, so. Rick Sola (47:47.07) Yeah. Well, Dr. Martin, thank you so much for your time here at the end of a Friday. I really appreciate it. And we'll keep an eye out on the developing trends two weeks from now. It's a whole new AI ball game, because that's how quick it changes. Mike (47:53.05) Thank you! Mike (48:03.752) It does, doesn't it? And that's the hard part, right? Is how do you keep up with a tool that changes as fast as it does? Rick Sola (48:10.29) Yeah. Well, hey, have a nice weekend. Thank you for your time and all the best to the rest of the school year for you. Mike (48:16.463) Hey, thanks. You too, Rick. I appreciate it.  

Principal Derek Cantrell is the 2026 Virginia Principal of the Year from Alleghany High School in the Alleghany Highlands Public School District located in Covington, Virginia. He is also author to the book Better Together: Building One School, One Culture, and One Community from Two Rivals. In this episode of Cool Coffee, Principal Cantrell shares insights on school consolidation, community engagement, and leadership strategies. He discusses the journey of merging two high schools, maintaining traditions, and fostering a positive culture to ensure success.  Connect with the guest: [email protected] Connect on X: @derekcatch19 References from the show: Better Together: Building One School, One Culture, and One Community from Two Rivals --------------------------------- Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] ---------------------------------- Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Derek Cantrell 00:52 Derek's Educational Journey 02:55 The Consolidation Process 04:17 Catalysts for Change 06:04 Building a New Culture 07:40 Merging Traditions and Identity 09:49 Staff Integration and Challenges 13:08 Creating New Traditions 16:01 The Book: Better Together 16:37 Advice for School Leaders 17:43 Communication is Key 20:29 Finishing Strong in the School Year 21:53 Celebrating the Team 25:05 Looking Ahead to DC   FULL EPISODE Transcript Rick Sola (00:01.561) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas principals. Today I'm visiting with principal Derek Cantrell, principal of Allegheny High School in Covington, Virginia. That's correct, right Covington? Okay. And also Virginia's 2026 principal of the year as part of the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, which is KPA sister organization. Derek, welcome to Cool Coffee and congratulations to you. Derek Cantrell (00:12.846) That's correct. Derek Cantrell (00:27.854) appreciate it and thank you for the opportunity to be on the podcast and look forward to the conversation. Rick Sola (00:33.997) Yeah, I'm really excited to have you on. We were able to connect through our, I guess, mutual connection to the NASSP and saw that you, well, you've written a book which we'll get into, but specifically talking about the consolidation of schools, which is a very unique topic, but also one of great interest and like even personally some. relevance where I'm at even over the next few years. But so looking forward to really getting into that. But I want to start as I start with with most of the shows and hear about your road to the chair that you are currently sitting in and kind of filling in, you know, the background here of of your educational journey. And I do want to state, first of all, I'm really excited. So, you know, cool coffee with Kansas principals. You're the first non-Kansas principal, Virginia principal here. To Beyonce, welcome to this platform. Derek Cantrell (01:34.09) Awesome, appreciate the opportunity. Education wise, my mother, my uncle. were educators. Mother taught pre-K and did a little bit of special ed. My uncle, who helped raise me as well, was a shop teacher and eventually became a technical center CTE principal. So they really helped influence that kind of idea as I went through school. I graduated, went to Liberty, finished at Farum University and got my master's degree at James Madison in Virginia. Started off... in Allegheny County Schools as a student, came back and was a teacher and a coach in the county system and then became the last principal at Covington High School, which is the city school that's surrounded by the county that did go into that consolidation piece. So was there for seven years and this is just completing my third year as the consolidated high school principal at Allegheny High School. So kind of a about 10 years in the classroom before I got into administration and first job was a high school principal. kind of unique in that and jumping into that part of it and finishing the 10th year of that journey. So it's been an awesome ride and definitely, definitely it's fun. A lot of things happening on a daily basis. Rick Sola (02:58.221) Yes, you reference being the consolidated high school principal from a vernacular standpoint where you're at. that how it's referred, the consolidated high school? Or how do you reference your school where you're at? Derek Cantrell (03:13.358) At this point it is Allegheny High School. We're the Cougars and as we went through that process of consolidation, you know that was something that took several years in the making. had. It's actually been a conversation that was talked about for about 40 years while I was a student in school and then it would come up. It would go away and then right out of COVID the first the first day of school actually coming to high school. Our school board voted. to consolidate schools, which then also took the other the County School Division to do that. And then both local governments. Once all that happened, then plans went into place to kind of prep the divisions merging the first year 2223 our school division merged and then 2324 actually 20. Yeah, 2324 was the first year of the consolidated high school with Allegheny and Covington High School, so. long time in the making and you know as you went through that process of just building that plane and working with leadership groups along the way the first year here was 23. Rick Sola (04:26.287) So you said it was kind of a post-COVID prompt. What would you say was the, I mean, for 40 years, having this off again, on again conversation, but then, you know, pull the trigger and we're doing it. What was it that was the catalyst, would you say, to like, let's do this? What was the big need? Derek Cantrell (04:43.062) I think the part had been talked about for years was just the declining enrollment, resources, the ability to just sustain challenges and just be able to offer our kids more opportunities with advanced courses and just more support and staffing issues and become a thing as well throughout our community and pretty much around the country. It was a very emotional decision because You had longstanding pride coming to high school was built in 1939. So pride traditions and values there. Allegheny High School was built in 1963. So we had to be very intentional about bringing those groups together and people don't necessarily fear loss. They just they fear losing those traditions and that change and how you can value those things as you come together. and honor those with that and we were intentional with that process of it and just being able to listen and be creative with that really I think helped a lot. Rick Sola (05:47.085) The traditions, the communities and everything is so personal. You use the word intentional and that's really what I'm so intrigued about with the consolidation. What you described, where I'm at and it's not totally unique to Kansas, but we're in a position right now where we do have declining enrollment and. there's a need for basically less kids in too many schools. And so we have some school consolidations. We just passed a bond that will close four schools and into two schools, that sort of thing. And so it's very relevant. So that word intentional in bringing two communities together. I imagine there's just so many things you've got to consider. I guess, where do you start? You you said it was post-COVID decisions made and boom, here we go. Where's the starting point? Derek Cantrell (06:44.312) So the uniqueness would be I was hired in October a year or, you know, eight, nine months out before the start of the school year the next year. Then in January, I got assistant principals, marches, staff. So there was some time between the different hiring process of it. One thing that really felt with the consolidation piece that was utmost important, so if we didn't do people right in culture, it was going be hard to be successful academically and those things on the back end. So we started with people. We created a culture and communication roadmap that made sure that we checked the box of each stakeholder that we needed to make sure that we communicated with throughout the process. And that would go from student advisory, parent advisory, surveys. Asking staff what classes they would be interested in teaching so that they had input and scheduling to all the different parts along the way to simple things like When we hire a coach what time frame would that be how we announced those things? Even little things about when lockers were painted We made sure that we highlighted that in that symbolic change and posting the logo on the front door little wins and little things like that help build momentum for the excitement as kids came in the door day one, because we really wanted it to feel brand new. Even though Covington High School kids were coming to the Allegheny High School's current building, we wanted it to be new for everybody as they walked in. wasn't a new school, but the hope was you come in, we're the Allegheny Cougars, and it's going to look different, feel different with that piece. So we focused on communication. Rick Sola (08:22.447) Okay. Derek Cantrell (08:33.836) visibility and consistent systems to just uplift our people and recognize the things that they're doing. Rick Sola (08:41.007) Allegheny Cougars was was did you change the mascot and the colors or? Derek Cantrell (08:46.862) So that's one of those things as you go down that road. We merged some of the things actually. have, like I said, we're at the Allegheny High School building. So we kept the mascot of Covington High School, the Cougars, and we merged the colors. Allegheny was red in Carolina, Covington was navy and gold. So we're at Carolina and navy, as you can see with the shirt, with that part of it. So we merged those things together to kind of keep some of those. values, traditions, and that piece with it. And I think that's been a really good move for that community volume. Rick Sola (09:25.209) How about like attrition? You you mentioned hiring coaches, hiring teachers, but I imagine you've got two schools worth of staff and coming together as one. Was there a blending of staff or was there attrition? Was there layoffs? Was there, you know? Derek Cantrell (09:42.062) It actually there were no layoffs. The hope was through years down the road as retirements and things happen that that would be a cost savings to the community with that part. But it actually helped because I think both schools were a little understaffed in certain areas. So bringing those resources together, we could have a full science department at the high school. We could have special education teachers. We were. I think one or two short at Covington at the time and Allegheny might have been one short, but bringing it together, we were able to make some of those things work better and have full departments. But three years in, as we've had some people retire, those spots just aren't filled. And that's how that cost savings to the locality works within that. Rick Sola (10:31.789) Yeah, so you mentioned already a little bit of some of the challenges and I don't know, even something like colors of a school, you said you blended the colors together. I imagine there were some pretty strong feelings about either wanting to keep a certain color blend or not adopting even the cougars. Was there a hard sell even with something like the mascot for those coming in who weren't the cougars before? Derek Cantrell (10:57.902) You know, a lot of that stuff, think that fear of losing identity drives a lot of the surrounding talk and the things, even a simple thing of where a trophy is going to be, how a recognition plays such a big role. We have both schools banners. We have a banner in the corner of our gym that has all the state, region and district championships from both schools. It's still honored. One's in Navy, one's in Carolina. We have a Hall of Fame display out in the foyer that you can touch and click Hall of Fame's and records so we could bring that in. That was one I think of the big areas that we had to have an answer for early is how we were going to honor traditions, but also be able to do new things as we move forward for our kids. We tried to make sure we got away from the us versus them mindset as we came in and really focused on, you know, what are we doing as Allianni Cougars? How can we take? some of the things that we're doing to make them better, working together as staff and groups and really try to over communicate so that rumors didn't take off flying and make those things happen on the forefront. we even had schedule day early in June, like mid-June in the summer. Typically we gave out schedules the week that kids came back for open house. We did it two months earlier, the first year. And we've kind of kept that rolling just so we made sure day one kids had the schedule they wanted. We fixed all the problems. We could come in and worry about school and be ready for that. And I think some of the things that we did there really focusing on relationships over the summer, answering those questions of what people were concerned about, paid dividends. A lot of our meetings with kids and students were pretty simple. We talked about what we're doing. But the end was kind of just a discussion on what are you excited about? What are some things you're concerned about? And if we couldn't answer them, put things in place to be able to alleviate that along the way. And that really paid dividends. Rick Sola (13:51.151) Yeah, you mentioned the trophies and you know, one thing that I was really intrigued about as I was reading up on Allegheny a little bit was, know, this consolidation, it blended two rivalries together. And again, going back to that word intentional. But, you talk about the value of the culture and the the traditions and things, you're also blending two together to then develop new traditions and culture. Is there something that transpired in year one that you would say now is part of a brand new tradition and culture of Allegheny that did not exist prior? Derek Cantrell (14:35.266) We started off and we still do some things that each historical school had with some ceremonies and some different things. We really worked intentionally to just find ways that we can continue to recognize, acknowledge, and extend good things that our kids are doing, our staff is doing. After, towards our first year, we implemented a program called our Cougar Scholars Club. And basically what it is is a way to get our kids where we need them to be to start their senior year. So in Virginia, we have SOL testing, which is our state standardized test. So at the end of, we noticed we were looking, struggling getting kids at their senior year to have everything done. They should be done by the time they start their senior year and not have to worry about getting those completed. So we created a program and once they get through the first year, if they've passed all their SOLs, that means if they take one or two, They would be a Cougar Scholars Club member. They would get a T-shirt the first year. The second year after their sophomore year, if they've continued to meet at 100%. And if it's a special education student, if they earned a verified credit in Virginia, if they scored 375, taking it twice or more, we would count that as well because they've earned that for graduation. After their sophomore year, they'd get an athletic pass to all home games. So invest in them and our school for their success. and their senior year they would get an athletic pass and a parking pass. And from year one to year two, after our second year, we went up 11 % with that program and really, I think it's kind of kickstarted that getting our students on board to be successful in taking things serious because they're invested in their self and our school to be successful. And that has been something cool that I think we've started that'll continue to go and escalate and build. over the years and that's a new one that we didn't have at either place. Rick Sola (16:39.117) How coveted is that parking pass? Derek Cantrell (16:42.062) That one, I would say the main part with all that is make sure your bookkeepers are okay with your crazy ideas because that's a lot of money that we had to sacrifice. She wasn't happy, but she understood in the long run that investing in kids is a win for us and that gets more kids to games, gets more kids, know, there's a little parking pass, 25 bucks to park and the athletic pass I think is $100, so. Rick Sola (16:49.923) Ha Derek Cantrell (17:08.654) actually for the kids it's 50, so that's $75 worth of benefits for knocking it out to park and doing what you're supposed to do. So it's really helping us, I think, get ourselves in the right spot as kids get along towards their senior year. Rick Sola (17:24.815) So Derek, as I kind of did some background reading on your school and you and the accomplishment that you have with the 2026 Principal of Year, but you're also an author and I didn't mention that in the startup, but you've written a book about this. What's the name of the book? Derek Cantrell (17:43.042) The book is better together. that's kind of the one community, one rival, just working into that in the hopes to kind of make it a practical playbook that you can read and get the story, but also be able to get some of the different programs that we've put in place and the things that we did on the forefront to really value people and relationships to help us be successful. Rick Sola (18:07.743) If a person, if a principal is listening to this right now and they're going to be in charge of blending a school or even multiple schools together or communities together, what would be that first bit of advice you would give them based on the experience you went through? Derek Cantrell (18:23.256) think the main thing is relationships and really focus on people. When you value people and relationships and building culture first, good things follow. The academics and the other success will come with that. A lot of research and things. I've read a book, Humane Leadership, and it really talks about how people that put relationships first in businesses and schools. have bigger impact than people that worry about just the bottom line and money. Your people stay, they feel valued, you get more out of them. So it's definitely important to put people first and communicate on the forefront. And I think that really sets the momentum in the stage for great things to come. Rick Sola (19:11.267) I really liked that advice and I can imagine, I mean, it's just like the principal job in general. There's times where, I mean, things are burning, things are moving, but there's so much care that has to go along with it. Is there a part of this process that you'd be willing to share out here that maybe you stubbed your toe and it was like, through this, like, maybe it's part of your book, like this was something like, hey, don't do this. Is there anything that you would share? Derek Cantrell (19:38.018) You know, I think the main thing that you learn is the communication. Overcommunication is okay. That if you don't get something out, it'll create its own narrative. There'll be something going, hey, they're gonna take this trophy or this thing and they're moving it down out of the building or here or there or the other place. And it's very important as you get those things you can answer them to overcommunicate the plan. to the best that you can, that we're gonna value, take things seriously and really involve as many people as we can within that part of it. And I think that's important as you go through basically any kind of change process and definitely little things that you might not think are big, are big to somebody. you know, especially when you're talking tradition and pride, that that makes those feelings even stronger and You definitely have to listen and I think that's so important throughout that process and the more you do in front and even can take that time to step back and answer those things, it's going to help you in the end. Rick Sola (20:47.373) Yeah, that's a good advice. Yeah, a narrative will be created. Either you created or somebody else will. That's really, I really like that. Well, Derek, I appreciate your insight on that. Before we sign off here, it is April as we record this. And I'm not as confident in knowing the Virginia school calendar out there. Are you year round? Are you just nine months? What's it look like out there? Derek Cantrell (21:16.642) We start mid-August, teachers come back first August, school ends late May, typically first of June. We have a summer, we're pretty much off June and July, 12 month folks work. Summer school is typically in June, we have a month of that at the high school level. So not year long, we do have the summer break that kids and teachers get. You you're kind of getting to that, we just start. Easter break this week. So we're off Friday, Monday, Tuesday for just a quick refresh before the final kick. And, you know, I think April is that time that you're kind of, you need a break. You got that last kind of momentum kick and refocus on those expectations, relationship and purpose and, you know, keep things positive and visible because it kind of sets the tone for that finish about this time of year because it kind of, it's 82 degrees outside today. It looks great and beautiful. Everybody wants outside and that part gets interesting sometimes. It's part of the year. Rick Sola (22:21.025) I'm jealous to hear that you're headed to a little mini spring break there. We have a very similar calendar. We had a bigger spring break in March, now we're kind of in the home stretch, but it's about a month and a half or so or more as we record this on April 2nd here. What advice do you give? We have some principals who listen to this who are new to the chair. Maybe this is their first April as a principal. What advice would you give them? Derek Cantrell (22:51.47) You know, I think finish strong, continue to recognize students and staff and the good things they're doing. Be visible, be out in your buildings, talk to people. It's always, it gets a little crazy as we get to the testing time. Make sure that you've got your observations and all those things done because here in the next month it's over really quick. As Yogi Bear always would say, it gets late early. And it always feels like it gets late really quickly in a school at the end of the year. So those... Rick Sola (23:16.185) You Derek Cantrell (23:21.036) those things that you got to knock off your plate before the end of the year. Make sure that you're doing those now. Stay visible and continue to uplift your people. Rick Sola (23:30.703) Gosh, I'm a huge fan of Yogi Berra and all his quotes, and I don't think I've ever heard that one. It gets laid early. Derek Cantrell (23:36.65) And that's in relationship of Yankee Stadium and left field. The shadows would get him out there early in the game, so he would say it gets late early out in left field in Yankee Stadium. So it's a good one. Rick Sola (23:47.695) That is a really good one. I wrote it down. think I'm going to throw it into a newsletter or something here. That's perfect. Well, speaking of baseball, I know you're on your way out to a baseball game here in Allegheny. A tradition of this show is I like to give principals an opportunity to brag on their people. So much of what we do does not happen with all the amazing people behind us. So this is a chance to share with all the listeners. Allegheny and all its people, what would you say about them? Derek Cantrell (24:18.414) You know, would say that we have a bunch of wonderful people and to be able to get a state honor or anything like that, that definitely echoes that. Our leadership team's excellent. Charity Hale has been an assistant principal here with me. She actually was a teacher at Covington High School and then came to Allegheny before the consolidation. So she's seen both sides as well with that and she's been an outstanding leader within this process and really helped with the... athletic piece of it through consolidation beforehand and been an outstanding AP. We have Jennifer Rather, Ty Dobbs, and Timothy Cochran was a part of our team and passed away in February of 25. So we had to, he actually went through a school consolidation before and brought some things to our team that were really cool and beneficial. And Ty Dobbs is our athletic director. Athletics played a huge part of that. And Jennifer has been super awesome with. with everything she's done. Our staff is top notch, outstanding people. They love being here and being a part of it. And I like to say when I do a podcast with just our kids and when I ask our kids who their favorite staff members are and why, I continually hear that we have people that are kind, they go out of their way to listen and talk to kids. And like I tell them, when kids say that, that's huge. We want people that they feel that... they can talk to and that they really have their best interests there. Our community, I think, gave us a chance. It's something that was definitely difficult to go through with that consolidation piece, so we appreciate that. Our leadership team at the school board office, they were building this plane while they didn't know what job they were going to have, and it's tough to do. you know, hats off to the things that they do to put us in a chance to be successful. And I'd like to also hat tip Melinda Snead Johnson. She's retiring from education. I think she's putting 50 years. She was my superintendent at Covington and gave me my opportunity to do this and has still been with me as 10 years as a high school principal. I appreciate all that she's done to help grow me and value our kids and our staff and just really. Rick Sola (26:25.593) Wow. Derek Cantrell (26:39.906) you know, the heart that she has, that she does on a daily basis. And she's been our assistant superintendent currently and Kim Halterman's our superintendent at this time. And she has been outstanding at letting us continue to grow, go out and share the message and the things that we're doing. And those folks definitely help us. But such a team effort, you don't have opportunities to... like I said, principal of the year type stuff without great people and staff and students. And our students came in and gave us a chance to be successful. They adapted and they were courageous with coming into a school that they didn't ask for at the time. And really, you wouldn't have known a week or two into school that anything was different. They showed up, they wore the colors, they wore the gear. It's been an awesome experience and super humbled and proud to have the opportunity to lead that part of it at our school with our team. Rick Sola (27:42.563) Well, a lot of really good words about the people out there you work with and with the principal of year. Are you going to DC in a couple of weeks? Derek Cantrell (27:52.002) Yeah, April 15th, heading up that way and kind of excited for sure. I've talked to Tony Katani a little bit. I did his podcast the other year and he kind of kickstarted me into doing some of these things and getting out and our message at different conferences and all. And he said, it's an outstanding event and you learn a lot and you make a lot of wonderful connections. And so super excited for that and to get to go up there in a couple of weeks. and be involved with the leadership and advocacy training that they offer. Rick Sola (28:25.667) Yeah, and I've listened to Tony's podcast before. I've not talked with him myself, but I hope to meet you in person. I'll be there as well in a couple of weeks. So I'll have to look you up. it's great having you on. I really appreciate your time. I know you're on your way to a break and on your way to a game. But having someone on from another state, in this case, Virginia, it's just a reminder that what we do in our schools is it's shared the challenges, the successes, and It's really great to have you on and just to share about the consolidation and the success you had. And I'll put that your book in the show notes. So anybody who's looking at it up can click on that and look it up. I know, like I said, it's super relevant where I'm at. I'm in a suburb south of Kansas city and you know, it's not totally unique. So it happens, but it's definitely unique as a principal to go through it for sure. So, but yeah, I want to thank you for being here and I want to wish you all the best on your break and we'll see you in a couple of weeks. Derek Cantrell (29:24.864) All right, appreciate it Rick. Thank you and thanks for all you do and continue to do the outstanding things you're doing. Rick Sola (29:30.457) All right, thanks Derek. All right.  

In this episode of Cool Coffee, Kansas principal Stacey Green shares her journey to retirement, insights on leadership, decision-making, and the importance of self-care in educational leadership. Connect with the guest: [email protected]  Connect on X: @usd271sgs References from the show: Emily P. Freeman - The Next Right Thing Emily P. Freeman - How to Walk into a Room Cool Coffee Episodes Featuring Stacey Green: #4, #22, #65, & #89 --------------------------------- Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] ---------------------------------- Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Stacey Green 01:03 Reflecting on Retirement Decisions 04:22 The Journey to Retirement 10:30 Legacy of Leadership at Stockton 13:18 Advice for New Principals 18:07 Future Plans and Next Steps 20:45 Looking Forward to Spring Events Full Episode Transcript Rick Sola (00:01.946) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas Principals. Today's episode brings back Mrs. Stacey Green, principal at Stockton Grade School, pre-K through eight, a USA Kansas rep, KPA board of directors, and a frequent contributor to this podcast. You can see episodes four, 22, 65, and 89, and I'll put all those in the show notes. A principal legend here in Kansas and just an all around favorite of so many people. I've heard that in person, conversational reference, and on this very podcast, and a person who has been so kind to me in this show. So, so glad to have you. Stacy, welcome back to Cool Coffee. Stacey Green (00:42.958) Good morning, Rick. It's good to see you. Rick Sola (00:45.166) Yeah, it's great to see you too. So for a little bit of context here, we are recording this. It's St. Patrick's Day, which also means it is spring break. So Stacy, thank you for coming in and or jumping on here to record this. But I'm really excited to visit with you, to catch up with you. But this is a big quarter coming up for you. Stacey Green (01:08.534) Yes it is. Thank you again for coming in on your spring break. I appreciate that as well working around my schedule. Yes it's my final quarter which seems so very strange to say and some I think every day I get asked are you counting the days and this is true I am NOT counting the days. I think the minute I cross over the threshold of the building I enter each day I get busy and before I know it I'm walking out the door so there's not any counting. I think this is something I've instilled in my staff even like when we head to Christmas break or head to spring break or head to the end of the year, make the days count. Don't count the days. So I'm glad in my own brain I've instilled that enough that I'm making the most of every day we have until I complete this work. Rick Sola (01:50.212) Yeah, that's really, really good advice. And it's so tempting, I'm sure, to even take moments. And we'll get into it here in a little bit about kind of we've talked about your road to the chair that you're in, but really I'm interested in the road to your retirement. it was about it was over just over a year and half ago that you were on this podcast. It was the fourth episode. So brand new in this show's journey. But you had posted something about how you were beginning, I believe it was your 35th year at the time, and you still have so many things to be excited about, which is really remarkable. And we spent some time talking about that. So if we were to spend some time now talking about your road to retirement, what did that road look like up to the point of you made the decision like, OK, it's time? Stacey Green (02:44.396) I wish I would have marked that more carefully, but I would say it was about this time a year ago. A good friend of mine during our Christmas time had shared an author with me. Her name is Emily P. Freeman. Spiritual director, she's also just an avid writer. She has a podcast that I listen to faithfully. Also for those that like collections on apps, she has some daily apps. she talks a lot about the next right thing. And she talks about how, whether we're a lot about decision fatigue, she talks about small decisions you might be in or maybe make life changing. So I started reading her book, The Next Right Thing. Another one called How to Walk into a New Room. Something similar that I don't have that exact title in front of me, but just really it was the right... text for me, the right voice for me at that time. And I really started looking at like, what are my next right steps? I feel like, and I said this in my letter to the board when I resigned in December, I'm not leaving with any regrets. I'm not leaving because of anyone. It's just the next right thing for me. And that's really where I've done most of my discernment is just. What does that look like to put me first? I'm typically, I'm such a service-oriented person. I really had to have some coaching and some training along the way to make this 13-year principalship run work for me and my family because I give a lot. But learning during that time from coaching from others how to... allow others to serve and how to delegate better and so those kind of things. But yeah, getting back to that, I think that that March and starting to follow Emily, started making some notes. I also decided I wouldn't make that decision coming out of the end of the school year. I felt like I was weary. We're tired at that time. That's not my best decision making time. I wanted to have the summer last summer to really finish the work. Stacey Green (04:29.518) through some journaling and some writing there. So that's what I did. And then came back and started this fall semester and knew by October it was the right thing. And so I've really had not any regret. I'm gonna miss a lot of people. I'm gonna miss the students. I'm gonna miss the routines, but yeah, it's the right thing. So I'm excited about that. Rick Sola (04:46.778) I really like the, I guess the insight or the foresight or I guess awareness maybe of, you know, not making that decision at Memorial Day. You know, we are coming off of a school year and you mentioned that decision fatigue. I mean, that's, you're at the very end of the year and it's very, very busy and you're worn down. And so to have that wherewithal of like, okay, this is how I'm feeling. I feel really strongly about this, but I'm not making that final decision. And you said it was October that you just kind of came to that. Was there anything significant about that time frame or that specific time of the school year? Stacey Green (05:27.426) I don't think so. think I was just more self-aware and just like... hallway walks in and out of classrooms and just being aware of the great things that are happening and the sustainability we have with teacher leadership and with our current superintendent and the board. just felt like we were finally at that place where okay this work can continue. It won't take me to be the one to lead that. There's enough people in these places and spaces. That took staff a long time to grasp and I shared with them my plans. It was like my goodness no hang on here. We had the tears. We had the moments but you've got all the right things in place and so of my teacher leadership that's come from something that's been a passion of mine when I came into this role is that this wasn't about me, it was about we and what can you do as leaders in the classroom that know those students day in and day out. You know the curriculum resources, you know the standards. Stand up for yourselves and advocate for yourselves and continue to be strong and you're putting students first. Rick Sola (06:23.396) You mentioned the tears and the sharing the news and all that outside of your family. Who was the first to know? Stacey Green (06:32.994) wow. Probably my secretary. Yeah. She has been with me five years now. Incredible. Came at the right time. right after COVID. My other secretary left. She'd been there several years and when the pandemic came, she decided that was her time to step away. So Ms. Rhonda came in right after that. So I think she was the next person to know. Just again, faithful woman who discerned with me, talked with me, still encourages me. So that's been super helpful. Rick Sola (07:01.39) So I know every year we have principals that retire and there's no one way to go through this process. But how did that go as far as announcing to your staff? Was it a staff meeting? Was it an email? Was it they found out in the newspaper? What way did you go about letting your staff know? Stacey Green (07:19.438) you Stacey Green (07:26.158) So we have what are called Wednesday accountability meetings and this came out of our work through the redesign and we've kept that. So every Wednesday we meet from 345 to fourish, about 15 minutes and it's just a quick, sometimes it's a standup meeting sometimes, but we're always hitting those things we're working on quickly instead of long staff meetings. So I had scheduled one of, had that on schedule already and so before I turned my letter into the board, my superintendent knew that, but before I turned that letter into her, I sat down with my staff and actually read the letter to them. was easiest way for me to work through that. So we just had that time together. And some of, by that point in time, some of the people I have more often conversations with were figuring it out by that time. Rick Sola (08:08.878) Yeah, I was going to ask, know, I've been around a while, whether it's retirement or a promotion of some sort, and people start to kind of dig a little bit and make reference. Well, if you're here next year or what are your thoughts? Did you get any kind of like you could you could tell that they're starting to really question or kind of wonder? Stacey Green (08:27.886) Yes, they were. Yeah, and I was weary a couple times early in the fall, and I think they picked up on that. There were some things happening that weren't within my control and some things that we had to make some daily decisions on, and I was getting, it was a weary time. So I think they were picking up on some of that as well. Rick Sola (08:46.618) So I know you have a kind of maybe it's a conscious effort not to do the, you know, this is the last time for the last spring break or the last this or that, but have you caught yourself at any point kind of in that moment of, wow, like, you know, this is kind of the home stretch type deal. Stacey Green (09:05.246) Yes, so I hope I can do this without some tears if I hadn't thought about this. just finished my last round of teacher evaluations. And my last one I wrote was for a young man who came in as a sponsored student teacher for us because we couldn't find a PE teacher. So he did a student teaching with us, which was basically on his own. I had a high school PE teacher checking on him. had myself checking on him, but he was really on his own. And then stayed on with us last year. We'll continue. This is this. one and a half year with us as on license and then we'll come back again next year. So it was, I didn't mean to intentionally save his for last, but it worked out that way. again, that teacher leadership part and growing him, it was pretty cool to have him be one of my final ones. And then the other one was my 44 year veteran who came, he had been a long time counselor for us. He, had gone over to the high school as a counselor, then retired and went to a private school for a year and then we had an opening and came back to finish two years with us. So that was also a cool moment. He's done, because we know in teacher education he ended up back on that cycle of two-year evaluations, bless his heart, after 44 years. So he and I finished that together last week right before break to it. So that was pretty awesome to bring that first circle from an early educator to a veteran 44 year educator and be able to give them some feedback but also some just affirmation of their work and how much they're appreciated in education. Rick Sola (10:28.804) Well, the time and care that you put in, it's always been evident and we haven't known each other for very long in terms of either of our careers. But certainly I have seen that and appreciated that. And it's being conveyed so strongly even right now, just talking with you and to hear that, the teacher evaluations is the thing that stuck out. Because I think a lot of us, we see those dates come up like, gosh, I'm behind, I need to catch up. But that speaks volumes about you and it's really neat. You referenced the setting up to continue. Your school is set up to continue based on your leadership but also the empowering of leaders in your building. What has you most proud as you step away and you would envision like this is kind of something that will. either last or continue on, but what has you most proud at Stockton as you do move into your retirement? Stacey Green (11:33.135) It definitely is that, If I look back to like that spring of 2012 when I was stepping into assistant principal that first year with our then superintendent, I had written down some things and something for our news article and a lot of was around that topic of... We have had so many superintendents. I'm almost embarrassed to tell you how many, but it's about every two years. And so when you've had 17 superintendents in your 36 years and you being one of them for an interim, we've had a lot of turnover, but we've got great staff and great students and a great community. It's just that I can't name it. I never have been able to figure out what it is. A couple of friends in education say we need to tackle this as a research project and look at that. that was one of my things going into that fall of 13 was I want to leave a legacy where teachers will lead. Where there won't be that here comes the boat again we're sailing off we can maybe hang on for a year but then things change and all that. So that was really my focus. Good or bad there's a lot of miss I don't know how you would describe it but there's a lot of The word redesign like there's like we found that as a district to be very good towards the end It wasn't as well received by our community with some things we had changed They weren't ready for that change yet, even though and we felt like we were as a district So I still go back to that time and probably the thing that we reaped the most from during that time was the teacher leadership the way we constructed our research and the way who is the small groups of teachers who were leading that and the piloting of the work that they were doing that was the one of the first times I really saw as tiring as the work was, I saw an energy I've never seen before in educators. And if I look back at those, we called them our pilot, people who were leading, one of them now is just... Stacey Green (13:20.298) She's my sixth through eighth grade math teacher, profound educator who has had a turn of events in the way she leads in her classroom, but also leads across the state in committee work and work at KSDE and just very proud of her. to watch her growth was phenomenal. Another one is a couple of them I've already left our district, but again, I love to watch them lead in other places now and to cheer them on and to know that they took those skills and that confidence they had in leading into another district and have done so well there as well. That's my exciting part. And I keep telling them now, they keep talking about the days and getting close. Just keep leaving, keep those things in front of you. Know your course, know your why. And I don't want to use that loosely either, but they've done the research and they know what it takes to be able to do the work day in and day out because they're researchers, they know that now. Rick Sola (14:11.45) I'm sure you have reflected on this certainly more than I have, maybe even more than most. when you think about your time in Stockton and the many years you put in, really the final couple months, two to three months, that goes a long way in setting up for that future and all the things that you mentioned for the continuing on of all the great things. I know you're very intentional about that. It's awesome to hear that and kind of leads me to correct me if I'm wrong. This is year 36 in education. What is some advice that you've received that stuck with you all these years? Perhaps it's the best advice you received as an educator. Stacey Green (14:46.478) Yes. Stacey Green (15:00.47) I did some work, my most intentional work with the inspired leadership and Rachel Thulman was my coach at that time and she taught me how to shut my office door. That was something I was always open door, come see me when you need to see me. I was out in classrooms, very visible, but then it was the nights and weekends that I was doing all the work because I just was available all the time. So she taught me and matter of She strategically scheduled a couple of my sessions with her during the school day. had to, I mean, I got permission from my superintendent, but I would shut the door during the school day and work with her for 45 minutes to an hour. knowing there might be a lot going on outside, but I think that was another step too and letting my staff know I'm not available for this hour. Who do you have you can lean on? Who, where can you work that so you're supporting each other and to give me this time to grow too and that was tough. But I learned it and I can do that better today. I can shut that door for an hour and work on an evaluation. I can shut the door and work on the deep work that we need to have happen and not that during the times of the evenings and weekends when I'm tired or I'm ready to spend time with my family. Another thing that stuck with me was the shoulding. We should ourselves. I should be at this event. I should be doing this. I should be doing that. And again, that's something that continues to creep back up even here in this final quarter that I put a lot of weight into is that I don't have to do all of that. I just need to learn that some of those shoulds are things I've put on myself that no one else has given to me. I've just assumed that and I need to correct that. Rick Sola (16:34.528) It's interesting, you both of those things you mentioned, they're kind of in the category of principal guilt that I think we all feel. I'm totally it's what you're saying resonates with me so much, almost like I need to shut my door so I can catch up on something. that guilt factor, almost like you're like you're doing something wrong and you kind of answer the question. But you just addressed it. You mentioned you told your staff that I'm unavailable during these times. Shutting your door, do you put that on your calendar or do you just kind of as you need it, you're willing to shut your door? How do you go about that? Stacey Green (17:09.438) I so wish I could say I put it on my calendar. I've tried that for a couple of years and I don't. Things come up, but I look at my week and know where there might be a day where it's better to slot that, but I don't say that I've ever actually put it on my calendar as much as I have the best intention to do that. Rick Sola (17:11.384) Hahaha Rick Sola (17:28.768) And in shoulding, as you say, there's so many events in a school year. There's so many events that every school has. And we are we need to be at so many of those. But you're right. There are some things that I think are probably OK for a building principal not to attend or not to be able to attend. What would you say to a year one, year two principal who's really riding that that principal guilt? roller coaster and they are putting in the time aside from you know first year principal you're going to put in some extra time anyway but what would you say to them to kind of help them build some perspective around that. Stacey Green (18:12.088) I think a lot of it is just the wisdom I'm sharing here has taken a lot of time and I've had a lot of great people pour into me that have allowed me to grow and share. so it depends on probably what the specific instance might be. But right now I have two amazing first year principals that I'm mentoring through the Kelly. And then I've got a couple of just that live nearby that have other mentors that they'll seek out the suggestions or just want to talk through something. And a of times that's what it is. But the advice I give all of them is always that remembering to take care of yourself and especially these spring breaks or Christmas breaks. Yes, we know there's some things that are going to need to be done, but to not forget to take care of yourself and to put those people closest to you to remind them how important they are to you. And so I think that's the biggest thing. But then there's lots of things that come up that just on individual conversations that not so much more of a coaching role, but more of a mentoring just to continue to do this work long time. Because right now their energy is high. You and I remember that first year you just go in and you're ready to tackle everything. and do all things, so I think that. So for me it's even a text message I sent on Friday to all three of those individuals that I have a lot of contact with just to remind them, you what are you doing this week for you or what are you doing this week with family to remind them to set that priority. Rick Sola (19:28.41) And what a great example from you to them to be able to demonstrate how you do that yourself, but that it is important and it really helps assist the longevity of being able to be in the position that is as demanding as a building principle. So, you know, I love that. Your plans for next year. Have you gotten that far yet or plans maybe for I don't know when your when contract is off in Stockton but when when when that final building walkout occurs what's next. Stacey Green (20:02.552) So contract ends June 30th. We have an amazing trip planned to Alaska for it ended up being this August. We tried and tried for July and for some reason it wouldn't work, but it happens to be the first week of school. So I think that was supposed to be. So with a couple of couples, we'll do that. But then I'm in the middle of a couple of conversations with some next steps. And hopefully by the end of March here, I'm one of those will I'll be able to share a little bit more about what I'm going to do. It'll be part time. That's what I've been seeking. We have three grandchildren and one of them will start school. school this fall and I want to be able to go to her events and be the Gigi I want to be. We have some aging parents who need some hospital visits, some ongoing care that I can be more free to do that work. So part-time position is perfect. I still have a lot of passion. As some people would say, I'm still pretty young, so I'm not ready to hang up completely. The work that I feel so passionate about, so I'm excited about some next steps. Both of those opportunities look pretty exciting. So just to discern through that next right thing and for what the next some room will look like for me. Rick Sola (21:04.634) Well, you mentioned you mentioned just a bit ago about a research project that you all need to tackle here. Yeah. So there you go. You know, last last year I had a couple principals on they were retiring and one of them he actually intentionally scheduled a trip for August to be away. He had opened an elementary school. He was principal there for 25 years and he scheduled a trip to be away during Stacey Green (21:10.362) That too, I don't know. Rick Sola (21:33.988) know, pre-service, you know, when teachers return as kind of a distraction in a way because he felt just like you, comfortable with the decision. It's the right decision. It's the right time. But also, you know, it's a love. It's a passion. And so maybe being in Alaska in August will just be the perfect remedy for distraction for you. Not to mention a beautiful place to be. Stacey Green (21:58.425) We kept laughing. We tried so hard to make it be in July and it just kept falling back. I was like, okay, we'll quit fighting this and go, that's where I'm supposed to be in August. And I agree. I think that, and I live in a very small community, so the grocery store stops, the church, all those things are, everything's right under your nose. So that'll take a little bit of getting used to. But I tell students all the time, I'm going to still be cheering you on. I'm going to be at your events. I'm going to be able to still have that contact with you. Do summer story hour. So those things that I still got to keep those kids in front of me and continue to push them to the best that they can be and staff the same way. But also carefully remembering that the next principal coming in to be able to make sure that I'm doing that in a way that they can have the leadership that they need and to lead in a different way that I've led. And I think that's the most important part is that I'm able to do what I can do but stay out of the way as well. Rick Sola (22:54.97) What has you most excited here in the next couple months as you push through May? Stacey Green (23:03.17) I think spring is just, fun. mean, the weather is nicer. We'll have track meets. We have some amazing music programs coming up that I'm excited to attend. So just making the most of all of it. And the evaluations are done. So I can get back into more of those informal walkthroughs and encouraging and being there and giving some feedback to staff. So I think that's the biggest part about the spring. Rick Sola (23:16.388) Yeah. Rick Sola (23:26.338) And then of course, I imagine there will be some sort of recognition here at the end for you and as if you could picture kind of a spectrum. And I don't know if you're fan of The Office, the TV show, but where you're at on. Michael Scott departure where you actually leave a day before you're supposed to so that you avoid everything and you avoid all that or you're the one in charge of your your own Farewell or anything. What do you expect the last week or so to look like for you? Stacey Green (24:04.302) I would sneak out the back door. I would just assume not have that fanfare and all that, but yet I know there'll be something and I'll enjoy every moment of that. My daughter actually is the one who's, I think she's still doubting I'm going to pull this off because she said a year ago, there's no way you can do this. But in spite of her, I'm going to show her that there's strong women we can make change and move on to those next right things. So I think she's talking about some fun things planned as well. that will, it'll be good. And I've got a lot, I love the people. I, again, just this last week, I have about five or six principles that we have a text chat and just being able to network with them. And so all those people that have fed into me and that I've been able to feed, I hope that I get a way to acknowledge them in this process as well. Rick Sola (24:46.468) Well, truly, as I mentioned, know, the passion and the care, the love you have for the profession, it's totally, totally conveyed here on this show. just in the few years that are. our careers have crossed path. It's something I've picked up on. It's something I've appreciated and has been an influence to me. And I'm really excited for you. And I know that those next steps will be really, really fun and exciting and that you'll still be, like you said, you'll still be around. You're still gonna be engaged and you're still gonna be involved. But I really appreciate you taking the time today to share. some reflection on where you're at in this process in March with a quarter left to go and because there are other principals that are sitting in the same position as you right now and so thank you for sharing all that today and thank you for all the support you've given to not just this show but to me you've reached out to me just throughout the few years here that we've been on the kpa board together and i just so appreciate you and want to wish you all the best moving forward Stacey Green (25:55.481) Thank you, Rick. I appreciate your kind words and thank you for leading so well. And that's what it's gonna take is me feeding into those of you that are at the cusp of that really kind of that beginning. know how many years for you remind me. Rick Sola (26:06.074) This is my 15th year as an administrator. Yeah. Stacey Green (26:08.236) year. So you're well into this. So yeah, but just continue all of you that are doing the great things for our profession across the state, but also across the country, because we have to keep advocating for ourselves and the role that we have and ultimately our students. So thank you for your work and for having me on here and allowing me to be real. Rick Sola (26:26.252) Absolutely. And have a wonderful rest of your spring break. hopefully now you can get back to spring break now that we're wrapping this up. Stacey Green (26:35.618) Thank you. I'm not sure it looks so fun. It looks like a lot of lists to get things accomplished at home, probably like most of you. Rick Sola (26:42.442) Absolutely. Stacey, take care and we'll see you around. Stacey Green (26:46.265) Thank you.  

In this episode of Cool Coffee with Kansas Principals, host Rick Sola engages with a panel of aspiring administrators from Kansas. They share their motivations for pursuing leadership roles in education, the challenges and excitement they anticipate, and the importance of mentorship and networking in their journeys. The conversation highlights the transformative power of education and the vital role of school leaders in shaping positive school cultures. The panelists reflect on their experiences, the traits they admire in current administrators, and the significance of being authentic and real in leadership roles. Connect with the panel (email): Shelby Muha Liz Stover-Gebhardt Jacob Burkholder Tiffany Hampe Dr. Todd Dain   Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Future Kansas Principals 04:20 Motivations for Pursuing Administration 10:21 Excitement and Nervousness in Leadership 16:40 Balancing Work and Life as an Administrator 22:04 Challenges and Growth in Administrative Roles 24:43 Navigating the Fear of Mistakes in Leadership 25:57 Understanding the Complexity of School Administration 26:58 Valuing Administrative Mentorship and Leadership Traits 28:37 The Importance of Supportive Leadership in Education 30:10 Creating a Positive and Inclusive School Culture 32:06 The Role of Collaboration and Trust in Administration 35:31 Aspiring Administrators: What Makes You Stand Out? 40:34 The Value of Networking and Advocacy in Education   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Rick Sola (00:01.602) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas Principles, or more appropriately today, Future Kansas Principles. I'm joined by four aspiring administrators here in Kansas who have either completed or are currently working toward their administration license. Today we'll visit with them to learn about the administrator influences in their lives, the traits that they admire in administrators. and why on earth they are interested in joining the so-called dark side of education. Looking forward to hearing all about that. And it sounds like we may have a dog in the audience as well, which is awesome. Big dog lover here. So anyway, but first let's meet our panel of future administrators. First of all, we have Shelby Mouha, 20 years teaching family and consumer science in Kansas. She taught in nine years, smaller districts outside of Manhattan, Kansas before moving back to Kansas City. for the last 11 years and the last 10 years in Olathe Public Schools. She got her bachelor's and master's from Kansas State University and admin license from Baker University. Welcome, Shelby. Shelby Muha (01:13.236) Thanks so much. Happy to be here. Rick Sola (01:16.076) All right. And then we have Elizabeth Stover at Gebhart. It goes by Liz. And she earned her MSSL and BA from Baker University, her ninth year of teaching social studies at the high school level at Shawnee Mission South High School, where you're also the head football or softball coach and assistant volleyball coach. Is that correct? Well, welcome, Liz. Glad to have you on here. Liz Stover (01:24.115) Yep. Liz Stover (01:41.597) That is correct, yeah. Liz Stover (01:45.651) Thank you so much for having me. Rick Sola (01:47.672) and Jacob Burkholder in his seventh year as an educator and currently teaching Project Lea the Way engineering courses at Piper High School in Kansas City, Kansas. Jacob is certified in social studies and technology and engineering education, holds a bachelor's of science degree from Kansas State University, and is pursuing a master's in educational leadership at Baker University. Welcome, Jacob. Jacob Burkholder (02:10.963) Thank you, Rick. I appreciate you having me on. Rick Sola (02:13.666) And then finally, Tiffany Hampy, I'm sorry, we just even, I even got that clarified right before we went on. And she has been a teacher for 21 years, eight of those years being spent teaching middle school math, and the other 13 have been high school math with geometry, Algebra II and Algebra III, and attended University of New Mexico for her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, and eventually her master's degree in secondary education. Tiffany Hampe (02:18.661) I clarify right now. Rick Sola (02:42.112) and recently finished certification through Baker University for building level leadership. Welcome Tiffany. Tiffany Hampe (02:48.377) Thank you. Also, was my dog. Leave it to them to bark at the most inopportune moment. Rick Sola (02:50.904) Oh, was a that's perfect. Totally good. And then I do want to welcome back to the show and longtime supporter Dr. Todd Dane, principal of Shawnee-Mitchell South High School, in a SSP board of directors, USA, Kansas, KPA board of directors, 2023, Kansas principal of year, and so many other things, dad to three awesome kids husband to an even better Dr. Dane. Right. Todd Dain (03:19.246) It's true. Yes. Rick Sola (03:21.292) And he'll be support here today on the admin side of things. And was also instrumental in the assembly of this panel, in this panel. So welcome, Todd. Todd Dain (03:31.49) Thank you so much for doing this and putting this together, Rick. I'm looking forward to this discussion. Rick Sola (03:37.91) Yeah, it's gonna be great. And this is our first time for Cool Coffee to have so many people in the virtual studio here. So really excited for this, but also really excited to have a group of educators who are in the chair of aspiring to be administrators. And I think there's so much value in remembering if you're listening to this and you're an active administrator, remembering how hungry you felt at that point where you were aspiring and pursuing these administrative jobs. But I really can't wait to hear what it is about your current administrators or administrators in your path that you really admired. And so we'll get right to it here. And as we go through this and as points come up, certainly all of you feel welcome to interject. This is not a job interview. It's a conversation. so and then Dr. Dayne, of course, anything that you have certainly feel free. But we'll start with where we were at the initial top of the show here is, what is it that is driving you toward administration? Shelby, we'll start with you. What is it that is just tugging you to get into administration? Shelby Muha (04:51.219) Wow, great question. Happy to start us off. You know, thankfully you did send us these questions ahead of time, so we had some time to really think about this. because I think if you were to ask other educators today, are you crazy? Why are you? Why do you want to be an administrator? And I think one of the things that's really focused on my mind is Tiffany Hampe (05:13.495) that's really focused on MIME is I really believe that education has the ability to change the trajectory. Shelby Muha (05:17.573) I really believe that education has the ability to change the trajectory for students. And I believe that, you know, just like year 20 and year one. And so I've seen as a classroom teacher the ability to make a meaningful impact in students. And I think the thing that's most appealing to me at the administrative level is that you get to have a greater sphere of influence with kids, with adults. And sometimes teachers need to be reminded that education has the power to change lives. And I think as an administrator, you have an opportunity to do that. Rick Sola (05:59.107) That's awesome. Liz, we'll go to you, but Todd, to that, is she crazy? I mean, that was the rhetorical question that she led off with, but is there a crazy element to administration? Tiffany Hampe (06:07.941) Bye. Todd Dain (06:12.812) Yeah, you have to be a little bit crazy to do this gig. And it's got to be about the kids, you know. And I think that's what keeps me in this chair. I've had some opportunities to kind of move away from the building at a district level. And it's the everyday interaction you have with young people that still keeps me doing this gig. Rick Sola (06:14.712) Ha Rick Sola (06:35.852) Liz, what about you? What's driving you toward administration? Liz Stover (06:39.271) Yeah, I do want to echo what Shelby said. So even just this last week, I've been really fortunate that Dr. Dane has allowed me to be an administrative intern. And just even this past week, the number of questions of, you sure you want to do this? I know Dr. Dane, you were there last week and it got a little chaotic towards the end, just with the long weekend. So, but I am sure I really love this idea of being able to have a. bigger impact on kids and being able to advocate for them. My background, especially with my younger siblings, spending a lot of time with special education and being able to teach for this, all the different levels that I have in social studies is really just what can I do to have that bigger stage to advocate and make sure that kids get what they need and are supported in every way. Rick Sola (07:29.88) So you're an admin intern right now, so you're getting a little bit of real world experience. Have you had a moment of kind of an aha, like, this is administration? Like, you you can sit in the classroom all day long, you can get thrown scenarios like crazy, but you actually experience it you're like, did you ever have one of those moments? Liz Stover (07:51.304) Yeah, I think even just this school year, it's happened a few times just to sit back and be able to realize that just the number, because we have a few assistant principals and they're always getting pulled all these different directions. It's putting out one fire here. They have a meeting over here. There's an IEP. So just being able to see that kind of in real time. So, yeah, I think just a few times this year. Shelby Muha (08:10.771) you Rick Sola (08:17.346) Jacob, what do you think? What's driving you toward administration? Jacob Burkholder (08:18.643) Yes. So I think if you'd asked me six years ago if I wouldn't be an administrator, I would have maybe laughed. And then I came from a building where I did not feel super supported, and I came into this incredible district. And I've just seen incredible leadership. And as I was looking at how I want to advance my career, I was willing to get master's. I was looking at it, and the doors that I thought this would open was something I was much more interested in. And as I look at education, so much of the frustrations, think, in education are outside the classroom. And so how can we build systems that empower people? And I think that's a big aspect of it is just sometimes we can forget that our people are most valuable. So our teachers, our staff, our students. And as long as we're like student-centered moving forward and with our choices, we're gonna make good choices. Rick Sola (09:12.408) That's awesome. I'm going to ask you the same question there that I asked Liz, but have you had any moments yet through any real world experiences that were kind of eye opening and maybe shed some light on something that you wouldn't have seen if you weren't a little deeper into the office? Shelby Muha (09:14.419) Thank Tiffany Hampe (09:19.301) you Shelby Muha (09:27.74) you Jacob Burkholder (09:29.575) There so I've. I'm doing my field experience this semester as well. And there have been two events. One of them was the admin on duty for a basketball tournament for freshmen. And I was the only Piper teacher in the building. And one of the other coaches came up and asked me a question. like, wow, this is real. I have to have the answer for this coach to support them. And was like, let me figure that out real quick and get you what you need. And then another one, I was involved, unfortunately, in an event where we had to suspend a student. Shelby Muha (09:38.675) Thank Jacob Burkholder (10:00.671) just the very real conversation that student had with us. I was really surprised when the student broke down crying. We had a very real, tender conversation. And just to see how there were consequences, but it ultimately, I think, helped that student and their process through that conversation. Rick Sola (10:26.552) Yeah, that's really good. When you become an administrator, you automatically have all the answers, isn't that right, Dr. Dane? Like, you just automatically know the answer. Todd Dain (10:38.348) Yeah, absolutely. I've been in this long enough where I kind of know those answers when they come to me, but I do remember all those times when people would come to me with questions and I wouldn't have the answers, but you you work your tail off to try to find out and and that's what it's about and the follow through that comes with it. So yeah, it's sometimes we've as I've been in it. You forget how many of those quick responses, quick decisions that you make in just one day. Rick Sola (11:10.658) Yeah, sometimes owning that you don't yet know and like Dr. Dane said, the follow-up is key. You follow up, you don't have to know every answer, but the follow-up is critical. All right, so Tiffany, what's driving you toward administration? Tiffany Hampe (11:24.837) Yeah, similar to Jacob. I think if you would have asked me five or six years ago, I, in fact, my dad has always pushed me to do this. And I was like, no, I'm good being a teacher. I have no desire to be an administrator. And then similar, I went into a school where I feel like my admin is exceptional and really has elicited kind of that, oh, this is the type of change that you can make not only with kids, but also with the adults in your building. And that really got me. And I have older kids now. I have two boys, one is 20, one is 17. And so I'm not being pulled at home so much. And it just felt like the right time. I don't know. I feel like I'm ready for a change, ready for some challenge. Want to make a difference in a different capacity, adults and kids. And just having admin that are really inspiring has really pushed me to do this. Rick Sola (12:18.456) That's awesome. And we'll come back to some of our favorite administrator traits with people, but Tiffany, sticking with you here, what has you really excited about the idea of sitting in an admin chair? And then what has you also really nervous about it? Tiffany Hampe (12:35.685) Well, I'm really excited to transfer into a role where, you know, I feel like as a teacher, especially in Mays, Kansas, for the most part, I'm dealing with very well-behaved kids. Our population is pretty low in behavior issues. And so I want to extend this into kids that are struggling behaviorally, which is what I saw a lot in my field experience, just dealing with kids. I was very surprised at how many of them have drug. and alcohol issues that they deal with. like Liz was saying, how many different directions they're being pulled at all times of the day. I think every teacher would admit to sitting in their classroom and saying, what do they do all day? I mean, seriously, what are they up there doing? Because it doesn't seem like much until you're actually up there and witness it firsthand. And then you're like, I understand. So I think typically I deal with kids that are compliant. And so I think making a difference. have a really good rapport with all my kiddos and I just feel like that's a strength of mine. So I'm excited to see how that transfers into kids that maybe struggle a little bit more, need a little bit more support. And then most nervous. I work, my son is going to be a senior next year. So I have no interest in leaving the building that I'm at currently. So, and I love that building so much. It's like a family to me that if I were to accept an admin position right now, it would only be in this building. And that's just because of what's happening in my current life situation. And so I think the switch to working with people that have been my colleagues and having to change from them being more like peers to now I'm in a more leadership position has me pretty nervous. And that's probably my biggest concern right now is just how to make that switch as authentic as possible and as the least awkward as possible, I guess. Rick Sola (14:33.752) I see a lot of head nodding there when you mentioned going from classroom teacher to more in the leadership role and working with peers and Todd, have any thoughts on that going from classroom teacher to then in an administrative role in that same building? Shelby Muha (14:35.059) Yes. Todd Dain (14:52.718) Yeah, so you know, I was fortunate enough to be a classroom teacher for a lot of years. I was a teacher for 20 years and I was a head football coach for 14 years and had an incredible mentor and Dr. Gwen Posse that kind of pulled me aside when I was 40 and said, hey, what do you want to be when you grow up? And so, you know, she, she was incredible for me to go through that process and learn, but she created a position for me that allowed me to kind of transition in administrative role. And one of the things that I learned full disclosure here is that whether or not you really feel like you change your relationships, the perception automatically changes with it. And I remember walking down the hallway one morning with two colleagues that I knew had a really Shelby Muha (15:39.859) Mm-hmm. Todd Dain (15:48.258) positive and strong relationship with. I'd worked with them for a number of years side by side and walked down the hall and said, good morning girls, I'm so excited to see you. And the word girls was. received by them in a way that was condescending and that was not my intention at all. It was 100 % out of affection for those people and those professionals and who they were. But because I was in a different role, they saw it as condescending. And so I had to backtrack and apologize and say, you know, I think you are smart and strong and are wonderful, strong women. And I never wanted them to feel like that I was ever condescending to them. But it was just it was an eye-opener for me because in some ways I didn't feel like my relationship with them had changed. But in their eyes, it did. And I think that's an important piece to understand when you kind of step into this role, whether you like it or not, people are going to perceive you in that role. I still kind of think of myself as a kid at heart. And sometimes in my mind, I'm still 17 and try to relate to young people and have fun in what we do. But at the same time, you have to understand that Shelby Muha (16:46.739) and Todd Dain (17:13.742) that's a shift. And so that was a big transition for me and a wonderful learning experience with friends that I got to learn in a safe place. Rick Sola (17:25.718) Yeah, that's a really great example. I was a little different. I started out a building, an administration that I really had very little connections with. But that same sentiment took me back a little bit because that title, whether you think about it that way or not, the title can change the way you're viewed by staff, by students, parents. And it's something to kind of look grapple with and learn how to manage. like Todd said, in some ways be careful, but also like it's just something you've got to be aware of to some degree. So let's see, Jacob, let's go to you. What has you excited and nervous? Shelby Muha (18:04.571) and Jacob Burkholder (18:10.267) So as I've worked through these courses, something that I've really enjoyed is thinking about the big picture and just systems, which... is I guess I'm little nerdy about now. But this summer I actually had the opportunity to serve as a program leader at Scout Camp. And in that role I was serving as the instructional leader for our staff to make sure our staff was delivering a good camping experience to our kids. And that was honestly not something I had been super excited about. just academically, but now having been that role to see that that was one of the bigger impacts and that just felt like I was empowering powering my staff to go and lift up the kids and like have that amazing experience and In a lot of ways, I think that's some of the most important part of leadership I think one of the things I'm more nervous about is I I know all the field experience I've done I see everything I've been doing. I'm like, this is really interesting stuff. This is stuff I want to be a part of. But I look at the hours that they work. I'm like, ooh, that's a lot. And I'm at a point where I want to start a family. So that's something I've been thinking about, like how do you have a successful work-life balance? Rick Sola (19:26.38) Yeah, I think that's a really something to think about for sure. And I'm at the middle school, Todd's at the high school. I think our hours are probably a little different. Anything that you would want to speak to that on Dr. Dane? Todd Dain (19:44.194) Yeah, you know, somebody has asked me in a previous podcast about that. And one of the things that I come back to is, you know, my role is a little bit different than that. I was my last year as a teacher, I was teaching five sections of college prep English. I was the head football coach at a six day high school. I was the head track coach at a six day high school. And the principal called me in and asked me to be the department chair for the English department. And I just said, can't do all of this and do it well and do it right, do it the way it needs to be done. And so when I think back to the amount of time that I was dedicating to all those things, it's a lot less time now as an administrator that I put in compared to the years when I was a head football coach and a head track coach, just dedicating those hours. The one thing that I would tell you, Jacob, Jacob Burkholder (20:39.624) Yes. Todd Dain (20:39.758) and all of you aspiring administrators is that the one thing as an administrator, you have a little more control over your clock, right? So your school day is 740 to 240 or eight to three or whatever it is. you've got a little bit of autonomy on your day. Your day isn't run by the bell. Shelby Muha (21:01.139) you Todd Dain (21:01.452) hour by hour. The other thing that you have a little more control over is all the extra duties and the supervision night duties that you have. it's a considerable amount of hours that we spend at basketball games. After this Zoom call, I'm headed to a Lathie's for a basketball game tonight. And so you have a lot of those night duties, but you have some input and control over those nights, right? So I know ahead of time that homecoming week, I'm gonna be out four nights. But there may be other weeks when I can be more in control of those hours. So my youngest daughter just finished her collegiate soccer career playing soccer at Northwest Missouri State, and she was. all conference and team captain and all those things. So one of the things for me over the past four years was that I wanted to make sure that I was attending all of her soccer games. So I could adjust those night duties and we can work together as a team to make sure that I could be at all of her games. And so that meant that I worked soccer on Thursday night and soccer on Tuesday night and Wrestling on Wednesday or whatever it was so that I could have the open time on Friday and Saturday to go watch her play soccer so So I would say that I there is a lot of time commitment number one. It's less than you spend as a teacher and a coach and As a teacher and a coach you don't have control over your clock But as an administrator you have a lot of time commitment, but you have a little more control over your clock You have a little more control over what nights you work, what weekends you work, your day, you know, eight to three during your day. If you have other things, family issues, you don't have to get a sub if you got to take your son to the doctor. Right? You don't have a substitute administrator, whereas, you know, as a teacher, you probably have to find a substitute if you have to take your son to the doctor in the afternoon. Right? So it's a little bit different perspective, a little bit different. Shelby Muha (22:44.647) and Todd Dain (23:14.668) and that you have a little more autonomy as administrator in that role. So I talk too much. Rick Sola (23:19.768) And I bet lot of the things that you're all doing are already prepping you for that kind of schedule. On a smaller scale, I was a high school coach. I was a middle school coach at the same time. A lot going on, finishing my masters for administration, all those things were going on. I found that it just prepped me for when that time came and being the role, you start budgeting your time a little differently. And I love that the way you described that. Shelby Muha (23:26.845) it. Rick Sola (23:49.113) Todd of just managing your own clock, a little bit more control of your clock, but that's where those shadow experiences can be really valuable. I was able to shadow the AD at a high school here in town and it was eye opening for a lot of really good things. really helped me think through different decisions that were potentially on the horizon for me. So Liz, we'll jump to you. What has you super excited and super nervous about being an administrator? Shelby Muha (24:00.82) you Liz Stover (24:16.903) Yeah, I was really looking forward to this question. One of the things that I talk to my players about is, because I coach softball and volleyball, this feeling of being nervous and excited is really the same. So being able to take a step back and really process why exactly you're feeling that way. So for me, the answer is the same is that I'm. I'm really excited for a challenge of being an administrator. I'm really excited for those unknowns every day. So right now I can make my lesson plans and I have a really strong feeling of what my day is going to look like with a couple of things here and there, just being ready to pivot. But this idea of being able to challenge myself for something new. When I was doing my master's degree, I was doing my master's, I was planning my wedding, I was my first season as a head coach and now Everything just kind of feels like it's moving slow. So I feel like I'm really ready for that challenge and just to kind of take another step up. Rick Sola (25:15.48) It's awesome, ready for the challenge. saw again, a lot of nodding heads there, which is awesome to see. Shelby to you, excited and nervous. Shelby Muha (25:19.345) Thanks. Shelby Muha (25:23.877) Yeah, well, Liz, I like to combine scared and excited and call it skited because I think that I am skited as well. I am, you know, of course curious about how am going to handle those intense moments, right? Like Jacob alluded to that moment of like, I'm the guy now, right? Like I need to have the answers to this. And I think it'll be so good for me after 20 years in the classroom to be forced to learn something new. And I think that's been one of the most exciting things about being, you know, going through the Baker Building Licensure Program is that I was kind of hit this accelerated growth curve. And I was like, man, this is really awesome. Like, this is really cool. And I really like this. And I want to continue learning. And I want to continue growing. that. I'm excited to continue learning. I am nervous I'm going to mess up. The consequences are a little different on a more public stage. I feel like everything really matters, right? All those important conversations that you have with students and with parents and with staff. I want to be really intentional in those those offshoot moments that Dr. Dane mentioned of like those little side comments of like, shoot, I need to backpedal and fix that. I feel like as an administrator, things just carry more weight. The words that you say and every conversation from with a classified staff member to a kid to a certified staff member, like your words matter all the time. That's just a new way of operating. So yeah, there's so many things, so many skited things that I keep thinking about. Rick Sola (27:28.088) That is a new word for me, but I like it. I remember very distinctly the fear of messing up and like in my head, I just kept thinking, I don't want the building to come to a grinding halt because of some bonehead decision I made or didn't do or something. the reality is the school is going to go on. It always does. But how you correct the mistakes, you backtrack, you own it, you apologize, show humility, all those things can help with the overall buy-in of working with the people that you're with all the time. I appreciate the honesty of, yeah, I just don't want to mess up, because I think that's a very real feeling for being in the chair. I don't want to mess up now, and I've been doing it for a while. But especially early on, it can feel like things move really quick. Shelby Muha (28:16.723) you Rick Sola (28:26.916) One thing I appreciated earlier when Tiffany was talking again, there's a lot of nodding heads. wish in some ways I wish this was a video podcast so you can see that. But when she was talking about the surprise when you get into the office and some of the conversations you're having and perhaps even that feeling sometimes like, what is really going on in the office? But you all seem to really kind of like nod like almost emphatically. And I guess I'll just ask for another nod. But Am I accurate that you all have had that experience where you're like, like, wow, like this was bigger than I thought, or there's a lot more going on behind the curtain than I ever could have imagined. Tiffany Hampe (29:08.632) Yeah, 100%. Jacob Burkholder (29:09.543) Very much so. Rick Sola (29:11.266) Yeah. That was... Shelby Muha (29:11.473) Yes, yeah, things are very real behind that curtain. Liz Stover (29:12.85) Yeah. Rick Sola (29:17.452) For an audio podcast, that was a really poorly worded question because all we're seeing is everyone nodding and you know, but no, I enjoyed that. So question here, and I'm really interested in this and this would be a time to really name drop part of this podcast is we always brag on our people, but you all have administrators that have been in your path. We just heard about Dr. Posse who was in Dr. Dane's path way back in probably safe to say was trajectory changing for Dr. Dane back then. Tiffany Hampe (29:22.348) You Tiffany Hampe (29:31.012) you Rick Sola (29:47.129) Who are those administrators? But more specifically, what is it you appreciate about them? What's a trait that they have demonstrated? Maybe you're with them now or maybe it's somebody in the past. But what are some of those traits, administrative traits that you really have grown to appreciate? let's start, we'll go, Jacob, we'll start with you on this one. Jacob Burkholder (30:09.043) I've been really lucky since I've been at Piper with the leadership we've had here. And that's something I really appreciate is just the vision that leadership has and the desire to get us somewhere better. And if there's a problem, it's like, OK, how do we fix this? And so there's a discussion around that. Specifically, my building, I really appreciated working with all the administrators, but especially Kelsey and Selmy and Bobby Cave. And when they found out I was starting this program, they both would start to show me some other things and have discussions about, hey, what do you think of this situation? And so was like informal coaching before I even started the field experience. And that was just really beneficial. opening and just having someone to go talk to and like spitball ideas off of I'll know something like how would how would you expect to handle this situation and just having that soundboard to learn from. Rick Sola (31:08.322) So you just mentioned two people I have a connection with and I bring it up not just to show that, I've got a connection with, but I have found over and over and over again that education for as big as we are, there are so many six degrees of separation. So Kelsey and Salmi, I worked with her mom at a previous school, Prairie Trail. Her mom was the nurse there. then Bobby Cave, I currently work with his sister here at the school. Jacob Burkholder (31:12.531) Okay. Rick Sola (31:38.275) Chisholm Trail where I'm principal. And I think it's really important to realize there's connections all around. And you just mentioned two incredible administrators, incredible people. Unfortunately, sometimes when names get brought up, like in an interview or a reference, and you're hearing someone say something that's not as positive, you just never know who you're sitting across from. You never would have known these connections and... Jacob Burkholder (31:40.957) Awesome. Rick Sola (32:05.976) I think that's a big caution, especially for people interviewing for any job. Be careful how you talk about people, you know. We all have connections out there, but yeah, two people that I know are very highly regarded where you're out there. Let's go to Tiffany. Tiffany Hampe (32:25.407) Yes, so I don't know how well you guys know the area, but I work for Dr. Chris Botts right now. He's amazing. He's got an amazing leadership team that he's kind of created. He is the first principal that I've ever worked for that really inspired growth, reflection, but also at the end of the day makes every single staff member feel like their family comes first. And that was really, really important to me. I don't know, I just feel like I've grown a lot and I don't feel like people take that for granted. Like I don't think that they or use that to their advantage that he says your family should always come first so they're taking off all the time. It almost does the opposite where it created this culture of we all support each other and I'm gonna push you to be your best and do your best but also if there are things going on outside of school, please handle those because that's most important to everyone in the building. And then, you know, he's awesome and he's also had really strong women leadership that I look up to. Morgan Marsh, Amy Zuido, and even Sonia Tice, they have all been admin there while I've been there. And I think it's hard to be a woman in administration. think, you know, we're still kind of trying to forge our path there. And, you know, a lot of times when women come across very... stern and strict, they're given that capital B word. And so I think the women in this building show a good balance of loving kids, but also holding them to a high standard. And that's been really nice to see. So yeah, it's just a very positive culture, very welcoming culture, very community-based. I think everybody feels supported and that's been really important to me. Shelby Muha (34:09.779) Thank Rick Sola (34:17.752) It's awesome. Yeah, love that kind of firm but respectful approach there. Let's see. Liz, have we heard? Liz, we'll go to you on this one. Liz Stover (34:27.425) Yeah. Yeah. So I actually feel really fortunate that every school, every district that I've been in, even growing up. So Dr. Dane, you mentioned Dr. Paz here a little bit ago. Dr. Yurkovich, those were really strong female leaders to look up to, just even going through middle school, high school, and then beyond. So when I first started teaching at Washburn Rural in Topeka, I was really impressed by the team that Ed Rains and Kyle Reed had for us out there. Everything when I initially got into teaching was very much like a coaching, a mentorship. And that I think really formed who I am just as a teacher and some of my kind of long-term beliefs about what we can do as administrators and how we can work together. And then to jump right into Shiny Mission South with Dr. Dane and everyone that we have there. So for me, I feel like I kind of gravitate towards principals who are visible, people who are consistent in administrating. So whether that's the students, the teachers, that sort of thing, which is what I feel like. Dr. Dane, we've been really strong with it, South, but just even the culture there. For me to immediately come in, feel welcomed, and then to feel trusted with the administrators to take on some of these leadership roles and be able to go in and ask questions, ask just for clarification. I might not be directly involved in some scenario, but I can go in and say, I noticed that we did this, how- Like how do we navigate that? How do we make those decisions and being able to be trusted with that information, even to go as far as to making decisions on my own and to be able to talk through that I think is really formative right now. Rick Sola (36:20.344) That's awesome. And you know, when it comes down to making big decisions, there's always people to call, you know, and I know Dr. Dane, you've got a team out there. You guys are a strong team. There's always somebody either in your building or outside your building. I know that Dr. Dane's a person I could call if I needed to, but there's that network there. Shelby, finish us off on this question. What do you appreciate most about your favorite administrators? Shelby Muha (36:47.228) Yeah, I think the best example I can think about this is when it was 2017 and Olathe West was getting ready to open and it is the last high school that Olathe has built and it's amazing and I still work here and there was a moment where as a family consumer science teacher, the two other teachers in our department, we had to like get all of our stuff, right? So we had to like unpack tons and tons of tools and mean curriculum equipment. mean just like moving into a giant brand new 6A house, right? And so the principal who opened this building, Jay Novacek, walking through the Commons and I had a quick question about something small and I was like, yeah, we had a question about something and he was like, yeah. He knew exactly what I was talking about. He could tell me that it was like when it was ordered, when it was going to arrive and like all of these things. And I remember thinking like, wow, like he is really, really on it. And as a teacher, it made me feel like what I was bringing to this team as a brand new building was really valuable. and that I wasn't going to be kind of like forgotten in the shuffle, right? And if you're, you're putting the time in, because this was July, right? So we were like giving up the end of our summer to go unpack our giant new house. And I felt so taken care of by him. And I have, you know, since since that moment. And I think that Jay specifically is someone who will go to bat for you. and he will defend you as long as you're defendable and he will always come when you call. I think that's one of the things our entire administrative team here that I've always, always so appreciated. Megan Black, Pat Butler, Josh Humphrey, Dr. Aniline Morris, they come when I call and I feel like they trust me, they trust my decision-making and if I need help, they're gonna show up. Shelby Muha (39:04.624) I have to, you know, the thing that I, when I was choosing a mentor in my Baker cohort, I wanted to pick somebody who I knew didn't think like I did. And I wanted to learn and I have learned a ton from Dr. Annalyn Morris. And she is the most innovative and creative and inspirational people that I have had the opportunity to work with. And I have learned so much. to the point where I'm like, man, like what new thing are we going to have to learn? Because learning is hard, right? It's uncomfortable in some way. But she's constantly like encouraging and pushing the envelope and challenging me as a leader and challenging what, you know, I always say that I feel like she creates an image of a more perfect school system. Like what we could all aspire to be as leaders and how the system could continuously get better. Rick Sola (40:10.998) I really like your acknowledgement that you chose a mentor who did not think like you. like you do. And I think how important that is when you're putting together, if you have the opportunity to put together a team, an administrative team, and how important it is to have different perspectives and different thoughts. And, you know, so you can, you can bounce ideas that balance is so critical and it'll help you really think through situations where you've just got blind spots. We all have them, you know, there's different things that you need that other perspective. So I really liked that, that you said that we're going to wrap up with one more question. And then I'll kick it to doc. Dr. Dane here at the end, but we'll do like a 45 second spiel here This is this is your chance, but you know all of you are aspiring administrators I know Tiffany you got your eyes on one building and one building only next year, but then after that you know all bets are off But why does a building principal who's listening right now? Why would they want to hire you as their assistant principal or principal? and let's start with Tiffany Hampe (41:03.275) You Rick Sola (41:15.938) Who would like to start on this one? No pressure here. Rick Sola (41:22.648) Alright Shelby. Shelby Muha (41:23.944) Okay. Yeah, this is definitely one I chose to write down because I was like, man, this is an on air interview question. So thanks for the softball, Rick. Just kidding. So I think a building principal who's listening right now would want to hire me because I feel like I'm doing it for the right reasons. I understand the workload and the grunt work or as Jane Novacek calls it, the administrators are the pooper scoopers of the school. Tiffany Hampe (41:24.695) Hahaha! Rick Sola (41:35.788) Yeah. Rick Sola (41:53.218) Ha ha ha. Shelby Muha (41:54.453) He said this on a day that they all went outside and were like cleaning off the staff cars and student cars when we got an unexpected like four inches of snow. I understand the service required and I respect the privilege and the responsibility that lies within being a building leader. I believe that I can keep the first things first and have a clear idea of what's best for kids. I also really like people and I know how to communicate and pitch and sell and influence ideas. I love being on a team and I love to collaborate with others. And I know that I don't know everything, but I'm also very much willing to learn, want to grow and want to be great at this. Rick Sola (42:36.21) Awesome. Very good. Thank you, Shelby, for leading us off. Jacob, let's go to you. Jacob Burkholder (42:41.779) I love what she said, that was amazing. I think for me, I believe that our greatest resource is our people. so creating a culture where people feel valued is just really important. And I feel like that's something I do really well. And then just having a growth mindset. So I know going into any admin position, I have a lot to learn. And just having that mindset of always saying like, Tiffany Hampe (42:45.204) Yeah Jacob Burkholder (43:08.485) What do I need to learn here? How can I learn from this experience so the next time it's better? And just that reflectiveness is really good. And then the ability to collaborate. And I'm not afraid to ask for help when I need it. And I also know that there's times where I just need to make a decision and go with it. And having that mindset, I think, is really important. Rick Sola (43:32.044) Great. Thank you, Jacob. Tiffany, we'll go over to you. Tiffany Hampe (43:36.172) Yeah, I'll echo a lot of what's already been said. Obviously, I'm a very reflexional, growth-centered person. Otherwise, I don't feel like I would have gotten here in the first place. And I think just for those reasons, if I were an administrator, that's what I would be looking for. I also just know that I have a really good rapport with kids and can work really well with most kids. So I think that's a huge strength of mine. And most importantly, my son is dating my principal's daughter. So for that reason alone, he should just hire me, right? Rick Sola (44:09.496) 100 % yeah. Excellent Liz. Liz Stover (44:16.839) Alright, those are some answers to follow up. Way to go, guys. Yeah, I really believe that it doesn't matter if it's a team, a business, a school, everyone... is most successful when we're all unified and working towards the same vision, that same culture. And I really believe that I'm kind of that ultimate teammate. So I'm someone that's there to amplify staff. I'm there to amplify students and help them kind of get to those goals and just show off how great our education system is. So that could be investing in teachers and helping them learn and become an instructional leader that could be helping kids in accessing resources that they really truly need. And really just kind of being that calm during a storm. I'm a pretty level-headed person. I'm not an up and down person at all. So just to be able to be there and be a consistent voice to support everybody in whatever way I can, whether that's a student, a teacher or the principal. Shelby Muha (45:14.932) Thanks. Rick Sola (45:21.686) Well, awesome. Well, thank you to the four of you for those answers. I know you had I gave you these questions at a time, but that's a tough one to answer because you're having to talk about yourself. And that's one of the most uncomfortable things is, you know, kind of tooting our own horns, if you will. But no, I appreciate that. And again, your willingness to be on here. There is a big piece of administration that truly was not on my radar early, early as an administrator and really honestly only. recently, you know, this is a KPA podcast and my involvement in that has really broadened my my vision statewide and going beyond just where I work. And I thought there's there's no one else better to speak to the value of the network, to the value of connections than Dr. Todd Dane, who's sitting with us right here. And so I want to, Todd, kick it to you a little bit to share a little bit about the value of of the network that we all have. We've just built a new network here, a six perhaps. You all have my contact information and it's there for the taking, but Dr. Dane, you're deep into it and there's so much that goes beyond that. I think a lot of us new in the position don't realize is there. So I'll turn it over to you. Shelby Muha (46:32.372) Thank Todd Dain (46:43.564) Yeah. Thanks, Rick. I do appreciate the opportunity. And I would say that like you, you just kind of get into the role and you start grinding and then, you one day kind of lean up, take a breath and you're voluntold to do all these things. Right. And so honestly, that's, that's kind of how I got into it. I I'm not a political person by nature. I'm not, someone that that kind of thinks outside my my own. Office here, my own school and my own community sometimes, but the one thing that I've learned in getting involved at the state level in Kansas Principal Association USA, Kansas and then the national level is that there's so much to learn from one another and whether it's being a principal in a large high school in Kansas or being from a small rural community. or someone that you connect with or I've connected with in New Jersey or New Mexico or across the country, the one thing that I've realized is that we still have so much to learn and so much that we can learn from one another. And so I would tap into that personal network. I think all of us, when we are sharing, everyone that was sharing names of individuals and leaders that we all know. list and that group grows smaller and smaller because it's a really small circle in education like Rick talked about. So let me first just say that that personal learning network and that professional learning network is something that you continue to tap into, continue to learn from others and rely on each other and still ideas. Some of the best ideas that we've done during my tenure as an administrator are the ideas that I've stolen from others. so, lean heavily on that, but I also think that it's important to understand the impact of your role. And so, from the Kansas Principles Association perspective, I think it's important that we continue to elevate principal voices at the state level and at the national level. Like I mentioned before, Todd Dain (49:06.638) I kind of got involved. Someone volunteered to get involved at the state level. And a year ago, I was testifying to the state legislature on what we need to do to advocate for young people. And I've been to Washington, D.C. and had an opportunity to advocate at that level as well. And there's so much that we can do as building leaders and as administrators. There are people at the state level, people at the administration, federal level that are making decisions about our young people every day. And so many of them have never stepped foot in a school. And so it's really our job, I think, to elevate our voices to make sure that our lawmakers understand that those decisions they make are impacting young people every day. And so that's an overall broad view. But I think that's one of things that I've learned over the years is that You know, I've had such a rich opportunity to learn as a teacher and a coach and as administrator. And it's really our obligation, our responsibility to give back and to really advocate for young people moving forward. So that's a whole lot in a short time period. And I hope that's what you're targeting there, Rick. But I wanted to plug a little bit of that advocacy piece. Rick Sola (50:28.6) It's perfect. No, that's perfect. And I know you're very involved in that and just getting involved with the KPA like I have over the last few years has just really broadened that vision to be able to sit next to somebody in a district that might be a two-way district. And we're sharing the same concerns, the same problems, and we can learn so much from each other. It's just been awesome. You one thing I'll wrap it up with this, there's so many things with administration that Oftentimes we could joke about I joked at the start of this of joining the dark side or the the really challenging situations the the things that make you laugh the things that make you cry the things that make you you know go crazy whatever At the end of it. There's no better job in education, and I've said it on this podcast before It's a challenging job Todd you said you got to be a little bit crazy to be in here. There might be an element of that Tiffany Hampe (51:05.453) you Rick Sola (51:30.764) But it's amazing the connections and the impact that you have potentially put the potential you have to make on kids. It is unbelievable. And yeah, there's challenging times. Yeah, there's there's learning lessons for us, but I wouldn't have it any other way. So but I will say all the best to the four of you and all of your information will be in the show notes. So check it out. If you've got a job opening for an administrator, you've got their connections here. Tiffany Hampe (51:58.467) Yeah Shelby Muha (51:59.541) Yeah. Rick Sola (52:00.481) If you're listening to this, I mean, there's there's like thousands and thousands and thousands of people that listen to this podcast. So maybe maybe not. But but for those who are listening for really great individuals here and truly thank you for your time, because this is not the most comfortable thing to do is to come on a podcast and kind of more or less be vulnerable with an audience out there. So thank you so much for being here today. Tiffany Hampe (52:09.475) Hahaha! Todd Dain (52:09.74) Yeah. Tiffany Hampe (52:28.093) Thank you for having us. Todd Dain (52:29.038) Rick, I want to add this because we have four aspiring administrators here and all of them talked about being kind of nervous and not wanting to make mistakes and some of those things. And I have to believe that there are listeners out there who are also aspiring administrators. And so here's my one piece of advice. And I think Rick touched on it a little bit also, because I remember stepping into the role and not wanting to make a mistake and all the things. Jacob Burkholder (52:29.479) Yeah, really appreciate it. Liz Stover (52:29.897) Thank you so much. Shelby Muha (52:31.612) It was awesome. Todd Dain (52:56.98) But in 11 years, I can tell you I make mistakes every day. And the one thing that I've learned is this. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be real. And when you make a mistake, you own it, and don't make it again. And I think that's the reality of what we try to do every day. don't, I learned that. Shelby Muha (53:13.364) Mm-hmm. Todd Dain (53:19.628) That was a huge epiphany for me one or two years into my administrative role is that I didn't have to be perfect every day. I just had to be myself and be honest and authentic. And I think if you do that in this role, people see through all of the fluff that's out there and realize if you truly care about young people, if you truly care about teachers, you truly care about families, then all of that will shine through. Shelby Muha (53:29.15) me. Rick Sola (53:48.62) Yeah, that is awesome advice and a perfect tagline, I think, for this episode. But truly awesome. Thank you, Dr. Dane, for taking time. I know you're on your way to a basketball game after this. And to the four of you, all the best. And thanks again for your time today. Todd Dain (54:00.526) You're served. Tiffany Hampe (54:05.389) Thank you. Jacob Burkholder (54:06.227) Thank you. Liz Stover (54:07.539) Thank you. Shelby Muha (54:07.583) Thank you so much.  

This episode of Cool Coffee w/ Kansas Principals features principals Heath Henderson of Skelly Elementary School in El Dorado, Kansas and Kurt Seiler of Independence High School in Independence, Kansas sharing their recent advocacy trip to Washington, DC. They highlight the importance of genuine connections with policymakers, the impact of advocacy on education, and their personal experiences touring the Capitol and meeting with officials. Principals Henderson, Seiler, and host, Rick Sola, also discuss their 2026 principals of the year award for the state of Kansas and the honor it has been to receive such an recognition. Connect with the guests: Heath Henderson Kurt Seiler Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected]   Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Principals 01:00 Reflections on the Washington, DC Trip 05:44 Key Advocacy Topics Discussed 10:34 Engagement with Elected Officials 18:10 Personal Experiences and Recognition 27:35 Looking Ahead: Future Opportunities   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Rick Sola (00:01.707) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee. I am here today with Principal Heath Henderson from Skelly Elementary School in El Dorado, Kansas, USD 490. Heath? Heath Henderson (00:13.102) Hello, hello. Rick Sola (00:14.529) There you are. And then also principal Kurt Seiler of Independence High School, USD 446. Welcome, Kurt. Kurt Seiler (00:23.464) Thanks, Rick. Thanks for having us on here. Rick Sola (00:25.993) and both of whom were just named recently, 2026 Principal of the Year, in their respective level. Congrats and welcome to both of you. And we'll talk more about that here in a bit. But you guys just got back from Washington, DC. We're recording this on February 23rd. And you just took a visit to the nation's capital. And I saw a lot of pictures being put out by KPA. It looked like a really good time. I was able to hear a little bit about it last Friday at our board meeting. would love for you to be able to share a lot more about the trip here, but how did it go? You went to Washington, DC. How was it? Heath Henderson (01:04.514) Well, I thought it went pretty fantastic. I think the structure of our organization and the streamlining of the message of what we're trying to advocate for was very, very impactful. And it was eye-opening to me, my first time visiting this conference and having that opportunity. And I'll let Kurt say something here, too. Kurt Seiler (01:31.858) Yeah, I mean, it far exceeded my expectations. I had heard from, you know, Rick Rivera, who was the then ASSP state rep before me of how beneficial it was to go on these advocacy trips. But I really had no idea of, you know, the level at which we were going to be given the respect. mean, we had two, Representative Schmidt and Representative Mann were in the hearing with Pam Bondi that day, and they stepped out of that hearing to sit down to talk with us. And I just thought that that was pretty cool that they would give us the respect to step out of a hearing of that magnitude to sit down to have our voices heard. you know, the whole trip just far exceeded my expectations and being not only in the Capitol, but being in the tunnels that go under the Capitol that connect the Senate and the representatives and being taken by staffers in the tunnels, it just, the whole thing was very humbling and it was a great experience. Heath Henderson (02:41.068) And then to kind of piggyback on that, I don't think people realize the scope and of the size of what's happening in the Capitol every day. and thinking specifically about the size of the staff for the senators and the reps and the information that they're given. and so that ability to really get in front of them with a streamlined message of the importance of public education and specifically a few things that, that bills that are coming up and topics that are hot button topics that are sometimes in the newspaper, sometimes on the news, and sometimes a lot of misinformation for people who are outside of education. So really being able to sit down and talk. And like he said, Mr. Mann came out and from that hearing, But I appreciate it because he had a specific question for us that we had an opportunity to answer. Not just, here's what we want to talk to you about, but like, would you like to talk to us about? And he took that opportunity to do that. And so those are just things that I think are amazing opportunities. And obviously when you're surrounded by really, really good leaders from across the country. that a networking ability was also pretty impactful and amazing. Rick Sola (04:08.041) What did you do or how do you prepare for a trip like this? you given anything in advance or you just go in there or you're meeting with high level people, I say, walking out of a meeting to meet you from Pan Bondi, they're taking some serious time with you. And actually, Kurt, the other day when you were sharing about this, you used the phrase genuine time and you just felt like the time you were getting was very genuine, which I made a note of. I thought that was a really nice way to put it. But what did you do to prepare for this trip? Kurt Seiler (04:40.646) Not a lot. was, I kind of felt a little unprepared going into it, but I think that was intentional on their part. They didn't want to coach us up on anything before the trip. Now, when we went on the trip, we arrived on a Sunday and they had an opening speaker Sunday afternoon. And then Monday and Tuesday, we went through listening to a lot of speakers come and visit with us about different things that were of importance on the federal level. So we all know on the state level, we hear it all the time, of all the things that are happening in education committees and everything else, the federal level is such a different level because they don't deal with a lot of the things that were used to them dealing with. And so it was interesting to get a listen to the speakers and talk about, you know, what the federal level controls, what bills are in place that they're talking about education wise and the importance of it. You know, that was probably the most beneficial part of the trip was those two days of getting to listen to these people who were in very important roles on the federal level and lobby for education on daily basis. And so that's where most of our training and them talking about the educational agenda that we were wanting to talk with each rep. And so that Heath Henderson (05:54.126) you Kurt Seiler (06:08.54) Those two days were beneficial for us. Rick Sola (06:12.395) So you mentioned the speakers and the agenda. You had some priorities that you were there talking to and about. What did that look like and what were some of those priorities that you conveyed to our elected officials? Heath Henderson (06:27.138) Well, there was a few bills that were either up in front to continue or new. And, and I'll just, I'll speak to the last two and I'll let Kurt speak to the one he spoke about with, with our representatives. the ones we went to were, you know, the mental health, services, and it was, it was about access to counselors and then access to early, childhood, headstart. And so thinking about that kindergarten readiness and so that's a huge one that we wanted to put in front of them and then talk about how those things impact our building specifically and give real examples of why that's so important to us. And then the other one was that I'll talk about was the Title VI funds and that opportunity for continued professional development for our teachers, our leaders, teacher retention and thinking about the state of education with all the shortages we have now. and how important that is to the state of Kansas and our public education system here specifically. And then I'll let Kurt talk about the one he talked. Kurt Seiler (07:32.486) Yeah, so my agenda item is kind of hit home with us because our students have free meals in the six years since COVID or five years since COVID. We've only had one school year where our students have not had free lunches and that's through a community grant that we've received. And so the first agenda item that we talked to them about was free meals for all students nationwide. Heath Henderson (07:34.285) Ahem. Kurt Seiler (08:02.546) We firmly believe that all kids need to have the ability to eat a meal and through the COVID process and us having all students eat for free and then seeing that taken away and how that's affected a lot of our kids not having the ability to eat lunch or they know who's free and reduced because this kid's eating every day and this kid's not eating every day and so then it's a have and have not and. We really push that home that all of our kids need free meals nationwide. There's eight states that currently do that statewide. And we're really trying to push that nationwide just because we know a lot of our kids, the best meal that they get or the only good meal they get is at school. And it's hard to do anything when you're hungry, especially learn. And so we really tried to push that home. And within that same agenda item, there was another bill that talked about the funding for school nurses at every building across the nation. We know a lot of districts may have one nurse and they have three or four buildings that they have to share that one nurse. We have so many students now that are diabetic, that have POTS, that have so many medical issues. We've got to have a medical personnel in that building at all times to deal with medical emergencies because, know. God forbid the loss of one life because we don't have medical personnel is just not acceptable. And so we were really pushing for the nurse and the free meals and the two that Heath talked about, especially the, you know, the title one, Kara was there with us and she got to really talk about how much professional development they provide to administrators across the state of Kansas. USA is just knocking it out of the park when it comes to states on their administrative professional development. And she specifically was talking how we have over 50 open superintendent positions in the state of Kansas, which we know are probably going to be filled with principals and then qualified, highly qualified teachers will move up into those admin roles. And so you get the trickle down effect and you just need to make sure that your people are trained and ready for those positions when they're named. so that was all three of the topics that we talked about were so important. Kurt Seiler (10:21.872) and it was nice because we split it up. I talked about one, Heath talked about one, and then Kelly and Kara talked about the other one. So it was kind of nice that we each had one that we were, you know, quote unquote experts on and could talk about and all have a story that related to us in our own buildings. Rick Sola (10:40.555) So you just referenced the others that attended, just for for clarity of this conversation, who all were you with? What was the group that you were with and who made up? Kurt Seiler (10:50.354) So it was myself, Kurt Siler, Heath Henderson, Kelly Whitaker, principal at Ottawa High School and last year's secondary principal of year. And then Carol Leedy, the executive director of the KPA, and then Eric Sacco. Eric wasn't able to stay with us the whole trip because his son was playing his senior night game on Tuesday night, so he had to leave Tuesday morning, but was still there on Monday and Sunday. you know, to do his part with NAESP. Rick Sola (11:21.473) So you mentioned talking with some of the elected officials or potentially representatives. So kind of go through that. I know you met with several. Were you talking with the elected officials themselves, some of their representatives? Who did you meet with? Heath Henderson (11:38.892) So we, get Kara told, because Kara's been several years, she said this is the most FaceTime that we've had in our organization's history with our actual reps. And so out of our six representatives and congressmen, we actually met with five of them in person and got their personal time. The only one that we didn't, we had to meet with their person was Senator Marshall, but everybody else, we actually got to sit down face to face with. or stand and have a face-to-face with an opportunity to have a little bit of face time. And one of the things that I thought was, we talked about the genuine time earlier, we walked away really feeling heard by a couple, specifically by a few of them. I felt much more connected to... that they're actually decent people. You sometimes we get so jaded by, again, go back to what we see and what we read and all those things, and then actually getting to sit down with people and have them talk to you and have real conversations with you about real things that are happening in areas that you know and they know and common people we have. And that humanizes them. like I thought, you know, Jerry Moran, They had to, his people kept trying to pull him away from us because he was giving us all the time and wanted to continue giving us more time. And so just genuinely humbled by the generosity that they showed us. Cause when you walk in there, then you start seeing how truly busy they are. And we're all in roles where we know how busy our lives can get and making time for everybody is not always possible. But. It was pretty awesome to get to sit face to face and really have those meaningful conversations. Kurt Seiler (13:39.816) Yeah, I thought one of the cool pieces too was Cherise David's, Kara had set up a lot of these meets, right? Well, for whatever reason, the emails that she had sent, I don't think the person was getting or something, something was mixed. So she's like, let's just stop by and just see, you know, we can hand them the agenda. We stopped by, she got done with the meeting and. She didn't have us on her schedule and she sat down with us and she gave us She said how much time do we have in her staff? We're standing next to her said nine minutes and so it was just boom boom boom We were hitting it off as fast as we could but she gave us every minute that she had available She sat down. It was genuine time same with with Jerry Moran as he said but Tracy Mann and Derek Schmidt stepping out of their meeting to sit down with us gave us genuine time. weren't trying to rush away. They were sitting there. They were listening to us. And then Ron Estes is another one. We didn't have a meeting on the books. And we just were sitting in his office waiting to talk with a staffer. And he got done with the meeting. And he gave us a few minutes of his time, took a picture, made a video with us. He didn't have to do that because he was rushing off to a committee meeting. I mean, we all know in our position, we're pulled in multiple. directions and everybody wants a piece of our time, those representatives and senators, it's amazing how many different directions they're being pulled. And they did, they gave us a genuine time and it was much appreciated. Rick Sola (15:14.849) It's really awesome to hear kind of to Heath's point and I've talked with Rick Rivera on this before and he said he conveyed the same message where you know, we can easily get wrapped up and whether it's headlines or You know message boards or whatever and then when you meet the person Behind whether it's a decision or a party or whatever But the personal element and I think Kurt you referenced that the other day but to hear Heath bring that up of you know, kind of regardless of party lines and just having that time, that genuine time to be able to sit down, you realize the person behind the position. And I think a lot of times I can get lost because we, you know, there's just so much noise that you've got to sift through. So for both of you to be able to get through the noise and just be able to sit and be with another person and have a conversation. And it's really encouraging to hear. just really like everybody you met with and I think you got to all six of the Kansas legislature. Is that right? Or at least to be able to have that kind of time, whether it was nine minutes or someone breaking out of a meeting to talk with you, that's really encouraging that they're taking time to hear you and the way you felt about it. Heath Henderson (16:19.159) No. Kurt Seiler (16:19.39) you Kurt Seiler (16:32.806) Yeah, because I know not every state had the same experience that we did. And Derek Schmidt gave us a tour of the Capitol at nine o'clock at night on that Tuesday night or no Wednesday night. And just it wasn't a rush through tour. He was telling us stories. He was, you know, we got to sit on the house floor. We got to go down into the the crypt, Washington's crypt. Like it just the Heath Henderson (16:46.988) Wednesday night. Kurt Seiler (17:02.366) For him to take out his personal time and give us a tour, it was an hour and 45 minute long tour he gave us. Where he just, I mean, it was amazing that he gave us that time. And not only that, but we got to go in the Capitol at night when no one else is there. know, it just, the history of that building, it's just awe. You're in awe. If you know anything about the United States history and you step foot in that building, let alone get a go to the spots that he took us and tells us the stories. I mean, we got to look. Heath Henderson (17:08.087) Thank Kurt Seiler (17:32.388) up the stairs where the president walks down to get inaugurated. Like just the volume of the place that we're at, I'm a history buff. And so being able to get that tour and be in our nation's capital, I mean, it just gives me chills thinking back to it. Heath Henderson (17:48.768) Well, and I'm going to piggyback on what Kurt just said about that with with with Representative Schmidt. Like that was not something that we had scheduled or planned. He sat down and took time with us and just we just sat and we talked for a little while and then as we were getting ready to leave, he's like. Do you guys have a tour? Are you guys haven't taken a tour? And we had missed our day tour because we had a staffer from another state, had, was going to do a tour for us. but we had missed it to meet with them. and we said no. And he, and he, he, you know, exchanged the numbers with, with Mr. Seiler here and sure enough, texted us. He's like, I got a late dinner, but if you guys are up for it, I can do it later. And sure enough, he met us up there at nine o'clock at night and then hour 45 minutes. not rushed, taking our time, and it was pretty awesome to just, again, that genuine time. I'll also say that one other kind of fun connection piece is, you know, Kurt is the principal at Independence. Well, Derek Schmidt graduated from Independence. I went to same fourth grade, I went to fourth grade at Washington Elementary in Independence, and that's where he went. So it was kind of some, it was, Rick Sola (18:56.613) well. Heath Henderson (19:05.344) how small of a world it really is. In Washington, D.C., and you have two people who meeting with one of these people who have legit personal connections in some way, form. Rick Sola (19:07.36) Yeah. Rick Sola (19:15.37) That's really cool. That's really cool. And I'm hearing all this and I'm a former social studies teacher and I love history and I love following it. And I'm so jealous right now hearing all this like, my gosh, you got to do what? The nine o'clock tour, the Capitol. That's awesome. No, that it's really cool. And like I said, I was kind of following along. I saw some pictures put out, but really just a, a, it sounds like a really great experience, positive experience. And, and that's what I, I love hearing in, a little bit from Friday when we were meeting with the board, but even more so now, just how positive it was across all the people you talked with. And let's hear from you and to be able to represent. So thanks for representing, but just also really awesome to hear about that. So anything else on your DC trip that's worth mentioning here? Heath Henderson (20:07.586) Well, anybody who gets, has a chance to go, highly suggest, Filomena's Italian food in Georgetown. the best I've ever had in my life and the, and as good as the food was the, the whole, the restaurant was even better. It was just such a neat, experience. Kurt Seiler (20:26.81) It was, and we got a tour of the White House one morning. It wasn't a lengthy tour just because construction that's going on, but that was, that was. you know bucket list item for me and then we got to go to the Holocaust Museum one morning where we had a little bit extra time and that was Man, that was humbling. It just the Holocaust Museum if you're in Washington DC You've you've got to see it because it's just it it's I mean, there's no good word for it. It's just humbling there. It's just an eye-opening experience Rick Sola (21:01.056) Well, there is a trip being planned here in several weeks, I guess, back to Washington, D.C., as part of principal of the year recognition and trip. And Heath, I know your trip is at a different time, but is it still Washington? Heath Henderson (21:18.518) I have, yes, it's still Washington. Mine's next fall for that principal of year gala. Actually, it's the national distinguished principal gala, I guess, is what it's called. I'm still learning about all that. It's kind of weird and humbling. to hear all of that. also you said something about us. I just want to make sure your listeners also know that Rick Sola, our guy right here, also the middle school principal of the year for the state of Kansas. So he's being very humble and trying to shine on other people. But we all know that all the great things that you're doing for the state of Kansas, not just your school. Rick Sola (21:43.944) yeah. Rick Sola (21:53.345) Well, thank you. I'm going to tell you, I have never had such an injection of imposter syndrome as I had with this recognition. I was like, yeah, my gosh. It's very humbling. You said the word, extremely so, but an extreme honor. yeah, so I just wanted to bring that up as part of the experiences, you know, all three of us have recently gotten into. And I'll just start with, in a nutshell, 30 seconds or so, how did you find out about this? Kurt, I'll start with you. Kurt Seiler (22:35.334) So my superintendent scheduled a meeting with us on, I think, like a Tuesday morning for us to meet in the middle school. it was us, me my two assistant principals, and he wasn't showing up. And I'm like, hey, are we still having this meeting? What's going on? And so he calls me a few minutes later. He's like, hey, something's going on down the band room. We need to come down. Now, our band is... That's like what we're known for in our area, right? We got 115 kids in our band and they win all kinds of competitions. They're amazing. So I'm like, is a fire marshal here? What's going on? Cause we got a lot of kids in this room. And so I walk in the room and my wife stand there and I'm like, okay, something's up. And so then I see Carol Eady and I'm like, what are you doing here? And so then my superintendent presents me with principle of the year and the band plays our, our fight song. And it was, I don't, I don't get choked up very often but I got a little choked up and it just yeah it was it was a cool way to do it because I mean that's where our most of our students are at one time and to have my wife there that was that was special for me because she's also a teacher in our district so it was pretty cool. Rick Sola (23:45.44) awesome. Heath Henderson (23:48.086) Well, so my school every morning where we are all together, every single morning, we're all together. We do our brain smart start and then we start, we do the pledge in the gym and then we release to classes. And so our kids were getting sat down and I was getting ready to start the pledge and then out the back door, here comes Carolini. And then here comes my wife and my kids and other people. then they, you I will, I will echo what he said. I don't like to get emotional, but it's, it is really hard. When you look at your staff and your kids and we don't do this for that kind of stuff, but the, the pride that I actually had in them, because that only happens if they're doing good. And that means that they're doing good. And I was just so proud of all of. them to be able to, I don't know, just to be able to share that moment with these people who you love, kids, staff, family, all of them, because that community piece is very impactful. And I could not get the pledge done fast enough afterwards so they could go. then it's just, and then of course I go down and then they have all these pictures and stuff all over through the building. So I had to. Rick Sola (25:14.527) Heath Henderson (25:15.232) I had to make sure I got all that stuff down really as quickly as I could. Kurt Seiler (25:19.474) Yeah, I mean, he'd said it, I don't think any one of us three that are on this podcast. like taking recognition for anything. I think that's kind of part of being a leader. But the only positive about taking recognition for this is we're a reflection of our building and that means our building and our staff and our kids are highlighted in a positive manner because there's enough negativity going around about education. So to have all three of our buildings highlighted because of good, even if that means we have to be the person in the limelight, I don't like it because I would like my staff and everybody else to be recognized but I mean if there's any good that comes from it it's it's a fact that our staff and our students get to be recognized for their hard work. Heath Henderson (26:03.2) I do want to say I did have one other highlight from that moment. The following day, there was an elderly gentleman who came in my building, and he was the former principal of this building back in the 80s and the 90s. And he came to congratulate me. And he was, he used to be involved with KPA and all that stuff and, he had been nominated, but he was just so proud that somebody from our district was recognized. But for him, and he was 91 years old and he took time out of his day to come up here. Cause he, and he just, and so I just took it and gave him a tour and we spent some time together and talked about our South side superstars down here. just, that was when you saw your, your community. Rick Sola (26:38.122) Wow. Heath Henderson (26:51.702) And not just the people you work with and know, but some of the people on the outside who just have history. So because I didn't know him from anybody and it was just, it was very, that was also very humbling. And so had to make sure I took it and wrote him a letter because I found out who one of his granddaughters were and I was like, Hey, I need his address. Kurt Seiler (27:09.512) Thank Rick Sola (27:09.792) That's really cool. It is neat. mean, there's so many people that reach out that are unexpected. you realize the, I mean, really kind of the impact this school has, like Kurt said, you're representative of the school. And I've never felt more strongly. I've seen a million awards shows and people recognizing all the team. And I never felt that so strongly as I did of like, this isn't possible at all with, and I look at all the people that were out there and we had an impromptu kind of surprise. pep assembly and same kind of experience. see my family walking in, the kids are cheering. I've got an eighth grader here in the building. He got to come down and it's a moment you don't forget. And Dr. Dane actually came over, because think Kara was having, her daughter was having a grandbaby at the time or So Dr. Dane came in and the district team and kind of at the same time, Heath, it's like, okay. Let's all get back to class. It's uncomfortable. Let's go. And you don't know how to respond to those things. But truly, truly it is an honor. and then you get the email of what you complete after the fact. How did that go for you? Cause I got that email and I was like, my, my gosh. Where do I start? Heath Henderson (28:23.458) Yeah. Kurt Seiler (28:23.55) Well, Karen gave me a heads up and she's like, hey, you've got to do the application for national principal here. I'm like, okay, you know, I'll get to it. She's like, Kurt, you need to get started on it. You know, she was my high school principal. So her getting onto me because I didn't do my work in time is nothing new. But I opened it up and I'm like, my goodness. And so I took Heath Henderson (28:30.914) Yeah. Rick Sola (28:45.802) Ha Kurt Seiler (28:52.846) good two solid days I mean my door was open and people were coming in but that's what I was working on was just non-stop because of all the things that you have to compile and Somebody said you get you know principal here. What do you get now? I said a lot more work Heath Henderson (29:10.636) Well, and luckily mine's not due until May, so. Yeah. Kurt Seiler (29:15.484) Have fun with that. Rick Sola (29:16.874) Kurt, how much time did you have to complete it? Because we were on a tight turnaround. Kurt Seiler (29:20.754) We were on tight turnaround. She sent it to me and I think it was due at the end of the next week. Like it was, and I had to get the student to write. I had to get a parent to write. And I'm like, man, I don't even know how this process. So I got in and luckily I called Kelly Whitaker who did this last year. And she's like, my goodness. She got hers and did hers on the day that her team was competing at state basketball. And so hers was very rushed and she's like, Hey, Rick Sola (29:27.39) Yeah. Rick Sola (29:46.2) wow. Kurt Seiler (29:49.796) you better get started on now this is what you need to do and so I highly suggest Heath that when you get started on it you call last year's winner because they're going to be able to help you out a lot. Heath Henderson (29:59.468) Well, it's funny because there was another application process that we were working through that was very similar. So a lot of it's going to help translate, think, and transfer. yeah, no, it's, you know, I'm kind of excited to see those next steps and looking forward to that trip to DC and all that stuff. It's going to be so many opportunities to steal great ideas from other great leaders. Kurt Seiler (30:27.676) Rick, did you get feedback from someone else before you did yours? Rick Sola (30:27.86) Yeah. Rick Sola (30:31.648) I reached out to Dr. Dane. Yeah, just I had eight days, I think is when I got it and it was due the following, you know, it was eight days later. So I was working on it kind of like you did. You're kind of chipping away at it and pulling together what you need. But then getting letters from people that need to write on your behalf and which I just found very awkward. Like, hey, could you could you write a nice letter about me and just turn it over? Kurt Seiler (30:59.646) I Rick Sola (31:01.664) But no, it's a really neat, it is a neat process and you really, you kind of dig into some things as part of it. So it's really neat. And I guess to close the loop of this, there is for Kurt and I, secondary side of things in April, a trip to DC for the, I can't remember, it's the NELA, National Educator Leadership Awards night, I believe. And then Heath, you said yours is in the fall. Kurt Seiler (31:26.845) in it. Heath Henderson (31:30.198) Yep, in October. So, ESP, yeah. Rick Sola (31:31.905) for the NAESB, yeah. So, and then some things in between, but had opportunities to jump on, NASSP, Principal of the Year, Zooms, know, guess collaboration opportunities with each other. So it's been a really, really cool experience, but super excited to be a part of it and to see the two of you on the other side of things at the elementary and high school level. It's truly an honor. but anyway, I want to thank you both for being here today. I know Kurt, you're headed to a site council. Heath, you're probably headed to something too and concluding a Monday here, taking some time to share out and just a really awesome, awesome trip. It sounded like you had in Washington. I'm excited for this to get out and hope people will hear your perspective on just how it was you felt when you're meeting with our elected representatives. Kurt Seiler (32:29.906) Yeah, and Rick, I just want to say thank you for continuing the communication side of KPA. I mean, you do an amazing job of getting principals stories and word out there, and I can't thank you enough from all of the principals in the KPA. How much we appreciate what you're doing. And as he said, couldn't pick a more deserving person than middle school principal of year. And you know, I'm honored to sit in the presence of both of you. So call you both friends and and it's that's That's what the KPA organization's about is networking and I wouldn't have met the people that I know now and I just can't say enough how much your guys' friendship means to me. Heath Henderson (33:08.942) Well, and I'll echo that same exact thing. And not only that, but like we wouldn't be sitting here if we didn't have opportunities to network with people like you guys. Like I wouldn't be sitting here if I wasn't around you guys. there's little things that I've learned from both of you and as well as some other people in KPA and USA. And it's just, it's an amazing fraternity to be a part of. I, but. I also want go back to the very first piece of that and just say thank you so much, Rick, for everything you do for our leaders and the communication piece, because these things are things that will live forever and reference points for young leaders and... new ideas. That whole communication piece and that's where our world is going is actually, they need podcasts, need video, they need audio. It's nice to write articles, all that stuff's great, but putting this platform together and taking that time and doing it in such a professional way has been amazing. Thank you again, Rick. Rick Sola (34:19.552) Well, thank you both. And it's an honor to do this and truly to sit with both of you. And you mentioned KPA. I'm not meeting either of you if I'm not a part of the KPA and being a part of all that the KPA has to offer through conference as part of the USA Network in May, KPA conference in November. And those are events that I so look forward to because it's fun to connect with both of you in person and all the others. And there's just so much value to the network we have. And that's the strength in what it is we do, is tying us all together. And so thanks for being a part of that. And once again, for being a part of this podcast today and sharing out. But I want to wish you all luck in the rest of the semester. And if not sooner, I know I'll see Kurt in April, but we'll all catch up here soon enough, I'm sure. Heath Henderson (35:14.926) Thank you very much. Kurt Seiler (35:15.836) Yep, thanks Rick.  

In this episode of Cool Coffee with Kansas principals, host Rick Sola interviews Principal Eric Filippi, the principal of Wichita Heights High School. They discuss Eric's journey from student to principal, the importance of building relationships with students, and innovative programs implemented at Wichita Heights. Eric shares insights on community engagement, the significance of alumni connections, and advice for new administrators, emphasizing self-care and teamwork in educational leadership. Connect with Principal Filippi Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact host Principal Rick Sola: [email protected] or [email protected] Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Principal Eric Filippi 04:33 The Journey to Becoming a Principal 08:54 Building Relationships in Education 17:28 Innovative Programs at Wichita Heights 26:45 The Importance of Community Engagement 31:52 Advice for New Administrators --------------------------------------------------------- FULL Episode Transcript (AI generated) Rick Sola (00:02.059) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas principals. I'm here today with principal Eric Filippi, proud principal of Wichita Heights High School, USD 259, home of the Falcons. And Eric is also Wichita Heights alumni from the class of 1992. Eric, welcome.   Eric FIlippi (00:22.254) Thank you, thank you, appreciate you having me.   Rick Sola (00:24.662) Yeah, glad to have you on today. we were just talking before hitting record here, principal Eric Filippi, but you said everybody calls you flip.   Eric FIlippi (00:35.424) Everybody calls me Flip, everyone except for my mom and my wife. So from our superintendent, everyone, it's always Flip.   Rick Sola (00:42.902) Well, I appreciate the heads up on that and the permission to call you flip on here. like I said, glad to have you on. So you are one of now a growing list of principals coming onto this show that have been recommended by somebody else in the state, which is really awesome. And so I appreciate you responding when I reached out. And it's cool to have people on here that.   have been recommended. So I don't know if you want to thank that person or if you want to blame that person, however you're viewing this right now.   Eric FIlippi (01:17.238) I will absolutely, Mr. Shelf will absolutely get some recommendations from me for sure. So no, I appreciate that he thought of me when you, he was in one of your sessions, I believe at a conference. And I appreciate that he thought of me that I'd have some information that somebody might find useful.   Rick Sola (01:21.236) Yeah.   Rick Sola (01:39.948) Yeah, no, and like I said, I'm excited to have you on and we are recording this. It's January 21st and we have had a really mild winter and I'm assuming down in Wichita, it's kind of like up here in Kansas City area. We haven't had a snow day yet this year, but we are on the cusp of some major action going on here in a couple of days, kind of off the outline of topics here, but what's it looking like for you in Wichita?   Eric FIlippi (02:07.406) Well, the conversation that I literally had before I turned on our computer here, it was the weather for the weekend. We're trying to get our girls wrestling tournament. So we have an Olathe school that was supposed to be coming down and we have liberal coming in. And so right now we're trying to get that shifted to if we can get that shifted to Friday and try to get it in on Friday before the Saturday weather really hits.   you know, anywhere from 5 to 13 inches, which is absolutely crazy that those are the numbers that we get. But yeah, we're looking, we're looking for some definitely cold weather and it's a kind of a, a crap shoot as far as what the precipitation will be at this point.   Rick Sola (02:54.272) Yeah, I don't think we're quite as high on what we're supposed to receive, but certainly cold and that number of of snow seems to keep growing every time I look at it. So we shall see, and we'll see if it's a timing thing that hits the school days or not. That is something you just hit on it, like big wrestling tournament. And every time a snow day comes in, and I've got kids in my house, and they're so super excited about the idea of a snow day. And there's times I'm thinking, you don't know the havoc that that   Eric FIlippi (03:19.365) yeah.   Rick Sola (03:24.16) this Reek Sunday school calendar and all the events that we have going on.   Eric FIlippi (03:29.46) Absolutely, and then when you when you get into the getting things rescheduled and you know, it's just everything's packed in there so tight and spring is really obviously spring is really bad with you know track meets and and you have to get those certain things in before state competition and and regionals and and then pressing up against graduations. But man snow days. They were always awesome growing up, but as an adult now.   You know, that still has to come into the building on a snow day to make sure there's broken or busted water pipes and that the building's secure. That's always a good time as well.   Rick Sola (04:07.648) Yeah, and at the high school level, just like you mentioned, liberal Kansas, Olathe, Wichita, you got all over the state and you're trying to reschedule that. You don't just do that. That's a lot of coordinating there. Well, good luck out there and I hope it's minimal, but we'll see. It's not looking so great.   Eric FIlippi (04:29.548) Yeah, no, it's you know, worst case scenario. They allow it to happen, but then we can't get the referees, you know, so that's it's gonna. It's going to be interesting. So yes, I definitely hope we're going to go. There's a lot of state champions and state placers that are going to be at this tournament, so it's going to be a lot of fun.   Rick Sola (04:35.82) Right, right.   Rick Sola (04:47.286) Well, Eric, kind of segueing in here, generally start the show with the road to the chair. And you're currently at Wichita Heights High School as principal. You started as a student there. Fill in the in-between your road to the current chair you're in.   Eric FIlippi (05:07.028) Absolutely. you know, started out 1988 here at Wichita Heights. And as a a as a freshman in high school, and it was funny that some of the some of the individuals that the well, the teachers that I had that really helped give me direction as far as getting into education or really having a life because I was single parent home.   mom did a friggin amazing job, St. Elizabeth. That's what I like to call her. she did an amazing job, but you know, if she was at work or, dealing with not dealing, but doing things with my younger sister who has spina bifida, and they would have to go to St. Louis to the shrine hospital. You know, they, gave me a lot of opportunities to, you know, get in trouble, my, myself and my older sister. And, and, when I, when I got to high school, there was,   there was a coach that, you know, grabbed me and, and, you know, said, Hey, you need to play football. And so kind of got me into athletics and got, got, got me engaged with some motivated adult males that I did not have in my life, positive male role models. And I didn't know it.   Then it wasn't until later in reflecting as far as what drew me to education and what drew me to social studies to be a history teacher was some amazing teachers slash coaches that I had that some of them were social studies, one science, but people that I say that I owe a debt to. And then, you know, that that kind of changed to me owing a debt to this building, to this school.   for what it gave me, which was a life, an opportunity to go to college. In my head, I would say I was gonna go to college, but I didn't know what it would take to get to college. And so, once I graduated from Heights High School, I went to a community college for one year, thinking that I was gonna go D1 after that. And I saw what an actual D1 athlete looks like and realized it wasn't me. And so kind of gave up on that.   Eric FIlippi (07:23.854) gave up on that dream and then went to Wichita State University. And then at Wichita State University, I bounced around with some different ideas for different majors of things I wanted to do really wasted some time. But I found myself and what I found was somebody that really did want to be a teacher. So I got into the College of Education and my first teaching job was at Wichita North High School.   And I taught social studies at Wichita North and from there I didn't just do social studies. was also on the original site team that brought the AVID program into the state of Kansas. And I was the second AVID elective teacher in the state of Kansas. so I was able to do some academic things through AVID and work with AVID.   as a staff developer. So I would travel, get to travel the country in the summer times and deliver that instruction to other social studies teachers at first. But then once I started teaching, I really did love it. And in education, the way to get a raise, the way to get a little extra money is to go to the, get classes, get a master's degree. And so it was a kind of a conversation with my wife that   you know, I could go curriculum and instruction or, you know, get a get a administrative degree. And I decided to get administration. at the time, I really didn't think that I was going to go be a principal because of all the things that I saw them, you know, that all the stuff that the assistant principals had to do. But I was young at the time. And and, you know, some of the things that they got to do, it was exciting. It was, you know, every day was different. And then   once I got like actually into the program, I started seeing how the administrators actually help or not help, they drive the curriculum, they drive the culture of the school. And I always had a really good relationship with students in the classroom. But it was in the administrative world,   Eric FIlippi (09:42.607) I started meeting a lot more of the little flips out there. You know, the kids that were me. And that has always been a driving force, a motivator for me to be somebody that a student can look back on one day and say, you know, hey, you know, this guy really helped change my course. So that is something that I've always tried to do. And so I taught for eight years at Wichita.   North High and then when the when I graduated with my admin degree, Wichita Southeast High School was getting ready to start the AVID program at Wichita Southeast. And so I called the principal that was going in over there. And was just hitting them up, you know, hey, just checking to see if you need anybody to help you start AVID over there and.   You know, he ended up picking me up. There's a little bit more to it than that, obviously, but in my head, that's how it went. And then Mr. Leroy Parks, who is currently the principal at Chester Lewis here in town. But I went to Wichita Southeast High School. I was an assistant principal there for six years. Then from there, I went to Wichita West High School. I was an assistant principal there for four years. And then I went to Coleman Middle School.   Rick Sola (10:42.028) Sure.   Eric FIlippi (11:08.254) Absolutely loved Coleman Middle School. Went in with, there was a, principal at the time was Jeff Friend, who he and I started our teaching careers together at North High. So it was kind of crazy that they allowed the two of us to be together. So I was an assistant principal there for two years under Jeff Friend. And then I got the, the, the information that Jeff was going to   go over to a different middle school and get some things started over at that magnet and then that I was going to be named the principal at Wichita Coleman Middle School. And that was my dream job at the time. I absolutely loved it. I loved everything about that school. We were working to turn it into an environmental magnet at the time. We had bees and that was just absolutely   Absolutely an amazing experience interacting with bees. We had an apiurus that would come out, so we had our beehive. We had our commercial kitchen because it's a we we use the kitchen. It passed all the standards that we needed to do, and so we would harvest the honey and we would buy the clamshell packaging and the students would harvest the honey. They take the honeycomb, the raw honeycomb,   put it in the clamshells, weigh it, package it. You did everything, know, safe serve style, and then we would sell it. And then those funds that we raised would go towards some of the different programs that we were doing there. So absolutely was enamored with the environmental theme. And then the spring of 2020, I think we all remember that spring. I found out that the   the principal at Wichita Heights High School, which again, like you said earlier, this was my high school that I graduated from, the one that I owe the debt to. I was found out that he was going to retire from administration and he wanted to spend his last couple of years back in the classroom. And so I got a hold of the assistant superintendent at the time, told him that I was really super interested in it and   Eric FIlippi (13:30.819) went to AMAC on, was it March 12th? March 11th, March 12th and shot my shot, big date and had a shot my shot and then he had to cut the meeting early because him and the elementary assistant soup and the superintendent was meeting with the governor about something. So they had to go, something was happening.   Rick Sola (13:38.954) Yeah, that was a big date. Yeah.   Rick Sola (13:56.79) Yeah, yeah, what was going on then?   Eric FIlippi (14:00.175) And so I went home and then found out later on that, oh man, she shut everything down. so later, a couple of weeks later, I got the telephone call from Mr. Alvarez and he told me that I was gonna be going to Heights High School, which was, at the time, I mean, it still is kind of a dream come true because of that debt that we talked about. But then also,   I don't know how it happened, but having a wife and my children, this is also my children's school district. so they, all of my children, my three children, they all graduated from Heights, which was for two of them that I actually got to be here with them.   for their time here. was, it was, that was absolutely amazing. So all the hours that we put in didn't feel like those hours because I was able to mix dad with being a principal and things just kind of hit differently when your, when your children are at school. So, you know, when you think, you know, this person that I'm hiring, would this be somebody that I would want to teach my child? Well, that's is going to be somebody that I'm going to have teach my child. And   Rick Sola (15:18.006) Right.   Eric FIlippi (15:18.734) It was, you know, just absolutely a phenomenal experience getting to share that because as an assistant principal, as the assistant principal, as all the administrators out there know, you know, there's so much, you know, with the nighttime activities, you know, how do you balance being dad with being a family person? How do you balance those things out? And then, you know, this was that perfect mix. So   All of my children, went Jackson Elementary, Stuckey Middle School, Heights High School, because that is their trajectory of schools. yeah, it worked out absolutely amazing to be able to be with my children at the school that I've always wanted to be at and be able to share some of those experiences with.   Rick Sola (16:10.316) Yeah.   Rick Sola (16:13.696) Yeah, there's a lot of crossover. Former social studies here, three kids. I'm currently principal at the school where my kids are passing through. Not my home school that I grew up in, but the school wasn't built when I was a kid. But it's in the neighborhood I grew up in. A lot of cool things. You had mentioned about that, I guess, when you were a classroom teacher, the relationships you had in the classroom. When you became an administrator,   Eric FIlippi (16:28.459) Right.   Rick Sola (16:42.828) How did you transition from, I'm the classroom teacher. I've got all these great relationships to be thrown into. Now you're an administrator and there's a level of skepticism some students will take just knowing the fact that you're an administrator. And if you're a brand new face and you've got that title, how was that transition for you? How did you break down the barriers of kind of building that relationship from a different angle?   Eric FIlippi (17:07.18) Well, and it it really started and this is this is what worked for me. It started with being at the school in the summertime with the going to the new school and then because I had coached in the district, I also coached. I coached football. I coach track. So when I went to Southeast, I would talk to you know, talking to the football coach and I would go out to practices where there is summer volleyball or.   or whatever practices were taking place, weights, and I would get to know some of the students and, you know, just kind of goof around with them, I guess, in that regard. was built a little bit differently then than I was now, so I'd get on the, you know, throw some weight around with them a little bit, or one of the coaches that I...   worked with let me go out and you know long snap you know take the long snappers out so I still got to coach a little bit and do some long snapping with the kids and so I had some relationships going into the school year or at least some familiar faces that you know I was able to get a little bit of street cred or whatever and then. Living in Wichita which is you know it's a it's a good size city it's a big city but it's not that big and so.   having had some of my friends children that might be coming through the school or you know some sort of relationships. It that those are the kind of things that you know that I would work on and just you know I say street cred but that you know I'm hey this flip he's kind of a funny guy you know I mean that's a good dude man you got him upset nothing ever gets him upset you know because I genuinely do love.   Rick Sola (18:56.678) huh.   Eric FIlippi (18:58.511) I love my job. with my my why you know I I try to be as engaged as possible with the students and so to answer your question as far as how I did that you know I used athletics I you know if I see a kid with a concert t-shirt on or a band t-shirt you know somebody's wearing a sublime t-shirt you know I'll ask him about that because I did you know I used to listen to sublime.   I used to listen to some of these, but Nirvana, when I graduated high school, was, you know, smells like teen spirit. That was, that was it, you know, I mean, just anyway. So, that, that the transition, you know, I definitely felt that my, my reach was wider, which I liked. It wasn't just my kids in A through D, which was my first job. My, my alpha was A through D.   Rick Sola (19:31.34) Yep.   Eric FIlippi (19:52.464) But then working with AVID and then working with at the school, I was able to not just deal with discipline, but I would try to, you know, all the positive fun things that are going on at the school. And, you know, when I had those relationships and whether it was, you know, Joe Randall at Southeast High School and watching him play and then he goes on to Oklahoma State University or   Or Albert Mack was a kid that was in my honors US two class that ended up going to Butler County for two years. And then he went to Troy university and spent seven years in the NFL, you know, but still communicating with those individuals and, and, just being a part of, you know, what's important to them in, in our communications through the day, you know? And, and so those, those are the things in athletics or plays or musicals or whatever.   Those are all things that I find very important. And so one of the things I tell our assistant principals now, you know, that when you do go to an athletic event or when you do go to a play, you know, that I want them seen, yeah, but I want them seen, I want them seen, seeing, you know, I want them interacting and.   Rick Sola (21:13.547) All   Eric FIlippi (21:14.479) And with the group that I have now, it's not something that you really had to, I really had to impress upon them. But don't just sit in the back of the theater on your cell phone and with the blue face, because the kids noticed that. My daughter that was in band, she had thought that one of the people that worked here at one point was a security guard. They had no clue that he was an administrator, just because there wasn't that engagement level.   Rick Sola (21:29.27) Sure.   Rick Sola (21:39.819) Yeah.   Eric FIlippi (21:43.478) And so that's those are those are things that you know, just understanding whether the kids welding or whatever, you know, especially and I'll tell the kids in the welding room, you know, I'm to end up paying you a ridiculous amount of money someday because if you put a welder in my hand, it becomes a weapon because I'll hurt myself or somebody else, you know, and that that is a skill that I do not have. And and I make sure if they're off to Skills USA that we send them off right, because it's it's it's really impressive what the students are able to do.   Rick Sola (21:54.06) You   Rick Sola (22:01.046) Yeah.   Rick Sola (22:13.472) So you're at Wichita Heights. You are a graduate there yourself. Now you get to be there. You've seen your kids go through. And I know one of the points that Principal West brought up recommending you was flipping the tradition at Heights and the culture and the role as principal that you play, but the role you have in that tradition, maintaining it.   You can speak to it going back years, but it's just as important now and moving forward. What are some of those things that you've done at Heights that are now, it's kind of something that you've brought and you've established over the last six years.   Eric FIlippi (22:56.719) Well, and I mean, lot of what I have are a lot of big ideas and I have, you know, I count on lot of people to help me make those ideas a reality. Cause I'm an idea man, I thrive on enthusiasm. And so, you know, there's some minutia that I guess is pretty important there as well. But one of the things that I thought was really odd when I came back to Heights was that Heights didn't have a hall of fame.   And so that was one of the things that we started five years ago. And so I got a group of alumni together and said, guys, this doesn't make sense. mean, all these names that were on the wall when I was in high school, why don't we celebrate some of these things? Because Heights has had Darnale Valentine, Antoine Carr, Aubrey Sherrod, our list of basketball McDonald's All-Americans. We've had,   judges that have come through here, artists, nationally renowned artists. And we've had all these amazing people and no Hall of Fame. So we started the Hall of Fame. And for the most part now, Antoine Carr had to do a video, but Darnell Valentine flew back to Wichita for his induction. And that was pretty awesome to...   to be able to talk to him. it's just that is one of the things that inviting our alumni back to Heights. And one of the feelings that I have, and I have it on my wall over here, one of the things that I want to do is to have a small town feel at Heights. And so our elementary school, to have a relationship with the elementary students in the elementary schools that   Rick Sola (24:41.6) Mm-hmm.   Eric FIlippi (24:49.239) they want to go to Heights because that's the cool place to be. There's no other option. They're going to go to Heights because we are branded in that regard. There's no other option for them. No magnet. We want to go. And so between that and the parents wanting to send their students to Heights High School because of the academic opportunities that we offer,   And that is what we are, that is some of what I'm trying to push. so one of the things that we've done is we've also created, so we have the alumni welcomed back, but then we also started a program that we've called the Falcon Fast Track. And so with the Falcon Fast Track, that started out during the COVID shutdown time where Heights went to a four by four block. And so,   With a four by four block, the students go to four classes every day for an entire semester and then they get their entire they get their entire year's credit in that one semester. And so the district did that to cut down on the contact tracing. So we went to a four by four block and I had a buddy of mine that actually called me and he said,   Rick Sola (26:04.204) Mmm.   Eric FIlippi (26:11.951) Flip, my daughter just got done with Algebra 2 or she's getting ready to finish Algebra 2. Instead of going into this class second semester, can she go ahead and get her in, can we go ahead and put her into a pre-calc trig so that she doesn't have to wait an entire year before she takes math again? And so we did that and that kind of put that in my mind is, you know, how do we build our upper level math classes?   And so our jumping off point with the Falcon fast track or what ended up becoming the Falcon fast track was students that took or that have their Algebra 1 credit in elementary or in middle school. When they come to Heights that we can give them an opportunity that they could take geometry double block geometry first semester double block Algebra 2 second semester and then from their sophomore year on any math class they take its college credit bearing through.   Wichita State University. So Wichita State University would give them the three credit math class for $99. So that's where it started. So not $99 per credit hour, but $99 total. And so that started in 21-22. We started that with that first group of Fast Track kids that graduated last year that went all through the program. And I, oh shoot, I,   Rick Sola (27:20.193) Yeah.   Rick Sola (27:37.674) And you're saying Fast Track's still going.   Eric FIlippi (27:40.588) yeah, we're still rolling with Fast Track and so. They they might have something like that, but as far as that math portion, I believe we're the only one that that offers that as a as an option as a selling point to keep our students from going to IB program at another school or going to a magnet school that we are able to offer that here and.   Rick Sola (27:41.836) Are the other high schools doing this too?   Eric FIlippi (28:09.167) So we are also able to offer 18 classes that you can get college credit from at Wichita State University, 18 courses that you can take and graduate with your, basically with your associate's degree, but you're doing it $99 per class. Well, now it's $149 total.   or $149 per class because working with Wichita State University, it was $99 for on campus here and then helping us get our teachers certified and all that so that we can do the concurrent. Then it was $200 on campus. Well, now it's just $149. If we don't have the course here, we can send them up the road to Wichita State University and then they can take it with the college peers that the students don't have to be cohorted together.   Rick Sola (28:49.217) Yeah.   Eric FIlippi (29:04.943) Yeah, we definitely have students that are graduating with their associates degrees and. And or or very, very close to it. And so with the cable or buckets, there are seven buckets that the Kansas Board of Regents has that if you can fill those seven buckets in high school. That that those are your prerequisites to.   Rick Sola (29:06.508) Well, that's a good deal.   Eric FIlippi (29:29.823) any major, any at any university you go to in the state of Kansas, you would have your prerequisites done here at Wichita Heights.   Rick Sola (29:37.089) That's no, that sounds like a really good deal. And I can imagine that would be in a set up and it starts to get real for high school students as they get older, you start getting real credits to colleges and it starts to feel they're branching out, you know, they're approaching the real world as they say. You said something a minute ago about, you know, the importance and value you put on that relationship between your school, a high school in the elementary. And I imagine probably the middle schools.   Eric FIlippi (29:49.515) yeah.   Eric FIlippi (30:03.18) Yes, yeah.   Rick Sola (30:03.456) you know, as a middle school principal, but you mainly working with families and the students, gosh, that just can't be overstated that that relationship. And it means so much when, whether it's administrators or coaches come down and that outreach, the middle school kids, they, I mean, they see that and they know that they're on the cusp of that, but that just goes so far.   And then elementary kids, I've got an elementary student myself, they just think it's really cool to see, the high school's here, you But what a positive outreach and way to really kind of build the excitement for your school and the years ahead.   Eric FIlippi (30:40.345) That it is. It is a lot of fun and and you know when when you say that you know that the exciting aspect of it. You know when. One of our you know basketball team goes in and you know coach will take him to the middle school and you know our basketball team will watch them. You know watch one of their games or and then we invite our middle schools to come up to watch you know our athletic events as well so that they can feel that you know with the with the pet band and with the.   And even even marching band we have the date and I'm sure this is happens everywhere or a lot of places but you know we'll have the eighth graders come in that will be in marching band the following year when they get to high school and then they'll do they'll do a show with our marching band you know as when the when the players come out so they get the Friday night lights and they get you know they get all that up front to kind of get help get them excited for.   what is to come. And so that is ridiculously important in my vision and with our amazing middle school principals that we have in our feeder pattern. How can we get Heights High School in there, whether it's leadership, student mentors, or just coming in and.   talking to them about the events and what high school is like, not just academics. Because when I was in middle school, you know, it was always something, you know, when you get to high school, when you get to high school, well, let's bring some of the high school to them so they could actually have a tangible thing to grasp onto as far as what it is to be in high school.   Rick Sola (32:28.236) Yeah, it builds that community and it's so positive. as we were recording this a few weeks into January, so the semester is really kind of in front of us still. What's got you excited at Wichita Heights here this semester?   Eric FIlippi (32:46.115) Well, mean, besides besides the athletics and and you know our girls basketball team is still undefeated in six. I think we're the only undefeated 6A basketball team. have a new basketball coach that you know that that buddy that I was talking to you about earlier is not very happy with me because we're going to try to get her in the building. She is a middle school English teacher at Robinson Middle School here in town and.   You know, I told her, yeah, man, we're going to have to get her in the building and and she's just an amazing, amazing, amazing asset to whatever school she's into. But so there's absolutely the athletic athletics that go along. That's that's that's fun. Prepping for the new beginnings for the new school year, what are we going to be able to do to add to the things that we've already started? And, you know, just the.   Man, the spring semester seems to be so fast, where first semester feels like a marathon sprint, and then you have a moment to breathe at the winter break, and then second semester, we had a four-day week this week, and then we got a couple more weeks, and then, man, we're gonna be at spring break, and then we graduate early. mean, May 11th, our seniors are done.   Rick Sola (34:06.484) You   Rick Sola (34:10.077) Okay, yeah.   Eric FIlippi (34:11.08) So Monday, May 11th. So then you look at the calendar and you're like, wait a second. So then if we have to have senior convocation and we're doing this and senior finals, man, that, you know, that's, that's the first week of May, you know, Holy smokes, we're, finishing up quick. So, you know, I always, I look forward to that. I look forward to, the, the seniors and their beginnings and, really just, reflecting and prepping and   Rick Sola (34:25.543) Yeah.   Eric FIlippi (34:40.952) And that the part of this season that I that really hurts for someone, you know, like for me, because I not that I hate being in my office, but, know, I just as as the principal of a high school or middle school, you are literally the furthest person away from students, you know, and and so.   You know you don't get the interactions like an assistant principal does when they're coming in to sit down and talk or you don't get a lot of those interactions. So you know you get your opportunities during our walkthroughs and and what we're doing. You know classroom observations and we're doing some of those things, but I always like to make sure we are very, visible in the in the hallways that when we are when we are out and about that we are.   actively engaging with the students. you know, so, you know, as far as the, you know, the looking forward to and taking an opportunity to really grasp and see some of the great things that are happening, because this time of year can definitely get caught up in, you know, planning for next year with master schedule and, you know, and everything else that takes place.   Rick Sola (35:57.675) Yeah.   It comes up so quick. I have found that right around that Thanksgiving time frame, that's a really good sweet spot in a school year. mean, there's a lot going on. There's events and things. But you come back after the holidays, and you hit the ground running. And oftentimes, you're battling snow days, as we might hear in a couple of days. But you're doing enrollment and master schedule.   you're already looking ahead to next year. And so it goes really quick. You kind of hit on, you talked about the visibility and I was going to ask you about advice that you would give. And I think that that would be really good advice for anybody listening who's not an administrator, but wants to be that visibility piece. So I'm going to flip it a little bit. What advice did you receive as a first year administrator that you still are remembering and holding onto today?   Eric FIlippi (36:48.496) Oh, wow. Holy smokes from, you know, there's there, you know, advice that's funny advice that's, you know, the biggest piece of advice that I think, you know, every all the get a good pair of shoes was was one of my mentors, he said, invest in good shoes is is going to be huge.   But the thing that I think we all, definitely being younger-ish, I think I was 33 when I got my first admin position, 31, I'm indestructible at the time and you're running out of fumes, but the big piece of advice is take care of yourself, take care of your physical and mental wellbeing, take care of...   You know, because you're going to open your eyes tomorrow and you're going to be 51 years old and you're going to be, you know, I'm, pushing 29 years in the district, 28, 29 years in the district. And, you know, where did that time go? And, uh, you know, making sure that you, you stay healthy, uh, mentally, physically. Um, I think that is the best piece of advice that I got that I did not listen to, um, you know, because there's always, you know, uh,   It was not until I got to Heights High School and was able to interact with my children the way that I did that I realized just how much stuff I had missed. Or, you know, I get home and I'm so tired and I don't want to go work out or, you know, I don't want to get up in the morning like right now, you know, when it's seven degrees in the morning, it's not really inviting to get up and, you know, go to the YMCA to go work out or whatever, you know, but getting into those   Rick Sola (38:42.315) Right.   Eric FIlippi (38:47.76) Make sure that you take time to eat lunch. Make sure you you know all all the things that I know I'm supposed to do that they told us about at Wichita State University and the program and you know just when you get busy you know that self care and always want to take care of other people. You a lot of times you tend to. You tend to. Not take care of yourself, so that would be one thing and and.   Rick Sola (39:15.733) That's   Eric FIlippi (39:16.72) The other is be prepared for what you can't be prepared for. The things that you cannot, the things that you can't prep for is just absolutely mind boggling. My wife's in the medical field and she, you know, kind of, she kind of laughs like I've seen more.   You know between athletic events and stuff more dislocations more, you know accidents and and things and she has and and you know there's there's a lot of a lot of pressure. You know. The the participating in you know and and the kids survived. So that's why I'm telling this. You know we had a kid that got ran over by a bus both axles when I was at Southeast High School and.   you know, having to come up on that, you know, they don't don't they don't teach you that at at Wichita State and you know, last year, Big JT referee here in the the city league, you know, collapsed on the court and and we had to clear the gym and I helped participate doing chest compressions and you know, and then 20 minutes later, you know, the the ambulance leaves and you know, 20 minutes later,   Rick Sola (40:13.429) No.   Eric FIlippi (40:35.662) you've compartmentalized and then now you are ready to now shake hands. And we still got a basketball game going on and I have 2,500 people in the gymnasium that we need to make sure that they have a decent experience. yeah, it's just there's a lot and making sure that you figure out a way how you are able to decompress.   Rick Sola (40:44.863) Yeah.   Rick Sola (41:02.857) Yeah, you mentioned a few things there. I'll comment on first of all, the surprises, the things you just can't prepare for. And it really ties into what you said right before that, which is take care of yourself. And just to sum it all up, how do you take care of yourself? there's so much that we do have to compartmentalize with what we do to be able to.   to move to really a pretty traumatic situation in a gym floor. Then you got to move to making decisions. But at some point at the end of the day, you go home and you sit in a chair and it all starts coming back. how do you take care of yourself? And that's so important. I think that's really important for those listening who either aren't in the chair or brand new. And also to know that we all feel it. We're not robots. So no one expects. And you shouldn't feel like you have to just   deal with it and like, I just got to push things aside. No, take care of yourself, the mental, the physical, and all those things. And I'd also say that it's so easy. The first thing that's easy to go is taking care of going home and working out. It's real easy to put that aside, but really important piece. then just to circle back, because this came up in a conversation I had with Sean Henderson. He brought up the shoes, too.   And he was talking about his first pair of Hokas. And I got a pair, too. And I'm like, my gosh, this is like world changing. But the amount of walking that we do and maybe if I mentioned them on this, they'll sponsor us at some point. But no, I really appreciate that. And before we go, I'd like to give everybody on here a chance to brag on your people. You've talked a lot about just so many great things happening in Wichita and happening at Heights.   Eric FIlippi (42:30.736) Yeah.   Rick Sola (42:43.499) And I loved what you said earlier, actually wrote it down, said, I'm the big idea guy, but I rely on others to help me. And I love that acknowledgement. So this is a chance to recognize all those others who are helping you out there.   Eric FIlippi (42:56.48) man, my entire administrative team, they are absolutely incredible. It is a great mix of concrete sequential, a big idea. know, Everardo Flores is one of our, well, I tell you what, Myron Fisher, Everardo Flores, Tracy Nigg is our athletic director. She is our APAD.   And she was actually a social worker by trade. So she brings in just a different perspective. Joanne Fluker, she's our special ed, just guru of all guru-ness with the SPED world, our social workers that we have in the building, our school sites. But a big one.   Ryan Degraff. don't want him to listen to this and not having an opportunity to say his name, but our security team is absolutely amazing. Stephanie Chappot is our instructional coach and she was my first hire when coming over to Heights High School and I worked with her when she was, or I knew her when she was student teaching at North High years ago.   And then she was also involved in Avid and she knows curriculum inside and out and she's just absolutely a godsend. so, you know, her, data coach and Ms. Hutton is my assistant and man, she will, she takes care of me. She'll shut the door. She'll keep me to my calendar.   Rick Sola (44:39.915) Hmm.   Eric FIlippi (44:43.248) And I don't mess with Ms. Hutton. So if she says, I'm shutting the door, need to, this is on your calendar, you're doing your emails right now. So audit, I'll take care of it. So having those individuals and then also our assistant superintendent, which is funny, Dr. Lauren Hatfield, I like to tell people that I hired her into the district as a math teacher at Southeast and now she's my boss.   Rick Sola (44:46.068) You   Rick Sola (44:51.412) Yeah.   Eric FIlippi (45:10.96) She's absolutely amazing and you know the support that we get from our central office as well as Brandon Johnson and he is our executive director of secondary ed and he is my personal coach that also helps me when I need to talk through some different things. the collaborative   Rick Sola (45:11.029) haha   Eric FIlippi (45:41.017) not feel, the collaboration that we have in our district. And if you need help with somebody, you know, there's always somebody there and the other principals that we have here in the district as well with different chat groups that we have that, you know, we'll pose questions off each other to, you know, to find out, hey, how do you do this? How do do that? So it's very, very helpful.   you know, to have those individuals, to have that team. And then of course my wife, who is just so unbelievably supportive of what we're trying to do here in the community. It's really a blessing.   Rick Sola (46:28.315) lot of great people and kind of it could be a show feature, the principal spouse, know, the role that they play. It's, yeah.   Eric FIlippi (46:34.536) yeah.   Rick Sola (46:39.115) They feel a lot too. But awesome to hear so many great people out there that you're working with. And Eric, it sounds like so many wonderful things happening in Wichita. And I appreciate your time at the end of a long school day. And this is another thing for you. But it's great that you were able to come on and share your story and Wichita Heights story here for those listening. And I want to wish you all the best this semester. And we'll get through as.   unscathed as possible with any weather events and rescheduling and whatever may come up this semester.   Eric FIlippi (47:14.018) Absolutely. Well, I truly appreciate you giving me the opportunity to have this forum. And I really enjoy reflecting and appreciate you asking about the people that were around me, yeah, that's none of anything we've accomplished is possible without.   Rick Sola (47:32.499) Yeah, that's absolutely, positively the truth there. There's so many people, but well, thanks, Eric, and we'll wish you all the best. Have a good evening.   Eric FIlippi (47:41.516) Absolutely, I appreciate it. Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your school year.  

Episode Summary In this episode of Cool Coffee with Kansas principals, host Rick Sola speaks with Dawn Chase, principal of Horton Elementary School. They discuss Dawn's journey in education, the challenges of school consolidation, and her transition to principalship. Dawn emphasizes the importance of establishing relationships with staff, creating clear procedures and routines, and managing time effectively. She shares valuable advice for new principals, highlights the significance of self-care, and celebrates the supportive community at Horton Elementary. Connect with the Principal Dawn Chase (email) Connect with Cool Coffee Host Rick Sola: [email protected], [email protected]  Chapters (timestamps are approximate) 00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Horton Elementary 02:39 Dawn Chase's Journey in Education 05:23 Challenges of School Consolidation 07:48 Transitioning to Principalship 10:26 Establishing Relationships with Staff 13:10 Creating Clear Procedures and Routines 15:41 Managing Time and Responsibilities 18:21 Advice for New Principals 21:21 The Importance of Self-Care 23:50 Celebrating the Community and Staff 26:26 Closing Thoughts and Fresh Starts   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: [email protected] or [email protected]   Episode Transcript (timestamps are approximate) Rick Sola (00:02.401) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas principals. Today I'm here with principal Dawn Chase from USD 430 Horton Elementary School, home of the Chargers. Hello Dawn. Dawn Chase (00:15.128) Hi, how are you? Rick Sola (00:16.541) I am good. We are just wrapping up here where I'm at. It's our first day back with students as we get back from the holiday break. I don't know if that's the same for where you're at. Dawn Chase (00:28.694) Same here, this is the first day we welcomed students back and it was a great day. Rick Sola (00:33.771) Yeah, was the energy was high. seemed like a lot of students were glad to see each other. And I always wonder what tomorrow is going to look like because I think they'll realize how early they got up today and they weren't used to that. But it's a fun time of year as we get going with the second semester. But before we get started, I just want to remind listeners, give the show a like and a follow. And also a reminder to check the show notes. There'll be contact information for both myself but also our guest. And so make sure you're checking those show notes for more information about the show. But Don, you are principal of Horton Elementary School. Let's start there. What can you tell us about Horton as far as where you're located and the size of your school? And we'll go from there. Dawn Chase (01:25.816) Okay, Horton is a wonderful little place. It's like a diamond in a rough, a perfect little small town school, but it's not small town ideas and attitudes. There's a lot of things going on here that are very exciting at all the levels. But Horton is surprisingly, I'll tell you, I'm from Meriden. So I grew up as a Jeff West USD 340 girl. So this job puts me about 50 minutes from home. And so I drive each day, 50 minutes each way and it's a great time to get a lot of things done. It wasn't until I actually looked at a map that I realized how close to the Nebraska border I am. I did not realize how close Brown County was and that's terrible because I've lived in Kansas most of my life. But more about 15 minutes from Hiawatha, 20 or 30 from Holton. Horton's just a little nestled place that's just, it's a diamond. So school size, we have about 220 students. I have a building that is pre-K through fourth grade. And we have some students that are outreach. We have a special education portion of our preschool. We also have our general education and actually we're in the process of fully making those integrated. So that's exciting to see both of the sides together. But about 220 students and like I said, it's a wonderful place to work and it's very similar to the first school that I actually taught in and where I grew up as a kid. So it really feels like Come. Rick Sola (02:59.991) Well, that's a great segue there to your road to the chair. And I know you are new-ish to the principal chair, but talk about that road from your start in education to where you're at today in Horton. Dawn Chase (03:15.658) Okay, first off, non-traditional person here. I am not the traditional got out of college, went straight to a job. I thought I wanted to be an accountant and you know, accountants made a lot of money and I like math so that's what I was going to do and that track didn't work out too well and life happened and I decided to go back to school to get my teaching degree. I had two children, but I started in 2008 and I got a great job at a small, again, hidden gym and it was a great place. I probably would still be working there buried underneath the oak tree at some point, but that school got consolidated into a bigger one. And so that kind of forced my hand to make a change. I'm not traditionally a person who goes after change or loves change. So I transitioned and got a job as an instructional coach and a behavior coach. And so kind of like a dean role at another elementary school that was much larger, we're talking 600 kids. And I did that for about a year. the admin took a change and I thought it was time to maybe explore something a little bit different because I always knew I wanted to be a principal but I didn't immediately after my degree go there. It took me a while and so after that I went to middle school and I taught sixth grade math and that was an amazing experience. I'm kind of well-rounded. I've taught third grade, fifth grade, sixth grade. And then I had applied here and there for jobs within my district. I wasn't looking super hard. I wasn't really putting my feet out far. And I got a message one day from an acquaintance and that's where networking is so important of a job that I never would have looked for. And it was, hey, come check us out. Maybe if you want to come interview. And I made the jump and got the job. It's exciting, but it was Dawn Chase (05:23.242) probably like I said about 16 years in the educational realm but now here for about one and a half and it's a great move I'm glad I made the jump I made the change it was scary but this has been what I have hoped and dreamed for for a long long time Rick Sola (05:42.488) That's really great. There's a lot there. I'm really intrigued. I can only imagine going through a consolidation and what that puts on a building, a staff, and a community. And I didn't realize that as part of your history going into this show. Is there, I guess, of a 30-second kind of synopsis of what that was like going through such a challenge? Dawn Chase (06:08.238) So it was difficult when I first, I had two job options and there were two schools and the person in HR said, man, I can't tell you what to do, but if you go here, I think you'll want to stay. This is where you want to go. And like I said, the people there, the friendships that I've formed still today, they're some of my greatest friends. It was just a family, kind of what you dream a school situation is going to be. And there was rumors for a long time that the school might close. our enrollment might be down. We're talking under 200 kids and you know things get out. So every year you're kind of worried pins and needles and then when it finally came out that it was going to happen, they did the customary, you know, community meetings and and all the things that they needed to do, but it was difficult. And it was hard for me. So the year before they actually closed is when I took my leap and went to be the Dean and instructional coach, behavior coach at the bigger school. And so it was really hard. grieved that, but I don't think as much as if I'd stayed till the very very end. But it is hard and those people that I had worked all those years with now are spread out to different, you know, different buildings throughout the city and we still manage to stay close, but it's very difficult. It is like a family breaking up. it and it was hard on those students as well. Rick Sola (07:34.242) Yeah, schools are such a big part of a community. And I can imagine the challenge that would, and toll that would have on that community. You mentioned you went from there to being an instructional behavior coach. And I would imagine that that sets you up really nicely in almost a training for you to become then a principal. And you said that you always knew you wanted to be a principal. What was it about being a principal that you always knew? Because I've talked to a lot of principals on this platform and I've seen it go both ways. I think there's some that set out in education to hit that track. Others never saw it coming and they get tapped on the shoulder next thing they know they're knee deep into pursuing a principalship. But what was it about being a principal that intrigued you? Dawn Chase (08:18.252) I think. The biggest thing that I can tell you is the opportunity to affect a lot more students on a bigger scale. Don't get me wrong, I miss my classroom. There's days when I, that's what I want to do is just go get in there and be with the kids because that bond and everything that you do that year, you keep those kids so close to you. But now to be able to work with teachers, mentor them, help make decisions with them that really drive of how our students are gonna learn and grow and to affect the students that way. It's such on a bigger scale. just, really thought I wanted to learn the most that I could about the students, the community, all of that. And I just feel like this is the best way that I can give back. Rick Sola (09:11.169) That's awesome. So you are a year and a half in to your principalship. when we were talking, leading up to this recording, you had shared that, you know, being a year and a half in, you know, what, what, can I offer that sort of thing? And in my mind, I'm thinking, my gosh, there's, there's so much as part of just the mindset of a first and early years principal. As you're, you are a year and a half in and you receive news that you are going to be named the principal of Horton Elementary, what did you take as your first order of business at that point that you received that news? Where was your mind on your next steps immediately? Dawn Chase (09:51.523) Personally, I called everybody. That's probably not the answer you're looking for, but it was so exciting. I shared it with all the important people, my close group of people that I had grown with teaching with, and a couple of former administrators that had been in my corner the whole time. I shared it like crazy. I was so happy. Then the reality set in of, man, I have a school. need to think what I'm going to do and you have all these ideas and you think you know what you're going to do but really your mind, your brain, everything you know says you need to go watch, you need to go learn, you need to go get the lay of the land. So what I did was I came and visited the school and of course there were a couple of people on the interview team from the school. It was made up of various people so I had a couple of connections and people that I knew and I got really good feelings because Because let's be real, it has to go two ways. I had to know that this is deep down what I wanted to do and I got really good feelings. I got that family sense from the district and I was looking for that. And so I thought what I want to do is I'm going to do staff one on ones. And so I created my first all school email and I put it out about two weeks before school started. I was going to schedule one-on-ones and send a list out and said anybody who wanted to come in to talk about anything from introducing themselves to telling me about problems or things they were concerned about, here was their time. And I nervously waited and soon it started getting filled up and that was not everyone, but I soon learned that there weren't enough spaces. So I went ahead and kept it open through the first week and a half of school to make sure everybody got an opportunity. that really helped get to know people on a personal level and hear what they loved about the school, what they loved about the community. And some of them did bring concerns or problems or things they were worried about because when you get a new administrator sometimes you think, man I need to say this so she knows XYZ. And so it was a really mixed bag but it helped me I think get a good jump start on the gear ahead. Rick Sola (12:20.448) So when you set that up, you have set questions you wanted to ask them, or was it truly open-ended to say, hey, I'm here. You come in, and you speak and talk about what's on your mind. How did you frame that for your staff? Dawn Chase (12:35.766) It was completely open. I didn't want to lead it at all. And in the email, I said, you can come in and you can just simply say, hey, I teach third grade. My name is blah, blah, blah. And that'd it. You can tell me about your family. You can tell me about you professionally. I just wanted it to be a conversation because that's one of the things that I think I'm good at is being a people person and forming relationships. And I knew some of the best administrators, one in particular, still It's been 20 years probably since I've worked for this particular guy and I can see him at Home Depot. He'll address me by name. He'll ask about my husband. He'll ask about my kids. He still knows little things they do and to me that means a lot that he took interest in me not just as a teacher but as a person and he cared about my family. So that's the kind of person I strive to be. Rick Sola (13:30.775) I think that's a really good decision to set and create that time for staff early on and I'm just thinking if anybody listening I don't think it has to be in your first year even I think that could be something you do every so often and Yes, you promote. It's a good way to establish an open open door policy But I would imagine too that you probably receive some information That's really important for you to know as a principal, but you never would have gotten otherwise without setting a platform for staff to share that. Dawn Chase (14:04.448) It was really great to hear what they had been through. Basically, the school had a principal for a long, long time that retired and she was very beloved. mean, amazing. And they had a principal that came in the next year and for whatever reason, it wasn't a good fit. And so I was following someone who was following, I don't know if I'd say a legend, but you know, when you come in after a principal that's been there for a long, long time, you have big shoes to fill, but you can't focus really on the shoes because you have a different set of shoes on your feet so you're never really gonna fill somebody else's shoes so once I kind of cleared my head of being myself and and establishing myself for my own you know journey it helped clear a lot of things in my head Rick Sola (14:54.634) Yeah, that can be really challenging. It can be great to go into a really established building. But like you said, when you're replacing someone who has been a legend or been a really strong pillar, you don't want to try to emulate someone totally. And you've got to be yourself, just like you said. But that could be really tough. of course, you coming in once removed from that might Be a positive because sometimes those could be challenging situations. What was your welcome to the chair moment? You said that you I love that you highlighted first that you called everybody you knew and I think that's really a very real answer It is exciting when you get a job that you've been in pursuit of to be able to Share that so I love that that very real authentic answer of yeah, called everybody and that's really a celebration But what was that moment? Like you said reality sets in that you realize I am in the chair now. Did you have a moment where it kind of hit you? Dawn Chase (15:59.363) You know, I learned really, really quickly that there is no principle manual and people may laugh at that, but. I kept thinking, gosh, there's got to be a source. Like, I would miss a deadline on something or something would come up and I'd feel like I was unprepared and I would think, gosh, was there a book on this? Was there something? And you know, I joined a new principal organization and did that in the first year and they sent out reminders of monthly things to think about and do. And that was immense. That was just invaluable. to me. So I think really the first time it hit me like this is this is your your game is someone came in with an issue and I wasn't quite for sure how I was going to address it and I thought naturally I'm just gonna go talk to my principal about it and I was thinking that's me now so what do I what do I do and so I'm blessed with a great admin team I have a fabulous superintendent she is Dr. Kramer is amazing. She has lots of experience, but she's real and What I love about her is she doesn't always give me all the answers Which of course sometimes can be frustrating, but she makes me think and I'm better for that So when I go with to her with a problem, I may not get the answer that I think I need it's okay How are you gonna solve that? What are you gonna do? And that's helping me grow and Growth is uncomfortable, but it's not supposed to be comfortable growth is supposed to be uncomfortable And so I think that that was the big lesson is man. This is your decision. What are you going to do? How are you going to use your resources now to cope with the right answer? Rick Sola (17:47.575) Yeah, uncomfortable is a really good word, especially early on in a principalship. And like you said, that's where the growth comes in. And there's times you probably feel like, I know I did, where it's like, oh, I must be growing a lot because I'm extremely uncomfortable right now. You're going through something for the first time. You mentioned there's no principal manual. And we say that facetiously, but there truly is not any principal manual. And there's also never a repeated situation. Like even things that are similar have their own nuances to it. One thing that intrigued me as we were leading up to recording is you shared how you really appreciate, but I guess reinforce operating on clear procedures and routines and talk about that. What does that mean exactly? What does that look like at Horton Elementary as far as their principle operating on clear procedures and routines? Dawn Chase (18:41.26) So knowing not every situation is the same, it's hard to have a very... like this happens, this is what I'm going to do. So I'm very clear with knowing that sometimes you need to think about things in a different, look at things from a different lens, like how you discipline. But as far as the clear procedures and routines, I like the students to know what I expect. I'll use lunch for an example. I'm in the lunchroom every day and that's a great time for me to interact with the kids and see them at a different time and to hear the jokes. Do want to hear a joke? And you know all that stuff. But they know what it looks like and what it's supposed to sound like as they enter the lunchroom. They know what's expected. We practiced it at the beginning of the school year. We did expectation like routine stations. We did the bathroom, recess, the lunchroom, different places where we needed to reinforce or teach for the first time, what does it look like to be responsible and to be in this area? And we practiced it. And that was from kindergarten all the way up to fourth grade. And it really, I think, comes down to kids like consistency. That's why they love school or they think maybe they don't love school, but really it's a safe place for them because they know what to expect. They should know what the procedure is. If I need to sharpen a pencil and I'm a classroom teacher what is that rule can I just get up do I have to give you a signal the same with being a principal is I want all of my people to operate the same way so that if I'm absent in the lunchroom one day it's going to be handled the same way as if I was there I don't have outlandish things going on or people disciplining or saying different things everybody was a part of that what does it what does it look like to be in the lunchroom how do we do this where do Dawn Chase (20:47.936) line up when we're done? What kind of voice level do we have? It just, I think it's a well-oiled machine and really it takes away confusion. I mean it is just supporting those kids so they know exactly what to expect and they know how things are going to be because most people do not like change and so if you can keep things clear and consistent then you can hold them to high expectations and when something's not right you can call it out and talk about that and then reinforce, okay, where did it go wrong? What did you not do? What did you not do in your time in the lunchroom? So I think it's powerful. Rick Sola (21:31.255) There's so much comfort for kids with routine and that predictability and you kind of you mentioned that alluded to that. What did you need to do, especially as a new principal? What did you need to be intentional with with your staff? Like you said, you can't be everywhere all at once, but there are expectations. Was there anything that you did very, very specifically with them to kind of help lay that out or set out a communication piece that then gets into classrooms? How did that look? Dawn Chase (22:00.781) So. professional development at the beginning of my first year was a lot about them learning me and me learning the school and I didn't change too much at the beginning. I knew how I was as a teacher. I had a quiet straight line in the hall. It was just a thing for me. I don't know, you know, some people they're a little lax about lines. I needed that quiet and straight and we weren't going to go until that happened. And so I had very clear visions. of what I wanted but also I now have a whole group of people I need to make sure that's the collective message so they don't think okay this is Mrs. Chase's way and it's the only way so I had to get buy-in and we have a really great system for social emotional we use leader in me and it talks about the seven habits and we can weave those everywhere it's not just a 30-minute lesson it's it's everywhere and so if you can use those things and they already were very I wouldn't say concrete or cemented, but they have strong belief in this building, in that system. They've had it for a while. I've had to learn that. I knew nothing about it. So it's been a learning curve for me. But building off of that naturally led to, okay, how are we going to use this to refine and define behaviors and what it's going to look like across the building? And then in your classroom, how are you going to carry that as well into your room? So you make sure you do more teaching than disciplining. Rick Sola (23:35.553) Yeah, I love that you mentioned the you wanted to spend time at the very first professional development of them getting to know you, but you getting to know the school. And I think that's so it's such a good a good lesson, important lesson. And I'm sure we've all been in positions where maybe we moved a little too quickly on something. And that's probably a trait, a natural trait of principals is to you want to move forward. That's that's part of our makeup. We're in positions of leadership and we see things. but how important it is to really kind of pause and assess a situation, especially being new to the building and building that trust and that buy-in, like you said, I think that's really, really important. Was there anything along the way, maybe early on that was just unexpected and it was a challenge and you didn't expect it big or small, but that came up that really kind of, like you said, it was a reality check of like, I don't have a principal to go talk to, I am the principal. Dawn Chase (24:31.694) I think for me one thing that's been an unexpected challenge is how we deal with the students who ride the bus. For us, our middle school is about 10 minutes away, so we have an element of we have buses that come from the middle school, they go to the high school, they end up here. So we've got time where the kids have to be somewhere and have to be supervised. I've always been in a place where either the bus cave it was there people came and picked up and you didn't have that lag time and I thought okay what are we gonna do how are we going to define what it's gonna look like in this space because before it had just been a dropping ground so to speak of of kids and not in a bad way but they didn't they didn't have procedures I guess before and That's been a big thing is trying to make sure that they're not all wound up before they get on the bus so that they don't, you know, get on the bus and then have incidents there. That's one thing. And then also just managing the different aspects of the pickup and how do I manage my time? I'm supposed to be and I want to be out front. I want to see parents. I want to, you know, dismiss kids. I want to greet kids. But what do I do when this comes up? this comes up. So time management still is not like the best I guess because it's impossible. I can make the best plan for my day and within 30 minutes it can go out the window because other things have taken precedence. So I think that's kind of what I'd say more than even the busing and how to handle that is just how do I handle all the things and feel like I get to them and I don't neglect being in the classroom. doing those walkthroughs or just going in to spend 10 minutes with kindergarten because it makes me smile or go to preschool and watch them do the silly art things that they do. Like that's what makes me happy and that's I think why most educators do what they do. It's for the kids and so the time management piece I think was the biggest slap in the face of how do I feel like I can get everything done and I've just had to realize I'm not ever gonna have a clear to-do list. It's okay. I'm not. Rick Sola (26:55.595) Yeah, I think that grace you just alluded to there at the end is so important. We're not going to get it all done, and there's a lot of plates spinning at any given time. I think back, I've got kids that are newly driving, and I think about when we're driving in a parking lot, and it's that first time they're behind the wheel, and they're going 15 miles an hour, and in their mind, it feels like they're going 85 miles an hour, and everything is... is happening quickly because it's all brand new to them even though they're just in a parking lot. I think that of that analogy as it relates to being a new principal, everything feels so much faster. Things are coming at you and then we gradually get pick up speed. We gradually get on the open roads and things like that. Sometimes the hard part is we don't start in a parking lot. We start right off hitting the ground running. I think things start to, like you mentioned, the management piece. And sometimes we learn by getting burned a little bit, things start to slow down just a little bit. Never clearing the to-do list, but that management piece starts to build upon itself. And that's kind of what I want to ask you as a principal year and a half in. And I know there are listeners who are in the same similar boat as you or they're aspiring administrators or whatever the case may be. What advice would you give to a person who may be finding out this semester that they're going to take over a building in August. Dawn Chase (28:26.862) I think number one, you need to realize that not every problem needs to be fixed and it's not gonna be fixed immediately. I think that took me a bit is I'm a people pleaser. I like to fix things. like to help and when people would bring me something, I would think, okay, now's my time. I've got to figure this out. And I found myself with a lot of things that maybe weren't as high on the priority list Maybe they should have been or I mean, I cannot fix everything I guess is what you need to realize is just because you're the principal it doesn't mean it's your responsibility to fix everything. You have a team and that's the beautiful thing is you have a lot of people that have specialized roles in your building. You know, your counselor, your custodians, your, you everybody has a place and you've got to be able to lean and rely on your team and I am blessed to have a great team. When I don't know something I go looking for someone else out there to say hey help me with this and You can't pretend you have all the answers because you don't and I just because you're the boss now doesn't mean You have to have all the answers. It's okay to say man I don't know but I will look at that or I will I'll check on that. It's okay and I Just feel like people need to realize, you know principle doesn't mean you're the ultimate. You are the decision maker, so to speak, but if you're a good principal, you lean on your team and the decisions you make are a result of a collaborative, reflective process with your people so that it doesn't seem like it's coming from the top down. It's actually just coming from everywhere because hopefully the people that have needed to have a hand in it have helped you along the way create the decision you're going to make or the policy or the procedure because really that's what you need, you need people to trust you and trust doesn't come immediate. I think that's the other thing I'd say is my husband told me when I very first took this, says, I'm going to tell you this, you're going to have to be okay with people not liking you. Not everyone is going to like you. And that goes back to the people pleaser in me. And I've had to realize, you know what? It's okay. As long as I'm operating in the best interest of the kids and I'm making sound. Dawn Chase (30:56.282) educational decisions and As my superintendent said when I lay my head down on the pillow at night I can say I did everything I could in the betterment of the school and for the kids then it's okay It's it's okay to do that. And if some people are not happy along the way we'll figure that out and so that's a lot of advice I'm sorry, that's kind of blurry but Rick Sola (31:18.191) No, that's perfect. Making decisions based on what's best for kids is one of the oldest bits of advice and cliches even in education. And I have only found it to be more and more true the longer I've been a principal. And exactly to your point of, you your head down at night and go to sleep? Well, if you're making decisions based on what's best for the school, what's best for kids, you know, that's really where it all hinges. And that's why we're in the position that we're in is to make those hard decisions sometimes. And it can be uncomfortable to know you're really frustrated somebody or someone who does not like you, but that is part of that leadership. And yeah, you mentioned as well that it's okay to say, I don't know. And I think there's so much value in that. And that's a hard thing to say sometimes, because it almost feels like, well, you don't know. almost like it could be twisted in the wrong way. That can be a really positive thing. It shows a real moment for you as a leader to be able to say, I need more information on this. A lot of the decisions that are being made are not just unilateral. They're based on information that was brought forward through other conversations. So I really like all that you mentioned there. I hope there are people that are aspiring or new to it that hear that because you hit on a lot there. I've got to ask before, I'm going have you brag on your people here, but right over your shoulder there's a picture of a, like, it looks like a yellow lab. I love dogs. Is that, who's the lab there? Dawn Chase (32:54.35) Yeah. Dawn Chase (32:57.824) Okay, I'll tell you. in my school that I love that I worked at for so long. Our school secretary had an oops of a litter and said, I know I had papillons before this and they had all aged out and we were looking to possibly get a dog to kind of ease the very last one's transition and have a buddy. And she said, I just had a litter that is they call them the reindeers because there nine of them. So they named them after all of the reindeer. And she said, I have the perfect one. She's the ranch. She's gonna be great. So Prancer is my dog. And as I took my daughter who, I don't know, probably just a couple of, we've had them, are four now. To the other side, I don't know if you can see, there's another one, I don't know. Anyway, Cupid is the other one. My daughter came home with Cupid because she was gonna move out on her own and she wanted a buddy. So we have the sisters and then the rest is history. But yeah, they are amazing. I kind of have kids that are 23 and 28. They're my new children and they're my babies and that was a very hard thing for me to do was come back to work because I miss my dogs. But you know. Rick Sola (34:09.239) I am a big dog. I hand out little treats of the car line for our dog riders that come through and yeah, big, dog fan. Anyway, totally. That was totally off, off topic and aside, but you know, I think, I think a lot of us principals are dog people. So anyway, but you've spoken very highly about Horton and the diamond that you are currently working, but this is your chance to brag on your people for all those who are listening across Kansas. Dawn Chase (34:39.734) So we have a fantastic elementary school. It's we're a family and that's the way we operate is all of us are a tight-knit little family and that's that's just how we treat all of this all the students and just to let them know hey I care about you so you know what's going on if something goes wrong it's not about what you did and and I'm not about the consequence you're to get it's why, what do need from us? And so we have a fabulous group of classroom teachers. We have a student success liaison who, you know, works with kids. We have a newly formed, this is the second year, what I need, a win room. So that person works for kids that have sensory needs or needs a place for a time out and works on strategies. I'm telling you. This building runs, it runs very well together and that's from, like I said, the top down. We couldn't do it without our custodial staff and all of the people, our fabulous cooks. You can't think of all the people that make the school run until you sit and look at your staff list and you're like, yeah, that's why it runs this way. We have just a really phenomenal set of people that come here every day. You know, have a teacher who had twins a couple months ago and her first day back to work was yesterday And it was a hard day right leaving. I can't imagine leaving two babies but seeing the support of everyone here as we lifted her up and you know, I'm talking from our Superintendent to other principals too because we had all district professional development yesterday Just lifting her up. That's that's the type of place I want to be at I I want to be at a place where it sounds like cheers everybody knows your name but I know pretty much all of these kids and I'm learning parents and I just feel like this we're going to accomplish so much because of the attitude of my educators and everybody else that it takes everybody to make this work it takes everybody and so I I feel blessed to be here and even though I don't live in this community because I mean I just Dawn Chase (37:09.284) don't, but this they have made me feel as if I'm a part of this place. And this is just a phenomenal little place. And to be a charger is a great thing. So it's just I can't say enough great things about the things going on here and the changes and and everything that they're trying to do at all the levels. And I can't speak eloquently about high school and all of those things. But they're they're really trying to do initiatives that help kids get ready for life beyond school, because we're trying to really get our kids career ready in a sense that they can go out and do big things right when they're out of high school, if it's not college, because for a lot of kids it may not be. Rick Sola (37:50.168) Sure. Well, a lot of really good words about the people you work with and around, and you highlighted several. And I would just say, don't undersell your role in that. And it sounds like a lot of great things going on out in Horton. And like you said, being a charger is a great thing. That could be like a t-shirt or something out there. Dawn Chase (38:07.15) I also want to say not to I I really want to be sure that I did I tell you and I think this is something that you spoke about in your last podcast is The weight that a principal carries It's not describable to anybody else that's not a principal and even when you're off you're not off you Your mind continues to think about things and really that's that's been a big thing for me is trying to figure out how to Disconnect even for just a little while like the dogs They're a big cup filler for me because you can't you can't lead anyone with an empty cup So i've got to find ways to build that back up and so when i'm at home, it's family. It's it's my pets and it's all the things that make me happy. love to go fishing but you know right now it's not that and I love football but that's not even going on very well either right? being around these kids fills your cup and I think that everybody needs to just realize that self-care is important and if that means you take some time, you shut your door for five minutes, I've told my teachers if you just need five, ten minutes, whatever, call me. I'll come in, just take a breath, go breathe some different air. Whatever it is, we've got to be here for each other. Rick Sola (39:29.567) That's a really good, I think, awareness of what we deal with in the position and the role. And it's hard to turn our mind off sometimes, but it is really, really critical that we do and that we find ways to make that happen. And whether it's a hobby, a walk, a book, or a dog, you know, and that is really, really important. And there is a tremendous amount of responsibility. And that's a really good awareness, like I said, as far as if you're not in the chair, it's hard to describe potentially and something worth considering for those who might be aspiring for that role. And I also follow that up with it's the most rewarding position, the most rewarding job ever. And I love so much about it. It's not without its challenges, but so many great things with it. Well, Dawn, thank you so much for taking the time today at the end of our first day back with kids. And I hope the break we just got off of, I hope you were able to unplug and take some time away and really recharge because we've got a semester ahead of us. It's going to be great, but it's going to take some work. So thank you for being on. Dawn Chase (40:42.04) That's right. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. And it's a great time to tell all those listeners out there and it's a brand new fresh start. That's what I told all the students today is 2025 it's a new year guys. Let's come in. Let's make it a fresh start. And that goes for principals, educators, whatever it is. If you've got a resolution or whatever you're working on, it's a fresh new beginning. So that's exciting. Rick Sola (41:08.491) That's awesome. Well, happy 2026 to you, Dawn, and thanks for joining us today. Dawn Chase (41:13.431) Alright, thanks Rick.  

The 2024 Kansas Secondary Principal of the Year, Principal Shawn Henderson of Hays High School in Hays, Kansas, joins the show and discusses the challenges and triumphs of opening a new school building and shares insights from his dual role as a principal and project manager, emphasizing the importance of planning, teamwork, and culture. He also explores the value of mentorship, and strategies for effective communication and time management within a school setting. Shawn also shares specific efforts he and his team made to protect time of teachers in the after school hours. This episode also demonstrates how the job of principal never stops...an unexpected fire alarm sounds within the first 7 minutes and Principal Henderson must go into action...check it out! Connect with Principal Henderson Email: [email protected] X: @hays489 Chapters: Introduction and Building Challenges Balancing Roles and Mentorship Communication and Culture Time Management Strategies Advice for New Principals The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: [email protected] or [email protected]   Episode Transcript (timestamps are not actual due to editing needs) Rick Sola (00:02.114) Hello and happy new year. Welcome to the first full feature episode of the 2026, I guess not even really school year, it's just a calendar year. Today's guest is Principal Shawn Henderson, Principal of Hayes High School, USD 489, home of the Indians. Welcome, Shawn. Shawn Henderson (00:19.938) Thanks for having me, appreciate it. Rick Sola (00:21.932) Yeah, Sean, you know, we were just talking here before hit and record and I'm excited to have you on here. I've I knew most recently I saw you at USA Kansas back in May of twenty five. But then I remembered I definitely saw you again. You confirmed that that you presented at KPA conference either twenty three or twenty four. And I know I saw you then. And so excited to have you on the show. And not to mention also you were recommended by another principal who filled out a form in the past and put your name down as someone who should be on this show. So I appreciate that and that you're willing to be here. As we record here, it's January 2nd. So it's literally like the first workday back from the holidays. appreciate you being on and taking the time here to be on this show. Shawn Henderson (01:09.622) You bet, away we go, right? Embrace the second semester. Rick Sola (01:11.756) Yeah. Yeah. And so actually that kind of leads into what, you know, I want to talk a little bit about today, but, know, it is January 2nd. I don't know if Monday for you is when students return. Where I'm at, it's actually Tuesday. We have another professional development day. As you come back, what's I guess staring you in the face right away, good, bad, or indifferent that you just know, okay, I need to have some attention on this. Shawn Henderson (01:38.19) Well, so we're really blessed that we opened a brand new school this year, brand new comprehensive 5A high school. And to go through that process and come out to the point that in August 12th, they gave us the keys and a week and a half later we're in school. And so to have a brand new school. So for us, it's kind of that opportunity to reset expectations. We're definitely looking at that process and protocol, all the norms that are associated with any school year. and trying to maintain that. But for us, it's trying to make sure that our people feel really comfortable about our space because it is still very, very new. And so everything that we do is still kind of a first. And so we're just trying to, the word that I always use is calibrate. We're trying to calibrate how we do things. And so we, like you just mentioned, we have a professional development day, collaboration day, Monday, and then we'll have the kids Tuesday. So those are the kind of things we're going to be talking about on Monday with our staff. Rick Sola (02:41.528) Great, I love that word calibrate as well. I think it's so important. And I always feel like the time's well spent if you need to recalibrate or at semester to take the time to revisit expectations. And that's a message I try to get to staff as well is don't feel like there's a rush to get back into content. You're gonna make up the time by taking the time right now to revisit. For our kids, it's close to three weeks that they've been in a classroom and to take that time is so important. Sean, I gotta say, I feel like it's a major oversight as a host of a podcast. I did not realize that you were in a brand new building. Shawn Henderson (03:19.214) Brand new. I mean amazing. I took this job five years ago and we passed the bond that first year. We spent a year and a half planning it, several years building it, and I tell people all the time this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to have this specific seat and to get to be in every meeting and the design process and all of the things that go into this. It is a blessing. I will tell you there are days that it's, ooh, I have learned a lot. about getting a staff ready to and a community ready to embrace a new building. But it has been incredible to say the least. Rick Sola (03:54.905) So did you shut down a previous building to then move into this? Or is this a Brandy Heisman? Shawn Henderson (04:00.418) Yeah, so we built, it's brand new. We built it next door to our high school. so talk about crazy, I'm gonna send some goodwill to my friends next door. Our former building has been gutted the last six weeks in terms of updating it. And they start school on the sixth with kids. So they are starting, they moved over the Christmas break, the middle school, into our former building. So that is a. Rick Sola (04:05.228) Okay. Shawn Henderson (04:26.69) substantial move in their world. So bless their hearts. I'm sending them all the best thoughts I can. So our district has had, it's been an incredible bond and process and we've been a big part of that having a new school, but our friends next door are moving in and it's a lot. So I'll be thinking of them January 6th and us because we all have to share the same drive lanes. the community is going to have to, students, staff, parents, we're all going to have to work on. the new parking with 10 % of our town all on one block. Rick Sola (04:57.216) Yeah, wow, what what an undertaking. I have seen recently a year ago, our district, we closed and then opened a middle school. And it was interesting talking with that principal, some of the things that came up as far as, you when you open a brand new school like you're in right now, I'm assuming everything in it is brand new, the furniture and everything. But you're coming, they're coming from their old classroom where they have all their the things they like and they want to bring with them. Was that a challenge to say? this does not make the move or did you have some parameters you had to put in place? Shawn Henderson (05:31.43) yeah, lots of parameters. mean, what was that UPS that said, you know, that phrase, said, we love logistics. did we love logistics. We had to, we had to embrace it. We had to talk about how badly we need the things from 45 years ago that have been in the back of a classroom. And, and, and to be honest, it's pretty cathartic and I don't think that it was necessarily bad for a lot of our people. I think the talking about it was horrible. The doing it actually ended up being, Hey, you know what? This is okay. I, I feel like I did get to clean up and clean out and and it's really broader. May I have your attention please? they're testing something. I'm sorry. A fire has been reported in the building. Please leave the building by the nearest... Let me double check what's going on real quick. exit stairway. Do not use the elevators. Sorry. Hang on a second. Rick Sola (06:04.898) Well, you all right over there? Rick Sola (06:11.666) No, you... hey... Rick Sola (06:16.982) Yeah, yeah, we'll hit, we'll pause right here, okay? I'll just kind of hang tight. Do what you need to do. Nope, you're good. Rick Sola (00:01.788) All right, and we're back. Sean, you're back. Everything's OK. So let's start with that because I'm going to do a little editing here. But we just had a sounder go off and we were just talking about your new building. You know, this is a principal podcast. And isn't that just the way it goes that at any any given time you're going to drop what you're doing and you're going to head out and you got to take care of the the kids, the building, the staff or whatever. So do you mind catching us up a little bit? What happened? Shawn Henderson (00:18.946) Absolutely. Shawn Henderson (00:30.903) We just had something to do with the fire suppression system in the line. And we've got guys here that are working on it. So I thought it might happen, but I had to go double check. So and especially, you know, going back to our conversation prior to the alarm is that, you know, when you have a brand new building, everything is new, every system is new. And so I've kind of joked that quite literally for the last X amount of years, I've kind of had two full time jobs. One of them was taking care of the business of this operation of building a new school. And the other was this, you know, small side hobby called being a principal that we all know is all-encompassing. now about November 1st is the first time since August I was like I'm doing one job I'm the principal now and so it's felt good to to kind of roll back into that principal seat not project manager seat because it kind of occupied both there for a little while. I loved it though but it's it's okay to get back to the to the main thing so. Rick Sola (01:32.446) Well, like you said, it's a unique opportunity. It's a once in a career opportunity. And from everybody I've worked with who has gone through it, I think that's all they want is once in a career. They don't want to open a second building, but the opportunity to open one is really pretty cool. Shawn Henderson (01:42.412) Yeah. Shawn Henderson (01:47.588) Well said and I completely agree, yes. Rick Sola (01:50.036) I think where we left off was, and not to go back to this, but I just find this interesting because a buddy of mine did exactly what you did where they closed a building and opened a new one, but it turned into quite a bit of management and parameter setting of what can come with you from the old building. Was that something you put much thought into ahead of time or did it kind of present itself to you like, man, I need to really kind of establish what... should and should not make its way over. Shawn Henderson (02:21.782) No, I'm quite a planner. My background's in band directing. And so I always took kids all across the country when I was the band director in Scott City. And I always said for every minute of a band trip, I spend an hour planning, right? And so... to run that equation. don't know what the math would be, but we didn't do anything happenstance coming into this new school. Took a couple field trips, went and met with Piper, talked to Justin with that new school there. We went to actually visited Curtis Stevens from his time in Salina. He is a superintendent now, but we went and took a field trip and all we talked about was, so how did you move an entire school? How did you, what was that process, what did it look like? And so kind of that would be, you're kind of something I always stress to principals is you're not the first person to do this. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. You'd be wise to reach out to people that are bright and have had this experience. And so I tried to model that. So I took a couple of field trips, took one of my assistant principals with me, superintendent, and we just picked the brains of really great people and said, how do we go about doing this? And so we felt like that that was time. well spent and it helped things really, really run smoothly. Both for planning, getting rid of things, the way that we color coded all the rooms, the way that we color coded whole hallways, how the moving process went, how we ran the moving truck, I you name it. We tried to be very, very meticulous in our planning. Rick Sola (03:56.477) I love that you brought up the you're not the first principle to do this. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes I think there's a maybe this is just me, but there's sometimes a temptation of like, you know, you feel like, no, this is my job. I need to I need to put together all of these things. Like, no, it's the whole working smarter, not harder, but tapping into those who have done it before. Surely there's things that did come up in those conversations with Justin and Piper and Salina, whatever that. you hadn't thought of or didn't consider or, that is something I need to think about. And that's part of the value of the network, I would say. Shawn Henderson (04:32.782) Yeah, 100%. Absolutely. Rick Sola (04:35.656) You you touched on your band background and that was something I had. I noted when I watched you present at one of the conferences, I am a former social studies teacher and coach and my eyes were opened when I got into administration of the music world, the band world and the just extraordinary amount of work. that goes into those programs. And you mentioned organization. The organization is incredible. So when you mentioned that, that was your background when I saw you present, that was my first, one of my thoughts was how valuable of preparation for you to now be sitting in this chair. I want to get to the road to the chair, but can you spend some time on just your band background and how that prepared you to be an administrator? Shawn Henderson (05:29.228) Yeah, I mean, I think it's, I love analogies, so anybody that works with me understands I use them all the time, but you know, as a band director, you are the person up on the podium, but you're working with all these individual... We'll call them departments, we call them sections in the band, right? And so as a principal, I have to orchestrate all of my sections to operate at the best possible way, to create the best product, and to perform at the highest possible level for all of our stakeholders and our kids. And as a band director, it was just that. It was standing on the podium, being sure to work with each of the individual sections, taking time with the individual players, building teamwork. Al talking about, you know, just being really intentional to make our ensemble get better week to week. And band world, just like the football coaching world or any coaching world, it is about your culture. And I think the thing that I benefited the most as a band director is working on that culture piece and the individual and really making sure that we're bringing everybody along with us and everyone's doing their best. And so, yeah. I attribute a lot of my learning and knowledge for team building and culture straight from my band experience. There's no doubt about it. Rick Sola (06:51.486) What's an intentional piece of culture that you bring into your building? You could say at the start of the year, but even at semester, you've got a semester's worth of wear and tear, and you hope that people come back energized and invigorated to get moving again. But there's an important cultural piece and morale piece that's a part of any school. Is there anything that you do intentionally at the midpoint in the year? Shawn Henderson (07:16.951) So all points of the year I wear hokas. I asked my boss, said, look, I can't wear dress shoes. I walk too much. I think one of the pieces of advice that I always had is that a principal needs to be visible. My mentor, Neil George, who was the middle school principal in Scott City, he was incredible. He caught me once and he said, Sean, I think you need more hallways. And I said, I don't know what you're talking about. And he said, you need to take your energy and your passion and you need more hallways than just the music wing of the school. And really the next day I signed up for admin classes. had never even thought about being a principal. And just like the story goes that, you know, it takes somebody to look at you and say this is what you should be doing. I took it to heart. And when he told me you need more hallways, I went and I immediately got my master's degree so that I could have more hallways. And since that time, I've tried to be the same person that I was as a band director, which is people first, be where the people are, making connections. And so I try to be around my school all the time. But I do joke, know, Hoka is the only way I roll. But I try to be visible. I mean, we are our admin team, our four principals. We are walking our school. We are trying to be where the people are. And I think that's, for me, the most important element of my leadership is to connect with everybody right where they are. Rick Sola (08:41.78) Sean, as a principal, now two months into my first pair of Hokas, I can't disagree with you one bit on the game changer that that can be. I have been in a situation where I was wearing a particular pair of dress shoes that were really uncomfortable. And just like you had the sounder go off, we had one of those on that particular day and we were outside in January for two hours going and I was walking in these shoes and I thought, oh my gosh, what am I doing? I do too much walking to be. Uncomfortable. Shawn Henderson (09:12.674) Yep, agree. Yeah, so I always joke with people. Hocus is the way to go. So I'm not corporately endorsed by them, which would be great. I'd love to be, but no. But I do think that's good advice I'd give principals too is you got to have comfortable shoes because we stand, we walk. It's part of our job all the time. Rick Sola (09:32.615) It's been a very welcome part of the professional attire world that more and more comfortable shoes, tennis shoes type are being introduced. You it's interesting you mentioned the mentor that tapped you on the shoulder and because as you were talking earlier about opening your building, was drawn back to the most recent episode we had Courtney Dominy on and she is opening a building in August of next year. And so much of what you spoke about was a previous conversation, but she also talked about that exact, that situation where somebody tapped her on the shoulder and she hadn't really considered it. And just like you did, and it just really, I've had a lot of conversations on here and I hear that so often where it is someone from the outside that recognizes an ability or some skillset that would really be applicable. And it's just really great to hear you say that. You mentioned band, so complete your road to the chair. your principal of Hayes High School, your band director, fill in between what occurred. Shawn Henderson (10:37.09) Yeah, when I left Scott City, I went to Ellenwood and I was the middle school and high school principal. there for four years and after those four years our family kind of felt like we were ready for a little bit of a change and so I always joked that I went back to college in that I was the director of field experiences and licensure at Fort Hays State and those four years, the next four years that I was at Fort Hays, I went from being a principal to talking to them every day, assigning student teachers, teaching classes in the College of Ed and it was just super eye-opening for me to work with people that were entering the profession, but also to literally pick up the phone every day, call principals, chat with them about my student teachers, but certainly talk to them about being a principal. And it was a great job. I loved that job. But to be honest, I just missed being a principal. And so I told my wife that I wanted to be a principal again. She said, that's fine, but we're not moving. She loved her job. She works in the district here as well. And so she said, if you can find a place to drive to and So I went to Russell, was the principal in Russell the year before COVID and COVID year. Had a great, great time there, learned a lot, worked with great people. And then the opportunity that Marty Straub, who is the principal at Hayes High, retired and I was already living here in Hayes and this was a job that I'd been eyeing a long time. And so when he retired, I came in and again, happened to be that was five years ago and that was the time. that they that we passed the bond and again that kind of once in a lifetime opportunity to sit in this chair. So yeah it has been so I was four years in Ellenwood four years at Fort Hayes and five years here in Hayes and then as the high school principal and two in Russell. So I've got some years in administration now I guess across both high school and college. Shawn Henderson (12:42.48) you Rick Sola (12:43.092) Yeah, that's great. And years in administration, and then there are times where it feels like, this is a brand new situation. You know, that's what's great about it, Mr. That's what I love about it is it's it's something new all the time. So that leads me to really what I consider like the anchor topic of today. You know, you are recommended for this, but this is something I really found valuable when I was at your sessions is you spent a lot of time talking about Shawn Henderson (12:54.978) Yeah, that's for sure. Rick Sola (13:11.528) how you protect the time of not just you as an administrative team, but also your teachers. What does that mean to you? What does that look like at Hayes High School? Shawn Henderson (13:23.362) Yeah, so I'm going to fast forward a little bit to this morning. This is the first time that I've seen our team, our admin team and Chris Dries, who is one of our assistant principals. He's our newest member of our team as our athletic director and assistant principal. He came in and he said, wow, I only received a couple emails over the last two weeks. And to me, that's triumph. That is a is a statement about our culture. Every time I present, I ask the room, how many of you control emails with your staff? No one ever raises their hand. So I'm not trying to say that I'm world trending or setting here, but there is something that we started a couple of years ago where I, got back from Thanksgiving or it would have been spring break. I looked at our admin team, the four of us who were sitting there in the midst of trying to plan this new school and all the things. This was probably three years ago. And I said, team, we've got to quit sending emails late at night to our staff. It's not a testament that we're hard workers. It's we're reaching out and bothering them in their life and if they read that email the wrong way we're going to pull from them energy and emotion that is not fair or professional in my opinion so so for the next nine weeks as we face the the fourth quarter I'm gonna tell you and again. I'm only talking to my assistant principals. We're done emailing after six o'clock at night We're gonna lead by example, and then we'll take it to the next year so we did and then the following year and people noticed immediately. The following year we told our staff at the beginning of the year meeting and I have a graphic that says communication guide and it has 6 p.m. and it has 6 a.m. and we just said you are not communicating with each other via email from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. We've now done that two full years and it has been probably the best thing that we could have done for our staff and People can still get a hold of us, they do. You know, if there's an emergency, of course. But relative to email correspondence that... Shawn Henderson (15:33.581) I'm sure this never happens to anybody. Passive aggressive email that happens at 8.05 AM on Saturday morning when you're trying to drink your coffee. That we've stopped. I take it one step further personally. I don't even have the email notifications on my phone, especially over the weekend. But we've now built it into our culture that 6 PM to 6 AM. It is the entire weekend as well. So we are just not emailing each other. And it's taken some practice, but we're getting there. Rick Sola (16:06.676) So Sean, was that something that was born out of maybe a certain situation or was it just, did you have a recognition like, my gosh, this has gotten out of control? mean, kind of what led you to make that decision? Shawn Henderson (16:22.38) Yeah, really it starts with me is that like so many of my colleagues, we just carry all this around with us all the time and we hear the things and we read the phrases or the memes or the YouTube that says, hey, you got to leave things at work or whatever. But that's not very practical for a person that carries the level of responsibility that we all do as a principal. And so as I carried those things around to an unhealthy point, I analyzed what's the thing that's causing me the most grief and it's the emails, it's that passive aggressive. leading email that or em that happens after hours maybe just say, hey, know about that tomorrow, but t for me. And if it doesn' for me, it probably doesn for anybody. Um and then mo is I didn't want to be th an email that pulls that away from my staff. If, lose something in translat sending an email and it c concern for a staff membe up or pulling time away fr to about something I started with our admin te that caught on, we do it w received a lot of thank y who say you're just allowi Shawn Henderson (17:56.591) person that I don't have to work 24 hours a day. Rick Sola (18:00.147) That's a really good point when you send an email. could be the most benign, intent email that you send. Hey, know, question about whatever, but that lost, could get lost in translation and it's received on a Saturday morning. And what did, what did principal Henderson mean by this? This is my boss. I, know, and you, you, they're, they're stewing over it. And it was maybe a nothing email, just an informational type deal, but Because I'm sure you've probably been in that situation just throughout your career where you've received something and kind of jolts you a little bit like, well, what is that? What's the real intent behind this? And maybe there wasn't anything, but you're stewing over it. Shawn Henderson (18:39.542) Yeah, exactly. so we tried to model it first, and now it's something that we're really proud of. And this morning when my assistant principal looked at me and he was like, look, he's like, it's amazing how few emails I've received. And I just smiled and I said, well, that's very much on purpose. And so I think that's a sign of our culture buying in and saying, yeah, let's try to protect this time. Rick Sola (19:06.26) Do you see any byproduct from it, like guess unintended consequence in a good way that maybe it's generated some additional problem solving skills amongst people? Maybe rather than first reaction is I got to email, take some time, pause on it, and either some problem solving occurred or have you been able to recognize that at all? Shawn Henderson (19:26.572) Yeah, for sure. The other thing that we do is, you know, we're a Canvas school, so we're running Canvas classrooms. We created a Canvas home page for the principals, so in this instance, we're the teachers of the Canvas page, and our students are the teachers. I'm sure other schools do this as well. But we call it the Hayes High Hub, and everything's on the hub. The agenda's on the hub, the resources, the handbook, the staff expectations, any resource that they need to be successful to do their job, we put on the hub. And so one of the things that we've tried to do is that if someone emails us an information gathering email, we point them back to the hub. So not that we're trying to be passive aggressive or we're trying to not give them the information they're asking for, but if we're going to do it the right way and follow through with our Canvas page, we point them back there. So that's kind of something that we've also been trying to do. you Rick Sola (20:26.876) And, you know, kind of going back to the topic at hand, saving and protecting time with staff and teachers. You have a hub with information that's there. So someone is home at nine o'clock at night and they're trying to work through something. That's a place they can go. Shawn Henderson (20:39.278) Yep, 24 hours a day, yes. And then, you the other thing that we've tried to do that I share often is we do more meetings but for way less time. So we stand by this practice called Tuesday 10. And Tuesday 10 is a 10-minute faculty meeting every Tuesday morning. And it is from 7.25 to 7.35. And that's it, not one second longer. And for us, It's been fun. I even run the stopwatch. And so somebody could say, wow, that's not very much time. I say, right. So the things that we share are really valuable. But that's not why we did it. To be honest, I started Tuesday 10 because I wanted to see all the faces of my staff every Tuesday morning. When I was principal of a 2A school, I talked to every teacher every day. It's not as practical now with 70 teachers. I try. But on every Tuesday morning, I know. going to see my people and we try to save the email level things for that time as our important touch point. The other thing that we follow up with the Tuesday 10 is a winning Wednesday. I stole this idea from the elementary principals in our district and they they call it what I need now win and once I heard that phrase I went okay that's it I'm stealing it we're going to do win and so we do a winning Wednesday and we feed the staff every Wednesday. fun snacks, healthy, not healthy, a little bit of both. And we put our counseling team there, we put the admin team there, we try to have a secretary on site, and we're basically like parent-teacher conference style where we kind of sit around and if one of our teachers need to come and meet with one of us, they can. So we, a real touch point to where they're like, hey, by the this was really important when we had a brand new school, my new door is not locking correctly. So they could bring that to me on a Wednesday instead of emailing me. I've got my notes there, making sure that I'm covering things that need to be taken care of. And so that's kind of the way that we've been communicating. And I've shared that when I've presented recently. And it's really worked well for us. A, because people love free food. B, maybe they don't want anything. They just want to be around adults that are not teenagers to talk to. Shawn Henderson (23:08.848) come and eat some food, smile at a friend and leave and we found a lot of success with that and have really enjoyed it. Rick Sola (23:16.36) I really like the Tuesday 10 idea and we do a monthly staff meeting and there's times I refer to it as our staff celebration time, you know, because it kind of frames a little differently, but it really is for us a time to be intentional about recognizing and celebrating each other. But like you said, it is a time not just for us to see their faces and interact, but for them to see each other and especially in a high school. as big as you are, you've got different wings and different things. You may not see that person. It could be early in the year, and you may not realize that person, who is this person that's maybe new to the building? And it's a chance to see each other and kind of have that camaraderie that we all have a part to play in this building. Shawn Henderson (24:05.568) Agreed and we start every Tuesday 10 with shout outs and and it's fun to watch the teachers shout out each other and I think it does and again talk about a positive school culture. I think it does bring that that level of pride and care and concern for each other, which is awesome. Rick Sola (24:24.222) So Sean, I appreciate you sharing all that. And as we transition here into the second half of the school year and thinking about maybe there's a principal who's in their first year or an aspiring principal, what advice would you give to somebody who may be going into their first, second semester as a principal or just advice in general as an administrator? Shawn Henderson (24:47.714) Yeah, so. One of the great pieces of advice that my band director from high school shared with me, Connie Rickard, she said, don't create a rule that you don't intend to enforce. And I've used that my entire life, both as a teacher and certainly as a principal. And then my mentor when I got to Ellenwood is the great, great elementary principal, Eric Shugrin from Lindsburg. And he always told me, he said, if someone starts a fire, they should feel the warmth of that fire. And I said, I'm not following you. And he said, Sean, I've watched you. You're really good at solving problems. You're so good at it sometimes that you solve it for the person that created the problem in the first place. And that advice really made me think a little bit. So, wasn't too long into my principal, first principal job, I went and listened to Todd Whitaker speak. He's a great writer on. on administration and he has that great book, Shifting the Monkey, which I love the analogy of that. And he always talks about that the monkey, we all carry monkeys, but sometimes we pick on the people that are really good at carrying them. So you have a staff, you have that one person that's carrying all the monkeys, and then you have a couple staff members who are just pleased as ever that those people are carrying the monkeys for them. A great leader puts those monkeys where the monkeys go. And that analogy has been really profound for me. And the other thing that Todd Whitaker says in his book, and I think it's great, is you should focus on your best people. And I remember that as a band director, is I could stare at 65 of my band kids, and I loved them all, and we were all trying to do this great thing, but I could see the couple kids that hated it. And for the first couple years of my teaching, all I could see was the kids that didn't like it. They occupied all my thoughts. Couple years into being a band director, it dawned on me that my focus needs to be on the people Shawn Henderson (26:48.304) that are really into this because they're the ones that are going to drive this bus. And that's the advice I would give to a newer principal is you've got to get with the people that are really buying into what you're doing because they're going to be the one that drive this bus the right direction. The others will follow. They will. Rick Sola (27:07.988) I wrote down your quote, if you start a fire, you should feel the warmth of that fire. Really, that's pretty profound. you know, it can kind of generate a chuckle, maybe even almost like initially cynical, but really, like, there's some value to that. I think about the times where I've had to feel the warmth of a fire that maybe I was a part of. That's how you learn. And that's how you adjust and correct for moving forward. So it's not necessarily a negative thing, but probably an important valuable professional growth thing. Shawn Henderson (27:41.867) for sure. And if you think about teachers, all of us that are in education, we kind of like to avoid conflict, which I get. But the thing is, is that if I never ever get near the warmth of that conflict, I'm not going to have any resolution skills. I'm not. I'm not going to be able to learn how to work through the things that are challenging. And I think what Eric did for me is he reminded me, Sean, it's OK that if there's conflict, you can help a teacher through it. You don't just need to use all your skills to make it go away. it really took a while for me to work through that in my head, what he was after. And I've shared that with people ever since, is that that's how people grow. Rick Sola (28:23.059) Well, that's empowering too, though, to hear as a new principle, perhaps, because I think there's that feeling of I have to solve everything and I have not done my job well if I didn't solve it. But to be able to know, like, step back and let a person kind of work through whatever situation with your guidance, that's probably the more appropriate balance of leadership versus just swooping in and taking over. Shawn Henderson (28:47.084) Yeah, and I think the best thing that I tell my staff is, it's completely fine if you use the words, I think it would be best if we engage Mr. H in this conversation. That's me, Mr. H, sorry. And it doesn't mean that you have not done your job. It just means that it's okay understanding that maybe the thing that you're working through, the parent conversation that's turning negative, of course it may not go well. That's just part of human nature. Then my boss tries to do that for me if a parent says, something to me and it's okay for me to say, k would be best if we en in this. And I understand trust there. But when we are about human interaction, opportunity that things d that's okay. Um, and we c and think one of the wa our staff is to tell them through a situation that's to say, I'd really like to in this conversation beca That kind of allows them an out, but it's then now they have someone else to work through again to get a positive outcome. Rick Sola (29:56.392) And that's a really good tool to give your teachers. Sometimes they don't know how to get out of a conversation they feel is going south and maybe then it gets derailed. But to be able to go to, know, I just think it'd be good to involve our principal. I think that's a really good tool just to have in their toolbox. Well, Sean, you have shared a lot and you've referenced a lot of really not just great things, but great people out at Hays. This is an opportunity. It's a state podcast here to brag on. your people that you get to be with every day and the people of the Hays community. Shawn Henderson (30:29.612) Yeah, I mean, the thing that I, and I can't not talk about a brand new school. It's too real because it's right here. what it takes to take a school and move next door into a brand new building that is just an incredible amount of work for our staff. Their level of dedication, their level of care and support and endless hours to make sure that things are the best for our kids is incredible. The timeline, of course, like all projects, got real compressed at the end. Our teachers had to put in tremendous amount of energy and effort. to get the school year re what educators do. They didn't want the kids to kind have not quite ready for you exp we're gonna open this do and we're gonna make it h Ron Wilson has done a gre pace and saying we're go our people, it's the rig I've just been so incredi how hard our people in ou and worked through everything's a first. We never had a home football game. We always played at Fort Hayes, so we had a first football game. We just built a softball stadium. We've always played off-site. We've never hosted a track meet. We didn't have our own auditorium inside the building. Everything is a first, which is exciting, but it means there's a lot of infrastructure that goes with it. And so, yeah, I'm just really, really, really, really proud of our team and the incredible work that they've done. to make this place a home so quickly. Rick Sola (32:14.099) And everything you just described, the way you articulated your first football, home football game, and softball and so forth, what a great sense of community pride. You have a brand new, I haven't seen it, I'm sure it's a beautiful building that the community gets to see and be a part of, and to be able to see the evolution that led to that. And then now you've got a middle school, it sounds like, that's being renovated a little bit, and they're moving in. awesome for communities to be able to go through. So congratulations to you and your people out there for getting through it and getting through all the, you you open the doors, it's not like everything's magical and brand new, just like we saw earlier in this podcast, you know, some things will continue to come up. Shawn Henderson (32:58.966) Yeah, for sure. And you just take your team and you just face whatever's there coming at you. And again, our team is Becky Hickert, who's Assistant Principal Fred Winter, who's another Assistant Principal, and Chris Dries, who is our Assistant Principal AD. And they've been helping lead this charge that has been substantial, but also super, super rewarding. Rick Sola (33:24.925) Well, awesome. Well, Sean, thanks for taking the time today and for coming back after some building needs that popped up. I appreciate your time. And I know it's a kind of a brief calm before we get back to the storm of the school year. But there's so many great things ahead, I'm sure. So all the best to you as you get started in 2026. Shawn Henderson (33:46.818) Thanks, you as well.

In this episode of KPA's Cool Coffee, host Rick Sola reflects on the new year and what a break means for the building principal. He discusses the challenges school principals face as they prepare for the second semester as well as new goals moving forward into the second half of the school year. Sola also highlights Cool Coffee as a platform for principals to connect, share insights, and support one another in their leadership roles. Check out the entire Cool Coffee archive for personal and professional growth! Contact the host: [email protected] or [email protected]   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   Provide Cool Coffee feedback! Click HERE to share thoughts and suggestions--including guests to have on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: [email protected] or [email protected]

Episode Summary In this conversation, Cool Coffee host, Rick Sola, interviews Courtney Domoney, the principal of the upcoming Wolf Springs Middle School in Blue Valley School District. They discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of opening a new school, including the importance of building a strong team, creating a welcoming culture, and engaging with the community. Courtney shares her journey in education, her vision for the new school, and the significance of the 'runway year' she has to prepare for the opening in August 2026. Connect with the guest:  Email: [email protected] Website: https://wsm.bluevalleyk12.org/ Find more episodes like this one at https://coolcoffee.podbean.com or at your favorite podcasting platform.  Chapters (timestamps do not account for intro music) 00:00 Introduction to Wolf Springs Middle School 05:43 The Journey to Principalship 11:44 The Runway Year: Preparing for Opening 14:14 Staffing and Building the Team 19:26 Creating a Welcoming Culture 24:59 Anticipating Challenges in a New School 31:01 Holiday Reflections and Community Connections The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: [email protected], or [email protected]   Full Transcript (timestamps do not account for intro) Rick Sola (00:01.762) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee. I'm here today with Mrs. Courtney Domoney from Blue Valley School District, USD 229 and the principal of the yet to be Wolf Springs Middle School opening August, 2026. Welcome Courtney. Courtney Domoney (00:40.44) Hi, I'm glad to be here. Thanks for having me. Rick Sola (00:42.806) Yeah, of course. And I'm excited to have a conversation here in December. We're recording this December 3rd, 2025, and your building will open August of 2026. so and it's interesting as we're talking and I see the board behind you with so many different notes and thoughts and things to remember that we'll get to, I'm sure. But really an exciting time. And so before we get into that, just a reminder to listeners, please Give the show a follow, give it a like, and help share the stories from our amazing principals here in this great state of Kansas, and help invest in our collective growth in this wonderful principal profession. And Courtney, I'm super excited to talk to you about this. First of all, you're right down the road for me in Blue Valley, but opening up a brand new middle school, what an adventure. What do you, what'd you do today? Courtney Domoney (01:41.868) To date, so this year is very different for me and I'm sure we'll talk about that, but I'm actually not in a building, have been a building principal before, but this year I'm at district office and was given this year as kind of a runway year to prepare for the school. And as August got started, I was like, what am I gonna do? But every day has just, know, progress has been made and gotten so much busier. So today I was at a meeting with all district administrators, just kind of a December update. something that we regularly do. I then actually went out to the school site and gave a tour to a parent who is on my parent advisory committee and wasn't able to join our last parent advisory committee group. Came back, talked with one of our world language directors or coordinators because we have a Chinese immersion program that'll be moving to our new school and we kind of had a pre-discussion about staffing for that program so that we can make sure to be out front of that. And gosh, just, every day has been so different and it's kind of like ping pong all day long. Rick Sola (02:48.3) So, okay, so, simple question, what'd you do today? And now I've got like 50 new questions and we're like knee deep already. And I guess let's start at the basics. What is your mascot going to Courtney Domoney (02:52.782) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (03:04.206) We are the Coyote. And that, what's think unique about this school opening, there has not been a new middle school in Blue Valley since 2011. And since that time, there have been two elementary schools that have opened. And so for this opening, something that's different than the most recent schools is the mascot, the school colors and the name have already been defined and were. a year ago, January. So it was really important to the committee of people that were building this school from the ground up that we had an identity from the get-go. And so there was a student group two years ago from two different middle schools, one of which I was principal at at the time, that got to provide input on various facets of the building with the architecture team prior to the breaking of ground. And one of the pieces they actually got to to give feedback at the end of that process was in mascots. so coyotes are native to Kansas. Wolf Springs Middle School, our school, is near Coffee Creek and the coyote was a mascot that, you know, a coyote had been, you know, again in this area. But also there are no other coyotes, so it's unique to our district and we get to be the first coyotes. Rick Sola (04:24.182) Yeah, love and I love that you call it coyote because I've heard people say coyote and I get corrected in my own household. And so is that going to be a thing? You know, really get into the important details of opening a school. Courtney Domoney (04:29.555) Yes. Yeah. Courtney Domoney (04:35.187) Yeah, the important details first. So actually, I've just decided, because I figured I could, that we're the coyotes, but my assistant principal has already been named and he has coined the term go-yotes. So I feel like that kind of speaks to the coyote pronunciation, but we think the kids will think that's cool and I could see it on a t-shirt. Rick Sola (04:55.586) Yeah. Go Yotes. That is cool, for me it's coyote. but yeah, that's awesome. It's funny because I did see that. Like, there's some pronunciations there. So what colors did they decide to go with? Courtney Domoney (05:01.879) Right, it's... Courtney Domoney (05:10.047) So our colors also were designed and unveiled just recently, but there are different shades of blues and teals, not primary colors. They actually kind of remind me of, you're familiar with the Kansas City area, the KC Current colors. There's teal and navy. We have fancy names for them because of the making sure we get the colors correct, but there's no red unlike the KC Current. But the students so far that have had a chance to see them, the colors were selected. and chosen to be unique, to be exciting to kids. And the staff members we have, they're excited about them as well. But teals, navies, grays. So we're not, it will be a little different. I think that brings up a good like school function thing. A lot of schools have one or two school colors. We have a panel of six. Chartreuse is actually one of them. So kind of that lime green color too. Rick Sola (06:03.638) Okay. Courtney Domoney (06:04.593) and we're gonna have a great palette from which to choose to really get our brand out there and some spirit wear. The building itself on the interior will eventually have some massive graphics that really have that brand out near forefront on walls and stairwells, things like that. Rick Sola (06:25.164) Yeah, you'll have a lot of fun with the spirit wear aspect, a lot of options, I'm sure. So I guess going back even further, and we'll start with your road to the chair and everything that's led you up to where you're at today and you've been principal before, but your road in education, where did it start and we'll get to where it's taken you. Courtney Domoney (06:29.812) Yeah. Yeah. Courtney Domoney (06:37.324) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (06:46.751) Yeah, I went to college in Kansas at KU and actually was a French education major. I wanted to be a French teacher. I had a great French teacher in high school. from the Wichita area and studied abroad in college, got engaged in college in France and really just saw myself only being a French teacher. was my dream job. My first job ever was in the Blue Valley School District and I've never left. So this is my 21st year in Blue Valley and my 21st year in education. Throughout, once I started teaching, my first job were three years in middle school here in Blue Valley. And I really ultimately wanted to be a high school French teacher and got that opportunity after my first three years of teaching and then... was at one of the high schools here in our district and I was there for five and a half years. finishing my master's, you know, early on in my teaching career. The first time I, my first master's degree was in curriculum and instruction and I just kind of did that to move over on the pay scale. know, teachers are used to doing that, but I kept thinking, like, I felt this urge to want to do a little bit more and so I got an ESOL endorsement at one point. Started thinking about considering a gifted education certification as well and it was actually when I was teaching and had had both of my kids who are in high school now, I had an opportunity to become a department chair. And you know, as fast as my career had moved and you know, growing family leadership in school wasn't something that I had really been part of. I had sponsored clubs and done extracurricular activities as a teacher, but I had an opportunity to... Courtney Domoney (08:31.283) interview for a department chair position, world language department chair at the high school I was working at, and got that position and... It almost like clicked instantly for me. All of a sudden, I realized how much I liked seeing how decisions were made at the building level. I liked hearing, you know, the principal describe various problems that we were going to be solving or goals that we were going to be working towards and seeing how a group of people could provide input and help make those decisions happen. And so pretty shortly after becoming the department chair at the high school I was working at, my principal one day said to me, and I still remember it, he said, I think you'd be a good administrator if you ever wanted to be. And I literally had never thought about it. However, as a high school and college student, leadership was a really big part of my life growing up. Just as a teacher, I never really thought about more than teaching because that was what I'd wanted to be when I grew up. And I thought, there's no way that I can go get another master's degree. You know, we had two young kids at the time and I thought that's a financial, you know, burden to take on to think about going back to school. But I mentioned it to my husband and he was incredibly supportive and I only looked at Baker University because that was where a lot of educators and administrators I knew had attended and just, the bell got rolling really quickly. So my path to from starting Baker to finishing Baker was pretty quick and actually in the middle of my sixth year at the high school, my gosh. ninth year of teaching, there was an opportunity to become an administrative intern in the district and it was in the middle of the school year, which felt really risky. But I went ahead and went for it, took it and left my classroom after winter break to become an intern at a different high school in the district. Courtney Domoney (10:27.937) that really, it was really difficult at first because going from your French classroom where you really don't have lot of behaviors, everybody's choosing to be in that elective class, you know, it was such a fun job. Loved my students, had a chance to have them, you know, all four years in high school or for three years in middle school, both of those, you know, time periods to all of a sudden, you know, not really knowing anything about being a principal except I passed the test and I took all of the classes and having to talk about behavior for the first time, call parents with discipline issues were not things that were part of my teaching life. But I was, you I learned a ton and was actually given the opportunity to be an administrative intern in three different schools, two middle schools and a high school in a year and a half. And then I landed at a middle school in Blue Valley as an assistant. Because I've only been in our district for my whole career, I've actually worked at eight or nine different schools during that time, mostly as my administrative path continued. But I ended up being principal at Oxford Middle School for the last six years until now. Rick Sola (11:33.196) Mm-hmm. Rick Sola (11:39.779) Wow. You mentioned a principal tapped you on the shoulder and just kind of made a comment. as I think of that, because I'm in year 22, so we're very similar, and Baker, so we have some overlap actually, but I think about that and it's kind of like when you're a teacher and it's oftentimes the things you don't think about that have made an impact on a student. I wonder if that principal was very intentional about that or if it was just a comment that Courtney Domoney (11:45.079) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (11:50.381) Yeah. Rick Sola (12:07.928) was like, hey, I recognize this in you, because I hear so many times where people share a similar story where they were discovered first, they were told first by somebody else, they never considered it, and it kind of sparked something. And it's amazing to think about, yeah, what kind of impact we can have and now be in year 21, 22 in the profession. Yeah, it kind of makes you reflect on like, I wonder if there's been a comment that I've made. Hopefully they've been positive and left a impact. Courtney Domoney (12:20.703) Yeah, it was life-changing. Courtney Domoney (12:29.154) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (12:35.595) And I hope so, right? But yeah, think thinking about it in that regard, know teachers I've worked with that have become administrators or are pursuing that path, but I'm not certain if any of it had anything to do with comments I've made, but I know that it made a difference for me. Rick Sola (12:50.764) Yeah. So you are, you're now, I love that you called it the runway year. I don't know. I've never heard it called that. I think it's like a perfect analogy of where you're at right now. and most of us in the principal chair have, have not, and are not going through what you've gone through. So you were named, when were you named the principal of Wolf Springs? Okay. Courtney Domoney (13:14.965) last January. So I applied for the position around mid-November of last year was when it opened up. And then did not interview though until January was posted. This time of year we've got Thanksgiving and winter break and all of those things. So I interviewed actually on a snow day. I asked, can I still come in? Because interviewing is something that you prepare for and I was ready to go. So I interviewed and then was named in January of last year. Rick Sola (13:46.859) And so you shared a little bit of where you're at and it's interesting to hear just picking a day randomly today and hearing all that you're doing. like, what was your first order of business? You're named, congratulations, you're the new principal. Here you go. What's your first step at that point? Courtney Domoney (13:54.306) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (14:06.378) So for, you know, I finished the semester as principal at my former middle school and I realized really quickly because again, not all principals that open up new schools are given this runway year, but our district had learned the last time or two with elementary is that that was incredibly helpful. And I realized right away, thank goodness I had that time because second semester in a middle school or any school level for that matter is crazy. You have enrollment, you have, you know, you're planning for the upcoming year, you've got hiring, you just have so many end of the year events. so probably the first Wolf Springs thing that I really had an opportunity to be part of was the selection and the identification of the assistant principal for this school. Our district decided to again do something unique with this in identifying an assistant principal for this year who's actually So our school is being built like many are to alleviate the size of another middle school that's been very large for some time. So in the southern part of our district, that's where the growth has been. And so I was able to be part of the interview process and help select the assistant principal who this year is a second assistant. And in our district, our middle schools only have a head principal and one assistant. And so he's a second assistant at this school, which is large enough to necessitate that extra support. But He will then come and be my assistant principal. His name is Chris Huggard. He's amazing. Next year at Wolf Springs. And so this year he's working at the school that, you know, the students who will come to us, a lot of the staff who will eventually be Wolf Springs staff will all come over and have that relationship with him. So that was that was the first order of business. Rick Sola (15:53.081) Yeah, and that's great for him and you that he's working side by side with many of the students that will be with you next year. Courtney Domoney (16:00.306) Exactly. Rick Sola (16:02.146) So, you know, aside from you mentioned what today looked like in a very, you know, a very a lot of variety in the day. But what's kind of what's the pressing topic right now? It's December. You're nine months or eight months away from opening. What's kind of got you occupied the most right now? Courtney Domoney (16:06.74) Yeah. Sure. Courtney Domoney (16:22.892) I would say right now staffing is the biggest piece that I'm focused on and our district is as well. Just in November, we finalized our vision team is what we're calling it, but really a small group, a small leadership team of staff who are what are considered now early hires for Wolf Springs for next year. All of them happen to be educators in our district currently, but at other schools. And so we went through interview process, interviewed many candidates, amazing people that you know were interested in coming, leading, and helping to open a new school. And so we have now had an opportunity to meet twice. You know we're trying to find days where they we could potentially get some coverage as well as some after-school time to really start you know getting to know each other. One thing that I'll, this doesn't necessarily answer the whole staffing piece, but an interesting thing, again, with this building project is the architecture firm has a strand that is called the Bold Team Bridging Organization Learning and Design. And they have a team that includes a former school superintendent. And the hope is, you know, with new schools, There are spaces that will look different, feel different, and they are providing professional learning to our team and eventually at some point the whole staff so that we understand and can think about how can we really use this new space to enhance student learning and not just always assume to do the things we've always done instructionally. You know, if we have small breakout rooms, if our furniture may be different or arranged in different places, that that's really done in partnership and intentionally by the bold team and the architecture firm that designed the building. And so that's really using this new, this vision team, this leadership team to help then eventually welcome the whole new staff in and have people that have had a chance to really take part in those workshops and those conversations. Courtney Domoney (18:31.028) That's something that we've just been recently engaged in. As it will be January here in just a few weeks, we will start the staffing process for the school. so. because again, Wolf Springs is opening because another middle school has been so large for so long. There's a process by which staff will have a chance to select or be identified to go to the new school. And we're getting ready to start that, looking at projections of enrollment, which is earlier. I'm thinking in your district as well, it's probably, you're not quite ready to think about enrollment, but. We've got a lot of details to consider to make sure we're bringing over people that we know what jobs that they'll be fulfilling, looking at certification and all kinds of things like that. Rick Sola (19:19.33) Yeah, there is a lot there and we hear oftentimes in any kind of either business or school establishment the analogy of family and I've always liked that because you can't pick your family, you work together through thick and thin, all those things. But in this case, you are picking your family a little bit, you get a hire. so talk a little bit about what does that, I guess, balance look like? mean, what's really great is you've got a Courtney Domoney (19:38.997) Great. Rick Sola (19:48.671) a vision for a brand new school with new features and you can speak to that and really be thinking about that as you're selecting people, but there's still kind of the balance of, you know, just the way personalities mesh together and that sort of thing. And have you thought much about that or is that are you at that point yet? Courtney Domoney (20:06.582) Yeah. Definitely, you know, when I think about the opportunity to open a new building is a once in a career opportunity, but I know that it will only be, the school will only be as good as the people and the culture that we create. And so obviously our students are not yet in the building, the staff isn't either, but. the our assistant principal, we were really intentional about selecting the people that we selected and also thinking about just the breakdown of your certified staff. And I wanted to make sure that I have somebody from each grade level that we have sixth, seventh and eighth grade. We chose an elective teacher because that's a big part of the middle school life and a big chunk of your staff, honestly, a librarian, because, you know, hopefully that's that's a program in a place that connects all of all of the experiences that your kids have in various classes, a special education teacher just to help make sure that we're thinking about student and staff needs, all the aspects that go into making sure that our students receive the services that they provide. There are six of us, so I'm like, who's the sixth? Okay, sixth, seventh, eighth, library, special education, elective, that's it. And so, like you said, building that family, that's something I'm super passionate about is making sure that we are prepared and that we create a vision together to then take care of and welcome our staff once that identification process begins. You know, there's... Courtney Domoney (21:41.226) Change can be hard. It is really exciting. And I think there's going to be lots of people that just can't wait to come. But there are some people that will be educators for us that were pretty comfortable where they were. And just by the nature of making sure that we have enough staff members to fill our building. And I want to make sure that we can take care of and really welcome and support all of our staff as they come over. So it's definitely a balance of, you know, like you just said, the understanding of and the vision for the building design and what it can do for student learning, but then also making sure that we've created a culture where people are supported, inspired, and we spend more time at work typically than we do at our own homes at times. And so that's something that we're already thinking of. Rick Sola (22:33.196) Yeah, no, that's like you said, it's a once in a career opportunity and just really, really pretty special, you know, that. That building will be there a long, long time and you get to be the first principal of that building. And that's really cool. You mentioned enrollment in spring. And like you said, it does kind of creep up because I always want to get like our numbers as soon as we can possibly get our numbers. But it can only happen on a certain timeline. thinking about enrollment, you get your numbers, but you oftentimes with enrollment there, especially first time middle school parents, which you'll have, you know, there's kind of some. Courtney Domoney (22:45.596) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (22:57.28) Yes. Right. Rick Sola (23:12.92) aspect of either welcoming them or even prior to the school year. So what or is that going to look like with spring once you kind of get enrollment? Do you have any availability to be able to do a meet and greet that early or is it is that even on the radar? Courtney Domoney (23:30.644) So one thing that we've already done, I've worked with our district communications team and we have created quarterly videos to be able to show families what the building is looking like. And that I think has been really positively received because you can only drive by and see so much. right now it's a construction site and you can't really drive in because it's a mud pit after all the rain and snow that we've had. So that's been a way using social media to connect and highlight, you know, right now it looks like this, we have, you know, really creative people that have been able to show renderings and what the building is going to look like and different things like that. So that's been one way to engage with the community. You know, I think in a lot of schools, especially the beginning of middle school is such a jump from elementary for students and their families. And so with our fifth graders, we have already identified an enrollment night, which is something that's a practice here. But what we can't do is have it at our school. And so we really thought long and hard. There's an one of the elementaries that will be our feeder is right on site with the middle school. But we felt like that might not be as welcoming to families from the other elementary feeder. And so we're actually going to have it at Blue Valley Southwest High School. You know, we wanted to create a neutral place, but a place that also made sense just for the community. And so we are looking forward to doing that. Want to have our vision team, those teacher leaders be present and so that, you know, they'll see that we're starting to create our staff and building that excitement and support for kids. What we are hoping is... that over the summer, once we're able to be in the building, we're really wanting to do meet and greets and invite families in. We are looking to create later this year, probably like April, May, to help identify student ambassadors that we know will be middle school students coming to be leaders at the new school and have them help actually lead some of those tours and just get people excited and get... Courtney Domoney (25:35.74) get in the building when we can so that it's not, we don't, we certainly don't want the very first time that our students or families enter the building to be on August 13th. Rick Sola (25:45.293) Very cool. You mentioned summer. When do you expect to be able to like actually work out of the building? I know there'll be there'll be odds and ends probably up through August 13th. But when do you expect to get your office and kind of do some work inside? Courtney Domoney (25:54.464) rate. Courtney Domoney (26:01.787) So I've learned a lot about construction for someone who's never built a home and there are phases to the release of the building and the front office will be the last part to be built because they want to get the classrooms ready, right? That's where we need to make sure that all the technology and HVAC and plumbing that people are going to be in most of the time is really, really ready. so classrooms will be actually released in April, but the front office will not get released. until June 12th. Rick Sola (26:33.376) Wow, okay. makes sense the way to hear you explain it, but like that is not what I would have expected, I guess, when thinking through that. Courtney Domoney (26:36.808) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (26:41.127) Yeah, it was interesting. I was over at the school today and one of the awesome people from Macowan Gordon, who's the construction firm that's out there every day, he was explaining that to me and he just said, there's just so many more things in the classroom spaces that we have to make sure are prepared. So for example, those will be ready in mid April. The gyms that are very large spaces and a lot happens in there have less of the constraints that classrooms do, fewer, you know, pieces of technology. Etc. And so the gyms will also be after classrooms. But yeah, June 12th is when the office will be ready. And so the city will not release the building to be worked in to answer your question until June 12th of this summer. Yes, there's a roof. covered. Almost every single window is installed now. Rick Sola (27:23.961) Is there a roof on it yet? Is it covered? It is. Okay. That's good. Courtney Domoney (27:32.339) And I mean, the progress is taking place or is happening very quickly. Every time I go out, which is usually one to two times a week, you know, they're starting to paint various parts of some classrooms and just different things like that. So it's really fun to see it come along. Rick Sola (27:48.973) That's what's always struck me with such a large project. You have the rooms that are painted and finished, and then you've got an office that has like they're still in studs and they're not even doing anything. Yeah. No, that's great. You know, you've probably encountered lots of challenges already. What are some of the challenges that you're you're trying to anticipate? You know, I think there's always that sense of like, you know, Courtney Domoney (27:55.87) Yeah, yeah, the office is just the steel beams right now. Rick Sola (28:14.552) of what I don't know is, you the concern of what I don't know, but what are you trying to anticipate and get ahead of and challenges, maybe talking with others who have been through this? Courtney Domoney (28:22.943) You know, so I think there's a logistical part to any project. And I feel like I've kind of just accepted that, you know, there may be a few things on day one or even month one that aren't quite what we wanted or that we uncover, you know, an error or an issue somewhere physically within the building. And I just know that that's gonna get taken care of. You know, I have visited a school in Lee's Summit recently that... that opened in the last year or two. And she talked about on the first day of school realizing when it was time for the Pledge of Allegiance, they didn't have flags, stuff like that. So I feel like those are small things. Those are things that will take up some of our time and efforts. But honestly, kind of going back to the creation of our vision team and the hiring process, really wanting to... Rick Sola (28:59.672) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (29:13.651) take care of the people moving to a new school, whether that be student or it's really students and staff. in our district, in this portion of our district, that's where the growth has been in the last, you know, 10, 15 years. And so we will have students who have moved elementary schools twice and now have to move a middle school within that time. And families who have been through multiple school transitions based on the growth and new buildings being built. And so that's really what I won't say it keeps me up at night, because I know we're going to, you know, wrap around these families and these kids. But making sure that they feel welcomed, that they feel excited, and that they feel like this school is theirs. That to me is the most pressing issue. so ways to wrap around that, I have a student advisory committee at both of the elementary feeders. I've met with a middle school student advisory committee and I have a parent advisory group. And so we'll meet five times each group probably this year. I've already met with both all of those groups twice and gotten really good feedback. One of those things being actually our parents said we want the kids to feel like they're all new next year. A lot of times in a middle school you focus on just your new students, which is maybe a smaller group, but your sixth graders, for example. You you make that a big deal because the beginning of middle school is such a transition. And so we are planning to host a kind of a camp in August for all students to come. and have building tours and go through activities. And that's something that sometimes just sixth grade students have had an opportunity to participate in. And so I think the problems are just wanting people to be excited about school, because we love school, we're educators. But then making plans and getting people involved so that we can make sure it happens. Rick Sola (31:16.396) Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the whole like new middle school because you're right. You've got some families that have been maybe they're on their third or fourth child who's gone through other middle school and now their boundary is sending them to the new and it's easy to be excited. It's a brand new building bells and whistles all these things. But for some people it's no you're taking me from I can't go to where my the rest of the family have attended. And so there's a little bit of that. Courtney Domoney (31:30.281) Yeah. Yeah. Courtney Domoney (31:41.097) rate. Rick Sola (31:42.838) And so that is a reality anytime there's a new building, because yeah, you're right. That's something to keep in mind. Courtney Domoney (31:48.585) Well, and so for some of our middle schoolers, our sixth and seventh graders this year who will be seventh and eighth graders, some of their friends are not going to go to the new middle school. You they'll all end up at the same high school in our feeder pattern. So, you know, that's comforting. so having to be really intentional about creating relationships with all students. And I thought our parents gave great feedback. Treat all of the kids like new students next year. And so that's that's what we're starting kind of in the early stages of planning that. Rick Sola (32:15.394) Well, that's great. It sounds like you have lot of different voices that are really positive and productive to be able to kind of help steer some things. And I don't know if you want to speak too much about it, but as I'm seeing you here, this is obviously an audio podcast only, but you've got a board behind you with all sorts of, just looks like, I mean, there's a lot of thoughts up there. What's going on behind you there? Courtney Domoney (32:37.662) There are, yeah. So this, says welcome to Wolf Springs. So the very first day I moved into this office, I wrote that because that I was kind of like, what do I do? You know, I had to figure out everything with lots and lots of support, but at the end of the day, I needed to make sure that my mind was wrapped around it correctly. But we actually have a new strategic plan this year. So our district has a strategic plan that was brand new this year. And I made sure to write down our three priorities. for that so that I can make sure as we are making decisions that it aligns to what our district sees for the entire school district. And then I started thinking about questions that I would want to ask students, parents, and our vision team as we started to get to know them. But I've definitely had just transition on my mind. so like questions I wanted to ask students were, you know, what is something you love about your current school that you would want to take to the new school? Another, but on the flip side, there an idea that you have that you wish that your current school did that we could think about? Parents, I asked, know, if you, for those of you who have been through multiple new schools, If you had a great transition, awesome, but if there was something that would make it better, what might that be? And being able to share all of that within our vision team and starting to work together, and again, we've only met a few times, but how can we put some of these hopes, wishes, and dreams into action? Rick Sola (34:14.36) Yeah, I imagine there's probably new thoughts and ideas that just kind of fire at random. I don't know if you carry a notepad with you or it's in your phone or whatever it is, but I can imagine. No, it's really cool. I wish it could be seen because it just looks like a really good thought board. And I love that. I don't know. To me, that there's some humor in the fact that if you walk in, it's an empty office, a blank board and well, welcome to Wolf Springs. And then, you know, well, here we go. You know, it just. Courtney Domoney (34:21.534) Yeah. Yeah. Courtney Domoney (34:41.148) Yeah, here we go. Rick Sola (34:43.16) Well, it's going to be awesome and all the best to you in the coming months. And I'm sure it probably feels a distance away, but it'll be here also very, very quickly. things, you just like in the schools, you get into the springtime and things move so quickly, and as I'm sure it will for you as well. You know, we are recording this, I mentioned on December 3rd and We're headed into the holidays and so just a little fun, a little trivia for you before I give you a chance to brag on all the people out in Blue Valley. what is your Mount Rushmore of Christmas movies, holiday movies? Courtney Domoney (35:27.08) So that's a tough question because I mean so many experiences that I love in life wrap around this time of year because of the things I get to do or you know did growing up or with my family now but every year on Christmas Eve my husband and my two daughters and I we watch It's a Wonderful Life and so we know that you know before we go to bed that that's something that we're going to watch together and we can quote all the lines but that that is my that is my Mount Rushmore of holiday movies. Rick Sola (35:55.789) Yeah, that is a good one. I think I asked this this time last year and I speak in with Melissa Evans out in Hutchison and we ended up going into a debate on whether Die Hard was a Christmas movie, think, too, because there's that that whole. Courtney Domoney (36:09.512) My husband would say it is, but for me, I did not grow up with that and I didn't grow up with a brother even and so Die Hard is not one of my Christmas movies, but he likes it. Rick Sola (36:14.189) haha Rick Sola (36:20.512) I think there's an argument to be made either way. tend to argue, I go toward Rocky IV. I'm a big Rocky fan. Rocky IV is a Christmas movie if Die Hard is a movie, because they fought on Christmas Day. I'm totally, I mean, I tend to, It's a Wonderful Life is really a good one. I enjoy Christmas Story quite a bit and Christmas Vacation. Those are automatics. They have to be watched. I've already seen, I've seen Christmas Vacation already this year. Elf is really, Courtney Domoney (36:30.59) How about for you, what's yours? Courtney Domoney (36:43.922) You have to watch him. Rick Sola (36:49.804) funny. There's a lot. That's a hard one. yeah, I try to stay kind of in that ballpark there, I guess, for the... I think I'm probably missing some, but... No, so you've been in Blue Valley your entire career. You've been in, you said, at least eight different schools, nine different schools. You've worked with a lot of great people, I'm sure. This is a chance. Brag on Blue Valley and the people of or future people of Wolf Springs. Courtney Domoney (36:58.1) Yeah. Yeah. Courtney Domoney (37:10.111) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (37:19.146) I have just been incredibly fortunate to have had the career that I have had up to this point and you know the career I'm looking forward to and it's always been because of the people that I've been surrounded with so every principal that I had as a teacher who actually both of them are no longer in the district and have moved to other districts really got me to where I am today. then as an administrator, principals that really helped me, Chris Leglider would be one. And he, I was his assistant for two years. And then we were co-assistant principals before he was my boss for a year as well. But just having the opportunity to work with him and, you know, see how he did things at the beginning of my career was really foundational to, you know, getting me feel like I was prepared to lead professional learning, to tackle challenges and remain calm. That would be something. My boss, Shelly Nielsen, was a principal at one time and she's an executive director of school administration. She is someone that always calls you back even you, you know, she happens to be on the phone or be busy or dealing with, you know, a different building and those issues. It always amazed me as a building principal how responsive she was, how caring and genuine she was. And then I've had a chance to work with her more closely this year being at district office and working on a few different projects and getting to work a little bit more alongside her, how, you know, she makes sure that everybody really feels taken, taken care of. And then just all of my middle school colleague, principal friends in the district. Courtney Domoney (38:57.874) Well, I'm number 10 now, so I'll be the 10th middle school. But it's great to have colleagues that you feel like, okay, if I'm dealing with an issue, even if I know it's gonna be hard, I just need to hear someone kind of let me vent or talk me through it or give me a couple words to get started. I could call any of them. I think what makes great principals is having great people around you that you can lean on for support when needed. And I've just always been so fortunate to have that in Blue Valley. and hopefully that I can do that for others as well. Rick Sola (39:31.8) That's really great. And you mentioned a lot of names there. Chris Leglider, friend of the show. He was on here last year. you know, and I think everything you mentioned, you both within the district and then even outside, like you and I met at Elevate, the Elevate II cohort that we're in together. And, you know, that's part of the value of the KPA and just the networking of all that we can learn from each other. And I really appreciate you taking the time. Courtney Domoney (39:35.945) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (39:45.823) Yeah. Rick Sola (40:00.522) at a really busy time, but to share just a little bit of insight about opening a building, because it is unique, but it's always kind of fascinated me. And there's so much, I think we just scratched the surface. I'm sure there's so, so much that you're about to embark on and already embarking on, but it looks like you're well on your way. Courtney Domoney (40:10.57) I Courtney Domoney (40:19.422) Something I think I've thought a lot this semester as the pace has just picked up so much is really like everything is figureoutable. I think that's a t-shirt or something somewhere. But I do know that while it's all new, while it's bringing a bunch of different people together, if you can keep your focus on taking care of your people and your students, everything is figureoutable and we're going to do great things. Rick Sola (40:41.73) Yeah, that's great. It'll fall into place. You've got the family around you and it'll all fall into place. Well Courtney, thank you so much for the time and I really do appreciate it and all the best to you. I look forward to hearing more about it as the year progresses and as you get closer to August and kicking it Courtney Domoney (40:47.677) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (41:01.128) Yes, thanks for having me and I hope that we get a chance to connect again soon and that anybody that listens, if they ever want to reach out to me and hear some crazy stories about how it's going, that would be fun too. Rick Sola (41:13.61) Awesome. your information, contact information will be in the show notes. So check that out. But Courtney, a great rest of the year and enjoy the holidays and we'll talk to you soon. Courtney Domoney (41:24.971) All right, same to you. Thanks, Rick.    

(part 2 of 2) In this episode of "Cool Coffee," host Rick Sola moderates a panel of four principals from Kansas, discussing their journeys into administration and the challenges they face. The panelists, including principals Midge Simmons, Dr. Jenny Woolever, Robert Cave, and Travis Rogers, share personal stories about their motivations for becoming administrators, the importance of authenticity and trust in leadership, and strategies for managing school culture and crises. They also offer advice to aspiring administrators, emphasizing the value of networking, being authentic, and taking risks. Questions to the panel came from Baker University Fall 2025 cohort of future administrators. This is part 2 of a 2 part episode. Part 1 (CC#105) dropped on November 20, 2025. Connect with the panel... Principal Midge Simmons - Grandview Elementary--El Dorado Schools USD490 Connect with Mrs. Simmons on X Principal Dr. Jenny Woolever - Washington Elementary - Olathe Schools USD233 Connect with Dr. Woolever on X Assistant Principal Robert Cave - Piper High School - Piper Schools USD203 Connect with Mr. Cave on X Principal Travis Rogers - Wichita South High School - Wichita USD259 Connect with Mr. Rogers on X     The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]   Episode TRANSCRIPT (AI generated, continues from the end of CC#105-part 1) Rick Sola (29:25.312) what organizational methods or systems do you have for staying on top of all of the to-dos that you have and that you never complete at the end of any given day? Jenny Woolever (29:36.985) I've had to learn that my to-do list is always a to-do list. I used to be able to get to-do list done. Yeah, you don't in this role. It is always there. You add to it, you bump things up depending on what's the need and sometimes you can't even get to the to-do list so you have to be able to accept that going in. That was probably something I really had to learn my first few years. I have had an opportunity within my 13 years I have been in different districts and also different buildings. And so each building I found success in, first I understand what everybody's role is. So when I visit with the secretary before the school year starts, or I visit with assistant principals, maybe that's the counselors, I have them really define their role. So that way when we have the start of the year, we have our names and we know who they can go to for what. That really helps eliminate some of that, them going to you to ask, well, who does this? It's already in that plan. So I always kind of recommend. empowering others, but also we have some clear plans in place ahead of time. And many a times we're working together anyways, but it's just nice to have that process already thought out. The other thing I recommend is a lot of committees with my, you know, sitting, we'll kind of talk about climate and culture, but having a social committee or during PLCs at the end of that, I always go back to, okay, let's review what everybody is doing. So it doesn't just fall on one person. you're going to send this email? Great. I'm going to contact the parent? Great. TR Travis Rogers (30:44.419) you Jenny Woolever (31:02.388) That just really helps come together. And the last bit of advice I had on there that I marked was, in passing as principals, we're always going through the hallways. Someone will be talking to me about something. My go-to is, thank you for telling me. Be sure to email me that so I don't forget. Because there's a million things going on in our mind, and I was already going to do something else, and I couldn't recall. So then at the end of the day, I kind of jot those down on that to-do list so I don't forget. And that's important to go back and don't forget. I'll even know if my response is late, I'll still get to it. It just is a way I keep track of everything. Rick Sola (31:36.96) That's great. Any other tips and tricks from the other three of you here? TR Travis Rogers (31:42.48) So we have Outlook email and so that schedule send and so when something's on your mind and you can schedule send it because you know it needs to come at a different time has been really helpful. And then the value of a great admin assistant. I have a great support staff here and so they have access to my calendar and we put protected times on there. And so if somebody's trying to find me but I'm in classrooms for that hour unless something's burning. I am not called, you know, and so really truly sitting down with your trusted folks and building trust with them so then they get a feel for you is in the sense of what's important to you and what's not what could be pushed back via email You know, it's truly just having good people around you and having them know what's important to you Robert Cave (32:35.406) Yeah, I can second the calendar part. That's, that's, you know. Rick Sola (32:35.617) Yeah. Robert Cave (32:38.67) I think what Jenny said to someone comes up to me, I say, send me an email right now. So I get to the top of my inbox so can see that that is definitely a tool I use for sure. But I also think having my calendar available and I, you know, have a counselor or someone needs, but even a student, can, you know, I'm the activities director at my school and I have a club president that wants to have a conversation and wants to plan something. I say, find a date this week, you know, when you have time and final on my calendar and make a calendar and I will accept it. And I, that's, I check my calendar. You know, every 30 minutes I'm like, okay, what's coming up next? What's the next thing on my agenda? What's the next thing coming up? Because you will find yourself pulled. I mean, I will walk from one end of my building to the other, and I will have seven different people need me, you know, from that end to that end. And I'm heading towards the next meeting on my calendar. So I always am checking to make sure, but I think the email is great, but also that calendar can be really helpful as well. Rick Sola (33:32.369) a good assistant cannot be overstated. And I've been in administration for 15 years and I currently have someone that is just incredible. what she does to help me be better at my job, I can't say enough about that and kind of the nail in the head from Travis there. Travis, I'm going to go to you here. What would you go back and tell? your brand new principal self. Now, if you could. Kind of a what do know now that you wish you knew then. TR Travis Rogers (34:09.433) That's a great question. I would definitely say to give yourself grace. My wife tells me often that I am too hard on myself and so seek mentorship, education, it's a small world. Like you said, Rick, we were all in the same room at some point last week and I had no idea. And so depending on your district and your size, you never know the people that have come before you and you don't know the people that will come after you. And so seek out, you don't have to know everything. And so really truly lean into the people around you and just celebrate the small wins and take time every day to be around kids. So even as a principal I have 1,700 students here at South High. There's lots of times where I'm just like you know what I need to go into a couple classrooms because I just need a break I need to see kids in action and that truly kind of kind of shifts my mindset from time to time. Rick Sola (35:07.852) That's great. Any other advice you'd give yourself? Midge Simmons (35:12.631) When I read the question, the first thing I thought of was networking. know, KPA in USA has been awesome. I mean, since COVID, I feel like it's just been incredible to be a part of. But I was a part of KPA years ago when I first started. I didn't get into it as much. And I just think the networking possibilities that you have through a program like that or, you know, here... Jenny, you're at elementary, Yeah. So we don't get some of the... You guys that are at secondary, your league meetings, you get to know some other principals, we don't get that at the elementary level. And that's always been a complaint I've had of being at the elementary level. And so if you don't put yourself out there to gain that networking and meet other people that are in the same profession as you, you don't get some of those people where I can pick up the phone and call. I barely know a lot of you on this panel right now, but I automatically feel right now I could probably call Jenny up tomorrow and ask her a question about what's going on. nurse goal and get some advice. know, it's important. That networking is so important. So important. Rick Sola (36:28.276) Yeah. I love that you brought that up because that's kind of been my experience. Sorry, Jenny. I hope I didn't cut you off. Jenny Woolever (36:28.596) Yeah. Jenny Woolever (36:33.862) No, I totally agree too. And I've been in both secondary and elementary and I really try to form that team in the elementary too. I may not have AP so it's my secretary, it could be my translator, it could be my nurse. We are the office team. Like we're in it together. I don't know what your role is or my role but we're all in it together. So really be thoughtful of that too. Sometimes you do have certain different resources and different individuals. Create that team for you too. Rick Sola (37:02.656) Yeah, I agree. think early on, I did not appreciate networking the way it just didn't. Maybe I was so busy with other things as an early administrator, but especially being part of the KPA. And just like we're sitting here, we're all in different parts of the state and having this conversation and being able to connect that way. It's really a big deal, I think. This next question, we'll start with Robert, but I love this question. It was stolen from a stolen, sounds terrible. was, it was brought in from the new heights podcasts, which is what was your welcome to the NFL moment? So Robert, what was your welcome to administration moment that you had as a first year administrator? Robert Cave (37:50.702) So I came into a situation where, you know, my first day of school, was my first year as an administrator. It was my school's first year with a new principal that came from the elementary world that was now coming to the high school. And it was a totally new district for me as well. So I was felt like I was just barely, you know, getting my feet wet when on the very first day we had an incident on a bus that I to take care of and that was throwing me completely into the fire, not only talking to a parent, but having a parent meeting on day one, you know, trying to navigate Skyward on day one and learn all about, you know, the systems of that, writing a suspension letter on day one and navigating all the legal ramifications of that. now, you know, that was just, luckily I had, like you guys said, a great support team around me to kind of help me do those things. But it was literally my first day with students as a principal. We had an incident that I had to call a parent, suspend a kid, you know, do all that stuff on day one. And that was really, you know, just throwing me right into the fire with all of those things happening. So, you know, it taught me a lot. It started the year off on an interesting note, but that was kind of my welcome to administration moment, whereas, you know, checking cameras, you know, doing all the things that you do, do the investigation, due process. all of those things and I was like, man, this is just my first day, you know, what is happening here. So, so that was pretty wild. Rick Sola (39:23.596) That sounds like a Baker scenario that I remember when I went through the classes up there. How do you respond with? Robert Cave (39:28.056) Yeah. Right. Yeah, exactly. know. Yeah, it was pretty textbook, unfortunately, from what they give you. Rick Sola (39:36.916) Yeah. So welcome to the administrator moment, Jenny. Jenny Woolever (39:42.962) It might happen before the school year actually even begun. We were needing a teacher and so I was interviewing and I was the only one in the building in the summer. As I was letting the teacher in, I realized I left my key card on the desk. So her and I were both locked into the entry for quite some time, and it was probably a good 90, 100 degree day. I ended up hiring her she was the best one, but it really let me see when things like this happen, how do you get to really know someone? And so it was kind of embarrassing, but I had to contact buildings and they let me in. But I thought, yeah, you really hired me as your admin, but I made up for it in the long run. But you just kind of have to laugh those off. And again, Everyone's gonna make mistakes, but that one I really told me, who are you again? I'm your new principal and I'm locked in the entry. But yeah, just gotta laugh it off, but it's still something I truly remember. Rick Sola (40:24.812) You Rick Sola (40:30.952) Awesome. Midge. Midge Simmons (40:34.497) for me, kind of a little bit along the lines of Robert is I can remember back on my first year having a very toxic parent who had gotten in the building. And I came from Garden City Schools as a teacher. And back then we did a lot with crisis and intruders and all of that. And the school I was at was not really up on that. So I immediately put the building in lockdown. And this had to have been within the first couple months that I was in the role. And needless to say, I was able to get the toxic parent to at least step outside the door. And as soon as that door latched, I knew right then, okay, we're all safe, we're fine. And then all of a sudden a police officer comes and they knew a little bit of what's going on, but they didn't handle it very well because they tackled the parent right outside the door. Rick Sola (41:29.9) you Midge Simmons (41:31.415) It was quite a thing. I ended up going to court over the issue. The police officer ended up being fired. It was quite a fiasco. I don't remember what the issue was and why the parent was so toxic coming in and angry. I don't remember what that issue was with her child, but I do remember that all happening and me sitting back going, this really what I wanted to do? But then the year was much better after that, so I don't know. Rick Sola (42:04.394) Yeah, that is that that kind of goes back to our question earlier about when things end up in the news and escalate quickly, that sort of thing. But Travis. TR Travis Rogers (42:11.427) Yeah. TR Travis Rogers (42:15.023) So I had a really good. admin internship at South High as a teacher. But when I read that I reflected on at 30 years old, I'd left South High to go be an assistant principal at West High. So just up the street. And so they gave me freshman Academy. And so very first day, freshman orientation in front of 400 students, you know, all the staff, I'm doing a 30 minute presentation on the procedures, policies, expectations, never lived a day of my life at West High School. And so just talking front of people and not just so much teaching but just... you know now you're the person and now people are looking at you and just being able to present in the correct proper way and say the right things and so that was a truly a very nervous time. never really talked in front of 400 people at the time but again the more you do it the easier it gets and so that was my aha okay welcome to admin I'm 30 years old and I'm sitting here at West High and I'm in charge of all these kids now so. Rick Sola (43:18.196) Yeah, it's funny. so I'll give it my, my moment, which is so less than all of your examples, cause it was so minor, but it was over the summer and my office, an office staff person came in and just kind of leaned in. I was brand new a couple of days on the job and just, Hey Rick, I just want to let you know, we've got ants really bad up in the front office. And then she stepped out and I'm, and she left and I was thinking to myself, why in the world are you telling me this? like deal with it. And then it hit me, wait a second. I'm the facility guy. I'm the, I'm the administrator that's over facilities. That is my job now. I got to, I need to deal with it. And so it was kind of like, yeah, like that's why you're telling me. So, all right, so we're, we'll wrap up here in a bit, but Jenny, you did a really great presentation at KPA, the conference last week on the intentional things you do to promote school culture. Midge Simmons (44:01.738) you Rick Sola (44:15.9) And we're really at that time of year where it's a grind, but there's a lot of really positive things to tap into for school culture. so talk about a couple of things you're doing or going to do here over the next month with Thanksgiving and the holidays coming that really taps into that. Jenny Woolever (44:34.504) Yeah, like Rick said, our jobs are hard, so anything I can do to make staff laugh or get to know them better, it is something I really enjoy and I constantly learn. With being in different buildings too, I've taken some different traditions and added it to mine or I respect what the building has done or some that have run their courses, we could say. And so it's kind of always nice to get a feedback and feel for what others are doing. We actually just submitted our turkey disguises. So just like those fun hand turkeys, teachers are at home designing one with their families. And so the students all during lunch next week get a vote on which turkey is actually going to make it to the feast. And then they get a gift card to actually use. TR Travis Rogers (45:00.719) you Jenny Woolever (45:15.136) for their own Thanksgiving supper with their families, which is kind of a fun little artistic standpoint. We're gonna do a champions giving. I'm from Washington and we are the champions. And so each person brings a side and as the principal, we use our funds to get some turkey from Hy-Vee and kind of have our own little friends giving as you would say. December is another one when you come back, you have those three weeks. We've done different where you hide different snowmen throughout the building. But I really try to make each activity a little different. Some may be where we're playing games, some could be that we're showing artistic side, some may just be socializing or gathering around a table. I just think it's important to embrace that and it gets you out there with others. I may not participate in everything, but I do participate in a lot. This past Halloween, I was a little boo-boo and I had to explain a lot what that was. But all the kids knew. And you just got to pick and choose, but you got to get out there too. And it's a way that they get to know me besides just Dr. Woolover, the principal. Rick Sola (46:15.818) Yeah, climate and culture is so critical in being in tune with the undercurrents of a building. Travis mentioned that trust, trust his staff that you have having people that can come to you and kind of share, Hey, you need to be aware of this and just things to keep the morale high or, you know, This is a good fun time of year. can be in schools. It can also bring a lot of stress for families, for our teachers and so forth. so, yeah, Jenny, have, and you've been on this podcast before sharing about that. And so for anyone listening and wants to know more, go back to this time last year and Jenny shared a really good, but that presentation last week was great. All right, so we're down to the last couple here. Thinking about... Those who might be listening who are not yet an administrator, they're in classes that at this point they are considering it or maybe they're wholeheartedly ready to make that jump. What advice would you give to the aspiring building administrator who are not yet in that chair? What should they be thinking about right now? What do they need to consider? And this one's a little bit off script. So I'll just take a volunteer to kick us off. Travis, go ahead. TR Travis Rogers (47:29.911) I'll go seek out leadership opportunities and we talk often about your comfort zone and how growth usually happens outside your comfort zone. So whatever your comfort zone is, whether you're teaching or in a different role within a school, you gotta step outside of that and seek out, talk to people, get to know people, be a sponge and you're gonna continue to learn. And I think that's where the impact will happen for you. Robert Cave (48:00.855) I would say for me, what I've, what I would learned a lot and what my advice is to be your authentic self, even within this role and listening to Jenny, you know, it reminds me of just kind of myself too, is, you know, that was my fear is it, can I be myself? Can I joke around with staff the way I joked around with my students? Can I do those things? Can I, you know, you know, do those things and, it, and I have been able to, and that's been, you know, don't Don't try to change for the job. to, you know, be your authentic self within the job and play to your strengths. You're not going to be good at every single thing. There's going to be other administrators, maybe even in your building, your other assistant principals that are, that have different strengths than you. Find what you're good at and lean into those strengths and be your authentic self and don't be afraid to build those relationships and, you know, be that, be the leader you want to be, but within who you are. and I think I've seen a lot of administrators that, that think they have to change who they were as an educator is, or as a teacher when they get into the role. And I have found that the opposite is true. You should lean into the things that you were good at in the classroom, the things that you, you know, that gave you joy and fulfilled you in the classroom can still be some of the same things that you can do as an administrator. So lean into that and be your authentic self. That authenticity is so important. not only with your staff, but with students. They will be able to see behind any false veneer that you put up. So be yourself, be who you are, and that's the way you will build trust with your staff and your students. Rick Sola (49:40.876) That's great. Jenny. Jenny Woolever (49:42.281) Yeah, Robert, I agree. And like you said, you learn from all the administrators you've had before you too. And so people know I spend a lot of time on my pre-service and my professional development because I don't want to be bored. And I said, I've been at all those stages too. And so that is like my classroom. And so I really try to do that. And anytime I can't sub in a class, I love it. And so sometimes even those best administrators aren't the ones that are ready to leave the classroom. And so just know that you'll always have that. But what's luxury, you can go co-teach with anybody you want. I also agree with what Travis said. I kind of went to the math specialist role before I went to an administrator, and I was glad I did because I learned how to do professional development within large groups. I also learned how to work with teachers and running PLCs. It's different working with adults than it is children. But I also would say is relating it to you as a person. Sometimes when I do have to make those tough phone calls. I say I understand your view as a parent, I'm a parent too, knowing that you do have a lot of roles and you can relate in all of those. So I think all of those are great and I would agree. Rick Sola (50:44.46) right, Mitch. Midge Simmons (50:46.519) Robert I really liked what you had to say about being authentic is that that is Yeah, that's just yeah, you hit it spot-on for me. you know it it's not just about building relationships with your staff, but it's also building that trust and And to me that I've learned over the years that that is just so incredibly important to build that trust and you can only do that by being authentic and I I would like to add that I think it's important that it's okay to be vulnerable with some of your staff. And if you have that trust built, you can do that and it's okay. They need to see that we're human in these roles too. And then the only other thing when I think about this is don't be afraid to take risks. My husband always talks about, you know, it's okay to fail forward. If you fail at something or if you are empowering a staff member and they fail, let them fail because that's how they're going to learn. But I think that holds true for us too, that it's okay to take risks, whether it's with your staff or whether it's just with the school in general and what you're leading. I just think that's so important because we're not gonna move forward if we don't take those risks. Rick Sola (52:07.488) That's great. Thank you all for sharing. Last question, 10 seconds or less. Excuse me. My voice is gone. I apologize. 10 seconds or less. Thanksgiving is a couple of weeks away and we all have some time off coming up. Much deserved. What is it you're looking forward to most to unwind for you personally over the Thanksgiving holiday? Jenny Woolever (52:34.144) We do a game night at the Wooliver household and it gets pretty intense. We're all really competitive. I really a lot of times have to be on the same team as Mr. Wooliver because like I said, but we enjoy it you got to laugh at it and my kids love it, but it's just a tradition that carries on in my family. So on Thanksgiving night, it's a game night as well. Robert Cave (52:58.19) Yeah, I would say for me, I have a sophomore music ed major at K state. And so he's coming home and so it's spending time. You know, it feels when you, when you have a family and one part of it's gone for a while, you forget what it feels like when you're all together and complete. So for me, it's, know, it's, it's easy to say, I love cooking Thanksgiving food. love eating Thanksgiving food. I love watching football. I love all that, but I love doing all of that when my family is all here and complete and together. So. That's what it's really all about. And you'll find yourself, I think all of you know, especially those that work high school, how often, how many evenings you work and how often you are out of your family, where you're away from your family. So spending that time with them just feels even more valuable during these times, a time to refresh and get ready for those three to four weeks before winter break hits and we have second semester. So that's I look forward to the most. Rick Sola (53:53.8) Excellent. Midge. Midge Simmons (53:57.09) For me, this is going to be the first time ever in my career. in education where I have full week. We've always had only the three days, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. So to get a whole full week, feels like spring break is around the corner, but it's not going to feel that way outside, obviously. For me, I've got some family members that are actually not going to be there. I could do one of two things. I could be really bummed on that and ruin the week for myself and be negative about that, or I could also appreciate the time that both my husband and I will have some quiet time together too. and being both of us being school administrators, you don't get a whole lot of that. We do a lot of talking. We have a 40 minute drive. We live in Derby and we both work here in El Dorado. So we do a lot of downtime in there, but. you know it's gonna be nice to just say hey no we can not be principals for a week and maybe we can have some other conversations that are a little different and have that quiet time too but there will be time for family and definitely time for turkey and all of that too so I'm looking forward to it I'm sure you all are as well Rick Sola (55:06.613) Great. Rick Sola (55:10.23) Travis? TR Travis Rogers (55:10.927) Yeah, I would just echo what everybody said I mean spending time with family probably not checking my email for a few days And then we have a pretty intense Bingo night with the in-laws and so I'm excited to see that again Rick Sola (55:27.82) That's awesome. Well, I want to wish you all an awesome Thanksgiving, a good week before you get through without too much going on and that you are able to enjoy that time off and time together. the word authenticity has been brought up, and I just appreciate all of your candor and authenticity with answering these questions. I really appreciate you spending this Friday after school at a busy time to give back to the profession this way. TR Travis Rogers (55:55.256) you Rick Sola (55:57.086) and to this cohort who has given us these questions to discuss. So once again, thank you all. Have a great Thanksgiving and we'll see you around, I'm sure. Robert Cave (56:08.278) Awesome. Thanks so much, Rick. Midge Simmons (56:08.332) Thank you, Greg. TR Travis Rogers (56:08.976) Take care.                                                        

(part 1 of 2) In this episode of "Cool Coffee," host Rick Sola moderates a panel of four principals from Kansas, discussing their journeys into administration and the challenges they face. The panelists, including principals Midge Simmons, Dr. Jenny Woolever, Robert Cave, and Travis Rogers, share personal stories about their motivations for becoming administrators, the importance of authenticity and trust in leadership, and strategies for managing school culture and crises. They also offer advice to aspiring administrators, emphasizing the value of networking, being authentic, and taking risks. Questions to the panel came from Baker University Fall 2025 cohort of future administrators. This is part 1 of a 2 part episode. Part 2 will drop on December 4, 2025. Connect with the panel... Principal Midge Simmons - Grandview Elementary--El Dorado Schools USD490 Connect with Mrs. Simmons on X Principal Dr. Jenny Woolever - Washington Elementary - Olathe Schools USD233 Connect with Dr. Woolever on X Assistant Principal Robert Cave - Piper High School - Piper Schools USD203 Connect with Mr. Cave on X Principal Travis Rogers - Wichita South High School - Wichita USD259 Connect with Mr. Rogers on X   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]   FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT (Generated by AI) Rick Sola (00:03.167) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee, a principals panel edition. We have four amazing principals here from across this wonderful state of Kansas. I'll have them introduce themselves in a bit, but today's panel will be served up some questions created by the Baker University's Fall 2025 cohort, which are all students working toward their building level licensure program. They are future administrators. Special shout out to Shelby Mouha. from this cohort who helped facilitate the creation of these questions and with the aim of going beyond the surface level and into the nuts and bolts of administration. We know there are many ways to skin a cat, which is just really one of the most awful sayings. I apologize for putting that in there. So for those listening who are in their chair, compare your response with how our panel responds. There are often many right answers, perhaps even many more wrong answers, but still there are many correct answers. So with that, Let's meet our panel today and they're gonna share their name, position, school and their number of years in the chair. Let's start with Midge. Midge Simmons (01:10.551) I'm Midge Simmons. I'm an elementary principal at Granville Elementary in El Dorado. I've been in the chair too long. All good though. I do feel like I'll be ending my career here in El Dorado, but we'll see how life takes us. But I've been in education for 29 years and 19 as an elementary principal. This is my third school, third school to be an elementary principal. Rick Sola (01:39.433) Awesome. Welcome, Edge. Jenny. Midge Simmons (01:41.003) Thank you. Jenny Woolever (01:44.224) you Rick Sola (01:46.546) I think you're on mute, Jenny. Rick Sola (01:52.811) There you go. You're all good. Jenny Woolever (01:53.342) Not a good way to start. Okay, I'm Dr. Jenny Willow. I am the principal at Washington Elementary in the Lathus School District. I've served as a principal for 13 years. Four of those have been in middle school and the remainder have been in elementary. Rick Sola (02:07.711) Awesome. Robert. Robert Cave (02:10.286) Hey, I'm Robert Cave. I have been a, an assistant principal at Piper High School in Kansas City, Kansas. I spent 23 years teaching in Olathe schools and was part of the Baker admin cohort in 2018 and finally got a job at Piper High School and this is my fourth year there. So I've been in education about 27 years, only four as an administrator, the rest is a teacher. Rick Sola (02:39.977) Awesome. And Travis. TR Travis Rogers (02:43.151) Hello everybody, I'm Travis Rogers, currently principal at Wichita South High School. This is my 19th year in education, 12th year as an administrator, and I'm just starting my fifth year as principal here at South High School in USD 259. Robert Cave (02:44.32) you Rick Sola (03:00.669) Awesome. Well, once again, I want to welcome all of you. And it was great because we're recording this the week after the KPA conference. And I was able to see many of you there. It was a great conference and it was actually neat. At one point, I think we were all in the same session. But thanks again for coming on to this podcast and being able to share specifically to our Baker friends out there in this cohort, but also to all who are listening. And so we're going to, we're going to kick it off here. And so these questions again were generated from the Fall 2025 Baker University Future Administrator Program. And so I'm going to start here with a question that kind of applies to all of us. And Midge, we'll start with you, but we'll hear from everybody. going way back, why did you decide to become an administrator? And how has that why changed throughout the year or throughout the years? Midge Simmons (03:59.828) Well, I was ready to answer number one, Rick. You jumped us to number eight. You're good. You're good. You know, I probably will give an answer that not many would say. Honestly, I was bored. I was bored teaching. I think it was at the time I was teaching middle school. Rick Sola (04:03.115) I won't go out of order after this. I just thought that was a good kickoff. Sorry about that. little curve ball. Midge Simmons (04:23.603) and I had maybe one to two preps and I just needed something more and I always had aspirations of trying to make more of a difference than what you can in a classroom and trying to reach out to others with more of a difference and so I know that sounds kind of, I don't know what the word for that is, that most people would give that in an interview type question but it's the truth. I wanted to have a greater capacity of being able to make a change or trying to make a difference. don't know. I think for me, I've learned that it's not always about the difference in pay in the education world or the administrative world, but it has a lot more to do with the support that you receive. I've had some varying experiences being an administrator in three different districts at three different levels going from 3A to 2A and now I'm at 4A level. I just think that the support that you get from a superintendent and a board is huge. That to me makes the biggest difference. And I think I've seen that over the years. And I've left districts because I didn't feel. that support, whether it superintendent or the board. And it's time to move on and try and make a difference somewhere else. so, yeah. You guys have anything? Rick Sola (05:58.7) Great. Yeah. Travis will kick it to you. Why'd you become an administrator? TR Travis Rogers (06:04.333) Yeah, so I had a really good experience. taught PE actually here at South High School and so about year four or five really started to reflect and think about what my next chapter was going to look like. And I was always interested in like the functions of a school and so I had about 150 kids throughout my PE classes. Again, was able to coach some things again had a really good experience, but I wanted to make a greater impact. And I thought growing personally and professionally was very important. And so what's funny now in my 12th year, you're still coaching. you still mentor, but now you're on a bigger scale. And so now you're involved, you know, with families, parents, you know, the staff. And so it's kind of like pieces of the puzzle. I say that often. And so you're trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle and depending on your school, depending on your situation, you know, depending on the day, you could have a couple pieces that you got to put together or you could have a lot. And so, it's really been impactful, but really truly serving your why is serving your people. So it's all about that personal and professional growth and in this role it can happen every hour. Rick Sola (07:22.859) Great Robert. Robert Cave (07:24.584) you know, for me, I was in the classroom. I didn't know if I was ever going to be an administrator. That wasn't ever my end goal. you know, I thought I was going to be probably a lifelong teacher and I kept finding myself and kind of thrust into different leadership roles, whether it would be curriculum, whether that be, you know, writing different things or department chairs, BLT chairs, those sorts of things. And, kind of like what Mitch says, I found myself kind of yearning for a little bit of a different. side of education for a different way to impact not only students, but to impact teachers and try to help support them and kind of be the, you know, the one to help lift them up and help students achieve. And found myself, you know, taking, getting another masters in the Baker cohort and just, and getting that school leadership and really finding a passion for that. And so ended up just kind of throwing myself into that. So, you know, my biggest fear was that I would miss out on kind of the relational aspect that you have as a teacher. That was kind of why I still did it. I loved being with students. I loved seeing them grow. I loved all of those things. But you find that there's, you still get to have that as an administrator. It's just at a different level. Now you have it with the teachers. Now you can impact things in different ways and your scope and sphere of influence will grow in that way. So I found that to be still pretty powerful. And it's kept me, you know, still wanting to be in education and be an advocate for educators instead of just the ones that we're educating. Rick Sola (08:58.581) Awesome. Jenny? Jenny Woolever (09:03.092) Well, I think others saw it in me first before I really wanted to come to fruition that I probably will be a principal. I went through my schooling and I actually started towards my doctorate. I didn't have any kind of educational leadership previously for that. I went into EdTech, did some other things. But the reason I was pursuing my doctorate, I was interested in teaching those that wanted to become teachers and become in education. During that is when others saw it in me and said you really need to go back and get your certification in educational leadership and so I think with their encouragement is what drove me into this and just kind like what Mitch said too is that I actually went to a math specialist first because I was so worried about leaving that role like many of you guys said but the greater impact you do have as you kind of go through as a specialist and then as an administrator I really felt like I could really impact not just my classroom, but a whole building. Rick Sola (09:59.68) That's great. I love hearing all of your, your whys and you know, think it highlights that there's no one road to this chair. And that's usually how we start this show is your road to the chair that I hear so often how kind of like what Jenny said, didn't necessarily think about it for myself. Somebody else may have discovered it. All four of you described a much different path and why, and you know, for those who are listening who May be in a teaching role right now. I think that's important to realize like sometimes I think we feel like we have to emulate somebody who were with or near There's a lot of different ways to get there and in at different trajectories different timing as well we'll go into the the first question major I'll go to you as far as You know the the first one in order I guess we'll be back in order here Is perhaps one of the most important things if not the most important thing we do and that's hiring And we hire candidates that we are hoping will be a good fit. But what does it mean that you are looking for in teaching candidates for your building? And then what do you tend to avoid? Midge Simmons (11:09.783) Well, for me, a lot of times my husband's also a principal. And so he has laughed at me over the years because when I am down to the wire, you've got it narrowed down to two candidates and you're trying to make some decisions and they all have great qualities and they all have some negatives. When you're trying to figure out which one to go with, he always says to me, what's your gut say? And he makes fun of me because he says, when your gut is right, it's right, and when it's not, it's not, and you, nine times out of 10, are always right with your gut, and he's right. mean, all the hiring I've done over the years, it does come down to what do I feel in my gut? But the biggest thing, biggest things for me is going to be when I'm looking across the table at somebody that we're interviewing, it has everything to do with relationships. And... I don't mean just relationships with kids, relationships with other staff as well. Do they fit the mission and the vision of our building and where we're headed in the future? Do they fit the mold of the teammate that they're going to work with, right? I mean, I have teachers that team, I mean, we all team teach on our grade levels at the elementary level. And if I feel like it's not the right fit, it's not the right fit. It doesn't mean that the teacher won't be good. couldn't be a great candidate for us. It's just if the fifth isn't there, it's not. I feel like sometimes we think a GPA is everything, but a GPA to me tells me whether a student, whether a teacher is going to have a good work ethic. That's what a GPA tells me is whether they have a work ethic. If the person can't relate to others. They could be a straight A student, have all these honors, but if they can't relate to others and be able to build relationships with kids and with staff, I'm not going to find them to be a coachable person to hire. And that's the other thing that I really look for is, you you find out what somebody's faults are through an interview, and I always ask myself, if they have that kind of fault, can I support that as a principal? Midge Simmons (13:26.305) Can I coach them through that and coach them up on that? And there are times when you interview teachers and you look at somebody and think, hmm, I don't know. I don't know if I can coach that. I don't know what supports I can bring in to help them. And maybe they're not the right fit for that. I laughed when I read this question because I was reflecting back to what did this look like 19 years ago when I started as a principal? And I literally had, I remember sitting at my desk one time to hire an elementary teacher and I literally had two feet worth of files to go through to hire one position. And now we're lucky if we get one application at times, right? Especially you guys that are at the high school and middle school level. I know it sometimes gets worse than some of those, but it just. TR Travis Rogers (14:10.831) you Midge Simmons (14:21.855) It's amazing in the 19 years how much that's changed in our profession and it's sad. I want more for this profession that's given me a life. nowadays we're lucky. We want to find people that definitely have some sort of a license. We run into some cases where we try, I mean here at El Dorado we try and avoid anybody that doesn't have any license. if we can, because we do get applicants that have no license. They're still working on it or whatever program that they have. And I think I feel like as a principal, I have to be more open minded for that coachable piece in hiring teachers. Rick Sola (15:09.579) So I really like that you brought up your gut and kind of looking at the panel here. And I agree with that. There's so many times where you've got to, you've got to go with your gut. Has your gut ever let you down in a hiring situation? Midge Simmons (15:22.999) It's funny because the last school that I left, I hired somebody before I left and my gut felt funny, but I didn't have any other applicants to fill the position and we had to go with it. And then I didn't plan on leaving. I hired them, I think late April and I ended up leaving in early June to come here and it was not a good situation. They ended up... non-renewing and barely made it through the school year. So no, my gut failed me on that one, but I didn't reap the negative side. TR Travis Rogers (15:55.695) you Rick Sola (16:01.013) Well, you know, it can cut both ways. I'm sure we've all been burned by hiring. If you don't trust your gut and that fails, that's really hard to swallow, at least for me. Like if I go against my instinct because, know, so I think I'm glad you brought that up. think it's a really important piece. Robert, I'm going to kick it to you. How do you keep your cool when staff or students come to you with an issue that is a 10 on the emergency scale for them? Robert Cave (16:28.577) Ha Rick Sola (16:30.773) but it's absolutely not a 10 for you. Robert Cave (16:33.944) Well, I think, you know, the biggest thing is to listen. You know, I think that that can be so hard because we can be pulled in so many different directions and you can have five different things happening and someone comes to talk to you or someone comes to report something to you or, and you have to really be intentional about giving them the space they need and giving them the space to, to air their grievance or tell you what's happening. You know, I, I. tell students and teachers all the time, know, thank you for coming to me. I really validate your feelings or you know, what's going on. And I just want them to, you know, I hope that I have built enough trust in them that they trust me to say, thank you. Let me take this burden on, you know, let me take this on now. Let me do it so that you don't have to worry about it. And I'll let you know, you know, when we have a resolution or what happens. So I think that the biggest thing is listening. giving them the right, you know, in the mindset of letting them know that I will find a solution, I will figure this out. And then, you know, and that comes with having that relationship. You know, it takes a while to build that, I think, but you hope that you are, you know, reliable enough that you have not, you know, burned them in the past or whatever, that, you know, you have enough follow through, that they trust you to handle it and take care of those things. Right? The biggest thing is to not, we don't need to tell them, you know, hey, calm down, this is not the right, you're not thinking about this correctly. It doesn't help to say that. I think the best thing to say is, okay, thank you so much. I hear what you're saying. Will you let me, do you trust me? Let me take care of it. Will you let me be the person that handles it? And if they say yes, then I think you just add that to your to-do list and the things you do and then make sure you follow up with that person. But I think it's important to listen and it's important to validate why it's important to them. The choir teacher has to pass out. You know, they were so worried because their delivery for their cookie dough fundraisers is coming at two o'clock today and we had to have a plan to have our going to distribute the cookie dough. You know, and it's like to them, it's it's it's has to be done right now during their plan period. I said, let me handle it. I'll make the plan for you. I'll take care of it. I'll let you know what the plan is. I'll communicate that to the staff and we'll go from there. You know, and that just OK, they can take a breath now. So I that's important to listen, validate and then. Robert Cave (18:57.238) have follow through when you solve their issue. Rick Sola (19:00.585) You know, one piece that wasn't included in the question is the parent angle as well. You sometimes we get those calls from parents and it's a it's an urgent matter or you get the message like so and so need you to call back immediately and you hear it. And thankfully, maybe it's not as big of a deal, but for them, it's still gigantic. How how often have you find it that it occurs often that you just have to listen and by the time especially a parent, by the time they get to the end of their, whether it's venting or sharing, it feels better and it's almost resolved itself just by being that listening ear. I see a lot of nodding heads, but Robert, have you found that? Robert Cave (19:42.936) Yeah, that's exactly right, Rick. I've really found that to be the case. A lot of times they just want someone to talk to, someone just to listen, to say, here's the issue I'm having. And a lot of times it's just, it's not even having a solution. Sometimes it's just, thank you so much for sharing. You know, we will work on getting better or thank you for sharing. Let me take care of this or, you know, here's what we're going to do about this. Here's our protocols. Here are the things that we're going to do. So think a lot of times I think you're exactly right. They just want someone to listen to, like I said before, I repeat it a lot, but validate their feelings and understand where they're coming from. And sometimes you have to let them know, will get, know, here's the kind of the process we're going to go through to do this. might not be on your time, but here's the steps that we have to take. But I think you're right. Almost, I would say, you know, 85, 90 % of the time, once you have that discussion, by the end of the discussion, they feel better. They are not as in a rush to get things accomplished as they were to start. So I think that is very important, especially when comes to those parents and those stakeholders. Rick Sola (20:48.423) One thing I've learned is when I get the email from a parent that demands a meeting ASAP that day, but let me know a time available, all those things. I never respond to the email. pick up the phone and 90 % of the time the phone call takes care of it and there's, there's no need for a meeting. And I find that to be helpful. But I have kind of discovered that there's TR Travis Rogers (20:56.431) and Midge Simmons (21:06.519) Thank Rick Sola (21:15.145) You just never know when people hear information. Sometimes it's an immediate respond, email or whatever. So yeah, that listening piece is critical. Robert Cave (21:23.564) Yeah. And that's something I would say to the cohort to listening is, is prepared just to be a conversationalist prepared. I always prefer making a phone call now. I would much rather call a parent than email a parent. I just like having those phone calls. And I think that, you know, I think it tones down whatever vitriol they may have, or that is coming through in the email when you reach out to them. So I would say, and I think parents really appreciate that too, you know, the time you're taking. So I would say anytime you have a parent that's demanding a meeting with those sorts of things, I think Rick, you're, you hit the nail on the head, call them and just say, Hey, I just want to respond to what you're saying. And half the time they might still want to meeting. And a lot of the times you're going to say, thank you so much. And, know, I'll get back to you, you know, through email or whatever, if I can, when we solve the solution, the problem. But I think you're exactly right. Just prepare yourself to be making parent phone calls and be getting comfortable with making parent phone calls. You know, I tell, I tell my teachers, my counselors all the time. Rick Sola (22:18.145) Yeah. Robert Cave (22:22.016) If you need me to call someone, let me know. I will reach out. And that's just a big part of our job, I think. Rick Sola (22:26.796) Yeah, it's so much more efficient, I think too. It takes me a while. I, you know, I'm going to craft an email that I want to be really thoughtful about. And by the time I'm, you know, half an hour into it, perhaps. So, uh, Travis, I'm going to go to you here, uh, a little change of subject, but, also not a very pleasant part of administration perhaps, but how do you handle, uh, both practically and mentally and emotionally. Robert Cave (22:28.866) Yes, 100%. Robert Cave (22:36.844) Yep. Absolutely. Rick Sola (22:54.44) issues that pop up that escalate so quickly and they end up in the news. Whether it's handled correctly or not, in your control or not, how do you handle that as a building principle? TR Travis Rogers (23:06.908) The first tip I got is just take a deep breath. And so anytime an emergency happens or a situation takes place, people are going to look at you, how you react, how you respond, your demeanor, you know, just the steps that you take. And so it's very important that you got to take a deep breath and stay calm. And truly the reality is, is we, whether you have a good crisis plan team, you got the communication set up, you're never fully going to to be prepared for every emergency. And so you got to have the practice in place. That's why we have drills. That's why we have the communication chains. And then you got to be mindful of, you got to be transparent, but then you have to filter what you can say and what you should not say at that time. so emotionally, I mean, you got to take care of yourself. You got to reflect. I think it's very important to reflect whenever something happens. what went well, what did not. We have found great value here at South that when a situation happens and it could involve like the police, teachers are still teaching and the kids are still in the classroom. And so we have found great value in, you know, social media is a rapid fire. And so sometimes it's not the truth or the right information. And so my staff really does appreciate if we have something big that pops off. Hey guys, we're gonna have an optional staff debrief after school if you want to attend that is great And usually that kind of calms things down To where they hear it from me that these are the truth. This is what happens This is what we're investigating and so on and then as a principle You just have to be mindful of social media after the fact or if it hit the news Could be the truth it could not be very mindful of the comments if you're sitting at home at night and you're scrolling through all the comments TR Travis Rogers (25:09.905) and you know what the truth is and it's not, to me that doesn't tie into your mental health and so you got to be really careful of that. Rick Sola (25:20.012) How would you say for any of you, you've evolved over the time of being a principal, know, Travis referenced inaccurate information and perhaps it's critical of you or it's critical of the building or critical of a teacher and you know it's not accurate, but there's also only so much that we are allowed to share. Has that, is that something that you talk about having thick skin? Would you just? put it up as over time you get thicker skin or is there something you intentionally do to really kind of help with that or things that you have found a strategy to say what you can say that kind of like Travis said earlier, you know, putting minds at ease. Midge Simmons (26:04.2) I'll start it. For me, like when Robert talked about... social media or you you talked about, know, picking up the phone and calling the parent. We had that discussion. I was thinking in my mind, I do that same thing when I find out things are on social media, too. If something's being said out there that's incorrect information and I know who's saying it, I'll pick up the phone and call that parent and and just say, hey, I saw your post. I just wanted to clarify with you, you know, and have that conversation about it. And it usually that post will end up being deleted. And I think that's just to make parents aware that you're mindful of this and you know that it's out there and you want to address it. Nine times out of ten, I'm finding out that people are receptive to that. But in a case of what Travis is talking about, if it's a crisis situation, that's a little bit different. For me, I also... just to kind of piggy bank a little bit on Travis, to me when I read that question of yours, Rick, the first thing I thought of was you always go back to your policies and you gotta know your policies. So when you're in that heat of the moment and what can you say or not say, to me it just always goes back to that or what you say later on, right? Because if it's a... If it's a newsworthy situation, it's probably something that's going to be ongoing. You're not going to deal with it for just that day. But just knowing what you can and can't do and backing yourself with your board policies or anything. I don't know. That's enough for me. Maybe somebody else can comment more about what Rick asked. Rick Sola (27:43.66) Heh. Jenny Woolever (27:47.517) Yeah, well, Midge, I agree with you too, is that the same concept like Robert was talking about, about listening, doing the same thing under a crisis as well, that allowing them to express how they're feeling, but also, now, these are our policies, this is what we have to follow, this is what I'm doing. Sometimes telling them the active plan that we have, and I may not be able to share what's happening with the other student, I may not be able to share this, but I know it, I'm on it. and just reassuring them that way. I've done a lot of that too because just checking in with them and letting them know you received the message, you are aware of this issue, and you're handling it. Rick Sola (28:25.3) Yeah. Well, always, and there's no situation like that that is a cookie cutter from a previous situation. So I always keep any communications I put out. have a whole, whole file of them, but they're, they're never just copy and paste into a new situation. You can reference them, but there's everything so nuanced along the way. Midge Simmons (28:47.903) But yes, Rick, you have a thicker skin after so many years. 19 of them. Yeah, my skin's little thick. Rick Sola (28:57.046) And I think some of that comes with confidence too. You you think back to your first couple of years and a lot, a lot of questioning of, don't know, did I make the wrong decision here? If things are blowing up with experience, you start to have a lot more confidence. And I think that helps with the thick skin. So Jenny, I'm going to, I'm going to go to you here. There are so many to do's on a principal's list, on an administrator's list. Midge Simmons (28:59.349) Yes. yeah. TR Travis Rogers (29:00.865) sure. Catch Part 2 of this episode on the next Cool Coffee episode drop.

Topic: Student Recognition Mr. Frank Bell Gardner-Edgerton High School Principal X: @bellfgehs   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Summary In this 103rd episode of Cool Coffee w/ Kansas Principals, Principal Brian Barackman shares the unique house system at Indian Trail Middle School in USD 233. Discussed is how this system fosters community and enhances the student experience through its building and camaraderie amongst grade-levels. Mr. Barackman connects what his school is doing with the house system and its PBIS system. Listen in to hear more from another Kansas principal doing great work for kids and staff! Connect with Mr. Barackman: Email X: @BarackmanBrian Show Reference: Ron Clark Academy   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]   FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT (Timestamps after the 6:00 mark are inaccurate due to mid-show interruption and need for editing) Rick Sola (00:01.89) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee. Today I am with principal Mr. Brian Barickman from Indian Trail Middle School in USD 233, Olathec Public Schools. Welcome, Brian. Brian Barackman (00:14.309) How we doing? Thanks so much for having me. Rick Sola (00:17.154) Doing all right. It's been, we're recording this at the end of a Monday and I think it's been a pretty good Monday. So I'll start with a quick transparency on this episode. Mr. Berrickman and I go way back and we actually shared a meeting together today, this afternoon. We had a meeting over at the district office, but we share a district. At one point we shared a school and we do go way back. So. I've used this term before, but this is kind of like a Prince of Pals episode. We've got a Prince of Pals here on the show here with Mr. Berrickman. But again, welcome. Thanks for coming on. Brian Barackman (00:54.105) Ha ha ha. Brian Barackman (00:59.142) Hey, I can't believe that I'm finally here. I've been listening to every episode and it's an honor to be here. So thanks for having me. Rick Sola (01:07.252) And the software I use for this can detect lying on the show. And so I don't know that you've really listened to every episode, but no, it's awesome that you're here. But before we get started here, a quick show shout out, a reminder that if you click into the show and check the show notes, there's information about the show, ways to contact our guests, and a way to leave feedback or even a contact me with topics or questions or guest ideas. Would love to get all of those. Brian Barackman (01:11.69) You Rick Sola (01:36.706) Some of our shows have been created by the feedback from those who have listened. Also, give us a like or a follow on your favorite podcast platform. Help spread the word about the insightful stories from the amazing principals all across this great state of Kansas. Like us, follow us here at KPA's Cool Coffee. And so I feel like that's a really great lead-in to really someone I... have come to learn is the most beloved principle in the world. And that's Brian Berrickman. Brian Barackman (02:12.449) my goodness. I can see the lie detector now. I see it going off now. Well, that's high praise coming from you. I appreciate it. However not true, I appreciate it. Rick Sola (02:16.069) Hahaha Rick Sola (02:26.146) Well, so I think you'll cover this here. We will start with your road to the chair, but our road has crossed paths in a very good way. But it's fun to hear every principal I've had on this show. They talk about what it is that led to them being where they're at presently. And we're all so varied on how we got here. it's, I always find it interesting, but let's start with that, Brian. Where did you start in education and what led to you being at Indian Trail? Brian Barackman (03:00.269) Absolutely, well, I think that story starts with my own middle school career going to school here at Indian Trail. And I didn't know that the stars would align down the road one day, but thankfully they did. So as a middle school kid, never thought that I would be a principal. I wanted to be a biologist and then... I went to K-State and learned that, you know, I taught swimming lessons, was one of my early life jobs, and I learned to really love teaching, and I decided to combine those two loves of science and teaching and become a science teacher. So I taught seventh grade science, mostly biology, at Santa Fe Trail Middle School in Olathe for about six years. And that whole time I knew not only did I have a passion for education, but I had dreams. dreams of being an administrator. I saw great administrators throughout my career that I just saw the impact that they had not only on me but on so many families and so many students. And it was always interesting to me that you want to have an impact on the community and then seeing people in those positions have an even broader and wider impact and think, man, what kind of difference could I make in a position like that or what kind of help could I provide, what kind of service leader could I be to even more people, you know, and give back to the community that gave me so much growing up. So I kind of had that dream. And then after six years of teaching, the yours truly, Mr. Rick Sola gave me an opportunity to get into my first assistant principal position at Prairie Trail Middle School. And I was assistant principal there for three years. And then there's an opening at Indian Trail, which as I mentioned was my alma mater. So I loved my time so much at both Santa Fe Trail and Prairie Trail. But when there's a, you you have an opportunity to potentially go back to your home school, you know, it's, I knew it was going to be fun and exciting to be back, but I didn't realize just how special and how connected, how special it be and how connected I would feel to a building, you know. Brian Barackman (05:20.555) I jumped at the opportunity to come back. I served as assistant principal here for one year and now this is my fourth year as head principal. And I can tell you, every day it's still new memories pop up for me. Like I will be in a classroom and I'll have an epiphany of, my gosh, this was the same room in seventh grade when this happened to me and there are so many. I remember reading holes in this room. It used to be a language arts room or. I'll turn a corner and have a memory of an interesting passing period that I had one time. So it's just, it's really, really fun and special to be back here and to serve this community in this capacity. Rick Sola (06:06.028) So you said that you were at your you were a student at Indian Trail back in the day. And so going back there, does it feel Brian Barackman (08:12.825) Yeah, yeah. Rick Sola (08:31.426) totally different, like a whole different school, or when you walk those halls, is it kind of like, man, this is my old stomping grounds. Like, do you still feel that? Because I know there's been some changes there, some construction and all sorts of things. Brian Barackman (08:42.563) Yeah, it's so funny. It's so much of both. There's so many memories that flood back immediately, especially walking back into this principal's office I've been in a couple times. But then, also, there's memories that you forget about that you... you know, you don't think about and then all of a sudden it just hits you one day. know, you'll be like, since some of the classrooms look so different and are different subject areas and things like that, you don't immediately recognize them. But then in one moment you might have this memory flood back like, my gosh, this was Ms. So and So's room. And I remember doing this and they're meeting this friend or, you know, and one other special thing in my office, I have the class photo from my last year here and there. There are people in that photo who are, you who I was standing up in their weddings. There's people in that photo who I've been friends with since we went to school here and they are currently working here with me, which is really special. you know, there's some, you know, you know how life is. There's some sad stories on that too. And it's just a good reminder for me every morning of, you know, the reason that we're here to make a difference in those people's lives. And, you know, we were those kids and that's why this work is so important. Rick Sola (10:01.486) Yeah, that's really cool. And I feel like maybe we've talked about this before, but I remember when I first started teaching and I came back to the district where I graduated high school and went all the way through, I was teaching alongside my former teachers. And I found that really bizarre at first because, I mean, who am I? Some, you know, snot nosed kid coming out of college teaching alongside these veterans. Brian Barackman (10:18.615) Uh-huh. Rick Sola (10:29.934) Well, and then fast forward to administration and there were still there were still some teachers that. Yeah, well, yeah, that kind of goes without saying. But but no, like so you're in these leadership roles. Were you in a position where you are with some teachers that either maybe were your teachers or you had some of those connections that as you were you were little Brian Barickman to them and now all of a sudden you're the. Brian Barackman (10:34.317) And we're still thinking that about you. Rick Sola (10:57.26) Yeah, I don't want to say the boss, but you're the decision maker. You're making decisions and you're in a position of leadership. did you experience that at all in your road administration? Brian Barackman (11:07.799) Absolutely, yeah. every, you know, when you ask that question, my mind goes to, you know, like, could that be an, you know, an awkward dynamic or anything like that? And I have found it to be nothing but enriching those relationships. I think, you know, not only have I been blessed with such amazing teachers throughout my path, who are just a wonderful people and are just so excited to see you back, coming back to Olathe, you know, coming back to the profession, but I think luckily I was a quiet kid and a good student, so there was no grudges carried against me over the times. But it really is, I think, at least from my perspective, I don't know what they would say, but from my perspective, it has just been really special, you know, to be like, man, I respected you so much as a teacher. You know, I learned so much from you. And now we're hand in hand making a difference together. And how cool is that? Who listening to this wouldn't want? one of their students to come back one day and help them make a difference for the community we care so much about. mean, that has been my experience. And I do have one funny story from this though. My mom is wonderful and she is a collector and I was able to find one of my old grade cards from a teacher here at Indian Trail. And I had all A's and one B and it had written in there, two missing assignments. and then my grade and so I brought that down to the teacher's classroom and I put the grade card on her desk and I said my mom would like to have a conversation with you about this grade. So things like that have been you know it has been Rick Sola (12:48.841) Hahaha That's awesome. Brian Barackman (12:56.197) just a positive way to build that relationship coming in in this role and just to know that we've known each other for a long time and we're now able to do it together, which is pretty neat. Rick Sola (13:09.88) So you taught, how many years did you teach before making that transition? Brian Barackman (13:13.997) I taught science for six years and then it was a sister principal for four. Rick Sola (13:19.436) you know, and maybe present company excluded here. I know that transition to administration, you know, was at Prairie Trail where I was. And truly, those were two extremely fun years. We had a really great time. But was there ever a moment... Brian Barackman (13:23.845) You Rick Sola (13:37.066) early on in administration where you felt like, man, this is not what I thought. Maybe really kind of put to challenge that decision of making that career change, if you will, into administration. Brian Barackman (13:52.388) Well, I think one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from, it was an assistant principal at the time who was talking to me about when do you make the jump from teaching to administration? Is it too soon for me? It was probably like my fourth or fifth year I was dabbling with the idea. And his advice was go while you still love teaching. because I think people can feel when an administrator has a love for the classroom and a passion for teaching and when they don't. So that's why I went when I felt like it was pretty early, six years of teaching, I understand that's pretty early. But that advice made me think, you know what, I'm gonna bring that passion that I still have for the classroom to this role. So to answer your question more specifically, I don't think there's been a time where I said, man, I don't know if I should have done this, if I regret this, but there are absolutely times where I miss teaching. I loved my teaching career. I loved getting to know those students at a different level than we often get to. You get to know your group of students so deeply and so well. Rick Sola (14:57.357) Yeah. Brian Barackman (15:11.397) You know, those relationships and watching them learn throughout a unit, throughout a school year, all the things that everybody loves about teaching, I definitely often miss. But that doesn't mean that I regret making this decision. You know, I am incredibly happy as an assistant principal and a principal. I think I look back to those early administrators that were inspiring to me and think like, man, they don't just make a difference for these kids in this classroom, they make a difference. for every student in this building, every teacher in this building, every member of this community, you know, and I don't know if I'm doing that, but I'm sure trying. So, yeah. Rick Sola (15:51.628) Yeah, I really like that answer. There are definitely times where it's easy to miss teaching. There's a lot about teaching that is wonderful. I have said on here before, I love what I do. I feel like I am so lucky. I've had the best job, you know, and fortunate to do it, but there are certainly times where teaching's fun. There's a whole different level of relationship that you can have with students. It still exists as principals, and that's been a topic on here before as well. But that teacher-student relationship is pretty neat, so I really, really like that. You are doing some really cool things at Indian Trail. I saw a picture of you surface over the weekend covered in paint or dust or you were like every color of dust. What was that all about? What was going on over the weekend? Brian Barackman (16:43.395) You Brian Barackman (16:54.273) Yeah, we had a little bit of fun this weekend. So I'm sure you've all seen something like this before, but it was a color run fundraiser. So it's one of those where the students will run laps, kind of like a 5K, but along the way you throw different color paint on them as they go around. it was the final celebration of the school fundraiser that we've been doing. all surrounding our house system. Rick Sola (17:27.435) Yeah, I'm going to say it looked like people had a really good time throwing stuff at you, like especially the color. Like they really, they got their money's worth out of it is what it looked like. Brian Barackman (17:33.541) You Brian Barackman (17:38.102) Yeah, I would say I was coming out pretty clean and then toward the end a couple students noticed that I was dodging a lot of the paint. So they grabbed a couple bottles and surrounded me and I didn't, I'm still cleaning out paint dust out of my car. It's all over my back right now from the weekend still. Rick Sola (17:50.092) Ha ha. Rick Sola (17:56.238) Well, you brought up the house system and that's what I wanted to get into is you got a really cool thing going at Indian Trail that truly is unique in Olathe. I think you're the only school as far as I know that at least middle school for sure, but if not all schools, but you've employed a house system that was developed out of visiting the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. And you went, maybe it was your first year as principal, you went down there, I don't know if training's the right word, experience, but talk about that experience down at the academy down in Atlanta and then what it is that's going on at Indian Trail with your house system. Brian Barackman (18:39.555) Yeah, so I'll tell you a little bit about it and then I would love to brag on my staff for how we began doing this house system at Indian Trail. if anyone's familiar with the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, our system is essentially built around there. So in summary, those of you familiar with Harry Potter, think broad strokes Harry Potter. When students come to the school for the first time, they are sorted into one of four houses and every student gets to be in a house and they remain in that house all three years of their time here. And same with staff members. So the four houses, they're different from the Harry Potter houses. Like I said, it's kind of just broad strokes, but each house has its own colors, its own crest, its own songs, its own cheers, chants, symbolists. traditions, and it's just a really special unique experience from each four houses. Then the goal is that you, since you stay in that same house all three years of your time here, you not only get to meet the students that are in your classes, but you deepen your middle school experience by getting to know students in other grade levels that you wouldn't otherwise have crossed paths with because they're in your house, and other teachers that you can build relationships that you don't necessarily really have for class, but you get to interact with at all of our house activities. So the general idea is, you know, number one, to add a fun system to kind of organize everything we do. But most importantly, it's to make students feel connected to the school. And that just adds so many other layers and opportunities for them to feel connected to the school. And then it's the keynote of our PBIS system. So when students do you know, our values of ownership, unity, respect, and safety. That spells hours and we say this house is ours. That's our system. A nod to the house system. Students get, not only will you get points that you can use in our school store as an individual, but any points that you receive also go to your house. So similar to Harry Potter at the end of the school year, there's a house cup that the winning house gets and like a ceremony where we celebrate that. Brian Barackman (21:09.095) And we've done things like each each week the house that's in the league you get to fly your flag out on the flagpole We have a house leaderboard in the main hallway so people can track your progress and get some friendly competition going But we do have a motto. It's four houses one family one cougar family So we got to make sure that you know, we can have some friendly rivalries, but that it is a positive behavior Intervention system, right? So that we got to keep it So we support each other. All houses are great. it's just a really, really special thing that it does come from the Ron Clark Academy. So all credit for these ideas and structures go to them. But I do think we're one of not very many schools in the area that use this system. And it just really adds a special layer of both fun and connection and community and excitement to everything we do. Rick Sola (22:07.063) What's an example of like a cross grade level activity or something being done at the school? Yeah. Brian Barackman (22:13.199) Sure, sure. Yeah, so I'll give you two. One is a more fun one. So my house is the House of Amistad, which is Spanish for friendship, and our main color is red. And since we are in Chief's Kingdom, we do one of our after school events. One of our traditions is on a night where we have a Chief's game, like a Monday night football or Thursday night football, we'll do a tailgate. So we'll tell everyone in the school wear red, we'll grill hot dogs, we'll play yard games, and the students from Amistad are all invited to attend for free and eat for free and have a little, you know, a little after school bonding activity with teachers and students of Amistad at all grade levels. So a really fun way to have a little community cookout with our House of Amistad. Rick Sola (23:04.363) Okay. Rick Sola (23:08.725) So that's, and that's just the Amistad students and staff. Brian Barackman (23:12.825) Correct, yes, each house has activities that they do after school, all very different, different traditions. So other houses will have their opportunities to do something, bonding activity like that, but that one would be just for Amistad. Rick Sola (23:29.101) So does each team or house, does each house have a kind of a leadership board? Like who's organizing that? Is that for you as administrator or how does that work? Brian Barackman (23:42.178) Yeah, well, this is one thing I would love to brag about our staff. We are our teachers and everyone gets into the house to assist them. Teachers, custodians, paraprofessionals, nurse, counseling office, everyone is just makes this so much fun and so special. So we are blessed to have a community that really has fun with it and believes in the power of the house system. So we have tons of people who are on board for planning these activities. And I think the reason it works so well in our building and the biggest shout out to our staff is this structure came from our staff. It started with a one seventh grade team that won a grant to go visit the Ron Clark Academy and fell in love with everything. If you ever have an opportunity to do any professional development down there, go because it is a really special place. It'll get you excited about education and leave you with tons of ideas. that you can concrete ideas you can bring to your school. So that group of seventh grade teachers went down there on that grant, brought the house system back to just that seventh grade team. The following year it grew to the seventh grade participated in the house system and then everyone saw how amazing it was. So then the year after that they expanded to the whole building. And now I believe we're on our... a sixth year, I believe, doing the house system as a whole building. So that was one of the things that makes it so special and gives us so much buy-in is it was teacher discovered, teacher organized. It all comes from within and it's something special for us. Rick Sola (25:30.066) So what's another example, a non-amistad example of activity going on? Brian Barackman (25:34.298) Hahaha Well, those ones don't matter as much, right? No, I'm kidding. Four houses, one family. Four houses, one family. So another maybe more academic example are half days. So our district has four or five half days throughout the school year. So instead of just doing like 15, 20 minutes of each class period on those days, our entire days are structured around our house system. one thing we did, like my first couple of years especially, Rick Sola (25:37.557) Yeah, yeah. Brian Barackman (26:05.831) because we wanted to have some academic social emotional time with small family style groups with sixth, seventh, and eighth grade mixed students. So we would spend the first 20 minutes or so of those half days in those groups with those students of all three grade levels but within your house to do some house bonding activities and also maybe some social emotional lessons, maybe some school spirit activities. maybe some academic activities, and then to kick off the half day. So we tried to, you know, really find every opportunity for them to build those extra connections that they wouldn't otherwise have. And then the rest of our half days we did, you know, like house assemblies, our house cheers, the houses split up and do, you know, different activities that they, you know, each of them have different traditions, like I said, that they do for those. So that's another example of how we might use that house system. that way. Rick Sola (27:06.655) It seems like a really natural kind of framework for our PBIS. So we're in a district that's 100 % PBIS adopted. Every building's got a system. And this just seems to dovetail right into it. Very, almost seamlessly, it sounds like. Brian Barackman (27:22.498) Absolutely. Yeah, we were pretty much, you know, executing the PBIS plan, you know, before we adopted this. You know, we were giving all the stuff that was in place before we became a PBIS school. We were, you we had the kids in houses, we were giving house points, they were getting points toward their house cup. We were trying to point out the positive behaviors to give the points for. You never take points away, like Dumbledore, you know, takes 20 points away from Slytherin. that would probably be your house there Mr. Sola for their bad behavior. It's all about positivity. Yeah, you knew what you signed up for. Yeah, but it's all about positivity, rewarding students for their good choices, not only kindness but also working hard in the classroom, academic side of things as well. Rick Sola (28:01.165) You know. I invite you onto the show and this is uncalled for. No, I know. Rick Sola (28:25.165) Do you ever come across, I'm just trying to think, you know, maybe a principal head here of like possible challenges. Like you mentioned something really cool, a tailgate for your Amistad family or your Amistad house. Do you ever get feedback from students like, I wish our house did this or, or, you know, does that ever creep up to where there's like, you know, house envy, if you will, of wanting to be on the other. Brian Barackman (28:49.199) Sure. Rick Sola (28:53.92) team or whatever. Brian Barackman (28:56.239) Sure, I think, yeah, that does naturally come up sometimes. And I think that our culture of four houses, one family, you know, we kind of have established ahead of time, like, hey, we're going to treat each other with positivity. So that kind of culture helps stay some of that. However, that happens sometimes. And I notice it the most when the first house that has an activity of the school year, then somebody has to go first, right? So the other three houses sometimes at that time will say, I wish I could go to that I want to be a part of that and you know until we say hey You know what I know it's gonna be really fun. I'm so sorry however I know that the house of rever is doing this awesome activity here in a couple weeks And I'm so jealous that you get to do that But you're gonna love that with you and your house of reverse So and then once they have their own activities people start to understand okay? You know all four houses have these really cool special things and while they might be different everybody everybody has their fun and everybody has their opportunity. And then we do, we have done many things. Usually first semester we do our own house activities and then a lot of times second semester we'll do some joint activities. like we did a Amistad and Isabendi, did a joint glow party one year and then Altarismo and Rever did a kickball tournament. So we'll do some stuff together as well to keep it interesting. for the students, you know, but there is a little bit of that, but once they get the taste of their own house activities, they realize, man, this is, every house has its special unique things, and I'm okay with that. Rick Sola (30:37.921) Well, one thing that's really neat as an outsider to Indian Trail, but very close in proximity, driving by the building and seeing the flag of whatever house that's up there. I just think that is really cool to see the flag flying. then on your your sign out front, you've got the logos for each of the houses on your sign. And I just think that's a really positive reminder and kind of advertisement, if you will, to your family, your community of Just an additional great thing going on in the building, I'm sure the kids are going home talking about their house and what it is that is going on in the building with their house. Brian Barackman (31:17.803) Absolutely, yeah. would say a shout out to Ms. Sham and Ms. March for making those custom-made marquee signs with our house symbols on it. It was pretty cool. I was pretty excited when those worked out. They engineered those up special just for us. But yeah, and I do think too it adds to, you want your students to come home and have a really memorable first day at school. know, and every school I've ever been at did an amazing job of making that day not only fun but special and meaningful for their students. But like I said, this just adds a whole other layer to, know, not only is it the balloons and the fog machines and the drums and the excitement to figure out what house am I in, but man to know that this is going to be where I belong for the next three years, not only in the Cougar family, but also in my house family just adds a whole other layer of, you know, special feeling for those kids. Rick Sola (32:15.181) Well, that's awesome. will in our show notes, I'll put a link to the Academy for those who are interested. Like I said, it's unique here in Olathe. You're the only school that has it and are doing it. And you're doing a really nice job with it six years into it. That's a long time in our field. know, things things can come and go multiple times over in six years. And so that speaks volumes. Brian Barackman (32:31.183) yeah. Brian Barackman (32:36.163) Mm-hmm. Well, that's... It speaks volumes of not only how fun it is, but of our teachers. They really make it special. They've bought into this, they have fun with it, it means a lot to them. The costumes that our teachers have built over the years to wear on our half days in assemblies have gotten pretty elaborate. When I reflect on that, I reflect on the type of staff that we have that care so much and are willing to be. you know, you know, bought into our school, our community, our culture. Not to mention it's changed how we've organized a lot of things like, you know, for example, for PEP assemblies, we don't sit by grade level like normal. You always sit with your house. So you have your, you know, that mixed group. And there's a lot of little examples like that of just we, you know, we do things by house, not necessarily by grade level or by homeroom or anything like that. Rick Sola (33:25.325) Hmm. Rick Sola (33:37.87) Yeah, that's really interesting, kind of breaking down the barriers of grade level. Because that could be, you for sixth graders, intimidating when they start school and they see the big eighth graders walking around, but to have them all on the same team, that's really neat. Well, thanks for sharing about that. And before we get off of this here, we are on our way, you and I and our eight other counterparts, on our way to the KPA conference here very soon in Wichita. and this is your first time going to KPA, is that correct? Brian Barackman (34:11.841) Absolutely, and I'm very excited. I'm very excited. I got to look ahead at the list of the sessions. what's so exciting for me is, you know, I've been to, you know... I don't want to say a lot of conferences, but several different types of conferences here and there. As an administrator, I'm always looking for, which ones of these apply to me or which ones of these. There's a lot of specialized conferences and lot of specialized sessions. What I'm really excited about KPA is it's a conference that's tailored to us. I'm looking through that thinking, oh man, I wish I could go to almost all of these sessions. How am I gonna pick between, I'm not searching for the couple that may apply. I'm like trying to narrow it down as best I can to the ones I wanna go to and I'm excited for the opportunity. Rick Sola (34:54.306) Right. Rick Sola (35:05.249) Yeah, it'll be a good time and going with our group, know that divide and conquer aspect is probably a likelihood. Some of the other value to it is just sitting in those sessions with principals from other districts all over Kansas and. Having those shoulder partners when we don't share a district, but we share the issues and we share the topics and things that come up. It's gonna be a great time. Really looking forward to it and I'm excited for the next few days here when we get down to Wichita. you know, Brian, I can't help but notice over your shoulder here on the camera, it looks like a Dundee award. And so... Brian Barackman (35:44.486) I got I actually have a few of those My favorite one I would say I got when I was your assistant principal It was from a student and the plaque on the Dundee says assistant to the principal Which I thought was pretty clever. So I that's my favorite one I got over there That makes so much sense Rick Sola (36:02.83) I never told you that I made him give that to you. that's yeah. No, I don't see that. I don't see that that apple you got back there. But no, I was going to ask you. I know. know. OK, this is this is totally, totally cold here. Let's see. What leadership traits can you relate to most from Michael Scott? Brian Barackman (36:15.205) You're the Dwight in this situation. I hope you know that. Brian Barackman (36:30.565) Man, some days it feels like the one where you always feel like you put your foot in your mouth. No, you know, man, I fortunately, I would hope don't have too many qualities like his because he probably should have been fired a thousand times over. But you know, at the end of the day, I'll say he always cared. Rick Sola (36:49.676) You Brian Barackman (36:53.773) You know, and he loved what he did. And maybe that's the one, that's the one. Because this job, as you all listening know, you know, any job in education can be really hard and really stressful and really, you know, you see so many sad things that these poor kids are going through. But at the end of the day, working with kids is fun, you know. Rick Sola (36:57.505) Yeah. Brian Barackman (37:13.433) That's what's so rewarding and the servant leadership portion of this is, know, of course we all have have bad days and hard stretches, but the the pros far outweigh the cons. The good far outweighs the bad. The happy fun days and happy fun activities we get to do with the kids far outweigh the tough ones. And so I guess me and Michael Scott at the end of the day love the people that we're with and the the the career that we get participated. Rick Sola (37:45.164) That's a good answer. And I was kind of hoping I would stump you a little bit, but no, that's an excellent answer and awesome to hear. Well, we're going to find out how good my editing is at the end of this, because if you've listened all the way through this and didn't notice a hiccup in the show, that's great. That means my editing was good. But if it felt a little clunky in the middle... Brian Barackman (37:47.397) You Rick Sola (38:08.877) the principal job just sometimes kind of creeps in and even while we're recording. So there was a little interruption that had to be paused for the show. And so I just wanted to point that out. Brian Barackman (38:18.789) To be clear, it was on Rick's end, not on my end. I've been nothing but professional over here. Rick Sola (38:22.029) Well, I didn't say it was unprofessional. I said it was just a principle matter that needed some attention. that's how it goes. Well, Brian, you've done a lot of really positive sharing and bragging on your people as I like to end our show. Any final words on the Indian Trail community that you want to... just share for the people here listening to Cool Coffee. Brian Barackman (38:53.539) Yeah, no, I just want to say, you know, number one. Rick, thank you for the opportunity. And number two, I know I've said it a couple times, but we have a staff that I just can't say enough about. This is a title building and that can have extra challenges and can be a tough position, but we also have very low turnover. And I don't think that has anything to do with what I'm doing. I think it has everything to do with the kind of people that they are. They're the type of people that are willing to go above and beyond for students and they're the type of people that are willing to stay after school to help. I've seen so many people give their own time and money just to help families with such, you know, and unique needs in different ways. And, you know, it's just, you know, it's inspiring to see and it's a blessing to be around those types of people that, you know, if they do that for other students and they're doing it for each other and they're going to do it for you too in your time of need, you know, so we got a wonderful group here. I said it's everything to not anything to do with what I'm doing everything to do with the type of people that they are and I'm lucky to call myself part of the cougar family Rick Sola (40:06.247) Yep. Well, as I show this podcast, being one that's intended to really just celebrate what a principal is, the principalship, the job and role of principal, I appreciate hearing you say it's not what you're doing, it's the people you're with. And I know that you have great, great people over there. But I would also say don't sell yourself short. You're doing amazing things over there. And people like to work for good principals. And I know you're a really good principal. Brian Barackman (40:35.727) Well, thank you. Rick Sola (40:36.329) You know, I'm going to go, that's the nicest thing you're, I might even have to edit this out. I don't know how comfortable I feel about saying that, but no, truly, Brian and I, we got to know each other over the two years at Prairie Trail, but you're doing really, really great things. And people like to be in buildings where they know their, you know, their principal loves their job. Like you said, that Michael Scott quality there. So. Brian Barackman (40:42.819) What? Brian Barackman (41:04.323) Well, thank you. appreciate that. I had some great role models along the way. We'll leave it at that right there. Rick Sola (41:09.407) Yeah. No, please go on. No. Hey, I really appreciate your time. I know it's really busy. We're actually going to site council tonight, the district site council. So I'll see you here in a little while. But looking forward to a couple days down in Wichita and learning with you and all the other principals in Kansas. Brian Barackman (41:30.519) Absolutely, anybody that's listening to this that goes down to the conference and you want to talk house system or the office, I'm your guy. Rick Sola (41:40.821) Sounds good. Hey, Brian, have a good night. We'll see you soon. Brian Barackman (41:44.122) Yeah, thanks so much Rick, I appreciate it. Have a good one.  

Instructional Leadership Doesn't have to be Scary!  Barney Pontious Principal Garfield Elementary USD 503 X= @mr_pontious Garfield Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GarfieldSchoolParsonsKS Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Topic: How to Make PD Relevant to Staff Assistant Principal Megan Black Olathe West High School USD 233 - Olathe X: @MaBlackOW The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Topic: Bridge Builders to strengthen the school and home connection  Principal Katie Revell Principal  Simpson Elementary Russell USD 407 The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Diversifying the High School Experience Principal Kerry Lane Olathe East High School - Olathe USD 233 X: @Kerry282542 The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Calling Others Into Leadership Principal Stefanie Lane Lincoln Elementary School Clay Center Schools USD 379 The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Addressing Our Own PD Needs Joel Wells Principal Elmont Elementary Seaman Schools USD 345 X: @jwesu5 FB: @elmontusd345 The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

In this episode of Cool Coffee with Kansas principals, host Rick Sola engages with two accomplished principals, Inga Esping and Heather Calvert, as they share about the session they will lead at the KPA Conference on November 5th and 6th, 2025. They also discuss their educational journeys, the importance of data-driven instruction, and the role of social-emotional learning (SEL) in building a positive school culture. They also highlight the significance of community engagement and collaboration among educators, especially in the context of the upcoming KPA conference. Register to attend the 2025 KPA Conference! 2025 KPA Conference Presenters:  Dr. Heather Calvert Principal, Grant Elementary School KCKPS [email protected] Inge Esping Principal McPherson Middle School [email protected] Chapters (timestamps do not include intro music) 00:00 Introduction to the Principals 02:22 Career Paths in Education 06:57 Data-Driven Instruction and Collaboration 14:44 Building Belonging and SEL Initiatives 20:39 The Importance of Community in Education The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]   FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT (timestamps do not reflect intro music) Rick Sola (00:01.719) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas principals. Today I am joined by two phenomenal principals who will both be presenting at the upcoming KPA conference November 6th, November 5th and 6th, Ms. Inga Esping of McPherson Middle School, USD 418 and Dr. Heather Calvert, principal of Grant Elementary School and USD 500 in the Kansas City, Kansas School District. Welcome Inga and Heather. Inge Esping (00:27.67) Thank you. Heather Calvert (00:28.66) Thank you, good morning. Rick Sola (00:30.283) Good morning. And it is a good morning. It's a bright and early morning and I am in conference week. Inga, you're in conference week and you actually have a day off and it is just after 7 a.m. So thanks for joining us. And Heather, you have a normal school day but conference is next week. Inge Esping (00:43.918) you Heather Calvert (00:47.803) Yes. Rick Sola (00:49.213) It's that time of year and kind of the grind. And before we begin, I do want to call your attention to the notes of this show, which include information on the KPA conference. We'll be discussing that today and also invite you to give this show a like and a follow. Leave a comment on your podcasting platform if you are so inclined or leave us feedback and suggestions at the forum in the show notes. So it is awesome to be joined by two very accomplished principals here today and Inga, you were recently named the KPA's middle level principal of the year through KPA. Inge Esping (01:25.602) Yes, yeah, just what an exciting honor. I was certainly shocked and it's definitely a testament to the hard work that our staff and students are putting in here at MacPherson Middle School. Rick Sola (01:37.845) That's awesome. Congratulations to you and a plug as well. And I don't know if you knew this, but as of recording, which is October 16th, but your principal's perspective was actually dropped today, this morning. And so, thank you for your contribution on that. and then Heather, you are published. You've had a book out and within the last year, along with, with your husband co-authored, I think with your husband, is that correct? Inge Esping (01:50.403) you. Heather Calvert (02:04.702) Correct, yes. Rick Sola (02:06.487) And Topeka's top 20 under 40 named a few years ago. So awesome things going on and two very accomplished principals excited to hear more from you today. I do want to start and Heather, we'll just kick it over to you to start here, but a quick road in education and you are currently sitting at Grant Elementary in the KCK School District. your road to get to the chair you're at right now, what did that look like? Heather Calvert (02:38.45) Yeah, it's been a fun, fun road. So I grew up in Topeka, Kansas, started my teaching career in 2007 in the Topeka Public Schools District and just kind of worked my way up through classroom teacher, instructional coach, building intern, assistant principal, and then principal. I've been at Grant now for seven years and we have just, it's just been crazy being over in Kansas City, Kansas public schools. I love this district so much. Our building is, is just taking off. The staff here are outstanding and we're just making waves every day with our students and our community and so excited. Rick Sola (03:18.123) That's awesome. Was there a moment in your career where you felt like, okay, I'm going administration. Like you were just tugged or did it just kind of happen or how did you get into administration? Heather Calvert (03:28.446) just kind of came naturally. I was blessed with a lot of opportunities that just kind of opened at the right time. When I was a classroom teacher and a couple of my fellow teachers were starting a master's program in curriculum and instruction and they said, come on, let's do it together. And I said, okay, great. You know, what else is going on? So did that and then that opened the door to instructional coaching. As I was finishing that degree, our district started a program partnership with K-State to do a program for educational leadership. as a cohort embedded in the day and that turned into a doctorate and just that pipeline just pulled me right in and I've loved every minute of it. Rick Sola (04:08.087) Awesome, very cool. Yeah. It's amazing how you start like unraveling things and all the next thing you know, you're, knee deep and you're moving forward and, uh, you know, opportunities start to present themselves and really cool. Awesome. Well, Inga, you are at McPherson middle school, uh, your road to that chair. Inge Esping (04:27.532) Well it's a little bit funny I actually student taught in this building. So there's the the gal that I student taught with just retired two years ago. So that's it's been fun just to come full circle. But I student taught here I was a teacher here at MacPherson Middle School. I went to the Mays district as well. I was a teacher and principal there. I've been the assistant director of special education for MacPherson schools. And during that time I I it was a little bit of an accident to get into that role. I started hiring and training paraeducators. I was a special educator and became really passionate about how do we make sure our paraeducators have the skills that they need to be successful in supporting our students with special needs. That kind of morphed into assistant director of special education through some changes and expansion. And then I really missed kids. I missed being around kids all day long. So became very motivated to go back and the building. I became the assistant principal and athletic director here at MMS. I went to Mesa's principal for a short stint and then this building opened up as head principal and I just had to come back. I definitely love this district and love this building in particular. Rick Sola (05:44.908) I love that. Actually, you just prompted an idea for another show, which is principals who were formerly at the head office and decided to come back. They miss the kids too much or, you know, they say we go to the dark side. Is that the darker side? And then like, we got to come back. I don't know. No, that's awesome. And I got to imagine that a special ed director, he said assistant director. What a, what a valuable experience to have. Inge Esping (06:07.448) Mm-hmm. Rick Sola (06:11.741) sitting where you're at now as far as a building principle goes. Inge Esping (06:16.418) Yes, we host all of our cooperative specialized programs for middle level students. And so that experience has been really valuable to have to help coach both our special educators, but then our general ed teachers on how to be best support students with special needs from that general ed lens too. Rick Sola (06:38.133) Yeah. Well, so you're both on here because I was looking at the presenters for the upcoming KPA conference and you were both listed and you're both presenting. And so, you know, this is a conference that as I've gotten to become more familiar with and attend, I've just really enjoyed in part really because it's a principle focused conference and the networking is so valuable. All those things, but I know that going to every session, it's going to be super relevant to what it is that I do and that we do. so I wanted to be able to share this out because this episode will come out with about two weeks until the conference, just under two weeks. And so to provide a little bit of a preview. so Heather, we'll start with you. The name of your session and kind of in a nutshell, I think you have, you know your time slot or has that been confirmed yet? Heather Calvert (07:34.62) Yes, I will be Thursday at 8.30 in the morning, bright and early. Rick Sola (07:38.519) All right, kicking off the day. So what do you? Heather Calvert (07:40.508) Yes, so my is called data cycles and effective method for data analysis and it's just kind of grown. So this work started actually when I was in the classroom as a teacher in Topeka public schools and you know districts. that time, early 2000s, we were really moving into the PLC model of collaboration and wanting teams to take ownership of what those collaborative team meetings looked like, but focused not on the busy work, but more on the actual data-driven work, diving deep with your teams, collaborative planning. And it just, sounds really easy when you say that, but what happens when you're in that as a teacher or I learned later when you're trying to lead that as an instructional coach or a principal is that it's easy to get drowned out to not know what that specifically looks like every single time and really make the best use of that time to keep it focused. And so we created an Excel spreadsheet with all these formulas in it that make it super easy to stay focused, to walk through a process of what it looks like with your team, to really collaborate on what standard are we focused on in this upcoming unit, where are our students at right now, what instructional strategies do each of those students need specific to the student, not just to the whole group, and then how are we tracking that throughout, what does it look like at the end? It graphs the data for you. So as a leader, we've really just leaned into this with our teams here and our instructional coach and myself, we have backed out of really running every collaborative team meeting and turn that back over to the teachers. But it gives us a way to follow that process for them, even when we're not sitting with them, but also for them to really see the meaningful work that they're doing and be able to attack those gaps and disparities right in the moment. It's just been absolutely changing. I've led it in multiple buildings. I've shared it with principals across our district here in Kansas City, Kansas public schools and watching the data shift and the teachers collective efficacy really rise through that process has been absolutely outstanding. Rick Sola (09:41.24) So you've been at Grant for seven years. So you said seven years. So would you say when you started, you mentioned the PLC model and the use of data. Did you feel were you kind of starting at ground zero or did you have kind of a foundation to build off of from from that point forward? Heather Calvert (09:44.745) Mm-hmm. Heather Calvert (09:58.9) We were absolutely starting at ground zero. Teachers were very hungry for it. So we were a TSI school at the time, CSI school, and our state assessment scores were under 5 % proficient in every grade level and had been consistently for a long time. And so it gave us a great leverage point to say, what do we have to lose by trying it with teachers? Even if you don't like it or it doesn't work. Okay, you know, we're not going down from here, but watching them leverage and we, it's just become very ingrained. It's in our Indistar plan. It's been very ingrained in the work that we do. Teachers throw it around, you know, all the time. Oh, what step are we on? You know, all the things and they feel that they have the ownership and the power to pick the standards that they want to really leverage into our curriculum as a resource. We are the owners of that. We are the educators. We are empowered to do the work that we need to do with our students. Rick Sola (10:49.377) What were the challenges that you had early on trying to kind of build a new framework and it sounded like there was a want for a buy-in and a need, but what were some of those roadblocks or stumbling blocks that you had early on? Heather Calvert (11:02.9) Yeah, even with the want, their data's scary. And putting your data as a teacher in any sort of visible format is always scary and very intimidating for teachers because it's very vulnerable. It puts you in a vulnerable spot. It makes you question if the students didn't get it. It's just personal for educators. What did I do wrong? It's my fault they didn't get it. so, Having to shift that into it's the team, it's all the kids at the grade level. They're not your students, they're our students and we're all in this together. So don't ever be embarrassed or feel upset about your data. It is what it is and we're a team that's going to rally behind you and our students to improve that. But it really, it's shifted our team conversations, it's shifted that collective efficacy with our teams. It's empowered our teams to seek extra resources through our intervention teacher, through our ESL teacher, through our department they're asking very specific questions now instead of just saying well I don't know what to do you know I need you to help me do this. Rick Sola (12:03.799) Did you find, I like that word scary with. with data because it could kind of feel that and that that vulnerability and you know and just personalize it. Yeah I try to emphasize the data is our building data. It's not a particular department but that's a really hard sell for those that are in that department and they see their name next to it you know that sort of thing. Was there anything that you did intentionally to really kind of try to remove that feel or in hindsight you look back on like I would I would kind of frame this differently to try to make it more comfortable. Heather Calvert (12:39.508) I mean, it sounds really harsh, but I would openly just continue to ask in whole group sessions, you know, who has been written up for their data. And having everybody watch, like, what negative consequence have you gotten because you put data on a spreadsheet that wasn't 100 % of kids passing or 100 % of kids meeting a standard? And as teachers start to realize that even as an administrator, I'm in this work with you and I'm not here to judge or critique or tell you that you're not good enough or your data is not good enough, we're asking you to try every day and try to get a little bit better every day and just keep having the right conversations and you will see that shift. And it empowered our teachers just to be comfortable. to start that work and then when the data started to shift it was just all steam ahead. You know they believed in it then they saw it and they were more willing to take risks and be more vulnerable with their data. Rick Sola (13:31.799) Are student celebrations a part of that at all? when they like, do you have data, you know, I don't want to say real time, but in a way that you can bring students into that or is there an angle on that with students? Heather Calvert (13:46.86) So we've started, we added that in a little bit later, and so we do it a couple different ways. We're PBIS school and district, and so one of our character words is pride, and so teachers have started nominating students for pride in that work. and just for the students recognizing their growth, not just waiting for the teacher to say it. We also added in data cards that students can collect their data on. Even at the elementary level, it works. Our kindergartners are doing it with stickers on charts and dots and colored things in. And our intermediate students are more using data points and graphing. And we don't do it a lot. It's not like an everyday task, but we do like to show them this is where you started and this is where you ended. Look at your growth, even if you're not where we need you to be or where we want you to or what the state standard says you need to be at. Look at your growth, keep working. And it's shifted our student culture as well of I can be a learner. Rick Sola (14:40.331) Yeah, I really love the focus on growth because sometimes we'll see students grow and they don't grow out of a level or something. But we need to be able to celebrate with them. Hey, you're making strides. sometimes things take time. It'll take time, but you're making growth. And I think that's really important. That's great. So 8.30 Thursday morning, November 6, you're kicking off the day. And is this your first time? presenting at KPA. Heather Calvert (15:11.826) This is my first time presenting at KPA. I'm super excited. I'm excited that it's in a great time of year, know, when I think administrators are really needing that refresh, but also looking for new ideas to start planning seeds for second semester. I'm excited just to meet and navigate with other Kansas principals. Rick Sola (15:29.847) So it's 830 Thursday morning, Dr. Heather Calvert. And I'm sorry, it's called Data Cycles. Is that what we're going to be looking for in the program guide, which I have not yet seen and published. But all right, very good. Inga, and you are also presenting. And what is your topic titled? Heather Calvert (15:36.456) Yes. Yes. Inge Esping (15:51.308) Yeah, ours is building belonging, how our bullpup time has transformed our SEL here at MMS. Rick Sola (15:59.7) Awesome. And so in a nutshell, what is bullpup time and what is that going to look like? Inge Esping (16:07.596) Yeah, so we've we've dedicated 20 minutes a day to our SEL, our character development types of lessons. That's where we start each morning. We have seen a huge shift in our student culture. We really believe that this dedicated time has helped our teachers feel more equipped, our students have a positive start to their day. We've put a variety of other structures in place here at MMS that that I'll speak to and my counselors are joining me as They are the ones in charge of developing the lessons with our SECD team. But we are now on year four. We've got a solid plan for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Our Mondays start with grade checks and discussions there. That's where our Zello lessons come in for some career exploration. Every Tuesday, we do Teamwork Tuesday. We do our dedicated SEL lessons on Thursdays. And then Friday, we work on community. So we are really building towards more restorative practices throughout the school. We've finally been able to leverage our community circles from that bullpup time to now when there's been a wrong that's happened between students in the school. We can come back to the community circle and help students process what happened. What was I thinking at the time of whatever offense? How can we come together and move forward? forward with one another. So really that shift towards a more restorative approach. We're putting the tools and the skills to build belonging, to build these types of high level conversations in the hands of both our teachers and our students. And our data, has honestly been a little bit crazy. Another piece that we added with this was going cell phone free throughout the day. Our first year alone our suspension rate reduced by 70%. It's middle school. Of course there is still plenty, too many instances of bullying happening, but to see such a dramatic drop. Inge Esping (18:25.422) to see our attendance rate skyrocket, to see our grades begin to become more meaningful for students. And then we're also starting to see that transfer just into our general data, our state assessment data, our fast-bridge data. formative assessments and things like that. So we've been able to really get a good solid base for building a positive culture here. And now I'm super excited to go to Heather's session and think of how we can deepen our work in our PLCs too. Rick Sola (18:57.783) Yeah, that's awesome. So you kind of alluded to where I'm at, we're a PBIS school and ownership is one of our pillars and you're talking, what you're describing to me sounds like building a lot of ownership and kids and letting them. have such a big role in their learning, in their behavior in the building. And what I found too is, and I hear this resonating in how you're describing your building, it's just that common language across the building amongst staff to be able, for kids to be able to hear really the same message. And that's really what I have found to be so powerful with some of the SEL approaches and the PBIS approach and that sort of thing. What time is your session? Inge Esping (19:43.854) It's Wednesday at 845. Rick Sola (19:46.633) Alright, so you're both not competing with each other. Inge Esping (19:50.038) I was thankful to hear that because as I was listening, I was taking notes over here and I was like, thank heavens it's not at the same time I can go to Heather's session. Heather Calvert (19:51.4) you you Rick Sola (19:57.848) Well, and I know Heather had a little bit of a shift in time. And so then I'm thinking in my head, because I know you weren't competing when I arranged this, but then there was a change. I'm like, oh gosh, I hope you're not like squaring off on the cool coffee podcast here. But no, that sounds really awesome and two fantastic sessions. And I'm not sure if. you're going to present and you have got a team of people that's going with you and you're all kind of dividing and conquering. Is that something that like McPherson and KCK, are you the only ones going out there? Are there others joining you to this conference? Heather Calvert (20:34.452) I am going solo. Rick Sola (20:37.142) Okay. Inge Esping (20:38.67) Same, I'm going solo and Mr. Beam, my assistant principal is going to be here making sure things continue to go smooth, especially since I'm taking our entire counseling department with me for our sessions. So please send him all the positive vibes you can for next Wednesday or I can look for now. Rick Sola (20:56.183) No drama allowed on those two days at the middle school. No, it's really cool. This conference, I happen to be able to be going with a team. Our middle school principals are going. And I was going to say that dividing and conquering of sessions, truly there will be, and there are, I've seen a list of competing sessions that are just really strong and having to make a decision. But having you both on here. today really is kind of a reflection of what I think this conference is all about, what the KPA is all about as far as bringing principles together from different parts of the state, learning from each other. And truly I have learned a lot from each of you and I would love to see both of your sessions and hope to be able to do that. Before we close off here today, I want to just give you both a chance to speak to your kind of experience with with KPA, the role that you've had and kind of the value that you've had with it. Of course, now leading into this conference, that'll be a couple of weeks away when this comes out. And then I do want to give you both a chance to just brag on your people at McPherson and KCK and for all the millions of listeners of this podcast to hear all about your awesome people that you work with. So Inga, we'll start with you and then we'll flip it over to Heather. Inge Esping (22:26.796) I think that the most special part of being part of KPA is just being able to connect with other principals, other leaders. It can feel very isolating sometimes to be a principal. In my district, I'm the only middle school principal. You can get so very busy that it's hard to connect with others, learn from others. being a member, being part of this organization is just so very important to. know where you can reach out to, who you can reach out to, and I'm really excited for the conference to be able to learn from others and just to be able to grow that networking system too. And then here at McPherson Middle School, I tell you, I was here as a teacher, I was here as an assistant principal, and now as principal, I just can't give this place up. I love it here so very much. We have such a dedicated staff. We have folks who are willing to be brave to try something new. Our conferences, for example, we completely changed the structure this year based on some parent feedback last year, and they were brave enough to say, let's try it, and then let's get feedback and let's go from there. And I think that it just, it takes a lot of guts to be willing to try something new in education, to put yourself out there and be vulnerable in that way as a building. And I'm so thankful that our teachers are willing. to be vulnerable and that our community is willing to support the ideas that our teachers and our site council have moving forward and willing to give us feedback on this was great. Let's tweak this and I feel that we're pretty special in that here in McPherson that we've got that willingness to allow that type of growth. Rick Sola (24:16.681) Awesome, very good. Heather? Heather Calvert (24:19.71) So I am really new in my KPA journey and experiences. I think I've been a member on and off for a couple years throughout as I've kind of bounced between a couple different districts. But super excited just to really leverage in. I think it's a great organization. We can never have enough people in our corner as administrators. Like Inga said, it can be very lonely and very isolating and it's really hard to find people to collaborate with that really understand the struggle that you're going through sometimes or to celebrate with you in really authentic ways because they know the that it took to get to those celebrations. So really excited just to meet and network and get more actively involved in the organization. I cannot say enough positive things about KCKPS and Grant Elementary. You know, we're a very large district, very diverse district. There's a lot going on in the community all the time, a lot going on to be involved in. Our building is a small little building, very community-based elementary school, and watching the shifts that have been made with our community wrapping around us. And then watching the City of Kansas City Kansas wrap around us, our building one, we got an award from the mayor for just being involved in the community and to be recognized in a very large urban population for those things is very, it's just telling to the work that's done every day and watching our staff grow and just bond with each other through the difficult moments, through the happy moments. There's just never enough of that. So super excited to meet everybody next or in a couple of weeks. I do it in a couple of weeks and really branch out. and build more connections. Rick Sola (25:51.574) Yeah, well I hope to connect with both of you as well. It'll be fun to meet so many of our principals across the state in person. You one thing I liked about both of your answers, you both mentioned your community. and extending beyond the walls of your school. And I just don't think that can be overstated how important a community is and how important a school is to a community. And then for working in the school, the value of the community around you. And I just love that you both you both reference that and brought that up. So, you know, this episode will come out and let's see, I think it's like October 24th ish or somewhere around there. It's right before Halloween. So I'm to put you both on the spot. What's your favorite scary movie. Heather Calvert (26:34.205) I hate scary movies. no. Hate them all. Rick Sola (26:36.055) Hahaha. Inge Esping (26:38.51) Well, I don't know that I have a favorite scary movie because I'm right along with Heather, but my children love scary movies. Right now their obsession is mama, so I've actually been able to make it through the whole thing without screaming myself. I think that's just a point of pride. So not a favorite. I just was proud of myself for being brave on that one. Rick Sola (27:00.011) Well, I'm going to tell you, I'm right along with both of you. I cannot stand scary movies. I don't watch them. I've seen one I think that actually qualifies as a scary movie and that's The Shining. And that was like when I was in high school. I was done. I'm done. I don't like scary movies. I, you know, not to be kind of like a downer on it, but I always kind of enjoy November 1st when Halloween's behind us and we can get onto Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, Heather Calvert (27:26.004) 100%. Inge Esping (27:27.534) For sure. Rick Sola (27:29.429) Well, hey, really appreciate both of you. know it's early on a day off and it's early on a full day of school. And so that you both were willing to jump on here means a lot. Look forward to seeing you here in a few weeks at the KPA conference and we'll sign off. Heather Calvert (27:46.15) Thank you. Inge Esping (27:46.168) Thank you very much. Thanks for hosting us.  

Leadership: “Perspective Matters” Cort Haynes Principal Maize South Middle School Maize USD 266 X: @CortHaynes The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Encouraging Teacher Leadership Principal Kelly Whittaker Ottawa High School, USD 290 X: @kelwhitt217   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Perspective Topic : Productive Struggle Dr. Justin Bogart Principal Piper High School X: @apbogart ; Piper School District, USD 203 The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

April Baugh Spearville Elementary Principal USD381 Facebook-April Hosheit Baugh TikTok-@prinicpalbaugh   Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

State Assessments in October!? Cody Dunlap K-12 Principal Cunningham - USD 332 X: @USD332Principal   Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Supporting students’ social-emotional learning to build a stronger school culture Inge Esping Principal McPherson Middle School USD 418 - McPherson Public Schools 2025 Kansas Middle School Principal of the Year Facebook https://facebook.com/mmsbullpups X: @IngeSpinga   Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

"Mattering"--Do your people to know they matter? Stacey Green Pre-K-8 Principal Stockton Grade School USD 271 Stockton X: @usd271sgs   Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Student Appreciation Week Mr. Casey Seyfert USD 273 Beloit Jr. Sr. High School 7-12 Principal Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Topic: Beyond the Box: Rethinking Education for Today’s Kids Principal/Director Erica Shook  Ad Astra Academies, K-12 District: USD 313, Buhler Instagram: @Ms_Shook, School Facebook   Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Topic: Responding to Parents Principal Mike Wiley California Trail MS Olathe, USD 233 X: @KSUWiley   Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

In this episode of Cool Coffee, Principal Heath Henderson from Skelly Elementary School discusses the importance of educational leadership, professional development, and community partnerships. He shares insights on the KPA conference, including his own presentation, the current school year, and the significance of building relationships within the educational environment. Heath also offers valuable advice for new principals and expresses pride in his school community at Skelly Elementary School. Register to attend Kansas Principals Association Conference 2025, November 5-6. Email: Heath Henderson USA Board of Directors USD 490 ----------------------------------- Chapters (timestamps do not account for intro) 00:00 Introduction and Overview of Educational Leadership 02:28 The Value of Professional Development Programs 05:11 Community Partnerships and Their Impact 07:38 Reflections on the KPA Conference Experience 10:01 Current School Year Insights and Challenges 12:55 The Importance of Relationships in Education 15:20 Advice for New Principals 18:04 Personal Insights and Community Pride   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]   FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT (timestamps do not account for intro) Rick Sola (00:01.916) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Principal Heath Henderson from Skelly Elementary School in El Dorado, Kansas. USD 490, part of the pride. Welcome, Heath. Heath Henderson (00:13.686) Well, thanks for having me, Rick. I am excited to be here and talk about some educational things. Rick Sola (00:21.928) Well, good deal. I'm looking forward to having a conversation with you. And I've come across you obviously in our board meetings with KPA, but also at USA. I've seen you present and I know you're presenting at KPA here in about a month. So looking forward to hearing about that. Before we get started, I'll do a quick show shout out, check out the show notes, leave feedback or contact me directly with topics or guest ideas. Also, if you're so inclined, give us a like or a follow on your favorite podcast platform. and help spread the word about the insightful stories from the amazing principals we have right here in the state of Kansas. Like us, follow us here at KPA's Cool Coffee. So Heath, once again, thanks for joining us. It is October 1st. It's 3.54 PM. The day just wrapped. How was your day today? Heath Henderson (01:11.69) I had a wonderful day. I actually had a 360 coaching session today with the wonderful people at KPA. And so if you are a leader and you haven't taken advantage of the Elevate programs or the 360 coaching or any of those programs, then you're missing out because I always get little bit recharged any time I have the opportunity to collaborate and learn and grow as a leader in those programs. Rick Sola (01:41.774) I have had the opportunity and actually am currently in one of the Elevate programs. For those who may not be at all familiar or maybe have only heard a little bit, what would be like a 30 second summary that you would give to someone about your experience with. Heath Henderson (01:56.49) For me, and I say this any chance I get, it is the greatest professional development that you can get as an administrator. I have learned more about how to lead with my leadership style, how to plan, how to impact leadership in my building, how to provide that support for my people to create a positive climate and culture. And I would say it's more impactful than my whole entire leadership program that I paid a lot of money for. so I don't like saying that very loud, but at the same time, it's been an exceptional journey. Sorry, a little bit longer than 30 seconds, but I get very passionate about it. And I do think people need to jump on board if they haven't. Rick Sola (02:48.208) No, it's a very candid and real answer. And I wouldn't disagree with you. I've been through, I'm on my second rotation of Elevate and there's so much value in the connection and sitting shoulder to shoulder with people that you don't work with in a district or day to day, but being able to problem solve and think through and reflect on the so many situations that we might have come across as. Heath Henderson (03:14.146) Well, I would echo that because I always used to say that the best teachers are the best thieves. They steal all the ideas and it's the same thing. And you're sitting in a room full of people with the same growth mindset that you hopefully have. And when you're in rooms with people who are curious and people who are risk takers, you're going to find some fantastic ideas. Rick Sola (03:40.733) best teachers are the best thieves. I think I need to compile all the sound bites from all of these podcasts, that's like a bumper sticker or something. But it's true, and it's a compliment. And truly, that's really one of the points of this podcast is to share out and give ideas out. And hopefully, we're all learning from each other. So you're kind of, it's a nice segue into the conference. It's, like I said, October 1st. Just over a month from now is the KPA Conference, November 5th and 6th. You're presenting at the conference and would love to hear a teaser of what it is you're gonna be talking about. Heath Henderson (04:19.694) So for us, mean, and I say for us because this this I haven't decided whether it's going to be a presentation because you know, last the last presentation I did I also Did it with my student liaison Emma Culberson. She's amazing We have a such a strong team here Sometimes I think when we present by ourselves that kind of negates the importance of that whole team But we're going to talk about the collaboration to impact from collaboration to impact which is partnerships with a purpose and so we'll That will touch on community partners coming into our school and how that can impact our building, how we can impact some of those community partners. And also within our building, what do those partnerships look like? Whether it's from certified staff to students, or certified staff to classified staff, or classified staff, vice versa. And we have a lot of fun initiatives, impactful initiatives that we do here in our building that are unique to us, but also again, I'll go back to what I said earlier, they're all little pieces that we've seen at other places that from around the state, from around the country and thought, well, that could work for us. And when you bring it back and it just, it, it, there's some magical things that happen on the South side of El Dorado. And so that's the things we'll be talking about. And so, we'll be bragging about the amazing staff and community that we're from too, because None of this happens without some of those amazing people who make the work happen. Rick Sola (05:55.177) What's an example of a community partner that you are working with right now? Heath Henderson (05:59.964) well, mean, so some of those community partners we're talking about, whether we're talking about our good news clubs or our scouts or our RPD, those are some different things. Our custodial staff, some of those interventions that we are doing with those specific things and those people. I don't want to give too much away. Some of that's going to be at the conference. And also some of what we're doing with our attendance initiatives that are a little different than other people. We talked a little bit about it, meeting our community and our families where they're at. And we have 24-7 access. Our families have that to us to communicate with us. And so those are things that we have been very intentional on doing. And so we're excited to share some of those ideas. maybe give some of those ideas and initiatives to other schools that they might be able to use and hopefully take something away that will positively impact their school. Rick Sola (07:10.364) Yeah, I love that. Anytime I go to a conference, my hope is I'm able to leave with even just a single item that I can bring back and it might impact the school. And you alluded to that. How many years have you been attending this conference? Not to put you on the spot, because I don't know the answer to this, but. Heath Henderson (07:29.25) So for the KPA conference, this will be my fifth year attending the KPA conference. And I think the state of Kansas with KPA and also USA in the spring, I think that we do just phenomenal stuff at these. And the leadership sessions that we get from principals for principals are just, they're just. so relevant to what we do every day. That person who's talking to us is giving us information from our seats. And so it's not from a book, it's not from another state, it's not from a company. It is literally somebody doing my job or your job. And hey, they'll be honest and say what works, what doesn't work, and then so they can help you avoid some potholes. help you grow. So five years and I would say that again going back to investing in yourself, money, money, well spent. Rick Sola (08:36.732) Yeah, I totally agree. I haven't been to this conference as many years as you, but I have kind of shouted it from the rooftops exactly what you said at the value of this conference. And the spring with USA is so valuable. KPA, it's not as large of a conference, but it's really a strong conference with the presenters, the current principals. And I find it too, it's very candid. and sometimes even conversational, but anybody who attends is gonna come away with probably multiple things that they're gonna be able to bring back. But then just that networking piece that is really a big part of KPA, but this conference in particular, I'm looking forward to connecting with people like you who, you know, we're on different parts of the state, we don't see each other, but to be able to continue those conversations or start new conversations. Heath Henderson (09:29.9) Yeah, I agree. we talk about the size of the conference. Well, what I love about the KPA conference specifically is its principles. Where there's, you know, when we get to the other conference, which is a great conference, there's a little, it's a little bit more, you know, you have some central office, you have some technology, have some companies coming in to present. This is such a principle focused conference that is Like said, it is so relevant and I'm with you. said something earlier about hoping to take something back and I always say when I go into a session, my goal at every session I go into is one thing, one thing. What is one thing I'm going to learn from this session? Whether that's something to take back to my building or just something to consider. sometimes it's a firm, an affirmation. You you go into something and it's affirming you're doing something right in your own building that you might've thought about changing and you're like, wait a second. I just got to get through this. this little bump right here. It's going to be good. And so it's just been a great, great experience. Rick Sola (10:34.472) It's actually a really good point, the affirming part, because I don't know. Maybe it's part of my own personal reflection, but there's times you start to second guess yourself, or you're wondering, or like, gosh. And then you hear someone else talk about it, like, well, no. Maybe I'm not far off, or maybe this is working or worth a second look. And so I like that it's not just about change. It's about maybe making better what you're currently doing, or affirming a process, or something that's in place. And that's a really, really good point with that. Well, so like I said, as we record this, it's just over a month away as this comes out, it'll be even less. But my sentiments are exactly what you said, just the fact that it is a principle focused conference and really just of such value. So looking forward to your presentation and the many, others that we will see out there. Kind of transitioning from that, just talking about the year. Yeah, I said it's October 1st and I don't know, there's still that sense of like, we're still in the new kind of the new school year. But where I'm at, we're wrapping up the quarter here in a week and we're having conferences and just over a week. And we're really not in the start of the school year anymore. But how's your year gone up to this point, almost a quarter in? Heath Henderson (11:51.498) Well, I would say that this has been the best year that I've had as an administrator in education. We have had enrollments up a little bit. Our kids have been, they understand and know the Skelly way. And even our kids who are new to us have fit in and been welcomed. And so we have a few new staff and they have. just come on and added so much new energy and so many new ideas to our building and been met with great collaboration from our veterans who have been here. so, so our year, feel very blessed to say has been very, very good, but you know, in education, we have to knock on wood when we say stuff like that. So we've got to be careful. But I anticipate us having a strong year the whole way through just, have great people and, and yeah, we're only as strong as the people that work in a building. And luckily, I'm probably the weakest link in this building. Rick Sola (12:51.996) What's the Skelly way? Give me two or three Skelly way items. Heath Henderson (12:57.814) Well, so the Skelly way, it's just our social contract that we, in our building, how we're going to treat people. We're going to have good customer service to students, staff, parents, everybody. We're just going to be respectful and, you know, we're going to be proud of who we are and we're not going to be afraid to be proud of who we are. I think that's that whole thing when we're talking about culture and climate. Saying where you're at, who you are, where you're from, we're the Southside Superstars. We like to imagine greatness down here on the south side of 951 Scaly Street. And that is important to us and making everybody feel welcome. And so when we talk about that social contract, when we talk about doing things the right way, that's what we're referring to. Rick Sola (13:43.112) What's been a challenge you've had to work through either this year or last year? Heath Henderson (13:47.982) Well, I think anytime when we talk about challenges in buildings for us, one of our building goals is that chronic absenteeism. So for us, one of those big challenges is continuing to fight that chronic absenteeism, continuing to identify those barriers that are creating some of those things. We are an 85 % free and reduced lunch school. And so we have some socioeconomic barriers, we have some logistical barriers, but we call them barriers, I'll also just call them opportunities. And one of the things we'll talk about in that presentation is we had four years ago a chronic absentee rate of almost 38%. Well, our chronic absentee rates. like 16 now. So we've dropped that substantially. And of course, we're going to drop that more. We're going to keep working. We're going keep focusing on doing what we can to help those kids get to school so they can learn and create that safe environment where they want to come to school and try to, like I said, use those opportunities to help. And so that's been the big challenge for us. And I think that's one of those things that we will continue to focus on. for the foreseeable future because we don't want our kids to think that we're gonna let that happen and we're gonna give up on them. We're gonna make sure that we're help them understand the importance of being here. Rick Sola (15:26.94) Yeah, no, that's a really, I mean, you cut it in more than half, you sharing that stat. And I want to ask follow-up questions, but I know you're going to talk about it at the conference. I'm going have to come sit in on your session there. Heath Henderson (15:38.732) Well, and there's some good stuff. Some of it will kind of blend with some of the stuff we've presented in the past, but we've added some new things to it. And really the thing is, how do we engage them? And how do we engage our parents? How do we engage people to want to be somewhere? And you can't control people. You can only influence people. So how do you influence them? And so we had to dig into data, and data would tell us which days kids were there the most. And we got into daily data throughout the year and we knew that when there was an event going on at a school, kids were at school. Like it shared out. If there was an assembly at school, all the kids were at school. If there was a field trip, kids were at school. If there was, you know, different things. So, okay, how do we create that magic a little bit more frequently? And that's helped us. Rick Sola (16:28.84) That's awesome. And do you have your time slot for the conference? Are you Wednesday or Thursday? Heath Henderson (16:34.091) I do not have my time slot yet, I have not looked yet, but we'll get there. Rick Sola (16:38.248) Okay. I know it's a work in progress too. We're still early and I know submissions are still even being accepted. So no, that's really good. Today is the first day of National Principals Month, which, yeah, so it's great talking with you on this and looking ahead at some things to come. It's National Principals Month. What do you love about being a principal? Heath Henderson (17:02.606) I love. Heath Henderson (17:07.906) So it's gonna sound maybe weird because I was a teacher for 20 years before I was a principal and I was a coach for a bunch of years, for 20 years before I was a principal. And what I love most about those is the relationships and the ability to impact wherever I was at. It's the same answer. My why still is the same. It's just my audience is different. And so for, you know, when you were coaching, it's your team, whenever you're a teacher, it's the students in your room. And what I love now is that that... team of people that I have that opportunity to impact and coach are the teachers, the paras, our custodian, our lunch lady, our secretary, our nurse. The ability to have an impact over the people who touch every single student in our building and also potentially impact our community. That is the part that I enjoy. So that relationship piece. is something that is near and dear to my heart. so they always, you that's always the first question I'm always gonna ask. And anybody who's ever gonna interview for a job in my school, if they don't talk about relationships anywhere in that interview, then they probably won't work for me. And so, cause that's something that's, it's a foundational thing for me. Rick Sola (18:28.776) When you made that transition from classroom to administration, did you find it challenging even at first to maintain or create and build those kinds of relationships from a different seat and different perspective? Heath Henderson (18:42.85) I don't, I didn't personally, and I know that some people do because you have to have your professional boundaries. However, we still have to see people as people. And while we can't necessarily go out, we can still have conversations and be professional. And I can ask you about your family and I can check in on you and I can still see you as a mother or a father first before I see you as a teacher. And that's. That is very, very important to me as somebody who sat in the other side for so long. The best administrators I ever had were always, always had the ability to connect and relate to their staffs. And again, there was always a boundary still. There's still a boundary. There's still a rule, but that ability to connect is the single most important thing. And I would say that when we talk about teachers, we've all, we all have teachers who connect with like rock stars with kids. Well, if they can do that, and we can teach them the skill, they're going to be great. And we have the ones who struggle with that ability and they can know everything in the world, but it doesn't matter because it doesn't translate because they don't connect. And so that ability to connect is so important. And so for me, I think it's just one those things where we try to be very intentional. And again, I think it goes back to seeing people as people before you see them as... employees and teachers and paras and custodians, they're people first. you know, I know every person in my building, you know, if their kids got a game this weekend, if their grandkids got a game this weekend, if their grandchild was just born, if their baby was just born, what's their names and where they're going. And it's just important to care and to show you care and to be genuine. And so for me, I think it's And it makes it better when you go to work when you like the people you work with and you invest in the people you go to work with. It just makes it better. Rick Sola (20:39.068) Yeah, that's great. Really enjoyed that answer. It sounds like there's a lot of authentic relationships in your building. And I think that all is toward the good and the purpose of the school as well. But like you said, it makes it more fun. For those who might be listening who are like first year principals or maybe even considering becoming an administrator, what was the best advice you got? as a principle, either going into the chair or that you got while serving in the chair. Heath Henderson (21:15.182) Well, and so this is a hard one because there's so many different pieces of advice that are so, so, good. And I just kind of touched on relationships. But I would say, I'm going to go way back to a college football coach of mine and they just said, you never stay the same. Rick Sola (21:24.786) Yeah. Heath Henderson (21:42.722) You never stay the same. either, every day you either get better or you get worse. And so it's up to you what kind of day you're going to have and whether you're going to get better today or get worse today. And so when you attack each day with a singular focus to get better, I think that that comes through in growth mindset, it comes through in your relationships, it comes through in your preparation for your staff. And I think that That has been my mantra in life, is to try to make sure that I don't get worse today. I need to get better today. Because again, if I thought, I didn't do nothing, I didn't stay the same, I got worse. I took a step back. That doesn't mean you're not gonna have days where you don't take a step back. It just means that you gotta be conscious of that. For me, that's more of a life piece of advice than a necessarily leadership piece of advice. The other piece to that, I will give one leadership piece of advice and that's... Heath Henderson (22:51.394) You're only as strong as your team. So make sure that you are building your team. And you might not get to pick your team, but you can build your team. And so making sure that you're being very intentional with how you maximize the strength of the people you work with. Because every single person in your building has a strength. Every single person. I don't care who they are. They have a strength. And are you going to do things that ask them to accentuate their strengths, if you do, then you're doing it right. If you're criticizing their weaknesses instead of emphasizing their strengths, we'll never be able to get them better. Rick Sola (23:32.988) Yeah, no, that's awesome. Actually, it makes me think of, and I'll put a plug in again for the conference, because I know our mutual friend Dr. Todd Dane is presenting on a really similar topic as far as building your team and being that trust-willing leader and how hard it is sometimes in our position to want to let go of certain things. And I know that that'll be a session of his. No, really, really. Heath Henderson (23:58.062) Well, and that's one that if you don't go to, then you, then I don't know. I hope we don't have a session at the same time because I'm going to say the same thing because he is absolutely amazing. And if you don't, if you're not going to his sessions, then there's something wrong. Rick Sola (24:12.176) Yeah. I had a session that I presented at at the same time as a USA. was like, Todd, this is not good for me. But no, it's all good. There's definitely going to be overlap of really good quality sessions. But yeah, some really good things. Hey, before we sign off here, a couple of quick hitters here, just a little bit about you. And part of the reason I'm doing this is because I see a mug over your shoulder here. But we'll see if it matches. Heath Henderson (24:25.015) Cough Rick Sola (24:41.916) Favorite movie of all time. Heath Henderson (24:44.148) off the top of my head, football movie, replacements, gladiator for any other movie. Rick Sola (24:51.344) OK, football move. That's Keanu Reeves, OK, OK, OK. Yeah. I think Gladier, OK, good one. TV show. Heath Henderson (24:53.804) Yeah, Shane Falco, footsteps, man. Come on now. Heath Henderson (25:01.922) Ooh, TV show? Well, I have just, I'm a proud Native American, so, reservation dogs. Rick Sola (25:13.158) Reservation dogs? Okay. Heath Henderson (25:14.444) Yeah, it's filmed out of Tulsa. It's a fairly new show. And when I say all time, it's just my favorite recent show. If I was to go all time, I would probably say The Wire or The Sopranos. Rick Sola (25:20.648) right now. Rick Sola (25:26.074) Okay. Well, I see world's best boss over your shoulder. So was thinking the office was Heath Henderson (25:30.198) Well, know, hey, funny thing about that, that is actually a boss's gift. So all these things that you see above me are gifts from staff, students, you know, from over the years. And so I don't ever get rid of it. I always just proudly display it. And so. Rick Sola (25:34.77) Okay. Rick Sola (25:51.443) Yeah, that's awesome. That's really cool. Okay, last one. If I'm driving through El Dorado and my alternator happens to go out and I'm stranded on the side of the highway and I need a place to eat, not that that's ever happened to me before, but it has. And actually the highway patrol was amazing out there. There's a whole story with that. But anyway, what restaurant would you recommend that I make sure I get to if I need a place to eat? Heath Henderson (26:14.67) Well, and we have a couple really good Mexican restaurants, it's hard. I would say Anita's if you want Mexican food. And I would say, but if you want some of best chicken strips or best chicken salad with jalapeno ranch dressing, Willie's. Rick Sola (26:35.784) Okay. All right. Well, next time I'll be driving right through El Dorado on the way to the conference. So I think I will. Yeah. One way or the other. you know, we've talked a little bit or quite a bit. You've referenced your community and the people. And I love to conclude these podcasts with an opportunity to brag on your people before you totally do that. I should have started with this, but just kind of a quick Heath Henderson (26:41.56) Well you better stop and eat. Rick Sola (27:03.112) you know, how big is your school and Skelly Elementary School and what makes it up and then brag on your people. Heath Henderson (27:10.092) Yeah, Skelly Elementary, are the pride of the South Side here in El Dorado. are, like I said, we are about, we're a two section school, so we're right around 275. We're an early childhood through fifth grade. Like I said, we have, it is a magical place to work. We have great people here. I'm not sure exactly what else I want to say, but I I like to say we will. talk a lot more about that at the conference and I will elaborate on all the successes and barriers that we have but this place right here is a place where if I was a kid I would want to go this is a place where I want to send my grandkids this is a place where if I was a parent I would want to send my kids Rick Sola (28:02.344) And I think that's probably the best answer that any of us could give, is if we're principal of a school, to be able to truly and honestly say, this is where I would want my own kids to be, and here's why. And it sounds like a lot of really neat things happening out at Skelly Elementary. Looking forward to hearing more about it here at KPA. And just once again, a plug for the conference, November 5th and 6th. I think there's early registration. or events November 4th in the evening, but the conference fifth and sixth and hope to see all of our principals there because it is a principal focus conference and there's not a lot of those out there and it's a really well done conference. Heath Henderson (28:44.552) I 100 % agree, I think it's going to be an amazing conference. And if you are pre-registered, don't forget to go on the website and there are some festivities that might happen the evening before that you might want to make sure that you register for as well. Rick Sola (28:58.6) Yep, I am registered and some of the team here are as well. And it's going to be a good time. It's going to be a really good time. And Heath, thank you so much for taking time at the end of a long day and looking forward to seeing you here soon here in Wichita. Heath Henderson (29:12.888) Well, thank you for having me and thank you for all you do for the principles across the state with your podcast. It's an amazing platform and I look forward to watching this thing continue to blow up and grow over the next decade. Rick Sola (29:26.761) I appreciate that. Hey, thanks so much, Heath. We'll see you soon. Heath Henderson (29:31.694) See ya.  

Topic: Bring Your Best Principal Travis Rogers Wichita South High School  USD259 Wichita South HS on Facebook    Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective!   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

"Who are You?" Dr. Amy VanRheen Principal at Louisburg High School USD 416 @LhsUsd416   Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Principal Greg Rosenhagen Cheney High School, USD 268 USA-Kansas Rep Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

"Find Joy in Connecting with Students!" Robert Cave, Jr. Assistant Principal & Activities Director Piper High School Piper Schools USD 203 IG: @cavemanphs X: @CavePHS Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Perspective Topic: "Music can make our life easier" Brad Jones Principal at Seaman High School - Topeka X: USD 345 Facebook: SeamanHighUSD345/ Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Perspective Topic - The person in the glass Michael McCambridge Assistant Principal Independence High School USD 446 X - @Mccambridge_ Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Perspective Topic - Building a Culture of Trust Dr. Todd Dain Principal of Shawnee Mission South HS USD 512 X: @SMSouthTDain Sign up to submit your own Principal's Perspective! The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]

Content Warning: This episode discusses the topic of suicide and digital blackmail targeting teens. Listener discretion is advised. 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Languages: English, Spanish Hours: Available 24 hours Call 988 Text 988   -------------------------------------------------------------------- Episode Summary In this episode of Cool Coffee, host Rick Sola speaks with Tom Simmons, principal of El Dorado Middle School in USD 490, about the challenges faced by principals, particularly in the wake of a tragic event involving a student. Tom shares insights on navigating communication with the community, supporting students and staff, and the importance of mental health awareness. The discussion emphasizes the need for proactive measures in addressing issues like sextortion and suicide prevention, while also reflecting on the personal toll such events take on school leaders. Tom highlights the strength of the El Dorado community and the supportive environment fostered within the school. Connect with Principal Simmons [email protected]   Chapters (timestamp does not account for intro--add 39 seconds) 00:00 Introduction to Tom Simmons and His Journey 05:58 The Impact of a Tragic Event 11:21 Navigating Communication and Community Response 17:16 Support Systems for Students and Staff 22:26 Reflections on Personal Well-being and Leadership 28:59 Looking Ahead: Preventative Measures and Awareness 35:34 Closing Thoughts and Community Strength ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SHOW TRANSCRIPT (timestamp does not account for intro--add 39 seconds) Content Warning: Please note this episode discusses the topic of suicide and digital blackmail targeting teens. Listener discretion is advised. Rick Sola (00:01.77) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas principals. Today I'm joined by Mr. Tom Simmons, principal of El Dorado Middle School in El Dorado, Kansas. Welcome Tom. Tom Simmons (00:13.518) Thank you, glad to be here. Rick Sola (00:15.754) Yeah, I'm really excited to have you here and recently learned you guys are the Wildcats as well. So from one Wildcat to another welcome both at my school, but also I don't know if you're not a K-State Wildcat, I don't think, are you? you are, you are, okay. Well, there we go. Wildcat squared here for both of us. Tom Simmons (00:28.204) I am. Tom Simmons (00:33.166) I'm a chocker, I'm a wildcat, I'm a jet. I'm a multiple of those, but I probably hone in more to the wildcats. I've enjoyed my time there, so. Rick Sola (00:42.262) Well, that's awesome. I hope our K-State Wildcats can get it done, get it going here this season. before we get going, just a quick plug out for the show. For all listeners, your feedback is important to us and we would love to hear from you. So please check the show notes for a way to leave feedback or even contact me directly with topics or guest ideas. Also, if you're so inclined, give us a like, give us a follow on your favorite podcast platform and help spread the word on the amazing principles. we have right here in the state of Kansas. And I am really excited, Tom, to have you here today, just to learn more about you, learn more about El Dorado, but talk about a really important and just a really important topic that we'll get to here in a bit. But the show, we always kick off with just a road to the chair that you're in right now. So where did you come from to end up where you're at right now? Tom Simmons (01:40.6) Well, I grew up in Western Kansas in Garden City. I'm probably be like a lot of principals. I didn't have that traditional route to this chair. I started out in athletic training. All my friends were football players, but they were of the size needed to play football. It was the smallest kid in the school, so I got picked on a lot. So I became an athletic trainer and one of the coaches said, hey, you could you can be our trainer. I said, what's that? And they sent me off to Emporia State over the summers, learned how to tape ankles and then ended up getting some scholarships to Garden City Community College and then ended up working for K-State football and many sports at K-State through my time. And then ended up just meeting the right people and ended up working my way into the NFL and was an athletic trainer for the Philadelphia Eagles. And so nice transition and you know, it's nice because people talk about how much Principals work I got there July 4th my first day off was Christmas and kind of working sunup to sundown lots of hours and so not that this is any easier But it's definitely a little bit at least I have a home I guess so I've been in education about 22 years This is my third year here at El Dorado Middle School as the principal this was my first principal job my wife has been a principal for years and then finally Talked to me and as they always joke to go to the dark side and so joined this side a little bit. So I really enjoyed it. I love doing this. Rick Sola (03:01.642) That is funny that the dark side reference is alive and well even here, you where I'm at too. And I remember getting into it and, know, Rick, you sure you're ready to go to the dark side, as I say. you know, but now there's a lot of, a lot of positive there. I bet there's a lot of parallels with you mentioned, I mean, just the hours of being a athletic trainer with the Eagles. But I imagine there's some parallels there with what you're doing now, at least in hours put in. Tom Simmons (03:28.27) Absolutely, and what's nice to have that background is I have a student walk in here and say they want to be a professional athlete or they want to do something. Not that I was a professional athlete, but I got to see professional athletes and I know the work ethic it's going to take. And so I've had those conversations with kids sitting across my desk and they're like, well, I want to do this. Well, know, sitting in my office is not going to get you there. You're going to have to change your attitude. You're have to change your work ethic. And so having those real conversations helps. And, you know, it's nice because Up here above my desk, have a picture of the team that I was a part of. And then I have a game ball that we earned for the year that I worked there. And I think I was taught a lot of experiential learning opportunities during that year that the guy didn't tell us a lot what to do. You had to learn it yourself. So in my years of teaching, I kind of taught that same way. And I'm trying to instill that in the teachers here too, that giving kids an opportunity to learn by trying and failing and failing forward is just an acronym I use a lot here that I want them to learn from that failure. Rick Sola (04:24.278) What a unique perspective that you bring to the principal chair as far as really working with a group of athletes at the very top of their game, that game, being in the NFL and to be able to even have those conversations with kids. Like you said, maybe you weren't the NFL player yourself, but you saw those players and what it took to come in. So I'll put you on the spot. mean, the Chiefs are playing the Eagles this weekend. Is there one team over the other? Tom Simmons (04:51.148) You know, it's, it's really hard because, you know, I grew up in Kansas, so I grew up a chiefs fan, but when you go to get a job in the NFL, you don't get to go, well, I want to be with the chiefs. And so I applied to the chiefs. I applied during that year, all 26 NFL teams and ended up at the Eagles and ended up being a great thing. it was funny cause last year Superbowl, they, my staff were all chiefs fans and over our music, they would play the red kingdom song and they were heckling me and they I was gone for one of the days and I came back, my whole office was chiefs, everything. They had covered up my helmet, my game ball, my picture, they trashed it. And I relished in that for a few days when we came back after the win and I just left that up and then they came in and took it down because they were mad. Rick Sola (05:29.114) well, I'm a strong Chiefs fan, but I can I can appreciate the humor in that. And I love the school culture aspect of that. That's that's so school culture there where you've got the for us, it's the KUK state rivalry out here. And but no, that's great. I think you have a case to to be had on the New Heights podcast with the Kelsey brothers. Tom Simmons (05:52.59) There you go. That was before my time. had a, you know, I was back in 1988 and I had Reggie White, Randall Cunningham. We were two games from the Super Bowl and I was blessed to have been a part of a lot of games that, you know, I was part of what's called the Fog Bowl. We lost to the Chicago Bears in the fog in a game and just some games that, you know, not every game do you get to go back and you can go to YouTube and there's one of your games that was just a nostalgic, really kind of cool game that you were a part of. And so those are some fun times to think. And again, to be able to share those with the students to know that It is capable or I have a young man that's not that great of an athlete. Have you thought about being a trainer or manager on a team? said that you can go a long ways with those things. It's not always about always being the greatest athlete. Rick Sola (06:32.298) Yeah, no, that's really a great story. I bet students are probably really fascinated with that, especially throw up a few highlight reels of that time. You just named a few greats there. so we're recording this. It's Friday. It's September 12th here where I'm at. This is kind of we call it like Awareness Week Suicide Prevention Week. And so it's fitting to be having this conversation here with you today. And, you know, it's a topic that Tom Simmons (06:41.973) Absolutely. Rick Sola (07:01.682) is unfortunately, I think, just all the more relevant in our schools. And I myself have worked as a principal through some very challenging situations. in the community and even in the school that I have been in and that I'm at and so forth. And that's really what brings you on here today is working through a really tough situation in your community right at the start of summer. so first, before we kind of get into that, I want to thank you for being willing to come on here because I think there's so much value to hearing from other principals who may have gone through any challenging situation. but something so sensitive as suicide is one that I don't know that we ever feel fully equipped to handle. And so thank you in advance for being willing to come on here, but we'll just start with. Back at the beginning of summer, you received a phone call. We'll just kind of start with that and then kind of move through the process that you, your community and so forth went through back in June. Tom Simmons (08:17.164) Well, I'm a 12-month contract, so we work all year. It was one of those weird things where I was sick over the summer, so I had taken a sick day and I got a text message from my superintendent to give him a call about a situation with a student, which I thought was odd at the time. like, we're in summer. When I reached out to him, I was told that one of my students had had an accidental gun discharge, I think was the words that were used. And so then we were thinking a student was playing with a gun. You know, kind of woke up from being sick to what do need to start planning? What do I need to start doing for the school? Reached out to a bunch of people around the building, my counselors and everything else. Over the summer we have summer waits, we have summer school, we have all these things, we have summer camps. So we knew those students were going to need some resources and some things set up. So immediately started to work towards planning those things, working with the superintendents, assistant superintendent, like I said, my counselors and lots of different people. to organize that. The next day we had set up some grief counseling at our high school where most of our camps and summer weights program goes on. And we were there for our students to be able to come in and talk with the counselors, myself and other people. I guess I was surprised by how many parents wanted to talk to us about how to talk to their children. So if I've walked away from anything with this is that a lot of these parents do not know how to talk to their children. it was spreading on social media and everything else, but they were asking, how do we talk to our kids about this sensitive subject? My student didn't want to come to the building and talk to you, so I came over. How do I go home and explain what's going on? And so that made it little bit more difficult. As the day kind of went on, the narrative kind of switched a little bit. We were called in by the chief of police to discuss kind of what was going on. And as the day went on, we found out more facts. We found out that my student was a. Tom Simmons (10:16.59) he got into a sextortion with some people online. He began chatting with someone and the family were blessed with that in the sense that they've been very open about this because they would not want this to happen to any other child. So they've been pretty open about the whole situation. But in that sextortion, unfortunately, the young man had sent some incriminating pictures out to this person. The horrifying part that probably kind of gives me chills a little bit is That part of this extortion was 35 minutes, I think is what the mother talks about. So from start to finish of 35 minutes of them antagonizing him and making him feel uncomfortable before he took his life is just kind of an unfortunate situation. So that time span happened pretty quickly. Being able to work with the community and setting up resources and talking to kids and parents, that went on for quite a few days. So. Rick Sola (11:10.974) Yeah, you know, going back a little bit, you reference social media and I would say with any really urgent and challenging situation where you know you've got to be proactive with communication and get communication out, what I have found, unfortunately, over and over is that social media and that word of mouth moves way faster than we're able to move. How did you combat that and how did you feel you were able to get that communication out? Did you feel like it was timely in hindsight or how did you kind of balance that? Tom Simmons (11:48.16) Well, we did balance it. think we did the best we could. Some of it was such an unknown, know, starting out from having one thing what we thought it was, and then just as the time went, the narrative kept changing to, ended up being this extortion, which changed the narrative and made it, I don't want to say easier for the parents to talk to their children, but it opened some avenues for parents to be able to talk to their children. I don't think we got ahead of the social media. But we stayed ahead of what narrative we could. We spoke on what we could, spent a lot of time reviewing board policies and what we were going to be able to do in the after effects of this, knowing our board policy doesn't allow us to have memorials or other things or remembrances and some of those. And I know every district's a little bit different, but trying to get out in front of that a little bit so that we could plan for some things. here we are in September and this happened in midsummer, middle of summer. We're still dealing with that. I still have. people reaching out constantly that want to do things that go against board policy. And we have to say, I'm sorry, I can't do that. That probably is the the hard part of this is that you know, it's what their heart is in the right place to want to do something, but then it breaks the board policy and we can't do that. you know, having a moment of silence at a football game, having a picture of them up, putting them on the back of T-shirts. We've had a little bit of, I've been hit up with a lot of different things and they have to say no. And then I don't think they understand the reasoning by it because it's a sensitive topic. mean, it's hard to talk about here, but to bring those topics up, and it's not that it automatically makes somebody want to commit suicide, but it continues to bring things up. And I was talking to the counselor today and I asked him if he felt that this year was worse than the past few, and he said, by far. We've had a lot more kids either talking about it, we've had some other, you nerve-racking things happen. He said he's had a lot more kids that are willing to talk about it, that they will come up and say, hey, I'm not feeling right today. I think I really need to talk to somebody. So there's kind of two sides to this. We've had a lot more people that are having those suicidal thoughts, but we've had a lot of people that now know that they can reach out to a counselor. So we're on the right track with doing those things. Rick Sola (14:02.003) Yeah, I used the word balance a minute ago and that's how I have felt with it before balancing, providing information, providing supports and resources while also there are some kids that are kind of teetering a little bit anyway perhaps, even perhaps before this and then how they respond to it. Every student responds differently when they hear this, hear the information and so forth. To go back to earlier, you said you received that phone call and just kind of processing through it, who were those first contacts that you felt you needed to make that time in June? And I know you're on contract. I'm not sure who others were off contract. Who were those first points of contact that needed to be looped in? Tom Simmons (14:50.644) reached out to my assistant principal. We talked for quite a while about what was going on, reached out to my counselors, started to organize that. Again, I wasn't feeling the best, so it made it more difficult to kind of get your head wrapped around things. Had a pretty massive sinus infection, so I was trying to work through that, but it was kind of weird. You felt like you needed medication, but nothing really mattered. You kind of knew what you needed to do. That being said, reaching out to the superintendent, continuing trying to organize. Kind of like what you said, trying to get ahead of some things. We knew we were having weights the next day. We knew we were having camps the next day. We knew we were having summer school. having people there, I went up to summer school and kind of walked around the room and you had some kids talking about where they going to the funeral, what was going on. And amazingly enough, it's a middle school. So you have another kid going, who died? And so it's kind of one of those weird things that some kids weren't even aware. having us there and telling them to come down to we had at the lunchroom at our high school. It's a big area where people could gather. Once we started to get some students there, I think it helped them just kind of gather and just talk. So, you know, I spent quite a bit of time trying to get resources put together, different people. Didn't really get to use some of these people over the summer, but we have since used those resources. We have South Central Mental Health in our building. that does case management with students. So that's been a great help to have them in the building to be able to talk to students. We have an organization that I don't know if you're familiar with called Spark Wheel. And Spark Wheel is an outside organization that, and you can kind of think of Spark Wheel maybe as a hub that brings all the right spokes together. They can bring you tutoring, mentoring, counseling, connecting families with community services. So if you need something, you know, your electricity gets shut off, your kid needs glasses and you don't have the funds. They're a great organization that they They bring people in and help with that. So we've utilized them this year for being able to do that. They provide grade checks with students. So they have something a little bit different than what I get to do. Rick Sola (16:57.797) Yeah, going back to the communication piece, know, some of it is social media and the chatter can go really quick, but it also takes off and it goes in directions that start potentially could start to get inaccurate information or assumptions or jumping to conclusions. And it's such a and then there's the challenge as well. You've got to be, you know, we're using the word sensitive, but there are certain things that. Tom Simmons (17:14.264) Good job with that. Rick Sola (17:24.711) ultimately they can't be shared or it's not appropriate or you're working with the families and there's all sorts of things to consider. And meanwhile, behind you, all these things are moving so fast and forward. just adds to that challenging situation. You talked about the memorials and think, how did, do you feel like your community kind of grew to understand? the board policy that is in place and why. Because like I said, I've been there and I know those are really hard conversations when all people want to do in that moment is help and they feel like this is how I can help. And when they get a roadblock, that's challenging, that's tough. Tom Simmons (18:09.166) I don't think everybody understands that sometimes it's not that I'm not wanting to do that. I've got a board policy that I have to follow. And one of the first things that happened is my, student was an eighth grader. And so they wanted to put his name and his football number on the back of the eighth grade promotion shirts. And I don't think they realized that maybe not every parent would want that on the back of the shirt. And so to get people to understand, I get what you're trying to do. It is honorable. It's a great honor to that student. However, it's difficult because you're going to have to find the narrative that you're going to print shirts and you're have some that have it, some that don't. Now it makes this person look like they're not supporting that and back and forth. so having that, having just the board policies, understanding that we can't have a memorial, we can't do a moment of silence, we can't have, you know, or the coaches can't start that memorial or start that, you know, prayer at football or, you know, go out and have numbers printed so they can put it on their helmets. All those things were things that we've been navigating, still navigating today. Rick Sola (19:12.265) Well, I wanted to ask just about the start of the year, you talked about how you initially heard the information and how the story changed or updated as far as this being a sextortion related situation. What have you done at the start of this school year where it still feels like we're fairly new in the year? And I know having had some conversations with you earlier that there were some just really intentional things that needed to be considered and thought through. How did the start of the year as far as this topic goes begin with at El Dorado? Tom Simmons (19:53.25) Well, I want to back up just a little bit and something that you'd asked me how that day started or whatever. When I got back to school the next day, I was on my computer and I had put out some, I guess, a personal message on my Facebook, which I don't put out very much on my Facebook. And it was more for my family and my cousins, my nieces, my nephews, all these different people to kind of watch who you're chatting with, to be careful. Social media is kind of this place that sometimes parents go, they're fine. They're on roadblocks. fine. They're on. And the more I've been around this, I realized some of these things that we think are fine are not. Anyway, I posted this out to social media and it got picked up by some different SROs and some different people. And a gentleman named Ben Tracy had reached out to me and he is a speaker who goes out and talks about sextortion, extortion, and just basically the bad things of social media. And he had ran across the United States last year to try to raise awareness of this. And probably the... One of the heart wrenching things for me was that he had sent me an email asking him to come speak at my school, but I ignored that email. And so that kind of was one of those things. And him and I have had a conversation and he wasn't gearing that towards me because he said, I probably get a lot of crazy people that, know, hey, come talk to my school. And he goes, and this guy's running across the United States. And he said a lot of people didn't even think he would make it. That being said, we've been in contact with him trying to have him come speak at our school. He's gonna come in the spring. He brings in lots of resources, different resources. In the meantime, working up to that, this next week we have a town hall meeting for our parents on the 24th. The FBI is gonna come and talk to our students about sextortion, extortion, internet safety, social media. We're gonna have that town hall meeting for the parents and then during the day, the high school, they're gonna come in and talk to our high school students in the morning. And then in the afternoon, they're gonna come talk to the middle school. The FBI kind of feels like right now that El Dorado is kind of being targeted just a little bit. So they're wanting to kind of get ahead of this a little bit. And so they're going to talk about how to protect your children, what they do, what they do in that situation. they've done something that they feel like they can't get themselves out of, what do they do? And I was talking to one of my SROs at the high school last week and he was on Tom Simmons (22:14.282) online with someone chatting that was trying to extort money out of them and they were chatting with them. And so it's not something that was like a one-time deal for us, which you would think. typical of any of the communities that anybody would listen to this, everybody's thinking, it's not going to happen in my town. And everybody that we've talked to said, well, nobody thought it would happen in El Dorado. And not only did it happen in El Dorado, it feels like it's continuing to happen because they continue to target our community and continue to target our students. And so that's that part of trying to get ahead of those things. setting up these town hall meetings, having our counselors talk about who the trusted adults are, who can you talk to. I know you messed up, it might be embarrassing, but come talk to us and there's a way out of this. Rick Sola (22:57.085) Yeah. What a, I mean, a very, very important mission that he's on and what a great resource to tap into. you, you, you, you reference that email you got that you didn't respond to and, know, you know, we get countless numbers of emails daily. But that's one thing that I have found, you know, several times in these situations. And that's part of Tom Simmons (23:13.752) Thanks. Rick Sola (23:22.097) I call it the kind of the wake of these situations, but is the second guessing that goes on with everybody and the what ifs and what if I had only fill in the blank. And as a building principle, I appreciate you sharing that out loud because I feel like that's a really a very real part of these tragic situations is everybody's questioning what they could have done. And as a building principle, as a leader, we're conditioned to lead and to be successful and to Fixed problems and all those sayings and it's I don't know all the more weight that we get on our shoulders as a result of that so Tom Simmons (24:00.266) Absolutely. You know, when he sent, when I saw it on social media, he had posted to somebody else that he had reached out to the school and they didn't respond. I'm like, what? So I went to my email and I did a search back through my Google email and all of a here this email pops up. And like I said, my heart kind of sank just a little bit like the what ifs kind of come up. know, my counselors are saying the same thing. What other things could we have done? Should we have done more? Could we have done more? And so I think a lot of that is going through my whole staff is, you know, what could we have done more? I know the family probably feels the same way of what could we do to try to protect these students. So now moving forward, that's kind of that plan of having the town hall meeting, having Ben Tracy and some people come speak next in the spring, us making sure that we're available to students if they're struggling, if they need something. So as I've said, we've kind of had that uptick of kids who are either talking about suicide, having suicide thoughts, or just knowing that they need to go to talk to somebody about it is. is kind of, there's good signs that I know that they feel like there's trusted adults here that they can come talk to. Rick Sola (25:04.497) You just mentioned your staff and you know with this happening over the summer, how did you take care of your staff or how did you kind of reach out? mean that's a, know there could be staff all over the place at that point because they're on their summer vacation. Tom Simmons (25:19.572) Absolutely. And so we reached out, you know, sent some text messages to the staff of what was going on. Our district sent out a message that did something that happened to a student. And again, with social media in the world, it spread pretty quickly. Once it came time for the funeral, so many of the staff members stepped up. And I think that was kind of eye opening for the family, just a little bit of how many people came to support the family during that time. Something I did not allude to is the family was reaching out to ask for certain things. They wanted a football jersey. They wanted a wrestling jersey, a wrestling singlet, and some different things that they could have for him during that time. And so again, to navigate through that, it's not as simple as just going, hey, here's a jersey. We had to work through some policy situations. What can we do with this? And we made the decision even as football season started. we've retired his number for a few years. Because we had a lot of kids stepping up going, hey, I really want to wear his number and represent him. Well, then who do you pick? And so we felt it was best to kind of retire his number for a few years. The other part that I really didn't talk about that's been a little bit more difficult to navigate is he has two brothers here. And so now when I'm doing this town hall meeting and I'm doing all of these different things, not only you're trying to help your staff, but you have a couple of brothers here and so making certain that the family understands, making certain those students understand that we're trying to support them. And I think they have felt that way. Like I said, the family has been pretty open about this, that they never want this to happen to anybody else's family. But it still is, again, a sensitive topic that makes it even more sensitive when the brothers are here. Rick Sola (27:06.975) Yeah. And I was kind of thinking as a follow-up to the taking care of staff, but just taking care of the family. And you really kind of nailed it with that, but you're working so closely with the family in really the worst time of their life and just the emotions that play into that. And like you said, there's policy, there's emotions, and there's all those things that are wrapped in there. How... how do you take care of yourself as a principal at that point too? Because I use this phrase sometimes here, we're not robots and the emotions are very real. Oftentimes it's like that duck on a pond where we kind of present perhaps a certain way, but you're moving and there's things that are going in the back of your mind that you know you need to take care of. You need to communicate, you need to make a contact. How do you take care of yourself through all of this? Tom Simmons (28:03.658) You know, I think we started this conversation about about me being an athletic trainer and I think that training helped me a bunch. Being presented in emergency situations, something goes on with somebody and you just you snap and you go and you take care of things. And I think that part has helped me. I'm probably not very good at taking care of myself, just like a lot of other principles. You know, I I take care what I need to take care of and I probably worry less about myself and worry more about others in that situation. I think. reaching out to my counselors, because I know this was really hard on them and making sure that they felt like they were okay. And just even the staff, if staff, I talked about, and I probably didn't allude very good to that, but we had resources there for students, we had resources there for families, but we also had, if the staff needed to come in and talk, we had those resources available for them also. The following day, after all that happened, and I went back to work, the superintendent had asked me to reach out to the family and let them know. what supports they needed from us. as you can imagine, that was a pretty difficult phone call. The family's divorced, unfortunately that made it two phone calls instead of one. So to call one family and they were very appreciative of everything we were trying to offer and we were just trying to offer what support we could. And that's when they started asking about jerseys and singlets and different things as they were making their plans. But that conversation's never easy for everyone. But again, it's part of the job when you sit in this chair to know in the end. It's nice that you know you were trying to help that family. And I kind of waffled from your question, but I'm not good at taking care of myself, I guess in that sense. Rick Sola (29:35.734) Well, you you're probably hitting the nail on the head for a lot of principals where, know, again, we're conditioned to be focused on our building, our kids, our staff and others. But, you know, there are times it's hard. You're going to bring that home. You know, you don't just shut the door and walk home and everything goes away. And so, yeah, I think that's an important piece. But I would agree with you. I don't I don't know that I would have an answer to. How do you do that? In part, kind of speaking just for myself, the taking care of yourself is just keep moving forward, keep going and just, you know, in working through that. You kind of mentioned this or alluded to it as just the number of things that come up that aren't anticipated or unpredictable, like the football jersey you mentioned. It makes total sense, but I don't know that in the moment that that's going to be something that would immediately come to mind as, but that's an important topic and that needs to be handled very sensitively and very, very thoughtfully with, you know, for the, for really the emotions of all those who are still around. And so I thought that was just a, just a one of many examples. Yeah. Tom Simmons (30:49.824) Absolutely. Tom Simmons (30:54.806) We were blessed in the sense that the jerseys that we had, we had a new set of jerseys coming through the next year, so we got new uniforms. So it wasn't as hard as of a thing to be able to do to say, okay, we can give you the jersey and the singlet the same way. We didn't have new uniforms, but to give them that singlet, we just made some exceptions and took care of things and made sure that family felt that the school supported them during that time of need. Rick Sola (31:22.493) Have you had any, now that this is a kind of a conversation at the forefront, have you had any successes where you feel like some students have come forward and kind of feeling like, I'm glad we have put some of these things now in place to where it's kind of opened up, it's kind of taking the lid off things and yeah, maybe it's an embarrassing conversation or, but maybe it's steered a student toward making. a positive decision rather than the ultimate decision. Tom Simmons (31:53.41) I alluded to that earlier where I think we have quite a few students who had come to the counselors and even Spark Wheel and our South Central Mental Health. Those people I think are getting more of those kids coming to them and opening up a little bit because maybe not about extortion but just knowing that maybe they're not hitting down the right path and want to talk and say, hey, some of the choices I'm making aren't the greatest. I think I need somebody to talk to. And we've had quite a few of those situations. And again, they're not easy conversations for the kid. They're not easy conversations for the counselors. conversations that definitely need to happen so that moving forward that we're making positive choices for our students in the building. Rick Sola (32:30.069) Where do you feel have been, you you talked about having been Tracy in and really it sounds like a very intentional kind of plan of action, if you will, methodical of getting some information to families and students and as far as moving forward and, you know, I'm not sure when your start date was for the school year, but we're kind of at the beginning of the school year. But just like you said, you're still navigating through some things. How do you how do you see that the next you know month or two or up to the holidays? Kind of going as far as some of the kind of routine Normal school year things that are going to present themselves like the football season and all the normal fall activities Maybe a performance and things like that Tom Simmons (33:17.09) So again, some of those things were hard to navigate that first football game. I got to the football game, we had to be very upfront with our coaches. You couldn't have any memorials, you couldn't do certain things. Didn't really have a moment of prayer. If the students chose to do that, they could, but really try not to be involved in that because that looks like an adult trying to lead that. We did end up having some students, like I said, take a small sticker and put it on the helmet of his jersey number. That's their choice, not against our board policy. So some of those things just kind of moving forward. The first assemblies, those first couple days, I think there was a lot of kids walking around kind of lost a little bit. And maybe you're reading into that a little bit. We didn't know, know, some of his friends were walking around and some of them had his name on their shirt and different things. So it brought attention to things and little by little, I think things have gotten into some normalcy to where it's not gone away. It's definitely still. up front still talked about still all of those things but I think it's moving forward. think some of those things that we've put in place have made it little easier to know that there's a resource out there for the students to talk to. Rick Sola (34:25.269) know, one thing I have found is, you know, that routine, the school routine, every school's got that routine. That provides a lot of comfort for a lot of kids too. And I think that is the hard balance when any tragic situation reaches a school. There are some kids that they need that one-on-one perhaps with a counselor. They need some additional supports. There are some kids who that might not be what they need, but what they need is they need that normal school day and that reliability to be able to come to school and. I don't know, I hate to use the word distracted, but to be able to go to school and that could be the consistent, reliable place. I think, you know, we have similar types of board policies and I think that's what those are rooted in is school's got to be that predictable place. And we work individually and intentionally with those who need more. But that can be really hard because like you said, hearts are in the right place, but it's emotional and we all want to help. And we all don't want this to happen ever again. Tom Simmons (35:30.42) Absolutely. And I think what's hard is, you know, some of the questions that were being thrown at me, eighth grade promotion, that's at the end of the school year in May. And I've got that thrown at me three days after, you know, all of this tragedy happened. And I'm like, I don't really want to make this decision right now. But in their mind, it was the right decision. They wanted to get things moving and understand what they could and couldn't do. Where that gets a little bit awkward is that eighth grade promotion is not put on by our school district. It's put on by family, so it's really not up for board policy, but my counselors, my building leadership team, myself, my assistant principal, we all sent our opinions, I guess, if you will, where we would like to have that, would we want the name on the back of the eighth grade promotion shirts. And basically we all talked about how research suggests that's probably not the best policy to do. And again, you have these families that aren't in our world. They don't live in policies they don't live with the students and how that affects them. And so for them to kind of realize that, so I had to send a kind of an email to my PTO, or it's called PRIDE here, organization to let them know that I understand your wishes, but it's not that we're not being supported, but I don't think we can support that decision based on this research and based on this information. I don't know how well it was received. I think they understand it, but again, I think their hearts went in the right place, but it's a difficult thing to overcome. Rick Sola (36:57.373) Yeah, well, there's there's so many things and I just want to wish you all the best as you move through the school year and as all those currently unknown or unanticipated things they they come up and they continue to and you know, certainly it's part of the role but it sounds like so many positive things are in place to really take care of your people. the people, your students, your staff, the family involved in the community around you and you know, hopefully, you sometimes out of tragedy comes some really positive you know, change or impact, and in this case, awareness. And having talked with you prior, you mentioned this even just on this, but the want for the parents to really be forthcoming and to help prevent this from happening to anybody else. you know, there's many layers here, but as far as the online effect and what led to this, and I have seen that in my community. and it's an unfortunate reality for our kids and it's hidden because we don't necessarily see that. It's on their phones and just like you said, the window of time can be so quick because our kids, they're snap decision makers and they snap judgment and they just, they act. Tom Simmons (38:29.198) I think what I learned from this is I didn't realize how many social media things that we thought, safe's probably not the right word, but that kids use and aren't that big a deal that, like I said, Roblox, Roblox they were talking about is a really bad one that extortionists and sex-tortionists and people for sex trafficking utilize because they know that's where kids are going to be and so they're going to befriend them there and start talking to them. And Snapchat and TikTok and all those, we kind of know those have their loopholes or whatever, but. just some of the other online things and then speaking with Ben Tracy on the phone and just talking to different people, how many of those that it's kind of got to be terrifying for families to know that you really got to watch all those things. And so I can understand more and more every day why schools are wanting to go to a no cell phone bell to bell because that was one of my first concerns is what's going to happen if the child's sitting at lunch and they're dealing with this situation with a sex torsionist on the phone. Now it's during my school day. how am I gonna navigate that? And that kind of terrifies me a little bit. so our policy is that our students get their cell phones at lunch. And so it makes it a little bit harder to navigate what they're doing during that time, because it's their cell phone. But I definitely am leaning more and more towards that avenue of being a bell to bell person to send no cell phones during the day. And I think it would eliminate that social media and all of the other drama that goes with that. Rick Sola (39:52.392) Right. And it may promote more face to face interaction and, you know, technology just moves so fast. And, you know, there's so many apps. You mentioned roadblocks. I wrote that down. I had not ever heard of that before. I'm familiar with Snapchat and all the other ones. But, you know, it kind of goes back to what I mentioned earlier is I don't want to say we're not equipped, but things do move really quick. And I think it's important that we as principals building leaders continue to have these conversations and be able to stay on top of things. And oftentimes a lot of that information will actually come from our school resource officers here where I'm at. They learn to learn of trends and things and they'll pass things forward, but it just moves so fast. So. Tom Simmons (40:37.678) I'm a techno nerd, if you will, and I love technology. so even being a person that's older and liking technology, it's kind of fun. We had an instance today where we had a situation where something happened with her phone and she videoed something. And I'm like, can I see your phone? And she said, yeah, I deleted it. And I said, that's OK. And she didn't know there was a deleted folder where I could recover it and recovered what we needed. And it's just kind of funny to watch the kids go, how did he know how to do that? And so it's fun to have. And that wasn't something fantastic, but it's fun to watch them realize that there are people that know technology. Rick Sola (41:00.979) Hahaha. Tom Simmons (41:07.776) And they're just using it as a device to communicate with their friends and not sometimes always in the most positive way. Rick Sola (41:13.459) Yeah, sometimes I think we give them too much credit that they know technology. think they know apps and I think they know ways to circumvent circumnavigate some of the things that, you know, to get around things. well, Tom, you know, this conversation, I just really appreciate you coming on because I think it is a topic that it reaches all schools. It impacts all communities. And, it's one that, I mean, personally don't know a whole lot about, but I have heard even just like I said, where I'm at, what you're talking about is happening around here. it's, it's, you know, going back to many years ago, the whole stranger danger, it's this, this has to be a big part of our, our, you know, technological, you know, device responsibility lessons and things is we got to get I think fairly direct with what is potentially out there. But also the other side of that is, you know, we all make mistakes and the mistakes are not final. Come talk to the people around you, the adults around you. Tom Simmons (42:24.354) Very much so. Rick Sola (42:26.269) So thank you for coming on and before we wrap up here, I know we have spent the time talking about a really important but heavy topic. But as you move forward through this year and you think about all the staff that you're working around you, I wanna give you an opportunity to brag on the El Dorado Wildcats and the people you get to work with every day. Tom Simmons (42:48.332) You know, I took on this job three years ago and we have such a positive culture during this year of struggles. You know, the staff has stepped up and done an incredible. job of just taking care of the students in need. You know, I have a supportive administrative staff. I have a supportive superintendent, assistant superintendent, and the staff there. The school board is greatly supportive. And so I think having that makes my job a lot easier. And so, you know, the Wildcats, we have a great building. We have great facilities. A lot of times when people come here to play basketball, kind of have this sunken gym. And so they walk in and they're just kind of in awe. My students get to play at BG Stadium here in town the same. one that Butler Community College gets to play on. And so kind of a cool experience for all these kids. And so I think the Wildcats were doing a great job of taking care of students, taking care of staff, and like I said, just changing the culture and taking care of the community. Rick Sola (43:41.599) Yeah. Well, very good. Well, all the best to you this school year. And you use that word experience. And I love that. I love that word as it relates to middle school, because I talk about like the experience that we get to provide for our kids every day. And you just you just mentioned several that are upcoming for your kids. And I hope it's just a great year moving ahead and all the best to you as you move forward. And once again, thanks for coming on the Cool Coffee Podcast to share this. Tom Simmons (44:08.013) Thank you. Appreciate being here.  

In this engaging conversation, Cool Coffee host, Rick Sola, interviews Nicholas Owen, the principal of Southeast of Saline High School, discussing various aspects of education, including the unique culture of his school, the importance of intentional professional development, and the strategies for fostering a safe environment for both students and staff to learn and grow. Nick shares insights from his journey in education, emphasizing the significance of mentoring, soft skills development, and the balance between work and family life. The discussion highlights the need for schools to adapt to the diverse post-secondary options available for students today. Connect with Mr. Owen: [email protected] X: @Owenn22 Cool Coffee w/ Mr. Don Epps (referenced in this show) Chapters (timestamp does not account for intro) 00:00 Introduction to Southeast Saline High School 02:39 Nick Owen's Journey in Education 05:38 Intentionality in Professional Development 08:23 Creating a Safe to Fail Culture 11:02 Soft Skills Development and Mentoring 16:58 Post-Secondary Options for Students 22:33 Balancing Work and Family Life 28:15 The Importance of Relationships in Education FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT BELOW   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected] FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT (AI generated) Rick Sola (00:01.602) Hello, cool coffee listeners. I hope this podcast finds you well and moving along just swimmingly as the 25-26 school year is now firmly underway. I'm excited to be joined here today by Mr. Nicholas Owen, principal of Saline High School, USD 306, KPA Region 5 in Gypsum, Kansas. Welcome, Nicholas. Nick (00:24.515) Wow, I appreciate it. Man, you taught me some things about that. I didn't even know the different histories and everything else, though. Appreciate the knowledge. Rick Sola (00:28.332) Hahaha So I didn't adjust my intro too much, but we were just talking about Saline High School. And I was asking about the vernacular of, I know you're really close to Salina, is it Southeast of Saline? I've seen that. Let's start with that. Can you just kind of explain how you would introduce yourself and kind of the vernacular of your high school that you're at? Nick (00:54.265) Sure, mean generally I introduce myself as you know I'm southeast of Saline. I'm right outside of Salina because nobody knows where southeast Saline is. We're basically located in a field right off of K4 Highway. We are one of those schools that the bonus is if you follow all that funding talk we get funded for everyone because nobody's close to us so we bust them all. So we live, we're basically housed in the field. We have cows on one side of us. So we do have some space and it's nice in that way. Like we're one of the few schools that have an actual cross-country course on our campus because you have the space, you have the room to be able to do stuff like that. So technically the closest town to us is Gypsum. It's a pretty small town and that's just kind of up the road about three miles or so. We serve Gypsum, we serve Assyria, which is another town just kind of down the road. We're kind of located between them. Assyria is probably about seven, eight miles away. We also have some other tiny towns of like Kip and then just we have, we have like anything. have a lot of school students that come out of district from Salina who don't want to go into the largest schools. But yeah, it's funny because people are not used to Kansas will always say Selena and we're like, no, no, it's Salina. And then they'll be like, so it's Southeast of like I said, it's so saline and Salina. It's doesn't make a lot of sense, but you know, Rick Sola (02:15.266) haha Yeah. Nick (02:19.789) I guess you can always tell who the people who are not from the area are. Rick Sola (02:23.542) I was going to say, you know who's local and who's not. So how big is the high school you're at? How many students? Nick (02:29.711) Man, just talked about that. Our high school-wise, we have 217. We have 98 in the junior high as well. So, you know, we're usually right around, right around the 6 to 700 range. We are also kind of unique in the fact that we're a K-12 building. So everybody, I mean, that's the, that's to me, that's the joy. I know not everybody might enjoy that, but I have a young one too, so. It's pretty awesome that we're able to go to school every day and I'm able to see her and do certain things that I don't think other people in other schools maybe aren't able to do. I don't have to miss her parties because they're in the same building. I can walk down and peek in on her classroom and things like that. So we are a K-12 building too. Rick Sola (03:14.26) Very good. So you're sitting there as principal here at the high school. Talk about your road to that chair, what you did prior and what led you to where you're at today. Nick (03:24.601) You bet. So I spent 15 years. Well, once I got into education, I kind of went a different route for a little while. But once I got into education, I spent 15 years in the classroom as like a teacher, coach. was head soccer coach and I was head speech forensics coach at Salina Central High School, a 5A school. And the story basically goes, I was getting my, they had a leadership program, so was getting my master's degree. And the only reason I was getting that was My wife convinced me to do it so we could move up on the salary scale. And I was like, all right, fine. but like anything, I learned a little bit about, you know, communication and differences between, know, at least my, my relationship between me and my wife and the way we communicate. And one day she came home and said, Hey, I can't work in this district forever. And I stupidly, as a dumb man, could that as, I better look for other jobs. So I opened it up and applied for another job and, actually got an interview right away. And you know, Once I went through that interview process and everything, she looked at me, she goes, you know, I was meeting like some day, not like now. And I'm like, well, here we go. Um, so I, uh, I applied and got a job at Solomon, which is about 13 miles from Salina, um, headed to the East along I 70. Um, so closer towards you. Um, I went there for six years as their, uh, 712 principal. And then that evolved into principal and athletic director. Uh, And so I did that for six years and then this opportunity came up and we thought it was a good move for me and my family. And so I've really been in this area of Salina my entire career. So I'm on year three at Southeast Saline. So, you know, we're in year 24 of education and I really haven't left, you know, a 15 mile radius. So that's kind of been my little journey of education. Rick Sola (05:13.814) No, that's great. I always find interesting. Everybody's wrote it. And sometimes we're not on the admin track or even even think about it at the start of our careers. And then here we are. And so no, thank you for sharing that. Yeah. So we're yeah, we record. is August 26 recording. So we have started the school year. We're underway. But I know that the start of the year brings a lot of intentionality. And I know Nick (05:22.669) Right. Yo. Rick Sola (05:41.461) you had some intentionality at the start of your year and I learned because we have a mutual connection with that intentionality with Mr. Don Epps who came out to your school. And I think he was with you a day or two before he came out where I'm at. But I wanted to hear about your kind of the start of the year, but the intentionality behind that, everything that even includes Mr. Epps joining you. Nick (06:08.931) You bet. You bet. So obviously that's kind of been a focus in the last few years of what we wanted as far as really listening to our teachers in regards to their PD. We did a lot of kind of some of the teachers get to choose their own, which is one of the things I think is a little unique. always basically one day of the summer they dedicate to a day of their own PD. So we come back a day later. than with some of the other area schools because they're doing a day of PD on their own because the reality that we knew was they're learning and doing stuff in the summer anyway, whether that's books they're reading, whether that's, you know, other plans that they're doing, listening and talking to other people. So we're like, let's just grant them a day of PD for that. And then we've really been, I guess you would say intentional in the fact of like getting the information from our, from our PDC and just having them kind of take the lead on it. I think before it was very admin driven, like this is what the PD is going to be. And we wanted that to be really teacher driven. So we really focused a little bit more about, you know, making sure we're getting surveys, making sure our, our PDC leaders are the ones that are driving this, not coming from admin. And the thing that we heard over and over again was we really would like to have a motivational speaker. We really like to have a motivational speaker. And you know how that is. It's like, that's a great thought, but we're not a big district. We're not going to bring in a $10, $20,000 public, you know, motivational speaker. And then, you know, when you're financially looking at it from an admin perspective, you're like, I don't know, can we really justify this for an hour or whatever the case may be like? Yeah, it's going to get everyone excited. But is it really, you know, going to last throughout? Like, so we started really having those discussions and it's been in the back burner. Last year, we brought in a friend of mine who's a local administrator to kind of give that kind of feel. And that was positive. But I was at I don't even remember. I think I was doing the bold leadership. That's what it was. I was doing the bold leadership and we were actually at Pleasanton. And one thing, least or another, you know, we're out to dinner and I'm talking with Don and he talks about wanting to do this, you know, thing. And I said, if you ever do it, I said, put Southeast Salina on first. We're going to do it. goes, all right, brother, you know, I'm going to be there. And you know how, you know, Don is. And so. Rick Sola (08:22.935) Yeah. Nick (08:26.831) And I kind of, forgot about it. And then probably about a month or two later, he announced out on the social media that, you know, he was going to do it. I mean, reached out to him again. He's like, you know, I'm going to be there. We're going to be there. So we made sure we worked all the details out. He came out. He got everybody fired up. mean, he don't have to come out and give a speech to get people fired up. can call you on the phone. He can catch you passing by. He's just one of those guys who's infectious. You know, he loves kids. loves public education and, you know, he was a good way for us or, know, anyone to kind of get started. So he came out here. I also talked to a few of my local schools because he was already coming out here and asked them if you know they wanted him to come over. And so while he was out, he was able to go over to Minneapolis and which is 30 miles down the road and Concordia, which is about 45, 60 miles down the road. So he was able to come out and do some of our local schools. And like I said, he's a champ. He's a pretty awesome guy. Rick Sola (09:21.346) Well, he was on the tour for sure because he left here where I'm at and had to drive past Wichita. He even told me, I don't know, I must have blacked out, I don't know how I made it there on time, wherever he was, Clearwater maybe, but he got out there and... Nick (09:39.258) Yeah, Clearwater, Riverside, I don't remember which one it was, but it was one of those. I remember him telling me, he's like, you know, only in the way Don was, is he was like, well, there's a local guy, I think he's gonna fly me in his plane. And then he says, well, I don't know, because he just called me and said the plane's broken, but maybe he'll get it fixed in time. I looked at Don, and I was like, if the plane's broken, I don't think I'd take that risk, buddy. Like, I don't know. Rick Sola (09:59.503) Yeah, that's I mean, I told him I said that's I'm glad you figure that out before you're in mid air. I mean, that's you know, that's a bad deal. No, first of all, so he I remember he had he had already been with you. And he came out like Rick, you got to have Nick Owens on your Nick Owen on your show and blah, blah, blah. But that was great. And I'm really excited to have you on because at USA, I did a little presentation on Nick (10:07.756) Hahaha Nick (10:20.216) I'm Rick Sola (10:28.382) on podcasting in general, but also talked about cool coffee and had a survey for other administrators to just recommend different people for the show. Your name came up multiple times on that survey. And so I think it's awesome and I appreciate you being on here today. So you mentioned that I really like that kind of dedicated PD day for staff over the summer. And the assumption is, like all of our teachers do, they're they are doing things throughout the summer. Is there anything that's like, I guess a follow-up to that? Like once you start, like hey, kind of a share out what you did or I hate to use the word accountability, but more of a, like I'd be really interested to know everybody's kind of, you whether you read a book or you found an article or you're doing something to implement into your classroom for the first time this year. What does that look like when they return? Nick (11:20.335) Well, it's just like what you said. A lot of them, be honest with you, it might just be a book study that they kind of lead. So we had a group that this year, you know, you know, the popular book now is that anxious generation. They kind of just ran with that and they had like they basically had probably monthly sessions, I'd say three or four sessions throughout the summer where they would read, you know, however many chapters and they get together. And so obviously, when they met back, they discussed that. We have others that You know, we're small school, what this does is it gives them a little bit of flexibility. So they may not have a lot of time when they report things back. Let's say my band instructor goes and visits some college university and sees how they do their band or talks with another professional. But they'll meet with me. One of the things I started when I got here was we basically go, make teachers create their very similar as they're seeing PDC goals. But I just tell them, whatever their three goals are for the year. create whatever their three goals and then I want to meet with them and we meet whether they're on evaluation or not. When I first got here, it was like, well, these are the set teachers you're going to have to meet with. I was like, what about all the others? And they're like, well, there's no scheduled time. You have to if you want to. I'm like, well, I need to know what they need from me is more than anything. I need to know what they need from me and then we can hold each other accountable. You know, so I kind of went over, you know, every year I always tell my staff, here are my goals for the year. So that where you can hold me accountable if I'm not doing that and the same thing And I don't feel like it's a gotcha or a catcher and I don't think my staff does either it's just you know being professional and making sure we're all holding each other accountable and you know, so we meet at the beginning and they kind of tell me about what their PD was over the summer how they're going to apply it or you know, sometimes just like anything you try something new and it was a bust and so we know that and and and it's just that You want to make the staff make sure, I always tell them I want them to feel safe enough to fail. And so same thing we tell our kids and stuff like that, try something new. If it was a bust, it was a bust and we'll move on. But give them that comfort and then that's kind of how we roll with that. Rick Sola (13:26.36) I really like that quote, safe enough to fail. I imagine, you know, over the times staff start to kind of feel, they feel that comfort level, but going back to like when you started and establishing a new relationship with the staff, how do you, how are you, I guess, going back to that intentionality, how are you intentional about establishing a safe to fail culture? Like, hey, you know, cause I always kind of have to remind myself that especially with maybe newer educators or those new to building, some people get a little tense. like, that's the principle. It's like, hey, it's OK to fail. I would encourage that. You hear the saying, you're not failing. You're not learning or something like that. But how do you really kind of emphasize that to staff? Like, hey, it really is OK. We want you to try. Nick (14:07.471) Right. Nick (14:15.459) Well, probably. just I guess observation because they probably see me failing a lot. No, but I think the biggest thing is, is it's communicating. try and obviously I guess I'm a storyteller in some ways and I always try and tell them, you know, stories of where I've walked into classrooms and it has been a fail. And you know how in some ways this is just an opportunity for us to learn and grow. Being visible, being in their classrooms, that way they, you know, you can see things. And when you see something, Rick Sola (14:21.155) haha Nick (14:44.843) making sure it's not just you're passing through and I'm feeling that evaluation but like when I see something really cool or something different I'm making sure that I'm writing them a little note. But I'm a big person on like handwritten notes even though I have the worst handwriting ever. I think it matters especially it's real easy nowadays where you know an email can just get passed through and deleted because we get so darn many of them. So I try and get like a little note and it's funny because When you walk through the classroom sometimes, you know, I got one veteran teacher, this is his 41st year teaching all in the same building. It's amazing. And you want to talk about feeling like, I don't know, like, I don't know. I guess the best way to say is that what you're doing matters is like, I walked in his classroom and one of the notes I gave him was like hung up on his board. Like it truly mattered to him. know I mean? Like something sometimes we think no big deal about like, whatever. I just wanted to make sure he knew that, you know, Rick Sola (15:21.795) Yeah. Nick (15:41.871) I liked what this was happening and things he was doing and those things matter to them. I mean, there's some, don't get me wrong, just like anyone, just like kids, there's probably something that wadded up and toss it away right away. And that's fine too. It still sent the message. But I think making sure when you see something like that, when you see they're trying something new, whether it's good or it's bad, embracing that. And like I said, sometimes when it does fail, I think the same thing, instead of making sure we focus on and be like, oh, that was bad, be like, Rick Sola (15:51.246) Yeah. Nick (16:08.963) You can still say that you're like, hey, I can see that didn't work. But hey, I appreciate you trying it. You know, it that's the only way we grow is trying new things. So embracing that concept. Rick Sola (16:14.562) Yeah. Rick Sola (16:18.776) What a great way to frame maybe a busted lesson or something, you know, as an encouraging way to keep going, keep trying, let me know how I can help. yeah, you kind of capture something that I feel like is just the story of education. The little things that you wrote that note and it's posted there on the wall, you probably totally forgot about the note at some point. You wrote it, but you just don't know the interactions you have with everybody from students to staff to parents. Nick (16:38.703) you Rick Sola (16:46.72) Every interaction matters and there's a gravity to the interactions we have, even when our head is somewhere else. There's like four fires that are going on that you know you got to get to. But those moments matter. And so I really like that you mentioned that and brought that up. One thing as we were setting this up and talking about, know that a priority for you is with your students soft skill development and Nick (16:48.366) Yes. Rick Sola (17:16.334) Kind of, I guess making aware of those post-secondary options for kids, because there's a lot of options that are post-secondary. It's not just college or whatever. So I was going have you speak to that a little bit and just what that looks like in your school as far as soft skill development with kids. Nick (17:25.753) Thanks. Nick (17:35.503) Well, I'll tell you there's there's two different things. One, I mean, we'll talk about with some of the soft skill stuff. One of the things that we're really focusing on, we're really implementing out full circle this year is where we're calling it Trojans together. But we have the ability, you know, we're K-12 building, as I told you. So not everybody has what, you know, that ability to do some of the things we're going to do. So we're basically doing a one-to-one mentoring program this year for every single kid in our school. And what I mean by that is Well, I'm sorry, not kindergarten. They got enough stuff figuring out the routine of kindergarten. But once they get to first grade, first grade basically matched up with a seventh grader and then you kind of continue on until you get to sixth grade and seniors. And they're just matched off kind of a one to one. Obviously, sometimes numbers don't match up and you're two to one or whatever else. But what we want to do is create some sort of another buddy in the school so they got someone to talk to. And then what they do now is once a month, they're going to basically teach a character lesson. Rick Sola (18:07.448) Ha Nick (18:33.871) over some sort of whatever the character strong word of the month is or whatever else. Say it's respect or whatever the case may be. So our teachers took a day out of PD to not only set up these pairs in these groups but also to create the lessons. And so one day throughout the week the kids kind of learned those from the secondary teachers about here's what you're going to teach them, here's how you're going to go about it, here's the interactions here, it's all scripted kind of form so they feel comfortable. And then the next week they kind of meet with their little buddy and they do that. So, and it's kind of structural again, the building basically for all intents and purposes, such down for about, you know, 40 minutes once a month, because that's what everybody's doing at the same time. So I think that's really, really important as far as something not everybody can do because, you know, we don't have to get a bus and rent and go out into the elementary school. We're here, they're here already. And I think it's important because sometimes when it comes to some of those soft skills, kids, we get, they, Rick Sola (19:23.853) Yeah. Nick (19:30.029) I feel like we talk to them too much. We talk at them instead of talk to them. I guess it's the best way to say is we're delivering these lessons that they've heard now for 12 years about what respect is and so on and so forth. And at some point it's time for us to stop talking to them and have them so with what it is. And I think when you give them that leadership opportunity, I'm a firm believer that every kid is going to be a good leader. And I had a lot of teachers that were like, well, what about this kid? know, he really struggles with, you he doesn't respect his teachers. He doesn't respect. you know, and all these other ones. But it's different when you're putting that leadership role, when you have that thrust upon you that this kid's looking up to you. You know, you are now that person. I mean, we're also lucky. I'm not going to lie. We have great kids. We really do. It makes your job really, really easy when you got good kids. But I also feel like they rise to the challenge. They really do. And they see that, you know, this isn't something for me to mess around with because I got another little kid who's looking up to me. and they take that responsibility. So that's been a really cool thing we do in regards to some of our soft skills. The other thing since I got here is we've really been a big focus on, when I first came, they were very, very proud of the fact of like the number of college hours that we teach within our building, which is amazing. I mean, for a small, you know, two-way football, three-way, every other sports school, we offer like, I think it's 68 credit hours taught by our faculty for college credit. I mean, that's pretty impressive for a small school. But the thing about it is we had a lot of kids when you wouldn't have a clear IPS, they were walking out of here with a lot of college hours, but they had no clue what they wanted to do. So we've really tried to focus more about getting them figured out what they exactly want to do, putting more of an emphasis on kids going to, we have a local technical colleagues, you know, obviously with the Senate bill, you can get all that free. Rick Sola (20:58.926) Wow. Nick (21:21.869) So we send a lot of kids over to the technical school for half a day where they can get, learn their trade. We also, for those kids, because you have some kids that don't even want to do that, they want to go right out in the workforce. We have several local businesses that we set up internships, paid internships through the school day where kids will go out for half a day and work there and they'll come back here their senior year and take half a day of classes. And that's developed into careers for two of our kids last year who in two or three years are going to be making more than me, but that's okay. I wouldn't want their job, they wouldn't want mine, but it works for them. And that's what we really try to focus on is doing what's right for whatever that kid is and trying to meet them where they're at. Rick Sola (21:55.768) Let's go. Rick Sola (22:06.646) Yeah, I really, really love that. And I feel like I don't know if the shift or a shift is the right way to say it, but I feel like maybe early in my education career, a lot of focus was on college and if appropriately so. But college is not the only option and it's not for everybody. Just like you said, whether it's a technical school or straight into the workforce, I love putting that in front of students in emphasizing that it's not. Yeah, there's not just one way forward because really a really not very positive way forward is to get into college and get into a lot of student loan debt. And you end up like, I don't even want to do this. And then you're in you're stuck and then you got, know, and so you're being able to explore these things in high school and get a taste of it and maybe make some decisions one way the other. So so positive. And like you said, a lot of them get into professions that they start. bank rolling pretty quick and doing really, really well. Nick (23:08.515) Well, that's I always tell the kids like I really want and I tell parents this too and they kind of think I'm crazy but it kind of goes back to the same thing I talk about with teachers. I high school it's cheap to fail. It's the best way I say it like take a college class if you don't know if you're what you want to do and then if you fail a college class guess what it costs for us it's $50 a credit hour. Costs $150 to know that college is not for you instead of spending $20,000 for your first year and figuring out it wasn't for you and same way with I tell them internships try an internship if it doesn't work out. Rick Sola (23:33.228) Yeah. Nick (23:38.509) That's not going on your resume instead of having to put, you know, I worked at this job for two weeks and I hated it. Like, try these things. It's easy. It's cheap to fail in high school as opposed to when we get in the real world where it's a little harder. Rick Sola (23:51.981) Yeah, usually it's in a discipline area, but I tell students all the time here at the middle school, you're at a great age to learn some, learn a lesson, you know, and because if you fast forward 10 years and you do the same thing, that could be a whole heap of trouble. It's the same thing with school. Being in high school, it's a great time to learn that, know what, actually being a vet isn't what I want to do because you go to go off to the university and figure that out. You're two years in and thousands of dollars later, you know, so, no, I love that. Nick (24:00.611) Yes. Nick (24:20.291) You're dead on. Dead on. I love how you talked about the discipline thing because it's so funny because, I mean, as I tell almost every single parent when they are so upset that their kid got in trouble, like, mean, kids are going to make mistakes. If kids didn't make a mistake, me and you wouldn't have jobs because there wouldn't be a need for us. know what mean? So kids are going to make a mistake. It's all about how we want to respond afterwards. That's the lesson is they're going to screw up. I screwed up. I mean, a lot. I still screw up. Rick Sola (24:46.126) Well, and that kind of goes back to I love that you said Trojans together that one on one mentoring and you know, and I can imagine, you have you said you had some staff might say, well, what about this student or that you put a student in that position of leadership? Like you said, I think it's amazing what kids can do. And a lot of times I see it. We create leadership groups and you're kind of part of a group. it's it's easy to kind of get lost, even if you're in a leadership group. That one on one. That puts you you're in the hot seat and what a great it's productive discomfort I'm sure for a lot of the kids you know to be in that leadership role and you're one on one and you've got this younger student who's looking up to you now. I know all those younger kids will always remember who their mentor is. So yeah I just I love that. You mentioned earlier you referenced you have a little one in the building and I wanted to just kind of get to that you know I think. Nick (25:34.521) Absolutely. Rick Sola (25:45.763) When I talk with people who are interested in being a principal or getting into administration, it often comes up about that work-life balance and either they're starting a family or they have a young family or whatever. Talk about how you balance the role. It's a demanding job, but also that role of being a dad as well. Nick (26:08.845) Well, you know, it's just like anything. I learned early on, I guess the best way to say it is, you know, I was a coach, pretty successful coach. And at one point I was getting kind of recruited to another school and I was ready to take that job. I really was. And I remember I had like two or three kids just bawling, crying, like, you can't leave, you can't leave. And so, you know, I always kind of chose, I think I kind of dedicated too much to my students. And I know that sounds crazy to be here because You give a life to education and people are like, can't give too much, but you can. And I chose to stay. And two years later when that kid graduates, we don't really talk to each other anymore. know what mean? Occasionally you see him, but you think about that like, man, I completely changed my path because these students really, quote unquote, needed me. And at that point I realized I think my focus and my priorities are wrong. And so I really kind of refocused on making sure I was going to be there. you know, when my family needed me, because they're going to be the ones that are here long after. I finally get done in education and I retire, you know, my family is going to be one that's still around for many more years. So we're lucky we make it an incredible impact every single day. But we also have to remember it is a job. It's a job that makes a huge impact, but it is still a job. So we've got to make sure we make time for the people that are always going to be there for us, because sometimes we can feel used, I think, in this position. Because so many people are coming at us in different ways and I don't want that to come across negative because I love what I do I really do But I do think it's very important to make sure and I tell my staff too I was like you're only going to be successful as if you're happy if you're miserable and that comes from whether you're you're you're you know for me if my wife is yelling at me because I'm not going to my kids of stuff or whatever else and I'm bringing that with me the next day at a school, know as opposed to if I left 30 minutes later Rick Sola (28:02.126) Sure. Nick (28:04.847) you know earlier than I wanted to or whatever else and I was able to take my daughter to practice. My family's a lot happier with me and I'm a lot happier coming back the next day. And I tease everybody. I'm like that paperwork that's on my desk, it'll be there tomorrow. So there's no sense I need to check it off. Rick Sola (28:22.862) Yeah, now that is for sure. There's always, it'll be waiting for you tomorrow. And what advice would you give that new administrator that maybe you would mentor on anything, I guess, as a prospective administrator? Nick (28:29.581) Yes. Nick (28:40.601) I guess the best way to say it is find what makes you happy and then embrace those things, I guess is the best way to say it. know, if truly, and what I mean by that is what makes you happy long term? I think I got sucked in really early on as a young teacher and a coach that, you know, my entire life was wrapped up in those students. And all of my relationships was, you know, either the students or the students' parents and things like that. And then you realize like after they move on and they graduate, you're kind of sitting around like, man, I've not done a good job of like creating relationships with my actual peers. Like I've been so driven to, you know, to coach and to win. And that was everything that it was that I didn't like, you know, I create relationships even with my assistant coaches and things like that. was, that just wasn't, that was not part of those relationships were not part of the plan because as silly as it was, I was so driven by winning that that didn't really necessarily help me win. kind of making, making sure you're making time for those other relationships because there are going to be days when you're going to need that person. You know, you're going to need that person that's in, you know, my assistant principal. I need, I need that guy regularly. So it's incredibly beneficial to make sure I have that relationship with them. And I mean, what I mean by that is, you know, outside of work hours, we'll make sure we'll go try and grab something to eat or try and go do something because you want to have those relationships that, you know, have those people by your side that even after he goes to another school or I go to another school, we still have that relationship with someone I can reach out to, I can talk to. So finding those people, building those relationships of those people around you. Rick Sola (30:18.05) Yeah, no, I love that very, very real, take there and, just so authentic, you know, I agree. I think I have the best job I in, you know, in the district. love, I love what I do. I being a building principal. It's a grind though, you know, it can be a grind and it's a, it can be a roller coaster of things that, you know, it could be a slow week for whatever reason. All of sudden you have a month's worth of issues that pop up in two days, you know, and that's just. Nick (30:35.277) Yes. Nick (30:46.467) Yes. Rick Sola (30:47.158) kind of the way the way it goes. to take care of your people and to be there for your people really, I really appreciate that that viewpoint and for sharing that out here on this podcast. And before we go here, just two quick hitters there. KPA is a KPA podcast. What is the KPA meant to you over the your time as an administrator? Nick (31:10.957) What's been great, the big resource obviously that I use the KPA is, you know, the USA conference is the one that, you know, I probably get out to most. I don't really necessarily get out to the KPA conference during the school year as much because to be honest with you, especially in a small school, you always just feel so guilty of being away from school, even if it's a day or two. When it's the summer, you're like, yeah, I can get away from the office or whatever else. So USA has definitely been my outlet of that. And that's been huge. and not only that, just having that resource of, as I talked about, there's a lot of people that are in the trenches every single day that, there's nothing that sometimes can make you feel better than when you hear about somebody else that might've just had a worse day than you even. So you can be there not only for an ear, you know, to be like, man, I'm sorry that happened to you. But then after you hang up that call, you're like, whoo, my day was not as bad as that guy's day or that girl's day or whatever the case may be. So. Again, building those relationships with your other principals, I think is so, important. Whether it's just a local principal down the road or someone completely across the state. You know, like I talked with Don, mean, Don's on the other side of the state for me, but I'm still trying to give him a call and give him some positive things every once in a while because I know sometimes it's exhausting for a guy like that who we just look at and we expect him to constantly give the positivity to everybody. But, you know, at some point, He's got to get it back too. you know, seeing that and making sure we're giving positive back to people. Rick Sola (32:37.154) Yeah, no, that's great. And since you brought it up, KPA conference is November 5th and 6th, I believe this year. And certainly I'll put a plug in for it. is a great conference. You're right. It can feel kind of guilty at times to get away from the building. That conference in particular, I was at USA as well. Love that. It's a great conference. KPA, a little smaller of a conference, but just pinpointed on Nick (32:46.478) Yeah. Rick Sola (33:04.226) the principle and I love it. And it's just a great opportunity, like you said, to share. I hate to say misery loves company, but I know what that saying means. know how that, you know, what that means there when you have a rough time. But certainly we're in a position of we need each other because sometimes we need to be the ear and sometimes we need to be able to share. But hey, real quick here before the day gets started, brag on your people out there in Southeast Saline. Nick (33:34.008) Well, I tell you what, we just have phenomenal, I mean, we just have phenomenal kids. I mean, we're very, very successful in pretty much everything we do. I guess is the best way to say. We talked a little bit about, I think we've hung a state championship banner every single year since 2018. So not very many schools can say that they're not only they're just successful, but successful in multitude, cross-country teams, or track teams, or football teams, scholars' bowl team. I mean, it's not just athletics. It's academics. It's really everything. And I think it goes back to, it's not me. I promise you that. We have great kids. phenomenal staff and we have staff that you know have been here there's little turnover because you know they really like it here like I told you we had we have a teacher right now who is in his 41st year all here we had one that retired last year who very very upset about retiring, I think he spent 45 years in our district. So and the and year before that we lost someone who he was he was like high thirties in our district and he still comes back and does our plays. But we have phenomenal leaders. We have phenomenal teachers in our district. We have great, great parents and kids. They work hard. They do what's right. and they just want to get better in everything they do. And I think that starts starts at the top from our superintendent and our school board goes down in our district or building leaderships and then obviously you know the people that really are doing the groundwork and that's the teachers. They're the ones that are putting in the hours and putting in the work. You know I might be you know the face or the focal point that people look at but I'm not the one that's I'm not I'm not pulling the sled I'm just directing and I'm driving it they're the one pulling it. Rick Sola (35:18.498) Yeah, well that's awesome and loved hearing about your school and everything that's going on out there. And I gotta say, Don really pumped you up and he's like, yeah, Rick, gotta have them on. And I remember I looked, you talked about his social media presence, which is incredible. But I saw, I think that was the first time I saw like a picture of you was you in a boa with Don. And so. Nick (35:35.139) Yes. Nick (35:39.681) I'm Rick Sola (35:42.728) I saw that and I'm like, I didn't end up having to wear the boa. I somehow avoided it that whole morning, but a lot of my staff did. So it was good times. Well, hey, I know the day is going to be getting started for you soon. So I really appreciate your time and looking forward to running into you, whether it's KPA or USA or somewhere else. But good luck to you on this school year ahead. Nick (35:47.064) Wow. Yes, yes. Nick (36:07.087) Hey, I appreciate it. Thank you for all you do of getting positive words out and pumping up educators because we can't have enough of that. So I appreciate what you do, Rick. Rick Sola (36:15.279) All right, thank you. Have a good day. Nick (36:17.156) Take care.  

In this episode of Cool Coffee with Kansas Principals, Dr. Gail Holder, principal of Mill Valley High School, shares her journey to leadership, her philosophy on education, and the importance of community and culture in schools. She discusses her focus on professional development, school improvement goals, and strategies for sustaining momentum in education. Dr. Holder emphasizes the significance of belonging and collaboration among students and staff, and offers advice for new principals navigating their early years in leadership.   Connect with Dr. Gail Holder: [email protected] X: De Soto School District - USD 232   Chapters (timestamp does not account for intro) 00:00 Introduction and Background 01:24 Journey to Leadership 05:27 Leadership Philosophy and Experience 11:06 Professional Development Focus 16:25 School Improvement Goals 22:31 Sustaining Momentum in Education 26:36 Reflections on Five Years 31:04 Advice for New Principals 36:29 Community and Culture at Mill Valley   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR Input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]   Transcript (AI generated) Rick Sola (00:01.56) Hello and welcome to another edition of Cool Coffee with Kansas Principals. Today I am here with the principal of Mill Valley High School in the DeSoto School District, USD 232, Dr. Gail Holder. Welcome, Gail. Gail Holder (00:17.358) Well, well, well, thank you, Rick. I really appreciate the introduction. I thought you would do a little bit of a throwback to here is my sophomore English teacher, but I appreciate you keeping it above board and very professional. Rick Sola (00:31.246) Well, I was going to, but now, yeah, yeah, in the post-production of this high production show that we've got going on here. No, actually, I was going to say, first of all, congrats on the doctor, because we do have a history here as far as going all the way back to my sophomore year in high school at Olathe South, and you were my ELA teacher. And so, just out of habit, Gail Holder (00:32.686) We can weave that in later. How about that? Gail Holder (00:43.875) Great. Rick Sola (01:01.038) Every time I see it, it's, hi Mrs. Holder, hi Mrs. Holder. And so congrats on the doctorate, but then since then, I guess before we even get to that, because we could go into our history, but we kind of go back in both of our careers. But while we're on it, let's just start with a little bit of your road to the chair. You're sitting in Mill Valley. We were just talking before going live and how great. It is a really good start, but what led you here to where you're at today? Gail Holder (01:34.392) Such a great question. And so, you know, I got my administrative license back in 2005 and 2006, something like that. I had gone through the Pitt State program to get an admin and, you know, took the praxis, did all the things, but had really no desire to move into administration or that kind of leadership at that time. And so to be honest, I let my seven years or whatever the grace period is lapse and continue to coach. and but during that coaching and teaching time I kind of started moving into some leadership or other roles within the district and in 2016 when my when my daughter graduated from Olathe South I also had Dr. Jessica Dane who asked me to come with her over to district office and work in teaching and learning and having had worked on getting my master's in curriculum and instruction I I felt like, and I'd always been somebody who very much focused on the academic success of students, although I know how important being involved in other activities in athletics is. So I moved over to that position in 2016, moved over to the district office, and I served there for two years and learned a lot about leadership. But to be totally honest, as much as I love planning professional development and believe so strongly in professional development for professionals and especially in the area of education. I was really missing the sort of lasting impact of being inside of a building and working with teachers every day and seeing the impact on student learning and you know the use of data and what we were doing with that. So I asked if there would be an opportunity for me to move back to a building and go into administration. 2018, I was afforded the opportunity to go to Olathe East as an assistant principal. My roles there were curriculum and instruction and activities director and loved that role, loved Olathe East. It was really fantastic. And then in January of 2020, one of my friends who I had taught with, was an assistant principal here at Mill Valley, texted me and said, hey, our principal is Gail Holder (04:03.962) retiring, would you have any desire or would you like to even think about coming and interviewing for our principal position here at Mill Valley? And the rest is somewhat history. I accepted the position in February of 2020 here at Mill Valley. And of course, we all know what happened in March of 2020. And so I spent from March 2020 all the way through the summer on Zoom calls with over 170 staff members here at Mill Valley. had 15 minute Zooms with every teacher, secretary, custodian, para, just to have some time to get to know them quote face to face. I had planned to do it in person, but of course that got derailed by the pandemic. So just an incredible journey getting here. And I think starting my principalship in a space where I was also managing and trying to navigate a pandemic was something that I don't know that I really signed up for, but I'm telling you, I wouldn't have done it any differently. The stretch was big to come into a new space, a new district, new leadership, all the things, and then on top of everything else, navigating what we were doing as it relates to education in the pandemic. as well. I am so grateful and thankful. Every journey has been my favorite, I will say. So at this point in my life, I would say that this is my favorite stop in my education, in my professional journey has been having the opportunity to lead this absolutely incredible community. Rick Sola (05:56.079) You know, I may have missed the how to lead through a pandemic course when I went through my Baker degree. Gail Holder (06:03.513) Yeah, that one, I don't know. Maybe they, you know, yeah. Rick Sola (06:07.214) But I had the same similar trajectory. I started at the same time and then it was the following school year and you probably can't see it, but it's like a twitch started to develop as you were talking about it. Yeah, what a crazy time and you know, going back a little bit, you referenced a late the East and being an activity director, you had a life. Gail Holder (06:18.318) Thanks Rick Sola (06:30.446) That was a big part. And for those who may not know, you're a legend around here when it comes to the dance team, drill team performance. And I bring that up specifically because I don't know if you at the time you thought about it as a... probably a leadership position, but an administrative position, but I've worked very closely with different dance team coaches and it's a quasi administrative role. How did that prepare you for what you're doing now and kind of the road that you've had since then? Gail Holder (07:07.426) what a great question. You know, I loved my work with Dance Team and basically I would agree it is quasi administrative, if you will, because you're dealing with kind of a small community and you know, and I know you remember this, Rick, and you you calling me Mrs. Holder, there's a part of me that has to stop when I call you Rick, because you know, you were Ricky, like that, and that's what I knew you as, but. Rick Sola (07:30.292) You Gail Holder (07:33.578) Anyway, you know, I had 80 girls. You know, I had anywhere from 60 to 80 girls on dance teams. So it's almost like a, you know, a small school building that you were managing. So you had those girls and then you had, you know, their parents and whatnot. But I think really the philosophy is the same. And I've carried it with me through my administrative career as well is, you know, you set the bar high, you set the expectations high, lead with grace and humility, but with strength and conviction and people will rise to the occasion and I feel like I've done that whether it was at Olathe East or here at Mill Valley. I've tried to lead just like I did you know back when I was 24 years old coming in as a first-year dance team director at Olathe South High School was you know these are the expectations this is what the guide lines are, but I'm going to meet you where you are every day and I'm going to love you through it. But at the end of the day, if you don't do the right thing, then there's going to be a deeper conversation. And I feel like that's just, it doesn't matter if you're in a classroom or you're coaching a team that is recognized, whether it's statewide or nationally, or you're leading a school building. I really believe those same kinds of guidelines work for you. Rick Sola (09:02.284) Yeah, there's just so much overlap and I mean, there's hard decisions to make. There's there's personnel decisions that I mean, I know you had captains, you have placement on the floor, you know, routines and English. I, I am swimming in the deep end. You have no idea right now talking about dancing. But but no, I know there's so much that goes with that. Then, you know, there's potential for a parent. Gail Holder (09:09.772) Yes. Yep. Look at you knowing all the things about the Golden Girls. Yes. Yes. Gail Holder (09:20.748) You Gail Holder (09:28.184) Yes. You bet. Rick Sola (09:28.418) Concerned or upset or not to mention the building you're using lots of building you're coordinating between games and all sorts of things and Gail Holder (09:35.394) Yes. Rick Sola (09:37.719) Yeah, there's a direct correlation, I think, of what that was and what that's preparing for now. First of all, well, second, I guess a couple things. Well, you mentioned Ricky. I have so many people like, that's a really hard... For people, listeners of this show, was Ricky for a long time. I dropped the Y when I was writing emails home to parents and I felt weird having this serious email and then saying, you know, from Ricky Soler. So I dropped the Y, but it does bother me. I've been called way worse. It's my name. It doesn't bother me at all. you also referenced Dr. Dayne, Dr. Jessica Dayne. And I tell you what, so in 2016, you said you made that transition. You're working with her. I became principal. I think it was that year, 2016, as my first year. And you talk about a dynamic duo, the two of you. And I mean that sincerely because as a first year principal, I mean, you're just kind of the Gail Holder (10:14.648) less. Gail Holder (10:29.134) you're kind. Rick Sola (10:37.142) Yeah, the fire hose is on, but you guys were such a support for especially the professional development aspect of just kind of getting my head wrapped around so many things as part of our school improvement plan, our goals, and both of you were just awesome and really kind of a lifesaver for me those first couple of years. So I appreciate that, but. Gail Holder (10:59.662) Oh, that's so kind of you to say. When we came into that position, there was professional development. But Jessica and I think the same way. The intentionality behind professional development has to be there. And there has to be sort of this linear vertical articulation to what it is your real goal is. So I'm glad you say that. whether you're saying it just for cool coffee or you're saying it in reality, We'll never know the difference, but I do appreciate that. And I've tried to carry that. I know we'll probably talk about that here in a second. But I've carried that same sort of work and transferred it over to what we do here at Mill Valley. Rick Sola (11:44.781) Yeah, no, I mean it sincerely because, you know, I think we all have our strengths and honestly, you know, I value PD and there's a lot that we do, but I lean on our learning services department and especially as a first year. And you mentioned some of this earlier with the the confidence and the capability that both you and Jessica brought in. It was very comforting in many ways as a brand new principle because things move really quick. But kind of to that point, Gail Holder (12:13.93) Thank you. Rick Sola (12:18.806) You know, the professional learning that you have for this year, we're recording this, it's August 19th. So it's early, we've started school, you got through your pre-service, but I'm sure you've got a little bit of a direction with PD or an arc, if you will. Where do you see Mill Valley going this year? What's your points of emphasis? Gail Holder (12:36.622) Yeah, no, I do. I'm a big one in the summer where I. kind of push reset and I kind of slow everything down. And again, I try to be super intentional. I'm gonna start from our school improvement plan. When I first got here, know, I believe it or not, I spent a couple of years kind of not going full force. I tried to sit back, observe, see what's working and what's not working. And around year three, I decided when working with my department chairs collaboratively, I said, we've got to make this thing so easy but so attainable. I need every single person to be able to articulate what are our building goals. So we made it as easy as ABC and it's academics, it's belonging, and it's collaboration. That's it. And of course underneath each one there's strategies and there's things like that but what I'm going to tell you is You could ask any staff member in this building, what are your three building goals? And they could tell you. It might take them a minute, but they would go ABC, academics, belonging, collaboration. And we talk specifically this year under academics. Our focus this year is on high quality instruction and high quality instructional materials. So there's this emphasis this year on instruction. So academics is the focus of everything we do. You know, we talk about, at Starbucks, they don't sit around talking about tennis shoes. They talk about, you know, they talk about coffee. They talk about customer service. They talk about all the things. And, you know, that's the work of our work. That's the business of our business. That's the talk of our talk as we talk academics. And then when we talk about belonging, we're talking, belonging sounds sort of fluffy and like, okay, well that just means that, you know, we want kids to be involved in athletics, activities, a club. But really, I've... Gail Holder (14:35.126) I've worked with our staff to say, you know, belonging is bigger than just saying, all of our students are, you know, have some sort of connection to a club or whatever. What belonging really means is that every single student that walks into every single classroom in this building feels like they belong in that classroom. They belong there, they can learn there, they're safe there. We've talked about the things you put on your walls, the things that you come out of your mouth. is everything intentional. And we kind of joke between this rivalry between K-State and KU. Everybody kind of does that in Kansas. But for some kids, they walk into a classroom that has K-State flags all over the wall, and they immediately go, I'm not safe here, because my parents bleed red. They're Jayhawk fans. And I'm using a light example. But I also want teachers to be very cognizant of being, I know these are sort of the terms that we're afraid of, but being really culturally responsive to, what are you putting up in your classroom? You don't see my entire office, but there's not one place where I have one degree up on my wall. I don't have my degrees hanging on the wall. I have a small little plate back here in the back of my office that says Dr. Gail Holder. I don't have it sitting out there because here's what I'm going to tell you that based on the parents that I have coming into my office, the kids that I, they don't care about any of that. And not only that, are they really comfortable coming in where I've got all of my degrees and they haven't maybe gone to college, they haven't maybe gotten that extra degree. Are they immediately either on the defensive or feeling less than? This space is very common ground. There's not one person that hasn't been in my office that doesn't walk in and the first thing they say is, I love your office. I don't think it has anything to do with the decor. I think it has to do with when they come in my office, they immediately feel like I'm on a level playing field here. I'm not coming into a place where I feel intimidated because this person has this degree or sits in that chair. Because it means nothing to them because what we're going to really talk about is how they can Gail Holder (17:02.252) we can support their student in a space of not having running water at their house. And even in a place like Mill Valley, we have those moments, right? How are we going to get food for their student in the morning? And how am I going to, you know, what are we going to do about their mental health? None of that matters. None of that stuff matters when we're really talking about the heart of what really makes this happen, which is students. So that's when I talk about belonging. that's what I'm talking about. And then collaboration, of course, we have spent quite a lot, you know, quite a few years actually trying to get professional learning communities often running here in this district. And we finally, three years ago, pushed hard enough to get dedicated time on Wednesday morning, 45 minutes of a late start time where teachers can collaborate. And collaboration is all focused around our first two goals, is academics and belonging. So regardless of those being three separate, they are all definitely. They're definitely intertwined and they definitely intersect. And so even though you talk about them being these are our three goals, they really are all centered around the student. Rick Sola (18:24.133) Right? No, that's great. ABC, that breaks it down pretty simple, I imagine, for staff. you referenced your office. And of course, I'm sitting over with right next to my head is my chief's flag. So I'm like, oh, yeah, yeah. I'm looking at this. But I find that interesting. so when someone comes into your office, like a student comes in, and what's in your office that kind of Gail Holder (18:29.346) Yes. Gail Holder (18:37.462) You're good. No, no judgment. No judgment at all. Rick Sola (18:53.428) says you like, this is is Miss Holder, Dr. Holder's office. I mean, you know, how do they kind of see like what your passions are based on your office? Gail Holder (19:04.366) OK, I love that you asked that question. First is the picture behind me. I've had this picture since I started in school leadership. I bought it when I went to Lathey East. For me, every day, it's the first thing I see when I walk in, and it sits behind me. I never really sit behind my desk when I'm talking to kids. I try to move around. And it basically just says, every day is new, and we get a fresh start every day. It's reflection and strength. So yes, we want to constantly reflect, but we also want to do that reflection in the context of strength and knowing that, being flexible, being able to change is really important, but there's always those firm foundations. I'll say that over here, I don't know if you can see it, but over here I have a table. And it's very interesting because the table is a collage of a variety of different things. It's got Mickey Manil, it's got Charlie Chaplin, it's got Marilyn Monroe, it's got John F. Kennedy. and it's this montage of pictures and it's a conversation table. I purchased it from a bed and breakfast when it went out of business. so students come in and this is where we sit when we talk and it immediately, they always say, I love this table. And they love the table because there's something on that table that speaks to them. And I will always say, which one do you like the best? And every student will pick something different. I really like this. astronauts. I mean, it's got everything on there. I have my sign over here on my wall that says, this is my happy place. And students know when they walk in here, hey, I'm in a place that this person loves to be. In my corner, which you can't see, I can't turn the camera that far, but I've got a whole litany of plants. I've got greenery. got good, I call it good juju. I believe in the power of plants. exuding that really good oxygen. Up here on my bookshelf, it says, make every moment count. And I change that every year. And kids will notice that, you changed that. that's a new one this year. And I'll tell you why I have make every moment count when we get to that. Gail Holder (21:25.174) And I guess I'll finish my conversation if you're OK with that with my theme for the year, you are, you know, my idea for the year. So we have our school improvement plan. But our theme for the year is and I think one every year and I know you do too, because Reagan told me you pick a theme. But this year, our theme is momentum and. Rick Sola (21:40.002) Hahaha Rick Sola (21:44.813) nice. I like the logo. Yeah, yeah. Gail Holder (21:46.734) In a grade, I had our graphic design teacher design the logo, and then it says turning moments into momentum. And so unbeknownst to me, my science teacher told me on the last day of PD that MV, mass plus velocity equals momentum. Who knew? It was today years old. So what I do is I have our leadership. Rick Sola (22:07.778) Very cool. Gail Holder (22:11.982) I get these printed, I've done it every year for five years. I have five years worth of themes that I've done. The kids come in and they sign them for each individual teacher. Then the day before, and then they go around and put them outside on their doors. And so the teachers have these on their doors. when a lot of them, when you go in their classroom, they have all the years that they've been here, they've kept them. So when I started it, I really didn't even think about, well this will be something that the teachers will keep. It has become a thing and they like can't wait to know what's the theme for the year. What's the next thing we're gonna do? And then, so this year one of the other things we have is along with Momentum, we have cards that say thank you for being a Mill Valley Moment Maker. So these are ones that we give to staff and to kids that if they have created a moment that has caused Momentum to happen, then. We, so admin has them, teachers have them, our counselors have them, so people are giving cards to each other when they recognize that somebody has done something to really spark what's, you know, a movement in some way. So, we started out the year with a professional development around instructional strategies. I had a guest speaker come in. She also talked about belonging and teacher well-being. We did some choice sessions all around best practices for instruction. We had some sessions on data, how to create momentum with data, and then that will carry through as we go into our October PD as well. Rick Sola (23:49.689) That's awesome. know, you're right. We have a theme every year. And I have five years worth of themes where I'm at as well. What I don't have is all the nice signatures and the postings all over the building and that sort of thing. So I'm like, why didn't we do that? But we do have some posters and I love the, I just love the tie in to the Mill Valley and the momentum and mass and volume. that you said? Mass and velocity. Gail Holder (24:15.49) Mass and velocity. Mass and velocity equals momentum. Yep. Rick Sola (24:20.204) And that's what I find, you know, coming up with themes is sometimes things just kind of, they kind of move into place. The next thing you know, you're like, boom, there it is. And so I love the momentum theme. I wish this is not a video podcast, but a really cool logo. It's August. And I always say it's, it's easy to, easier to have a lot of momentum, a lot of excitement, a lot of energy right now. How do you sustain momentum with your staff when it's like, Gail Holder (24:26.488) They do. Yep. Rick Sola (24:49.614) you know, October 28th, and we're grinding to Thanksgiving or whatever. What's something that might be intentional that you or your team does to really kind of like, we got to keep going, you know? Gail Holder (25:05.422) Okay, before I answer that question, might I say you are like a really good interviewer. You know what you do? You take something I said and then you craft it into another question. So I think you're amazing at this. You are amazing at this. I want you to know that. No, you didn't. You know, I think Rick, and you know this, and this isn't anything magical or, you know. Rick Sola (25:19.24) Well, you're very kind. I learned all of this in 1996 in my ELA class of Olathe South. Gail Holder (25:33.858) bits of wisdom, but the words that our thoughts become our words, our words become our actions, right? And so I talk to staff a lot about in my weekly emails about, you know, the power of positivity. What is the narrative around your attitude or your approach to the work right now? And if it's feeling like this, the best thing you can do is start speaking. differently, right? It's not I'm tired. It's I can't wait to get you know, get this next lesson created so that I can see what happens from here. And unfortunately, it feels like you are constantly with your foot on the gas a little bit. You know, you can tap the brakes every now and again. And I'm not talking about sort of toxic positivity. I'm not doing that. I'm not I'm not saying you need to have this, you know, sort of Pollyanna, you know, high in the sky, everything is perfect. But I think what you also need to remember is that our students are coming to us every day, and this is the place that they feel the safest, where they belong. The work is so important. The learning that they're doing is the most important work that can absolutely happen in any profession. And so we are tasked with the... the, whether it's the unfortunate or with the responsibility of being those people. All right. And so if you can't go to a place where you can sort of fake it a little bit and get to that place, then, then, you know, we let me, let me help you. Right. I think it also depends on what your leadership does. You know, I, I, I feel like I'm out of my office a lot, especially during passing periods. I'm in classrooms, how's it going? And yeah, I I'm constantly in that space of being really positive. So for building leaders, mean, yeah, am I tired when I go home at night? You bet I am. But it's not because I've sat in my office all day. It's because not only is their responsibility to be their best self for their students, but it's my responsibility. Gail Holder (27:50.516) I feel like to be my best self and positive regardless of what's going on in my circle so that I can pour into and feed, whether it's verbally, whether it's just by being there, whatever the case might be, our staff. I just feel like that's my responsibility to do that. Rick Sola (28:10.19) Yeah, that's great. the whole lead by example piece, and I love the positive, know, and we talk a little, I talked a little bit about pre-service about, you know, kind of a little bit to that sustaining momentum, but the year can be a little bit of a coaster sometimes, and we all feel it kind of being there also for each other. We have a really tight staff. If you're down, find those that are up. But I love the speak differently, you know, think differently. Gail Holder (28:35.426) Right. Gail Holder (28:39.511) Always. Rick Sola (28:40.144) And that's a really good way to do it. So right before we actually hit record here, you mentioned your five years and you spoke about this at beginning, but your five years in, what are the fruits of being five years in? Like what's that like? That's really a good position. You were saying how great things are going. And I'm sure it has a lot to do with the hard work you did out of COVID and into, and you mentioned that balancing of like, okay, the first couple of years you're assessing and then it's like, okay, let's. Let's go. So you're five years in. How does it feel right now at Mill Valley? Gail Holder (29:14.338) You know, it just feels so great. I mean, and I'm not just saying that. Like, it's not like I'm, you know, I'm saying that, but I'm thinking something else. I, you know, I've learned from some really, really great leaders who have, and I've taken note. I'm a great observer, and I try to take all of those things in. You know, I've adopted Todd Whitaker's, you know, philosophy of, You know, every teacher, you should have the expectation that every teacher should be like your best teacher. And I've told staff that. That's what we all desire to be. Who would you, in your mind right now, who's the best teacher in this building? And are you standing shoulder to shoulder with that person? And if you're not, what can you do to get there? And it doesn't matter who the teacher is that you consider to be the best teacher, but are you standing shoulder to shoulder? What are those characteristics? And I think a little bit of this is, feeling like, I don't want to say I've arrived, that's not it. You know, I had these big hopes and dreams about what it would feel like to be a building principal. And you know, I've got to be honest, it's not easy coming into a new community. know, this community didn't know me. I mean, it wasn't like I was taking over a high school in Olathe where I kind of had a little bit of street cred or people kind of knew me. I no one knew me. And so there had been two. who had been principals at Mill Valley High School for 20 years, both of them 10 years each. And then here comes this gal who comes in a little bit with guns a blazing, like, all right, let's go. And it was rough. mean, I'm not gonna lie to you. It was not roses and whatnot. I I was stood a lot of criticism, a lot of criticism. But... Unfortunately, what everybody didn't know is that was gas in my tank. that's not that I enjoy it, but I'm not going to let it beat me down because I always kept in the forefront that I know what it takes to create an environment that is best for kids. I know what that looks like, and I will not stop till I get there. And that's just kind of what I've kept in the. Gail Holder (31:34.498) in the forefront. know one of the things you shared in the invite was this is what it was going to look like and one of the things was what was the best advice you got. And it's interesting because I'm combining it with watching The Kingdom and I don't know if you've watched it on Netflix yet, have you? Rick, you've got to watch it. Well, I've only watched the first two episodes. I'm kind of savoring it. But the second episode is fantastic and it's titled Don't Judge. Rick Sola (31:51.532) Not yet. Not yet. Gail Holder (32:03.756) So it's this beautiful moment where Andy Reid talks about that's his philosophy in working with players is, and I'm watching this on Sunday, this past Sunday, and I'm thinking, my gosh, that's what we do. That's what we do as educators, that's what I try to do as a leader, and ultimately the bottom line is that I won't give it away, but it's, I'm not judging anybody based on what they've done in the past. I take them where they are, where they, I meet them where they are, and I move forward from there. And I thought about how often we do that. I put that in my newsletter this week. How often we do that. And we are tasked in doing that. Regardless of what a student did yesterday in your class or said to you or whatever, you're tasked with the next day when they walk in, it's a new day, meet them where they are, and you move forward from there. And don't judge them and don't hold it against them. And I loved that. I loved that so much. I feel like we've. We've arrived in that place where staff understands that that's how we do business. We work with kids, we do what we have to do, we set the expectations high, we make sure that they have everything they need, and we move them forward and we get them across the stage. That is what our job is. Rick Sola (33:16.13) And it sounds like too, you mentioned the safe place for kids, but the safe place for the staff members as well. Five years in and, you know, I was just sharing in a meeting the other day, know, conflict. Gail Holder (33:22.21) Absolutely. Rick Sola (33:27.862) conflict occurs. We want to be positive and productive with conflict as far as if we're having a BLT discussion or whatever, we need to be respectful, that sort of thing. you know, we're going to have different opinions. That's what's going to make us sharp and that's what's going to help us excel. And you mentioned the advice and just how rough it was early on. And I feel like I bet every principal who's, you know, gone through a first year, second year, knows exactly what you're talking about. There may be somebody listening that is in their in that moment. They're in their first year. They're in their second year and they just feel like, man, I'm just taking bullets left and right and what advice would you give them? Gail Holder (34:06.702) you You know, think one of the, I mean, I'm going to say advice, but I'm going to say like what I did. I think one of the things I've learned to do in this position is to step back and own what I own, you know, and you're taking these bullets, you know, or emails or phone calls or whatever the case. And then, okay, what is it that I have done and I own and I can control? And what is it that is beyond my control? Do they just not like me because I'm new or because, you know, whatever the reason is, Or is it something that I've actually done? And I think once you start sort of focusing, you know, bringing it from this huge problem to something really micro, okay, these are the things I can control. I need to be, I need to do this, I need to be like that. Okay, that's fine. But there's other things that are outside of your control and you've got to be able to compartmentalize that and you have to be able to release it and say, you know what, I'm going to stay the course. I'm always going to have students at the forefront of every decision I make, every conversation I have, whether it's good, bad, or indifferent, students are always going to be at the forefront. And if you can get to that place, I think that's where you just say, I've got to hang in there. Because you will come through it on the other side, but it can be rough. And I'm telling you, I am a living example of how rough it was for the first two, probably two to three years. It was rough. not with my staff. The staff like literally was open arms from the beginning. They could see my heart, my passion, but it wasn't quite as easy with other things. Rick Sola (35:52.623) Sure. Yeah. And I'm sure that the support that you receive from district leadership too is helpful and you know, that empowerment like hang in there. And you referenced this is just a real quick, you referenced a newsletter. When do you send your newsletter out? What's your day of delivery for the newsletter, the weekly? Gail Holder (35:57.804) Yeah. Very, wow. Gail Holder (36:12.622) I'm didn't talk we talked about this didn't we I think we talked about it maybe at USA maybe just a little. OK. Yes, you've just been like when does she do it? Rick Sola (36:17.038) Yeah, maybe. You can tell I've been bothered by this all summer. like no, I know I change because I changed my day this year. I changed my day. So so well, I'm curious what your day is. So well, so so my day was always. Gail Holder (36:27.278) What is your day now? Well, I want to ask you first. I'm kidding. I'll end. What is your day? No, really. Rick Sola (36:37.024) It's a terrible day. I'll admit that it was always Sunday morning. It was always in preparation for the following week. This is my my parent newsletter and I have an automated email that would go out in a text. Then it was always Sunday morning or Sunday noon ish. In part because a lot of times I got information Friday and late Friday that I would want to include and so and I just never felt prepared like I'm just going to. I'm going to do it. I'm have it mostly ready. Send it out Friday or Sunday. I'm sending out Friday now, which is really for me getting me, you know, I have to rush and I don't feel as secure because I feel like I'm rushing through it. But when do you send yours out? Gail Holder (37:18.342) So, And I totally understand that. And I think probably you feeling like, or people are feeling like Sunday morning, now my whole Sunday is occupied with the words from the principal and whatever. So I have sent my family email, my community email, I sent it to both students and parents. I send it at 5 p.m. on Sunday, 5 p.m. And then my staff email, I try to send by four because what I do is I prep the, Rick Sola (37:41.902) 5 p.m. Sunday. Okay. Gail Holder (37:49.674) of the community email and then I copy and paste that and put it into the staff email so they can see what I'm sending to the community. And I have an hour buffer so that I have a few people that wait, like they're on it. Like at four o'clock when that email sends, if I've got a correction, then I can go into the community email and correct it. So I've got staff that will sometimes say, hey, I think this date is wrong or that. Yep, you're right. Boom. But the thing is, I don't require my staff Rick Sola (38:05.219) Yeah. Gail Holder (38:19.628) to read the email on Sunday. They can read it Monday, but I have not had one staff meeting, one faculty meeting in this is six years. I don't have faculty meetings because I think probably in my career I sat through a lot of faculty meetings that could have been an email and so but what I do tell my staff is you know Every bit of information that you will need for the week and the upcoming week and maybe looking ahead is all going to be in that Sunday email. And I don't want to ask people to have additional meetings. So I send mine on Sunday at 5. I'm going to tell you right now, if that email does not go out at 5, we just flipped over to a new platform. And the connection was weird and wonky. And people didn't get it until Monday. On Monday morning, parents were calling. Where is the Sunday email at 5 o'clock? Wanting to know. Rick Sola (39:17.75) Yeah, no, I remember we did talk about this because I was so intrigued by students receiving the kind of the general the general email. I really like that. No, that's great. Gail Holder (39:24.482) Yes. Gail Holder (39:28.384) And they read it, and they read it. I'm telling you, they have got, I mean, I don't know how many of our freshmen do, but I'm telling you, our kids read that email. They wanna know what the learning schedule is, they want announcements, they wanna see if their friends got a shout out in the congratulations section. And it's not Canva or whatever, some more, I don't do any of that. Rick Sola (39:45.026) Yeah. Gail Holder (39:52.266) It is literally an email. I do have a format, but it is literally an email and no fancy stuff at all. Rick Sola (40:00.205) Yeah, no, that's great. Thanks for revisiting that conversation with me. Before we sign off here, and you've done a lot of this and it just sounds so great and it's really cool to hear so much more about your community, but this is an opportunity for those in Mill Valley listening, brag on them. What makes Mill Valley so great? Gail Holder (40:05.679) sure, absolutely, yeah. Gail Holder (40:26.478) Oh gosh, you know, I, I, I... When, before I came here, people would say to me, know, it's a fantasy land over there, it's utopia, it's this, that, and the other. I mean, there's nothing truer. We have this incredible parent community that is so incredibly generous and kind and supportive, do anything for teachers, do anything for their students. And then I've got this staff, you know, I tell them I hire the best, that's what we do here. And I'd rather leave a position open and I fill them and they fill me with all of this trust and support that we need. I think our kids are fantastic. Our kids, they say please and thank you. They clean up the lunchroom. One of our speeches at graduation talked about the special place that Mill Valley is and she gave an example of, I held a door in a classroom you know, a couple weeks ago, and this has been at graduation, and every single student that walked out of the door said thank you to me for holding the door, you know, and so we live in a space where kids, again, they know that you say please and thank you, you appreciate your building, you have these kinds of things in place that create a community of learners that you can really focus on the learning. You're not really worried about a lot of ancillary things. You are totally focused on student learning and it is just an absolute joy and privilege to just be a part of that as a building principal for sure. Rick Sola (42:13.89) very cool. And I love the example and I love the door holding and I've used the analogy of quick trip. I tend to go there too often, but it's like the quick trip culture. There's something about it's a gas station and but when you go there people hold doors for each other. You always are welcomed when you come in. You know it's a culture thing and I love the culture that you've described there. It sounds really awesome. Gail Holder (42:23.426) Yep, hurry back. Yep. Gail Holder (42:37.676) You know what else is a good one? Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A, how can I serve or whatever they say. My pleasure. My pleasure, my pleasure. I mean, you're right. mean, culture is everything. Culture is everything. Trust is first, then culture. I trust culture, yeah. Rick Sola (42:40.62) Yeah. Yeah. My pleasure, yep. Rick Sola (42:52.514) Yeah. Yeah, I really, really have enjoyed talk with you. I feel like we talk for lots of other topics. I really appreciate your time and all the best to you on a great school year. And hopefully we'll run into each other again. I don't know if you'll be at KPA in November or USA again, or any other local deal, because we're not too far from each other. Gail Holder (43:21.24) Right. Rick Sola (43:22.188) But just thanks so much for taking the time. I really appreciate it. And I hope there's a lot of listeners to this, because there's so many great things that you shared that's going on and that people, think, can steal for their own buildings. So thank you. Gail Holder (43:34.51) Well, thanks Rick. I just want you to know I'm so proud of you. I just want you to know I'm proud of you, Rick. I mean it. I am very proud of you. You yourself are very incredible and you've made quite a name for yourself. So I couldn't be more proud of you. Rick Sola (43:40.418) Well. Rick Sola (43:48.367) You're very kind and I thank you for that. That's very, very nice. But I appreciate it and thanks again and we'll see you around at some point. Gail Holder (43:59.478) Okay, sounds great. Thank you.  

In this episode of Cool Coffee w/ Kansas Principals, featured guest, Mrs. Crystal Carothers, principal of Caldwell Elementary School and KPA president for the 25-26 school year discusses her journey in education, her preparations for the new school year, the importance of networking and mentorship in the educational community. As the 2025-26 KPA president, Crystal shares her vision for her role in the year ahead. The conversation highlights the significance of community engagement and the collaborative spirit within Caldwell's educational environment. Connect with Principal Carothers: [email protected] Episode Chapters (timestamp does not account for CC intro) 00:00 Introduction to Caldwell Elementary and KPA Leadership 02:39 Crystal Carothers' Journey in Education 05:21 Preparing for the New School Year 08:14 The Importance of Networking in Education 11:08 Mentorship and Supporting New Administrators 13:33 Crystal's Vision as KPA President 16:22 Community Engagement and Back to School Events 19:06 Celebrating Caldwell's Educational Community   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR Input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]   TRANSCRIPT (AI generated) Rick Sola (00:01.55) Hello and welcome to another edition of Cool Coffee with Kansas principals. Today, I am here with Mrs. Carruthers from Caldwell Elementary School in Caldwell, Kansas, USD 360 and KPA president for the 25-26 school year, but we'll get into that here in a bit. Crystal, welcome. Crystal Carothers (00:22.349) Thanks, glad to be here. Rick Sola (00:24.69) It's great having you and we are just talking off the air if you will and Caldwell, for those who aren't familiar, where are you in Kansas? Crystal Carothers (00:34.825) So we are pretty much one hour straight south of Wichita. We're on the Oklahoma border. Every year we even have a big tournament, basketball tournament, Border Queen. So yeah, definitely right on Oklahoma border. Rick Sola (00:49.112) That's awesome. Is there a lot of crossover with your high schools in the area where you play the Oklahoma schools? Crystal Carothers (00:55.001) We used to a long time ago, but we just don't anymore. mean we pretty much stay in our league and that's about it. Rick Sola (01:02.69) Yeah. Well, as we get started here, and like I said, new KPA president, but we'll get to that. want to talk a little bit just about your road to the chair, your elementary principal in Caldwell, Kansas. Where did you start in education and what led you to Caldwell? Crystal Carothers (01:21.219) So I started as a high school principal at Wichita South High School, which is a pretty intimidating job. Like a 21 year old walking into a high school being their art teacher was a lot. But what made it really amazing is because in a big school like that, you kind of have a whole department of other. fine arts majors and things like that. And you just latch on to each other and it was just awesome. But the funny thing is, is that Carol Leedy, who is director of KPA, was actually my principal when I was there. So it was, it's just a fun connection. Like you always, that's the best thing about education. You just, never know who you're going to run into 10 years later. So, then go ahead. Rick Sola (02:11.372) That is. I was going to say that is absolutely just so true and what a cool connection going back to your first year in education and then here you are now working side by side with Kara. Yeah, that was a lesson that was kind of impressed upon me early on as an administrator is you just never know the connections that people have. And so, you know, all the more reason to speak positively and favorably. You just never know who you're who you're talking to. You said starting out Wichita South High school, 21 years old, one of my earliest like, man, like, don't put me in this position, the kind of thing was I remember student teaching around the same age and students were inviting me to parties and I thought this is an awful, awful thing. no, and, you know, please, I'm trying to get my career off the ground. Did you, did you have it? Yeah. Did you have any kind of like, man, I am. Crystal Carothers (02:56.683) I'm Crystal Carothers (03:04.37) Yeah, stop asking. Rick Sola (03:10.996) I am right out of college and these kids are three years younger and it's just challenging just because you're young and new and inexperienced. Crystal Carothers (03:19.685) Um, well, I think being in the art field, like most of the students wanted to be there. So it was very, I don't know, it was more fun and like, they just wanted, they wanted to be in your class. Like, so they actually chose to be there. So they just, they did, we did a lot of fun things together and they, I think laughed along with me of the mistakes I made because they were pretty laid back. think most of the time. Rick Sola (03:43.158) Yeah. Awesome. So which South High School and then from there, where'd you go? Crystal Carothers (03:50.649) I actually went down to elementary and well middle school and I was kind of a assessment prep at Harper and then the fifth Harper Elementary and then the fifth and sixth grade math teacher job opened. So then I became a math teacher. So from an art teacher to a math teacher. But it was a lot of fun. So and then I was at Harper for about 10 years and then I got my admin and came to Caldwell and this is my sixth year at Caldwell. Rick Sola (04:22.968) said math and art, and I'm a social studies guy, and I'm thinking those are two wild worlds apart, because I feel closer to art than I do math. That was not my strength, but do you still feel equally as connected to math and art, or was art more your passion, and then how did that happen? Crystal Carothers (04:24.621) you Crystal Carothers (04:41.077) No, I actually love them both. was just, I don't know. I think they were so different. It would just, I just saw it as a challenge and I don't know. I just jumped for it. Rick Sola (04:51.522) That's awesome. So we're sitting here at the start of the year. So we're recording this. It's actually July 30th. Crystal, when do your teachers report back to you? Crystal Carothers (05:01.254) they come back the 11th. Rick Sola (05:04.128) Okay, and so we're here where I'm at it's the fifth they actually come back but as you're gearing up for the year what's what's something you're intentional about right now as you prepare for teachers and then eventually students to come back? Crystal Carothers (05:21.977) Well, we shuffled teachers around. So first, just making sure they have everything in their room, like all the curriculums coming in, all the, mean, we were literally unloading math boxes and then we got a new CKLA curriculum. So we were putting that all in their rooms. So first, making sure they have everything they need, especially our new teachers. And then honestly, we're really just gonna be intentional about, we sat down in a meeting today and just like that first staff meeting, like, we're just we're just going to put it all out there and just make sure those routines are solid. I mean, we're an elementary and we just have to do it a million times and that's OK. But just like, are we actually doing the same thing the correct way? And that's really it was actually at USA. I sat in like a session and it was all about teach like a champion. And there's mixed feelings about teach like a champion. But we just I did a book study and pulled out kind of the routines and the things that I loved about it and then that's just every staff meeting we're just going to go over a new one and hope that we're doing all the things we're supposed to for these kids so they know exactly what they need to do so that the learning part is easy for them. They don't have to worry about all the other things it's just you're in there to learn and you're not getting distracted by all the tiny things that go on in a classroom every day. Rick Sola (06:47.766) Well, you mentioned USA Kansas and I was there with my team as well. A lot of great stuff, but I love that you came away with something not just to bring to your building, but also to kind of create an arc for your year as far as bringing something to each staff meeting with that. as we get into the start of the year, you talked about what your intentional about what's got you super excited here in the next few weeks. Crystal Carothers (07:14.073) So this kind of goes into my crazy story. did our playground and you think it's silly, but we had turf for a while and it was just falling apart. So we kind of redid the playground and that's what I'm excited for the kids to see it because it's actually been closed all summer and we're such a small community. our playground is huge for our kids. So I'm excited for them to come back and get to see and play on the new equipment or just different things. Rick Sola (07:43.48) What's the big new feature that you know they're gonna love? Crystal Carothers (07:46.617) the tire swing because our tire swing was falling apart and it just I mean not falling apart it was just it needed to go so they and that's the thing that every recess there's a line for. Rick Sola (07:59.318) Yeah, you said you're replacing turf though. So what's in its place now? Crystal Carothers (08:02.573) Yes. So we laid sod down. Rick Sola (08:07.444) Okay, very good Crystal Carothers (08:10.071) And we really filled a bigger area so they have a bigger grassy area to play. So their football games are going to be a little more intense now. Rick Sola (08:19.778) Yeah. What's funny. So I'm not in the elementary school, our the district, I mean, we recently within the last several years, each we have multiple elementary schools, but they replaced pea gravel with Crystal Carothers (08:32.283) man. Rick Sola (08:33.698) Gosh, like kind of a synthetic type of deal. yeah, just funny things that you don't think about, at least where I'm sitting and the principals there was talking about the pea gravel that would end up in the buildings and all over and they're all over the asphalt that would connect to the playground. And so this big undertaking. it's like every area has got like its thing. Things just wear out. Well, very good. So, you mentioned the KPA president this year. Crystal Carothers (08:50.359) Yeah. Rick Sola (09:03.692) little bit about what the KPA has kind of been for you and your career and then ultimately it's led to you now this this year being the KPA president. Crystal Carothers (09:15.501) I guess just those organizations, KPA, USA, they have just been a lifeline for me. I mean, I feel I'm pretty still new to being an admin. Like, I feel like I'll always learn something every year, like everybody, but this only being my sixth year, like to not have, like those conferences to go to and kind of learn from others and making connections with others and hearing that I'm not the only one in that situation has really helped. And I just have to give kudos, especially to Carol Lady. She's just been honestly a godsend to me and me like knowing her from the past has definitely helped because we already have that trust built. But it really has been just a lifeline for me, like those organizations. Rick Sola (10:04.28) So mentioned CARA, talk about the networking that has been kind of afforded to you through this. You know, some others across the state, like you said, you're in the Oklahoma border near there, not a large district or town, those connections and networking, what does that look like for you? Crystal Carothers (10:23.521) Yeah, just, mean, honestly, just going to the conference that opened up networks like sitting in common sessions, you just sit by somebody and you're like, hey, are you elementary or, know, why are you here? And just having those, you know, I call them partner conversations or shoulder, shoulder partner conversations in elementary. But it's just, it's been so great. But then I go. And I look at even just our board and I mean, you high school, middle school, like all different, all around the state. And I think really like stepping up and being on the board has even been even more so for me, because again, I'm like, I'm a leader in my building, but how else can I help other principals who I know are going through the same thing? So just that giving back piece. Rick Sola (11:18.882) So you mentioned sixth year and you feel, you still feel kind of the newness of the job, but I bet you've also been in positions where you have become the mentor to a new administrator somewhere along the way. Have you had many of those opportunities where you find yourself, people asking you questions as the experienced administrator? Crystal Carothers (11:43.045) I have like, just again, when you make that connection and they know, like, I'm also the title director. So, I went to like our first of the year title meeting and just sitting next to someone who's just jumping into that role. I'm just like, please call me. Like, I mean, you just give them your number, your email and just like, I've been there. Like it's a lot, like here's two things you need to start off with. So I think that like. Like as educators, you just want to help everybody who's, especially if they're going through the same thing you just went through. Rick Sola (12:18.414) Yeah, you kind of alluded to this by here, you know... I've been a building principal for 10 years, 15 in administration, and there's still a lot of times where I feel new, even though that's not a new principalship. I don't know that six years would be new, but there's times it feels new. And I think you're kind of touching on like humility, basically, the willingness to acknowledge that there are things that come up that we don't know, or we want to phone a friend or get some input or need to stretch our brains in a different way. And I think that's really a good thing, but I think that is something unique about our jobs is to be in something for years, but then you get something that's kind of, that's a new one or it's a new wrinkle. And so I love that. love hearing you say that because I think of just the humility to hear you talk about, know, I'm six years in, but I still feel new, which means you're probably asking questions. You're talking to mentors and that sort of thing. So love that. Crystal Carothers (13:19.021) Yeah, we opened like last year we opened the day a new daycare like our community was so supportive and they passed a bond and we were able to build this new center with its preschool and daycare and so learning all of the daycare world is just it's a lot. But I mean just I mean we went on three different tours to other schools that are doing it and they were just so gracious and kind. I will give a shout out to Rachel Darling House at Rose Hill. She was honestly a godsend in any question we had. So, and then at Belle Plain, they were super gracious. And I mean, that's why I'm saying in education, everyone wants to help. Everyone just wants to see you succeed. like, because I knew they just like if you were in the classroom, you want your students to succeed, you want others to succeed because it only makes us all better. Rick Sola (14:13.614) And so now you're a year into that. And probably discovering new challenges and things, but that's great. And that's also the team aspect of the jobs that we do. So you are. Crystal Carothers (14:15.671) Yeah. Yeah. Rick Sola (14:26.446) You're now moving into the role of KPA president. What is that going to look like for you this year or as it relates to KPA? We've got the conference in November, which is fantastic, by the way, highly recommend. But what's it going to look like for you this year with this added role? Crystal Carothers (14:45.741) I think it's just, I mean, yeah, I'm going to sit in that president role, but it's so, I mean, it's teamwork. It's going to be everybody hands on deck, like looking over the sessions again, making sure, you know, we have a variety, but I mean, it's everybody. might just help Kara Moore a little bit here and there, but it's like, just cause you're in the president role, it's, it's definitely a teamwork. mean, being on the board, it's everybody. Rick Sola (15:17.592) Right. Okay. So putting you on the spot as, as the KPA president and you have, I'm sure every principal in the state is listening to this podcast. I'm sure. But what, what message would you like to put out to principals who are at the start of a new year and for some who may be in their first, some who may be in their 30th in education, what's a message that you would like to share on behalf of KPA? Crystal Carothers (15:28.611) No. Crystal Carothers (15:46.519) I mean, definitely go to the conference. It'll be great. But also never get away from the classroom. If there's a day that is so crazy because of meetings or whatever and I haven't been in a classroom hardly, like those are my hardest days. Like I, if I'm not in a classroom, it's heartbreaking because I don't know what my staff are going through if I'm not there. And then so when they bring it up or if they do have an issue, then I can always go in and help because I've actually seen it firsthand. Like the further you get away from the classroom, the further you get away from education. Rick Sola (16:30.026) And of course, the, I don't know if credibility is the right word, but just staff appreciate that, getting into the classroom. You're in there with them, especially if you know of some challenges that may be going on behaviorally or whatever, and you're there to be able to observe and process with them afterwards, and certainly can go a long way. And kids love it. Crystal Carothers (16:52.129) And if you can sub in a classroom, even better, because I've learned so much subbing. mean, we all went through some crazy stuff these past years, and sometimes you just don't have enough subs and just being in that classroom as the teacher and really seeing, you know, it's amazing. It's amazing to just step back in there sometimes. Rick Sola (17:16.162) Yeah. Well, I shared it, think recently on this podcast by Subdited Elementary School, 45 minutes and my goodness, there's so much work that goes involved to the elementary teachers. Kudos to all of you and it was such a good experience. I love the interaction with the elementary kids. They're so quick to laugh, to fist bump, to want a hug, which I'm not used to. I'm gosh, sure. Crystal Carothers (17:40.889) On the side. Rick Sola (17:43.918) Yeah, but no, just a lot of great things going on. So kind of totally random, but we're at the start of the year and I'm looking at our calendar and always put the back to school nights on the calendar. I assume you have a back to school night of some sort. When is it? Do you have it on your calendar? OK. Crystal Carothers (17:59.833) We do, we do, yeah. It is August 12th in the evening. So and they just come in they do stations and then there are Pharmacy here in town again is so gracious like our community just gives and gives and they provide Supplies backpacks for every kid so the kid comes in, you know goes through some stations they go through our title station and just gets to see some of the other resources in our town and the banks come and do different things. We have Canocla here in town, again a big business here. They're also gracious in just giveaways or things like that, but then they go and meet their teacher and put their supplies there. So literally when they come the first day of school, they have to walk in, their desk is ready, and the teacher just gets to greet them and they get to start their day. Rick Sola (18:56.066) Yeah, that's awesome. you've got it scheduled even before students and ours is on the 14th, which is, think, the first full day of school. We have that discussion every year. Rick, why on the first day? I get it, but it's Thursday. The next day is a Friday. But there is always that conversation of. Crystal Carothers (19:04.2) wow. I'm gonna be exhausted. Rick Sola (19:18.158) you know, should we push it back later into August? Give us a couple weeks or not. And I was like, let's just do it. We're already moving. We're on adrenaline anyway. Let's get going. It's going to be great. And let's showcase what we're all about as the school, like right when the school year starts. Anyway, I was just curious on that. And I was looking at ours. And I'm also curious, as a former art teacher, do you bring that into your current role at all? Crystal Carothers (19:46.273) I feel like the creativity side definitely. but I mean, I'm not, I'm not teaching any art classes, which is sad, but, we do, we, again, since we're one big building, our, K-5 students actually get art once a week and they get a computer class. And so we're able, those high school teachers will come and then teach our kids at least once a week. So we're pretty, pretty lucky for that. Rick Sola (20:15.554) Yeah. Well, that's awesome. it's it's I always try to find ways to bring, you know, I guess like our own passions into the role where where it can fit. But, you know, I'm still thinking about the art and math correlation or the connection there. So before we close off here, we've talked a little bit, heard a little bit about your story and getting to Caldwell. This is a chance for. Crystal Carothers (20:29.516) Hahaha Rick Sola (20:41.514) Again, every principal was listening to this podcast. I'm certain of it. But brag on your people. Brag on Caldwell Elementary, your district, and all the people that you're with, for those who aren't familiar with Caldwell. Crystal Carothers (20:55.307) So I just, mean, coming to a one a district was definitely different from, for me, but, it is just so community family based. it's awesome to be able to walk through the whole building and talk to the high school teachers or the middle school teacher. mean, it's, everyone does their part and pulls their weight. And if someone needs something, everyone tries to step up and help no matter if they're not another high school teacher. Like we have, you know, counselors that will come down or our librarian is actually also our assistant principal and our librarian and our elementary counselor. So, I mean, you just pick a hat and throw it on and go for it. So our superintendent, Tracy Becker, she's amazing. She came from Stafford a few years ago to us. We had had Allen Jamison for many years and he was great. So I guess I just feel like I've been so lucky to be in their presence and learning from all of them. So they're just awesome. Rick Sola (22:02.978) Yeah, that's awesome. And some really, really great words on the people that you work with, you know, day in and day out. And I hope they hear this because those are, you know, huge compliments. you know, just like we've talked about and like you mentioned, like the community aspect of what we do and all the people we work with and around is vital to a successful school year for our students, which is where we're at right now. so, Crystal, I appreciate your time because I know this is kind of the, I wouldn't even call it the calm before the storm. This is the storm before the storm. It's fun. Storm has a negative sound to it, but it's fun. There's a lot going on. So taking the time to sit down and do this, I really appreciate that. And I think that's it. We'll sign off. And I want to wish you a great start to the school year. Crystal Carothers (22:57.729) You too! It'll be up and running anytime now. Rick Sola (23:00.782) And we'll see you for sure in November at the KPA Conference. Crystal Carothers (23:04.535) Definitely, we hope we see everyone there. Rick Sola (23:07.008) Alright, hey, take care. Crystal Carothers (23:08.769) You too. Bye.  

Summary In this episode of Cool Coffee with Kansas Principals, Rick Sola interviews Rick Moulin, Superintendent of USD 204 Bonner Springs-Edwardsville. They discuss Moulin's extensive journey in education, his transition from teaching to administration, and the importance of consistency and connection in leadership. Moulin shares insights on "making new mistakes," the significance of behavior as communication, and his excitement for the upcoming school year, emphasizing the value of community engagement and the role of teachers in shaping students' futures. Be sure to listen to Superintendent Moulin's own podcast, Talk 204 on major podcasting platforms like Apple, Amazon, and more. Check it out!   The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   YOUR Input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: X @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected]   This episode's chapters (timestamp does not account for show's 30 second intro) 00:00 Introduction and Background of Rick Moulin 02:40 Rick's Journey in Education 05:23 Transitioning from Teacher to Administrator 08:03 Reflections on Leadership and Mistakes 10:36 Staying Connected with Students 12:55 The Importance of Consistency in Leadership 15:33 Excitement for the Upcoming School Year 18:25 Community Engagement and Podcasting 21:55 Final Thoughts and Reflections   TRANSCRIPT OF THE SHOW (generated by AI) Rick Sola (00:01.813) Hello and welcome to another edition of Cool Coffee with Kansas principals. Today I am here with the superintendent of USD 204 Bonner Springs Edwardsville, Mr. Rick Mullen. Welcome to the show, Rick. Rick Moulin (00:17.262) Thank you, I appreciate you having me. Rick Sola (00:19.083) Yeah, it's awesome to have you here. And I actually had one of your colleagues in the spring, Dr. Steven Archer was on the show talking a little bit of PBIS back spring of 25. So good to have Bonner Springs back here again. And I could start with you like I did with him and ask if you have any insight on whether the Chiefs are going to end up in your backyard out there. Rick Moulin (00:43.31) I wish I knew the answer to that, but I think a great name for the Chiefs would be the Bonner Springs Chiefs. We would take them here in Bonner Springs for sure. yeah, I don't know that the Chiefs will make it over to the Kansas side, but wherever they, whether they stay at Arrowhead or come over to Kansas, I'm a big fan, so I'll continue to be a fan. Rick Sola (01:05.951) Yeah, yeah, I thought for sure we'd have an answer by now. So when I talked to Stephen about it, I thought it was coming up. But we'll find out soon enough, as long as they stay in the area. But hey, appreciate you being on here. So we're recording this. It's July 22. So kind of a busy time of year for all of us in education. I can imagine as superintendent, there's a lot that you've been working on all summer. But I always like to start with just a kind of a basic road to the chair that you're currently sitting in and your road in education. And so I'll turn it over and have you fill us in from day one in education to where you are today. Rick Moulin (01:47.118) Well yeah, thank you for asking. This is actually my 30th year in Bonner Springs, Edgarsville School District. I'm getting ready to start my second year as superintendent. So I started off in 1996, 1997. I was a high school English teacher. I did that for a while and then I became a high school guidance counselor. And then after I was a guidance counselor, I became the high school assistant principal at Bonner Springs. I was the middle school principal in Bonner Springs for a few years. And then I became the high school principal. Did that for about five years and then became the assistant superintendent. And then this last year I became superintendent. The other unique piece of this is I'm also a Bonner Springs high school graduate. And so I graduated from Bonner Springs high school in 1990. And there's no place I'd rather be than right here in the Bonner Springs-Everettville School District. It's the reason that I'm in the situation I'm in today is because I had great teachers growing up, a great school system, and being the first kid in my family to ever go to college and graduate from college, I owe everything to the teachers and the staff of USD 204. Rick Sola (02:55.499) That's awesome. First of all, what a compliment back to the district that was such an important part of your life and upbringing. But I bet that's really neat for the community to know that their superintendent is a product of their own system. Rick Moulin (03:11.404) Yeah, sometimes there's a lot of pressure because nobody wants to fail, but nobody wants to fail in their own hometown either. So there is some pressure with being a hometown superintendent, but there's a lot of pride. like I said, we've got phenomenal kids in our district. outstanding teachers and support staff and so I'm just lucky to be surrounded by such great people and to get to do this job. So very thankful to be in Bonner Springs, Eddersville. Rick Sola (03:47.263) So you went from a middle school principal to a high school principal. If you had to go back to one of those only and maybe taking the school out of it, the levels, where did you find the most enjoyment or kind of your insight on both middle and high school? Because you're kind of two different beasts, but they're very similar in some ways as well. Rick Moulin (04:10.87) Yeah, so when I became the middle school principal, my entire career other than when I student taught was high school. And so I learned a lot being a middle school principal. And one of the things that I think was very eye opening for me is I remember when I was a high school assistant principal and teacher, and I'm sure it's the same in every district, but there would be times where teachers would think, well, you know what? They're not teaching kids how to write in middle school. And so I remember when I became the middle school principal, I'm like, we're going to make sure we're writing. Kids are learning how to write. And I get down to middle school and they're writing, kids are writing all the time. And I remember sitting in a PLC one day and one of the teachers said, well, I don't think in elementary they're doing X, Y, or Z. And I said, hey, hold on one second. Do you know when I was at the high school, they used to think that we didn't teach kids how to write. But now that I'm here, I see kids writing all the time and not only that but we've got great teachers and so we can't assume that we're not doing certain things at the elementary school because chances are at the high school there's probably college professors that are sitting around saying well in high school they just teach them this but the bottom line is I think I think it's a very rewarding job. Middle school was awesome because, you know, the age of the student, they're learning who they are. Rick Moulin (05:43.38) I really loved also being the high school principal because at that point kids are starting to make plans for what's next in life and it was just an honor to be part of that and to help guide kids and help develop programs to where kids could actually explore different career opportunities and things of that nature. to answer your question, I don't know, I love them both. I I love middle school and I love high school. Rick Sola (06:06.987) Yeah. Yeah, I have only been a middle school administrator, but I taught freshmen when I was teaching and loved them both. And I can see the rewards on both sides. is some it is funny. You mentioned the the next level always kind of looks down upon whether they're not getting this done at whatever level. And then you're right. It probably carries on up to college. Well, those schools aren't really getting ready for like we're working on it. And you'd always say it's a We're planting a lot of seeds and they come to fruition at some point. just takes some time sometimes. Rick Moulin (06:41.902) You know one thing I do at home? I pretend like I'm not very good at making the bed, because I hate making the bed, right? And guess what? My wife ends up making the bed because she doesn't think I can do it. Kids are the same way. And so when kids get into a classroom, they're going to try to, get away is not the right word, but they're going to do what they can to... to maybe get out of doing something they don't want to do. Kids may not want to write, right? But it doesn't mean they don't know how. It just means that we have to put the procedures in place. We have to put the expectations in. And we just have to make them do it. Rick Sola (07:23.659) Yeah, and they're not always wanting to be there. that a lot of times they just do what they need to do to keep either parents off their back or teachers off, whatever, you know, and just kind of, I'll just kind of get by. then, and that's what's needed. You know, when I was at the high school, it's neat to see when they start to kind of form a direction of where they want to go and that passion starts to ignite and then you see them thrive, you know. So you were a teacher for many years and then. Rick Moulin (07:31.875) Yeah. Rick Sola (07:51.689) got into administration. Did you always know you wanted to go into administration? Rick Moulin (07:56.48) No, I never wanted any part of being an administrator until I decided I wanted to. So I remember being a teacher and... trying to think about what was next. And I actually start taking classes because I wanted to start working towards my master's. And after I took my first administration class, I decided this isn't for me. I don't want to do this. And so I reflected and I actually became a counselor instead. So I got my master's degree in counseling. And at that time, as a classroom teacher, I had kids that would talk to me about, you know, personal issues they were having all the time. And it felt good to listen and to help guide kids and things like that. And so I thought, I don't want to be a principal. I don't want to be an assistant principal. I want to be a counselor. So I did that for several years and as I was doing that job once again I did some self-reflection and thought you know really want to make even more of an impact and how could I do that and so I decided maybe I could be an assistant principal but never never really thought about being the lead principal until I became the assistant principal and after I did the assistant principal role for a couple years I thought you know maybe I do want to be the principal. And because I could have even more influence on kids and the trajectory of kids' lives and things of that nature. so it just kind of, it honestly just happened over time. So. Rick Sola (09:21.365) Yeah, that's actually kind of a good analogy to what we were just talking about as far as kids kind of get along with them when they discover something just like you did. You discovered, hey, maybe I do want to do this. And if someone was trying to teach you to be a principal way before you were ready, you may have just kind of gone through the motions. OK, check some boxes. But then it kind of clicked for you. then so now you're in the superintendent chair. You're going into year two. Is there anything that, know, hopefully we have lots of principals listening, but there's a lot of principals that are aspiring to take that next step. As you go into year two now as a superintendent, is there anything that you look back on like, not going to do that again, or I want to make sure I do this again, or any reflection on that? Rick Moulin (10:10.754) Yeah, there's a, you know, I think part of being successful at any role in a school district is you have to always reflect. And it took me a while to figure that out. You know, I always tell kids and teachers and anybody who will listen that, that you want to make new mistakes. Because if you're making the same mistakes over and over, you're not learning and you're not growing. Early on in my career, I remember, you know, for example, we'd have a freshman orientation when I was a high school assistant. principal and the next year we'd have another freshman orientation and there were times where the same types of things would happen that would cause a little frustration or didn't go as smoothly as I thought. But if you wait a whole year to think about it, you forget. And so early on in my career, I learned that I keep a calendar. And on that calendar, as we go through certain events or certain situations, I make a note on the changes we're going to make for the following year. Usually it's something simple, but I'm not going to remember it a year later. So it's important to reflect. And so in this role, it's the same thing. We're not perfect, I'm not perfect, and nobody is. But the goal is to try to do the best job I can and to be as supportive of our kids and our teachers. And if I do make mistakes, I hope that there are new mistakes because I'm learning. Rick Sola (11:39.305) Yeah, gosh, I wrote that down. really like that quote, make new mistakes. It's simple, but there's a lot to kind of grab hold of there. And I feel so similar in that I always get most frustrated with myself if I make a mistake for the second time. Like, you knew better than that. Come on. But to make new mistakes also implies effort and growth. And that's how we grow through those mistakes. I really like that. And a great strategy as far as a calendar goes, keeping just a calendar, because we are a profession of kind of annual events. We're in registration right now. We'll get the back to school night. We're going to have, you know, it just kind of cycles. So that's fantastic. You know, one thing, as I kind of think back on, I don't know if you felt the same way, but as you go from being a teacher Rick Moulin (12:17.848) Yeah. Rick Sola (12:35.455) To this day, my biggest challenge of transition was from teaching to the assistant principalship. I felt like it was a new career. And one thing that really was a struggle early on was I felt like, my gosh, the relationships and connections I have with kids as a teacher, I can't match that as assistant principal. Then you discover, it looks different and there's new ways to do that. As you've gone from the AP to the principal, now to the superintendent, What does it look like as superintendent to stay connected with kids from this chair? Rick Moulin (13:11.01) Well, I think it's the same advice that I give our principals is that for me to be successful, for our principals to be successful, we have to be where the kids are. And so I remember, you know, going back to your question, I'm going to backtrack for a little bit here. I remember being an assistant principal and having the same feeling that you just described and being an assistant principal is a hard job because number one, you know, a lot of times you're dealing with behaviors. Number two, you want to support the teachers. And number three, you're dealing with angry parents or sometimes parents that are upset. But I think the moment that everything shifted for me is I remember working with a kid and the kid was in trouble for some reason. And the old me at the time in my mind would be thinking about the consequence right out of the gate. And so as the kids tell me what happened, I was thinking about, the consequence of this kid's gonna get ISS or detention or whatever the case may be. But one day it just clicked. And as the kid was talking to me, I stopped thinking about the consequence and I listened and I reflected. And then as I was talking to the kid, I said something along the lines of, hey, you're gonna be in a similar situation down the road. How are you gonna handle this differently? Let's think about it now while you're not mad. Because when you are mad, you're just going to react the same way. So let's think about it. And the kids still got the same consequence. And I just remember at that point, the conversation with the parent went much smoother. The kid. liked and respected me because I took time to listen and help him reflect. And then when I called that parent, it was, hey, we've got a plan for how he's going to handle this situation in the future. This is what he says he's going to do if he gets into a similar situation down the road, and we're going to help him do that. And behavior oftentimes is a form of communication. And once we take notice of that, we can actually figure out what's going on. Rick Moulin (15:21.078) in this situation and how can we help the student learn from it and grow from it because a consequence is a consequence and students need consequences for behavior but they also have to learn and grow from it and so that was a big step for me once I figured that out. And now in this role as superintendent, like I said, I want to be where the kids are so I visit our elementary schools quite a bit. And that was very eye-opening for me because I'd always been a high school principal, a middle school principal. I love our elementary schools. I go into the elementary school and the kids are so excited to see it. I've done some guest teaching for some different lessons. I've read to classes from time to time. But really, I try to just interact with kids in the lunchrooms when I go to the schools and just touch base. I'm a guest speaker in some of our secondary classes, different things of that nature. You can never lose sight of the reason we're all here. We're here because our kids need us, and they need us to be the best we can be every day. And you don't know. what's going on in your district if you're not where the kids are. It's hard for you to make decisions that impact kids if you're not around the kids. So I just make it a priority to visit schools and classrooms weekly. Rick Sola (16:50.887) Yeah, that's great. you'll be in a being a product of Bonner Springs as you go around the buildings. Do ever get students come up and say, hey, my parents went to school with you or whatever, anything like that, any connections? Rick Moulin (17:02.784) yeah, I've got a makes me feel old because. I've got students who, you know, I had their parents and they'll tell me about it and they'll share stories about when their parents were in school and you know, the, and I don't know if you have the same experience, but you know, there'll be times where a former student will, I'll see a former student somewhere, whether it's grocery store or Walmart, whatever it is. And a lot of times a former student will say, remember that time I got in trouble? And honestly, I don't remember. I mean, I do not remember most situations of kids get in trouble. What I do remember are the relationships, I remember you know the the qualities of the student that I enjoyed and so the things that stick with kids we just have to understand that we make a huge impact on kids even when we don't realize it. So I see kids all the time and I see the kids parents and you know there'll be a time where I'll be in a classroom and the kid will say hey my mom said that she had you as an English teacher and I'll say something if it's appropriate at the time I'll say hey let's do a quick picture you can share you know put it on you know we'll share it with your mom or whatever and so we'll do a picture and you different things like that. Funny thing is I was in lunchroom one day with a bunch of kindergartners and this little kindergarten girl When I came into her classroom like the week before and the teacher introduced me and the little girl and she says, does anybody know who this is? And this little girl raises her hand and said, he's friends with my grandma. And I go, I am friends with your grandma. And so anyways, we're in the lunchroom and I said, hey, let's take a picture. Rick Sola (18:44.767) You Rick Moulin (18:50.638) we'll share it with your grandma." And she's like, okay. So we take a picture and the kid next to her, can you take a picture with me for my grandma? Sure. And so the next thing you know, I'm taking, you know, I took like 10 or 12 pictures of kids because they wanted it for their grandma. And of course I don't know their grandma to send them, but I took the pictures anyway. It was kind of fun. Rick Sola (19:07.018) Yeah. Rick Sola (19:11.125) That's awesome. I gotta imagine going to elementary school just kind of reassuring and just kind of feel good and you know, go in there and they give hugs and you know, I very rarely do I need to go to an elementary every once in while. Usually I'm working with fifth graders, but I filled in for a second grade teacher covering a class and it was incredible. First of all, it's a hard job. There's a lot going on in that second grade. I was only there for 45 minutes and it felt like three hours and it Rick Moulin (19:33.912) Hey, you're not kidding. Rick Sola (19:40.617) You know, I'm juggling plates and I'm like, my gosh, but there's a magic in elementary schools, I think, that's just really, really neat. Rick Moulin (19:48.338) It's so impressive to watch elementary teachers in action. And I made a joke with our kindergarten teacher one day. I would love teaching to kindergarten for like 30 minutes because man, they have so much structure and routines and all the things and those aren't necessarily my strengths. But man, we've got some amazing teachers. Rick Sola (20:11.413) Yeah, you kind of hit on this, you know, and maybe you have some new principles, but like I said, hopefully there's a lot of principles listening to this and we're at the start of a year, especially those new principles. What advice would you give them as they're about to start, perhaps either in a new position or an administration for the first year? What advice would you give them coming from a superintendent? Rick Moulin (20:35.374) I think for principals or administrators or even teachers, anybody in the profession to be successful, you have to be consistent. You have to be the same person every day. so, Todd Whitaker, I don't know if you've read his book, but basically he talks about if you've had one bad day, you might as well have. know, bad days every day because people don't know what to expect. So you can't treat people nice four days out of five. You gotta be the same person every day because people appreciate consistency. And so there are gonna be some challenges that you face and you're the person that everybody looks at to determine how they're gonna react. I remember when I was the high school principal, there was a post on Facebook of a parent complaining that their kid only got four tater tots for lunch. And this picture's on the, and I didn't look at Facebook, but people would often. bring stuff to me and say, hey, did you know this was going on? So I remember coming in the office one day and my secretary comes up to me and says, hey Rick, have you seen Facebook? And I said, no, what's going on? She said, look at this. And there's this picture of a lunch tray with four tater tots on it. And we're getting slammed for having four tater tots or for not giving enough food at lunch and all this stuff. And I looked at our secretary and I said, Renee, we've worked too hard. We are not going down over tater tots. And she laughed and I laughed and we moved on. I did end up calling the kid in and say, hey, if you ever have an issue at lunch, you just need to let me know. And what's ironic is the kid said, that wasn't even my lunch. I don't know why my mom did that. And so we kind of had a little, but I did. I said, hey, if you got an issue, if you feel like you're having an issue at lunch, all you got to do is let somebody know. anyway, but. Rick Sola (22:11.135) haha Rick Moulin (22:38.034) The secretary was going to react and so was the office, was going to react however I reacted. So if I got mad, they were going to be mad. But I made light of the situation even though in my head I'm like, why would somebody do that? But you know, so you got to be the same person every day. Rick Sola (22:55.615) Yeah, I really like that. Do you find it a challenge sometime on the internal struggle? Because inside you're like, are you kidding me? Tater tots? This is, you know, but on the outside you have to project, you know, differently. Rick Moulin (23:06.83) The times in my career where I've let my emotions take over, it just causes more work. Because then you have to backtrack and you have to do all the, and so, so you, you know, you try not to take things personal, even though it's hard and you try to be consistent and you advocate for kids. We had a, you know, situation where we had a parent, a parent teacher conferences one time. And one of the teachers came up to me and said, hey, this parent's here and they're not very happy. I said, OK. So I went into the cafeteria and she was sitting with the teacher. And I'm sitting at the table with the teacher, the student, and the parent. And the parent starts saying something like, keep in mind for the audience listening, my name is Rick Mullen, right? And this parent looks at the teacher and says, another thing. I cannot stand Mr. Mullen. And I'm like, she's talking about me to me and doesn't know it. And she's talking about how she doesn't like me because this, that, and the other. I listened and I turned and looked at her son and said, hey, let's figure out how we can get on track. What are some things we can do to help? And after that, she looks at me and says, my goodness, thank you so much. What's your name again? And I wanted so bad to make up a name, but I told her, hey, I'm Rick Mullen. And she was very embarrassed. Later on, the teacher joked that. Rick Sola (24:10.699) Ha Rick Sola (24:25.611) haha Rick Moulin (24:33.292) I was trying to kick her under the table, but my legs weren't long enough. And so, but once again, it's really easy to take things personal, but most of the time it's the position that somebody's attacking and not the person. And so if you can look in the mirror every night and know that you're doing the best you can for the kids in your school, then you should be able to sleep at night. And what you're doing is important. Rick Sola (24:36.427) Hahaha Rick Sola (25:01.693) Yeah, that's a funny situation to envision, having that conversation. I bet the student was just mortified, probably realizing what was going on, the teacher. But no, you're absolutely right. there is that internal, and that's something that I've gotten better with as you just get into position of things you've got to kind of keep inside, or you have your team that you may share some things a little more candidly with. Rick Moulin (25:11.438) You Rick Sola (25:30.869) There's a saying, a good principal friend of mine say, something to do with when the principal sneezes, everyone catches a cold or something like that. And there's a lot of truth to that. So hey, we're about to start a new school year. What's got you really excited about 25, 26? Rick Moulin (25:37.792) Yeah. Yep. Rick Moulin (25:47.082) I'm excited to see our kids continue to grow and develop. As I told you before, we've got such good teachers in USD 204 and the classroom teacher makes all the difference. Because, you know, whether you like it or not, every kid only gets to be a first grader once, a second grader once, and we got to do the best we can to maximize kids' potential. Our former superintendent, Dan Brungart, used to say, they walk across the stage one at a time. And so we've worked really hard over the last several years to put kids in position to where they can be successful in whatever it is that's next in life. So some of our kids are going to go to college. We want to make sure that those kids are ready. If they're going to a technical school, we providing the skills necessary for them to be successful? job force, the military, whatever it is, our job is to get kids ready for what's next. And we've really taken some great steps towards that. Another thing I'm really excited about is we have a team that's been working with the University of Kansas. We were one of the inaugural teams to start looking at AI through the University of Kansas. And so our teachers have started implementing a little bit of AI. And we're going to continue to grow that this year, led by a group of our teachers and teaching kids the proper way to utilize artificial intelligence and how to be successful with that. You know, there's so many things that I'm excited about. If I could, I'd like to give a plug. I have a podcast that I just started this past year. It's called Brave Talk. Rick Sola (27:33.291) Absolutely, yeah. Rick Moulin (27:39.862) or Talk204, excuse me, Talk204. And so you can catch that podcast wherever you listen to your podcast. We're gonna have our first episode of the new season, I believe come out next Friday. So we're excited about that as well. But I'm just excited to see our kids and our teachers and summer goes fast, but you also miss the people you work with every day because you don't see them for a little while. Rick Sola (28:10.581) Yeah, that's great. We're starting to have slowly some teachers come back in the building. And just what you said, it's really great to see everybody. You spend all year together, get to know people, and it's like a family. So I will link your show into the show notes here, the Talk 204. And that's really awesome. I actually clicked on a few and heard. you had a, I think it was maybe your most recent one, but you had a senior on your show talking about some things. Rick Moulin (28:37.614) Yeah. Rick Sola (28:40.149) That's a lot of fun. So have you enjoyed it? Got it off topic real quick. But have you enjoyed doing the podcast? Rick Moulin (28:46.316) Yeah, I've really enjoyed it. was something that I kind of wanted to do. then Jada Houston, who was the guest on the last podcast, it was kind of part of her senior project to help come up with the title of the show, the theme, and all those different things. She works with our communications coordinator. But it's fun to talk to students and staff members and community members about things that are happening in our district and just to build those connections. The school district is a big part of the community and so we want to make sure that we're building good partnerships. Rick Sola (29:23.317) Yeah, no, that's awesome. And what a cool thing for her to be a part of something that's continuing on beyond her years in Bonner. So real quick, you've done a lot of this, but 30 seconds, a quick brag out on just Bonner Springs, Edwardsville, everything. And really, you've done this whole show. There's so many really rich things going on in Bonner Springs, but a quick brag out to your people. Rick Moulin (29:47.726) I tell you what, our kids, I'd put them up against kids anywhere. They work hard, they're respectful. We have our challenges just like everywhere else. But the nice thing about being in Bonner Springs, Editorsville is our kids and our community respects teachers. They value education and it's just great to be part of. The second thing I'll tell you, and I've said this a few times now, but literally, It's just magical walking into some of our classrooms in USD 204 to see our teachers in action and connecting with kids and you know kids that may struggle to see the light bulb go off and it's because of the great work of our teachers and our support staff and we've got a great team at our central office as well and really at the end of the day I think we're headed in the right direction. our focus as a district is all of us are here because kids need us. And so we don't hire people just to hire people. Our kids and our buildings need us. And if you're in a support role, you understand that that support role is needed because it helps kids in the classroom. So I always use even like payroll as an example. If people aren't getting their paychecks, their focus on that instead of teaching kids. And so we have to make sure that We're doing everything we can to help our teachers and our staff be successful. And it's just a great place to work and live. Rick Sola (31:23.913) Yeah, that's really awesome, really great perspective. And as busy as it is right now, I really appreciate you taking the time to come on here. And just so many different sound bites. I wrote several down that make new mistakes. But I really like your behavior equals communication. We were talking about earlier, then like you said, the focus on if you're not getting your paycheck, that's where the focus is going to be. It's detracting from the classroom. And then, course, what's going to stick with me too is we're not going down on tater tots. Rick Moulin (31:54.05) Yeah, that was a funny situation. Like I said, you have to be consistent. You have to be the same person every day because the people around you are watching, the kids are watching, and they're going to respond how the leader responds. And that same thing in the classroom. Kids are going to respond the way the classroom teacher responds. Rick Sola (32:18.207) Yeah, 100%. Well, Rick, thank you again so much. And all the best to you as you start your second year out there as the head up in Bonner. And we'll look forward to a great school year ahead. Thank you so much. Rick Moulin (32:32.866) Yeah, thank you for having me.  

Thank you, listeners! Please take a minute to leave provide some input for the Cool Coffee podcast to consider moving forward. You suggestions for guests and topics will help make Cool Coffee what you want as we move into season 2. Thank you for your time and for listening! Click HERE to provide input--2 minutes or less! See all Cool Coffee w/ Kansas Principals episodes HERE! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.

In this episode of Cool Coffee, retiring principals Greg Oborny and JJ Libal, of USD 233 in Olathe, share their experiences and insights from their long careers in education. They discuss the importance of building relationships, the challenges of critical conversations, and the best advice they received throughout their journeys. The conversation emphasizes the need for visibility, integrity, and humor in leadership, while also preparing new administrators for the emotional and practical challenges they will face. Ultimately, the focus remains on the students and the impact educators can have on their lives. In this conversation, two experienced principals reflect on their careers, discussing the challenges and rewards of leadership in education. They share insights on the importance of giving, transitioning leadership, and the cherished memories that define their journeys. As they prepare for retirement, they express gratitude for their experiences and look forward to new adventures while emphasizing the human element of their roles. See below for more on this episode, to connect with the host, and learn more about the KPA and the Cool Coffee Podcast. -------------------------------------------- Chapters (timestamps do not account for intro music) 00:00 Introduction to the Principals' Journey 04:53 Lessons from Early Administration 12:12 The Best Advice for New Administrators 19:40 Navigating the Challenges of Leadership 25:53 The Principalship: Giving and Growing 27:00 Transitioning Leadership: Leaving a Legacy 31:57 Cherished Memories: Celebrating the Journey 37:52 Future Endeavors: Embracing Change 43:08 Reflections and Gratitude: The Human Element of Leadership --------------------------------------- We want to hear from you--take 2 minutes (or less) and click HERE to contribute! YOUR FEEDBACK ON COOL COFFEE IS APPRECIATED!  Leave show suggestions, guest recommendations, questions HERE! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. --------------------------------------- FULL TRANSCRIPT (AI generated) Rick Sola (00:01.076) All right. Hello. Welcome to Cool Coffee, another edition, a special edition. And we will, we'll just call this a Princi-pals segment because I've got two of my own Princi-pals and I've got to give credit where credit's due. I did not come up with that. That was a former principal friend of mine, Justin Howe, who I've mentioned on this show before. He had the idea of Principals and he is a former principal now in the HR world. So I try not to bring him up too often. But anyway, so we have some principals here with Mr. JJ Libal and Mr. Greg Oborny, and I'll let them introduce themselves here in a little bit, but they are both retiring principals after long, very successful careers in the chair. And so this is going to be a podcast where some shared wisdom will be given to the millions of listeners of Cool Coffee. And we will start by just doing a quick introduction. I'll let you introduce yourself. Greg O. Let's hear about you. Grego (01:05.146) All right, well, I'm Greg Oborny. I've been with the Olathe District Schools for 39 years. I started my career as a first grade teacher, then was an instructional reading coach, was principal at Northview Elementary for four years, and then have been at the last 25 years. I opened Regency Place and have been here and now am going to live life outside the principalship. Yeah, crazy. Turn 60. What happens? There's life. That's me. Rick Sola (01:38.008) Perfect. And we'll get more into it. And I should have started with this. And this is not any indication of the company that we have on this show, but this has always been able to maintain a family-friendly rating of podcast. And so I know you're retiring and you're both going out the door, but just for the record, we're a family-friendly show. And I'm kind of joking. I'm not setting you guys up at all. But JJ. a quick road to the chair that you are about to vacate. J.J. (02:12.948) Sure, JJ Libal, I'm the retiring principal at Santa Fe Trail Middle School, the best middle school in Olathe, no offense, Rick Sola. But it is, right, right. Yeah, 19 years in Olathe School District, really 15 years as an administrator, all in Olathe. Started off, I'm a farm kid from Southeast Nebraska, and I've taught, my previous career, I've taught in Rick Sola (02:22.926) I take a little, but go ahead. J.J. (02:41.968) small 1A schools. First teaching job I was the entire social studies department for the high school to urban setting in KCK and then to Olathe. And I was in Olathe as a teacher for four years before I moved over to the assistant principal role at a couple of different middle schools including Santa Fe Trail where I'm at now and retiring after nine years at Santa Fe Trail as a principal. Rick Sola (03:09.42) Well, full disclosure, like I said, this is a, we'll call it princi-pals, but JJ and I go back to our coaching days. We coached against each other, each other. were both basketball coaches or social studies teachers together at different schools, but same, same grade level. So we go way back. And then Greg, Greg, I've gotten to know him more in the more recent years. And I think my only regret is I didn't connect with you sooner. Greg and so but it's it's awesome to be able to connect with you on here Grego (03:41.736) middle school principals are such a elite group. You know, I've always been so intimidated and we elementary principals, you know, are not really worthy to be amongst the middle school and secondary folks. But once I finally gained, you know, entry into the secret club with the handshake and all, I have just been so honored and have lots of new insights into your middle school principal ways. Rick Sola (04:09.89) Well, I think the barrier that you broke and it's it's apropos that you're wearing a quarter zip right now because once you were a quarter zip at one point and we said, you know what? think he he could he could be part of the middle school club that in a polo, right? Dry fit. Yeah, OK. Grego (04:22.536) Yeah, it was dry fit, dry fit. Elementary folks aren't always into dry fit, but I've learned your ways and now. Comfort, extreme comfort. Rick Sola (04:31.722) Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's perfect. Well, I'm going to have you both go back and kind of go back to the deep memories of early in your educational career to your first year as an administrator. And just for the record here, first year for you, Greg, in administration, what year would that have been? Grego (04:53.682) Probably like 95. Rick Sola (04:55.638) Okay, and then JJ. J.J. (04:58.181) in 2010. Rick Sola (05:00.238) 2010. Okay. What was the first hard lesson that you learned as an administrator? J.J. (05:10.204) You know, I think for, go ahead, Greg. Okay, so I think, you know, one of the things that I was not as adept at early on was crucial conversations, hard conversations, critical conversation, whatever you wanna call those. You know, I think that... Grego (05:10.408) I remember, you go JJ. J.J. (05:33.652) That was something that I did not understand as well in the beginning and how to do those well and did some work and some reading on that and some practice with that. I think that that was something that I think you have to learn, especially if you're coming from the classroom and if you're gonna be working in the same building as an administrator that you had taught. understanding that relationships change. They change and you know now you're the boss, you're the supervisor and you know. you're looked at a little bit differently at that point. And I would say even between, and you know, at the elementary world with Greg, I mean, I will say this, like nobody works harder than elementary principals, elementary teachers, because it's you, right? You're the one. You're the one in that classroom, you're the one in that building. you know, there's even a different relationship that I would see as being the assistant principal to the principal chair with staff. So I would say that was a lesson that I, or something that I got better at, wish I'd learned a little bit earlier. Grego (06:45.096) Right on track, perfect on those critical conversations that just comes with experience, I think, and you have several of them and you botch them and then you master it. I remember the first time I thought that as a principal, I could make a directive and ask people to do something and just assume they would do it. That was really early on. I had asked my new staff, said, everybody's going to do classroom newsletter. Now I'd like for you to do it weekly, but I understand that monthly may be more up some of your alley as we get used to this, but it's going to promote home and school communication and this is just something you've never done and it's going to be great. And the SPED people said, no we don't do that. That's going to be a with IEPs. Nope, we can't. And I said, well, let's talk about then perhaps the objectives that you're working on with content in all of your IEP sessions. No, we're not going to do it. And I went, but yeah. OK. And so after that, thought, hmm, I'm going to have to learn how to throw things out there, get a response from people, get critical mass, and get feedback and buy-in because saying, we are going to do this, doesn't work. Rick Sola (08:24.056) Did you, at what point did you pull out the I am the principal card? Did that ever come out? I've always heard that if that's something that has to be said, then there's a lot that's lost at that point. Grego (08:39.524) I was scared to say that after that moment and thought I'm just going to have to be craftier and smarter in conveying that thought but helping people realize that they're coming up with the idea and the initiative of which we need to do. Rick Sola (08:59.043) Yeah. J.J. (08:59.22) Just to add on that, Greg, I think you bring up a great point. I mean, I think we've all been in that situation. One thing that I found about three or four years ago, think, actually was around COVID when we were all online and looking for professional learning and all those things was a decision-making matrix. And actually I got kind of a hard time from my staff because they would give me a hard time. Okay, is this a level one? Is this a level two? Is this a level five decision? And make fun of me for it. But then that actually kind of told me that they were paying attention to it. And that kind of helped some because I could say, know, like Greg, I love that term critical mass. Wish I would have heard that a few years ago. Thanks for just sharing that with me now, Greg. Could have used that a while back. But no, I think the idea of the same, yeah. Grego (09:44.52) you It's vintage. J.J. (09:49.47) Timing, my timing is always impeccable. But I think that that is important because there are times where you have to put on that boss hat. But you don't wanna do that every day. There are times where I call it the boss hat. said, hey, this one's a level one. It's a boss hat, right? Like I'm gonna make this decision. But I often call things, hey, going into this decision, it's a level two. And so that means I'm making the decision, but I'm going to get input from you first. And so if there are any complaints or concerns after that, I can say, well, you knew how the decision was going to be made before I made the decision. so, you know, I understand you're giving your feedback that way, you know? And so I think that helped me a little bit, but I agree with Greg. You know, can't pull that boss card out all the time, right? You have to figure out other ways. Rick Sola (10:42.157) Yeah. So for the record, I hope a little bit of facetiousness came across in that comment. The I am the principal. I kind of go back to the old Center at Life skit with Will Ferrell where he's sitting around the table and getting frustrated because no one's listening and he's like, I drive a Dodge Stratus. I'm in charge of 23 people. I'm a big deal. Yeah, I don't think that's a sign that things are going really well when we have to do that. But you know, some really good stuff there. And yeah, to go back to those early years and I do think that that's a real challenge early on especially all throughout the principalship but early on especially because Greg alluded to it earlier. We learn from getting burned. We get better at it. But in those early years we don't have the experience to draw on or the foundation or the confidence is probably a big part of that as well to be able just like you said you're like, yeah, I don't know. But that's a really uncomfortable place to live in. And that's really where our early principals live on the daily. I mean, I remember that. I see both of you shaking your head. think that's really just kind of a reality. So you've kind of gotten through all that. At some point along the way, you received what you probably would coin as the best advice you ever got as an administrator. What advice did you receive? perhaps early on that you just felt like, just like JJ just said, man, I wish I had known that earlier. But you hear something from all the mentors and all the people that we work around that are so great. Greg, we'll start with you. Best advice that you received early on in your principalships. Grego (12:33.128) Well, we talk about it every day at school now, especially starting the year. It's the power of building relationships. You know, we want teachers to build relationships with students and have that rapport and have authentic and real connections. And when we do that, students, there's lots of teaching and learning. They make progress and it's good all around. And I think people definitely have to be real. principals have to be real with their staff and you've got to have relationships. I had one teacher say, Greg, I don't know what it is, but suddenly you do these Jedi mind tricks and you know, here we're all doing student led conferences and you know, it's just, it's that trust. They trust you, you trust them and you have relationships. And like when, when JJ said those, critical conversations, that's when you have faith in yourself that you can do those things and they can come from a place of, if I were you, I would want to know. I use that phrase a lot. If I were you, I'd really want to know. So let's talk about it. And then you have that relationship built and the rapport, and then you work through those things. Rick Sola (13:47.522) Mm-hmm. Rick Sola (13:58.446) Yeah, and you always hope that those conversations are coming after you've built all those relationships and you've got so many deposits. Greg, as far as, you know, 39 years in education, Intentional steps that you have. mean, you're a very natural people person. The things that you do in your building to really kind of just always keep the relationship fire going with your staff. What are one or two of those things that you do? Grego (14:09.8) Correct. Grego (14:29.522) think we have to have humor. Yesterday at the elementary principals, was talking about the principals handbook, which is this made up entity that I use on my morning show with students about, you know, students and the principals handbook, because you only get the handbook after you go to principal school. And it's the knowledge of all the principals that have come before you. And whenever you have a question, principals go to the principal handbook. And you know, We had a big snow last night students and in the principal handbook it says on page 1429, remind students to leave snow where nature intended it on the ground. And of course I got a principal handbook from my staff on my last day. I think humor has to be part of it. And you know another thing is just the integrity. I we all know what we're supposed to do. That little voice that tells you what is the right thing to do. And when there's contentious conversations, parents, students, and we are attacked, I always just tell myself, what is the right thing to do? I really want to say this. I really want to make this point and have the last word. That's not the right thing. What does integrity tell you you need to do? So that's my guiding principle, integrity, humor. and build your relationships and the rest of Scarborough's Rope and the Seal of Literacy and learning objectives, learning intentions, teacher clarity, those things will fall into place after you have those big pillars of what we just talked about. Rick Sola (16:17.1) No, I love that. And I love the principal handbook. That might be something I need to steal and just kind of reference, especially to kids. love the, well, now you know, I've got the handbook here. no, that's really great there. JJ, best advice. Grego (16:28.712) You J.J. (16:35.42) Yeah, I think two things. One, I heard from an assistant principal when I was teaching that I worked with. And I really didn't think about it until I obviously became a principal. But there are very few emergencies in education. obviously, You know, we had bad weather last night. That's right. An emergency takes shelter. But other than that, there are very few emergencies. There's why I know that one thing that I learned when I made a decision too quickly. and didn't take to 48 hours, usually did not go as well. And I know that can be frustrating to staff sometimes because they want an answer right now. But I try to remind myself there are very few things in education that can't wait 24 to 48 hours. Like Greg said, before you respond to that email, before you say something, give yourself push pause, I guess would be the shorter version of that. Number two would be visibility. And I would say I credit Mike Wolgast for that, who I worked with at Pioneer Trail. And I really didn't understand that until I became a principal. But I heard just to a tell here, Mike, tell me all the time, be visible. And so many of parents may not make it into the building, but they see you out there at the crosswalk. In my case, they saw me weed eating because that's what I like to do. And they thought it was just for the school, but it was also for me because it part of my therapy. But that means so much to staff and to students and to parents, right? That they are visible. We see you at every game. We see you at every concert. Not that you have to attend all those things the entire time, but when you're there, and I would add one thing to that, active visibility. So when you're there, you fist bumping parents? Hello, nice to see you again. Thanks for coming tonight. How's it? So being actively visible and being... J.J. (18:32.424) and then really pushing pause on things that do not need a decision right now. Rick Sola (18:39.446) Yeah, no, that's great. I love that active visibility piece because sometimes it, don't know, we can be visible, but there's a million things rattling through our brains. And so it's easy to not be engaged with whatever it is. It could be just a supervision of a, concert or basketball game, to be, to be active, I love that. as, yeah, as we transition still along the line of advice, but thinking to someone who may come to you, you hey, JJ Gregg, I'm starting my very first principalship or I'm starting my very first role in administration. You have years and wealth of wisdom, which is a lot of experience. What would you want to impart or what advice would you want to give to someone who is asking you in June before August for some advice? J.J. (19:40.958) Greg, I'll let you start on that one. I'm still thinking about it. Rick Sola (19:42.21) Hahaha. Grego (19:45.052) Well, I'm going to be totally blunt and family friendly on this response. But when someone comes to me and says they're interested in the Principalship Administration, my first question to them is, are you sure you want to come to the dark side? And they'll go, what? And I say, yes, this is the Darth Vader dark side. You have. great highs in this job, but there are some lows and the depths that will rock your health, your mental health, your physical health, your family life, and you've got to be prepared to work on balance and know that the work is never done. You will never be good enough. There's always going to be someone that's unhappy with the decision you've made or you haven't met their needs. Your needs are going to be secondary to your staff, your students, your community. You will not get to show true emotions because you're going to be a leader. And it's going to take over your entire life. And It's just the best thing ever at times. And it is awful at times. And you've got to have thick skin. So you better get yourself a good moisturizer, some sunscreen, and be prepared because it will impact every aspect of your life. And you probably will earn about $15 an hour when it's all said and done with the amount of time Rick Sola (21:18.702) You Grego (21:34.854) that it takes in your existence. Are you ready to come to the dark side? They look at me and often go, thanks Mr. O, I'll think about this. To me it's the truth though. Rick Sola (21:52.62) Yeah. But you know, wrapped up in all of that, all the challenges you said, but it's the best and there's so much to love about it. And I've said on this show before many times, just how I do think the principalship is the best job in education. There's just so many things with it. It doesn't mean it's easy. If it feels easy, we're probably not doing it the right way. J.J. (22:18.132) and Rick Sola (22:19.264) And I love that you shared all that because I think anybody who's listening to this can probably relate pretty deeply with all of that. But it's also encouraging as a reminder of what it is that we're doing. And Greg, I bet you've had former students now, I 39 years in education, I mean, they're well into adulthood. There's probably some grandkids that are coming through. The profound impact that you've had and what better legacy is there than to positively impact. kids and families. But there's a sacrifice that comes with it. that's great advice. JJ. J.J. (22:57.3) It's always about the kids for me, you know, and love what Greg said there. You know, decisions that you make that are best for kids are not always going to be what's most convenient for adults. And so I think you have to keep that in mind because one thing that I would tell a new administrator coming in is that you will not... I cannot prepare you for the number of adult things that you will deal with, with dealing with adults as much or more that you deal with kids. Because you have to remember that you're taking on everything else too. Anything that is personal and going on in their lives, a divorce, a breakup, a... you know, passing, that all comes to you as the principle too, right? For you to handle. You know, everybody else is, you know, things that are, the burdens that they're carrying too can come to you quite often. So, but I would say the focus still has to be on the kids and we are here. They are our clients. I say all the time, you know, we have the best kids and we have to believe that. And so, What I would say is, is, you know, keep the focus where it needs to be and that's ultimately on the kids that we serve. And it's, and now you're doing that as a principal for an entire building, but there are going to be some decisions that you make that's going to be what's best for a kid, maybe even on an individual discipline situation where the teacher wants one thing, the parent wants something, and you have to, you have to do what's best for the kid in that situation. And that teacher may not be feel supported. for whatever reason. So you have to be able to do that, but understand that that's why you were put in that chair. You were put in that chair because you are a leader, because somebody saw something in you to lead an entire building. And so, you get the opportunity to make that decision. And some of those things can be very life-changing as well for students. just, I mentioned this the other day in our, is get a praise box, find something that you can put notes in. J.J. (25:08.389) of praise over the years and then get those out. Put them on an album, find those things because those are gonna be important later on. You know, from whether it be from staff or students or parents. So that would be my advice. Grego (25:23.27) Recently, I told a teacher, and this was like May 15th, and this was in the principal's handbook that they gave me, I had a bit of a melodramatic moment. And I was talking to this teacher and I said, good grief. I'm just like Shell Silverstein's The Giving Tree. I give, I give, I give, I've got no branches. I give, and now I'm simply just a stump. That's all I am. I'm just a stump. There's nothing left of me. Rick Sola (25:47.625) Ha ha ha. Grego (25:53.004) And of course we laughed and I thought that really is the principalship. We give, we give, we give. And then suddenly there's just nothing left but a stump. But you know what, over summer, you grow back into this great, big, powerful Kansas cottonwood tree and then throughout the year, you know, you're losing everything, Shel Feverstein. Rick Sola (26:18.347) Yeah. Grego (26:20.732) but it always comes back and it feels so good when you do give and it comes back and you still have that capacity to give. Rick Sola (26:30.734) That's a great analogy. love it. There's a theme wrapped in there somewhere. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate that into a school wide theme. Maybe that's a little dark of a theme. I don't know. That's maybe a little melancholy or something. no, everything that you both just said is just so great. to be able to capture that here and like I said, hope people will hear this because there's so much there, especially those who are getting into the profession. Grego (26:39.368) You . Rick Sola (27:00.716) Or maybe they're just finishing their first or second year where you really feel beat down and you talk about thick skin. It takes a little time to really get comfortable with that because you're building that confidence and all that. You know, I know a big part of, especially for both of you, because you care so much about your communities, the school that you're stepping away from. I know there's a lot of prep that is and has gone into. leaving in a good place for the person who's stepping into your chair. Just talk briefly about what are some of those things that you made sure to do to ensure that your community in the building is really left in the best possible place for that person. J.J. (27:49.428) You know, I'm glad you talked about that. was just talking with Leah, Dr. Cogswell, will be taking the principalship at Santa Fe Trail. And it's funny how things kind of come across like Twitter or whatever happens to be just at the right time. But I just, it was about, you know, basically about transition. And it talked about how, you know, are you building something that is strong only when you're there or also when you're out of the room? And can you be a cheerleader for what happens next? And is there momentum to move forward? And I think that that is really, really good. It's really hard. I I found it hard, right, to kind of step away and say, okay, I won't be here or I'm not involved in planning and decision making for next year at this point. And that's not easy, but what you have to realize is that it's not about you. first of all, and you have to, it's really about the kids and moving forward and, you know, sometimes change is good. And so, you know, I would just say that, understand that, you know, your legacy is about what moves forward in that situation, not necessarily about what was left behind in that situation. So that's kind of how I've looked at these last, you know, couple of months as it's gotten closer to the end. Grego (29:11.912) Well, JJ, I'm glad that you have you expressed that it has been hard, especially with a new person. I have felt that immensely and then told myself this shouldn't be hard. But after 25 years, I opened the building, I've hired everybody. I've planted bushes like you. I've I've trimmed every. My DNA is all over this building. Rick Sola (29:12.354) Great. Grego (29:36.284) with sweat, blood, tears, and my life. And so giving that up to a new leader has really been challenging for me, because this has been my life, my passion, Regency Place. But I love the successor, Tricia Putoff, and... I've really worked hard to make sure that she has every success possible. Everything is going to be done for her. I've got files ready. She's going to come into this clean office, which is not right now. And the year is pretty much planned for her. And then she gets to take that and do what she wants to. And I will be totally supportive of whatever comes up. I've tried to include her in all of our end of the year events so that everybody knows that we are aligned and good friends. The community knows that we're good friends. which adds comfort to the transition. And strangely enough, I received a picture from a former staff member taken probably back in 2007. This is me. Rick Sola (30:45.207) See that, yeah. Grego (30:45.896) Eilish Man Bag that was, you know, very popular in those 2000s. And here's Tricia, who was friends with people in my building and we were at a staff function. And we're both talking, laughing, jamming, dancing. Who would have known that in 2025, she would be taking over the love of my life and I'm gonna be okay with it. Rick Sola (31:12.728) Yeah, what a great picture to have that unearthed at this point and that's pretty cool. I'm assuming she's seen this, right? Grego (31:16.156) Yeah Grego (31:22.76) Oh yes, yes. We, we... Rick Sola (31:25.088) Is it gonna be put up in the building? It really should. Grego (31:30.408) Well, it's a family friendly building, Rick, with family friendly language and imagery. And probably this was at a favorite watering hole back in the mid 2000s that's probably no longer in existence. And I'm thinking that perhaps another PLC opportunity for the community to us getting along might be more appropriate. J.J. (31:36.424) Hahaha. Rick Sola (31:41.1) Yes. Rick Sola (31:56.27) That is an answer only someone with years of principal experience could provide. That's fantastic. You know, I'll say the last couple of months, maybe it's the last several weeks or maybe it's the last year. Talk about or just share what's been your favorite memory. Grego (32:04.008) . Rick Sola (32:20.074) over the kind of, I guess, just the home stretch. And so wherever you want to put that, but as part of your retirement, you you both have alluded to some of, and I've seen pictures on, on Twitter of some really great things and your communities, they love you. But what's been one of your, favorite memories of, cause I've heard it so many times before and Greg, actually you said this at the district retirement that, you know, You find that you hear so many great things when you retire. It's unfortunate that we don't hear those things until we retire. But what's been your favorite memory over the last couple months? J.J. (32:56.338) For me, really, I told my staff, made it very clear, and like Greg talked about to a directive that people don't follow, I made it very clear, I thought, that I didn't want anything. just want to walk away, right? Well, you know. that didn't happen, but you know, it was great. So I think one of the favorite memories I have is the, we do a spring show at the end of the year and Rick would know what that's all about, your cheerleaders and drill team and you know, put on a performance and they had gotten from my wife a list of like some of my favorite rock songs, cause it was a rock and roll theme and they did a montage of those songs, tribute and then. I got out there and was dancing with them, had the Brett Michaels wig on, that kind of thing out there, you know, because it was us dressing up for the event, and that was really special. And that brought goosebumps, and still does, I have goosebumps right now thinking about that, and a tear, you I think that will always be. Rick Sola (33:51.351) Yeah. J.J. (34:06.592) you know, an amazing thing. And the fact that the kids took the time to do that and that the sponsors to put that together, choreograph something and have it go off, that was amazing. And so that's one that I will always take forward. And then I think just the number of cards and emails and things that I've gotten, you know, that I've received has been tremendous from the community. They see it. You may not always hear it all the time, but they do recognize and appreciate the work that goes in and taking care of their children. Grego (34:43.57) JJ, I was like you, I was thinking, okay, let's keep the celebrations minimal, but at some point I didn't have control over it and they weren't listening and I just had to lean in and go with it. And that was really tough for me to be the center of attention and have all this thrown at you that really is so validating for you as a person, as professional, and as your career. Rick Sola (34:43.586) JJ, Grego (35:14.332) But after you kind of get used to it and you open yourself up to it, it really does help bring, I think, some closure to our careers and the power and legacy that we've left with this district. Again, I will say, I had a moment where a former parent called me. I saw the name on the phone and I had an immediate, it's the last time I talked to this parent eight years ago. In June was a knockdown drag-out, not kind conversation at all about some critiques that things weren't brought up and it wasn't positive. You know, I held my own and I saw that name and thought, my, well that parent had called and wanted to share that the boys were doing exceptional, going to college, had one graduating this year, and that their best years were at Regency Place. And he just wanted to let me know that. And he remembered the last time we had visited. And he had thought about calling since then, but this just felt like the right time. And I thought, another example, do the right thing. Rick Sola (36:32.962) Wow. Grego (36:37.362) You don't always have to get the last word, Mr. O'Borne. And that does come around. And that disgruntled parent that... Extended the olive branch eight years later With something I really remember as much as I do cards and everything here that doing the right thing and Being a human being is so much what this job is all about and we lose sight of it It's hard because there are so many pressures and we're trying to be effective all the time and you just want to get this done but relationships and being human That's how you get it done. Rick Sola (37:22.444) Yeah, that's awesome. What a gift too, because you know that's something that I think so much in education we we don't see the fruition. Things come to fruition that we may have planted and to be able to have that eight years later. What a nice gesture on on their part and that you remember that so so clearly. You know, like I said, I have seen and heard of and then of course our district celebration. So many great things on on your behalf and in. It's just great, greatest to see that two very deserving principles and for the record, going to miss you both greatly at our district meetings and just connecting with you. But I also know that you're the kind of people that are just a phone call away and you'd be willing to talk about anything, but just two of the best. I want to leave this with just quickly your plans now for the future, because I know August is going to have a different feel. And JJ, I know you've got a little bit of an educational road ahead of you still, but I know it's going to feel much different. I say August. It's really like your summer is going to feel very different. So what are those plans here in the upcoming school year? J.J. (38:39.654) And so I will be in charge of in-school suspension at a middle school in Park Hill School District and be an hourly employee and looking forward to that. I coach girls basketball. I think this is a good transition before my ultimate goal is to get back in the classroom. as a social studies teacher. And so I'm looking for this transition time and had an opportunity yesterday to go work with some of the kids at a basketball camp. And it was so much fun to be back in the gym, knock off some of that coaching rust and learn and like, well, this is different than how I taught it 20 years ago, but that's okay. Let's learn more. And so I'm super excited about that, you know, and, being able to work with kids and try to make a difference, difference individually with students. Take some of things that I've learned and put in place at CNFA Trail. And then eventually though I want to get back into the classroom. That's where my heart is and continue to coach. Grego (39:45.82) JJ, I admire you so much for, you know, continuing having your feet and dabbling in education. That's great. I'm honestly scared to do that for fear that this school for 25 years has been the love of my life. And I would feel like I'm cheating if I were to do something else, you know? Rick, you're so in tune. I am not looking forward to August because I know I'm going to be having, you know, I should be posting class lists. I should be doing this. So I plan to be out of town in Cape Cod during August to be entirely away from that so that I'm not going to be too focused. But look forward to... having a life outside of school, which I really haven't. All these years I've been so school focused. As I've told my staff when I announced this, Regency Place will learn to survive and thrive without Mr. O, and Mr. O needs to learn how to thrive and survive without Regency Place. So that is my goal is learning how to thrive and survive without the school schedule and being effective and Mr. Snap, which by the way, this doesn't work at home. Rick Sola (41:08.706) Hahaha. Grego (41:10.96) Snaps don't work. Rick Sola (41:14.222) I don't think they would work at my home either. J.J. (41:17.204) I just tried that on this call and got a dirty look. So I'm just saying, you know, yeah, it wasn't for my dogs either. It was like, you know, so yeah, there you go. I like that. Grego (41:17.476) Hahaha! Grego (41:33.616) It's a big adventure. I really don't know what to expect. And I guess we work all of our lives to get to this point. And I have faith that it's all going to work out and be great. J.J. (41:48.306) Yeah, I would just echo there, Greg, because I mean, it's a little bit grieving, right? I mean, there's a little, even though it's so hard and there's so much and, you know, and, you know, I hated a countdown, you know, a countdown of days. I just, didn't like countdowns, you know, but it is a little bit of a grieving process because when it becomes such a part of who you are and what you do, it's your identity. You know, right? And so now that has to change. And so I agree with you 100%. It will feel different when you've done this your entire life. And for me, that's all I've known, because my parents were educators, right? And so I have not known anything but going to school and doing school things since, you know, since I was a little kid. So. Rick Sola (42:38.966) Well, really profound there and just really awesome to hear. just everything as I'm thinking about just this whole talk, everything that has really been talked about this whole cool coffee podcast is created to celebrate the principalship. And I can't think of any better way than to hear two amazing principals reflect on their career and share some advice and talk about next steps. There's just so much about the principalship that is hard and challenging but so rewarding and I hope nothing but the best for both of you as you embark on a summer that will be entirely different than it has been for many, many years. And Greg, figure out that watering hole that picture was taken into and then when you come back from Cape Cod in September, October or whenever, let's all get together and... And we'll just, you can catch up and hear about things and perhaps be reminded that, no, that's been a really good couple months that I've had not having to worry about all this stuff. Grego (43:45.393) You might even bring back that man bag and treat you both to a healthy beverage. Rick Sola (43:53.378) Yeah, there you go. There you go. That sounds perfect. I'd be totally up for that. And guys, thank you so much. And as a testament to both of you, trying to schedule this, it was incredible because we're in summer and I know Greg tomorrow is actually the last official day of contract, but like it was dancing around commitments because you're still meeting, you're still working, you're still doing things for your building. This has not been checkout mode for the last few weeks or whatever. You're working, you would talk about working bell to bell, you guys are working bell to bell. So thanks for all that you've done for education, for your communities, for your people. And thank you for coming on to this show here today. Grego (44:35.846) Rick, your listening skills, your hosting skills, your paraphrasing skills are remarkable. I mean, this is like late night TV with your host skills. Seriously. So I'm gonna give you some positive snaps. Rick Sola (44:54.414) Well, thank you very much. I thought I was sensing a little teetering on pandering or sarcasm or something, but no, thank you. Thank you so much. It's been awesome. J.J. (44:55.522) You Grego (44:56.381) your town. Grego (45:04.68) It's genuine. Genuine. J.J. (45:07.028) Well, I will echo that because Rick, you and I go way back and Rick likes to give me a hard time, but we are also big planes, trains, automobiles, fans and brothers in Seinfeld in that. And so I, you know, I will just say that you do a great job with this, right? And I'm not saying that in some sarcastic Seinfeld way, like. Rick Sola (45:17.058) Ha ha ha. Rick Sola (45:29.166) Well, you're. J.J. (45:32.34) or anything like that. You do a great job with this. And in all seriousness, the fact that you're highlighting, because I think people can forget about the role of the principal sometimes, right? And not understand that we're human too. And you're bringing that human element to this. And so thank you for doing that. I hope that you keep doing this, because this is great. Rick Sola (45:56.77) Well, you're very kind. And we made it through this whole talk. And there was not one single Seinfeld quote or reference the entire time. That's pretty remarkable. there you go. Well, guys, thank you so much. Have an awesome rest of the day, weekend ahead, and an awesome summer to you. Grego (45:56.968) Agreed. J.J. (46:06.718) We'll make up for that. We'll make up for that at that watering hole. Grego (46:11.186) True. Grego (46:18.888) All right, thank you. J.J. (46:19.38) All right, thank you.  

In this episode of Cool Coffee with Kansas Principals, host Rick Sola welcomes back familiar guests, as well as a couple new guests, to reflect on the recent USA Kansas Conference (2025). The conversation highlights key takeaways from the conference, including the importance of networking, effective leadership strategies, and the role of student leadership in shaping school culture. The principals share their insights on effective delegation, the challenges of leadership, and the significance of taking time to recharge during the summer. Chapters (timestamps do not account for intro) 00:00 Introduction and Guest Introductions 01:33 Reflections on USA Kansas Conference 09:10 Keynote Highlights and Takeaways 15:10 Effective Delegation and Leadership 21:21 Working with Top Principals 26:01 Summer Plans and Unplugging 32:15 Final Thoughts and Networking Opportunities Connect with this episode's guests: Dr. Todd Dain -- Shawnee Mission South Principal (X: @SMSouthTDain) Mr. Mark Mahoney -- Shawnee Mission South Athletic Director (X: @SMSRaidersAD) Mrs. Kelly Whittaker -- Ottawa High School Principal (X: @kelwhitt217) Dr. Johnny Lewis-- Ottawa High School Assistant Principal --------------------------------------- We want to hear from you--take 2 minutes (or less) and click HERE to contribute! YOUR FEEDBACK ON COOL COFFEE IS APPRECIATED!  Leave show suggestions, guest recommendations, questions HERE! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT (AI generated) Rick Sola (00:01.932) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas Principals in what will be our last official full feature episode of the 24-25 school year. We'll relaunch again in August. But we have some guests here today and it's appropriate to have a couple of these guests because they are friends of the show, been on here multiple times. And one of them was our very first full feature with Dr. Todd Dane, who is joined also by his assistant principal, Mr. Mark Mahoney. Welcome, Todd Mark. Todd (00:34.456) Thanks for having us guys. Good morning. Happy to be here. Rick Sola (00:38.144) And then also on the other side, we have also frequent guests on the show. Mrs. Kelly Whitaker joined by her assistant principal, Dr. Johnny Lewis of Ottawa, Kansas. I should have mentioned Shawnee Mission South. I think we know that, but for Todd Dane and Mark Mahoney, but then Kelly and Johnny from Ottawa High School. Guys, thanks for joining. Kelly Whittaker (00:58.799) Thanks for having us on this gloomy Tuesday morning. Rick Sola (01:04.31) Well, the last time I recorded was with Brittenhart and the power literally was going out on us and it was much worse. So this, this isn't quite as bad, but we'll take it. So summer is in progress. We all just connected last week, just less than a week ago, we were at USA Kansas, which is what really this episode is really featuring is just the USA Kansas conference, which brought a lot of really good material and content. I know there were some presentations that we were even a part of. But want to hear a little bit and share out kind of bragging on the conference, but debriefing the conference a little bit. And so we'll just jump right into it and kind of get into some of the more meaningful sessions. And we've got five of us here talking, so it can kind of just go free flowing. But I'll just open it straight up with. You know, when you think back to USA Kansas 2025, the 54th annual conference, what was the number one takeaway for you? And maybe we'll start on the shiny mission Southside, either Mark or Todd, as you left USA Kansas. Todd (02:20.408) Well, I'll tell you what, I the thing for me every time, I think it's the same. It doesn't mean that this year didn't shine, but every year for me, it's just the ability to network, to connect, and learn from colleagues across the state, and get great ideas. I, you know, there's some... really exciting sessions that we attended. But I think just getting ideas from others and sharing those ideas has been the most impactful for me. And as a first time guest there, one thing that I took away was. was so well organized, it was very detailed. With the ability to go to a session and then be able to unwind with a group of people and talk to them about what's going on in their buildings and share different ideas was super impactful for me and something I can take into the summer and the next school year. Rick Sola (03:18.252) Kelly, Johnny, as you come back to Ottawa, and I know you're meeting Kelly, we're talking kind of before we hit record here that your 12 month contract, you're working all summer. A lot of those ideas that you get from conferences like this kind of percolate and then they develop and then they come to fruition in August. What was something that you walked out of the conference with? Kelly Whittaker (03:41.313) I walked out, so there was a student leadership group, was shared by Jerry Johnson, he's the high school principal at Holcomb High School out there in western Kansas, and I really enjoyed listening to him and Joe Coles talk about how Jerry has taken leadership, student leadership groups with his juniors and seniors and really just transformed the culture within his building and more importantly built the capacity through his students to be leaders. He made a comment that we always talk about and kind of grumble. about how our kids don't know how to be leaders, but we don't teach them how to. And I probably am the queen of saying that around my building. So I was really excited to listen to him share a little bit about his journey and his story. And I've already emailed him and looking forward to connect with him and pick his brain a little bit about what that really looks like and how it might transition to a building that's about three times the size as he is. So just kind of curious on what that could look like for us. I think for me, I left there feeling really hopeful about the state of education in Kansas and just some of the positive things that are happening there. Last session where we just kind of heard lots of good news about education in Kansas was good for me to hear and see and made me grateful. One of the sessions that I loved, I went to a session on our behaviors and our kind of emotional regulation impacts student regulation and so it was talking about how to help teachers get emotionally regulated when they're dealing with students who are dysregulated. And so two minutes into that session, I was texting one of our teachers who's really passionate about that same kind of thing. And we're ordering books and planning professional development around ways we can help our teachers center themselves when students become dysregulated or tap out and find some help and just identifying some triggers and some skills that they need to help. regulate themselves when they're in those moments. So that was just kind of some good nuts and bolts things that I took with me. Rick Sola (05:40.12) Kelly, you had mentioned seeing Jerry Johnson from Holcomb High School. I was in that session. I didn't realize you were in there, but exactly what you said is what I wrote down to come back to is how often we have leadership groups in our eighth grade, at every grade, but our eighth grade, we have some leaders. We want to have them be influential students. And I really asked myself, how do we teach them to be a leader? other than say, you're a leader and here's some activities we're going to have you facilitate. How do we actually instruct them on what leadership means? How to be a leader at a middle school? That really stuck out to me and I really appreciated that session from Jerry and Joe. Johnny, you just mentioned you were connecting with your teachers. I guess a question for all of you. Are you intentional about or do you or just kind of as you go to these conferences do you reach out to your teachers and kind of make it very publicly known what you got out of these conferences? Is that something that you try to do when you go away to these conferences? Kelly Whittaker (06:56.291) think when it's applicable, absolutely. Anytime that we hear a good idea or something we could bring back to whether it's our building leadership team, maybe a small group of teachers that could lead some future professional development, we always are processing and trying to do that when we feel like it's right. Not that you're going to try to emulate somebody else and you want to be just like they are, but if someone's got a great idea and we know that that's a gap or a point of struggle in our building. And how can we take that information and build some capacity through our team to do some great things for our students as well and learn from their expertise in that area. Todd (07:34.394) Yeah, I would echo that and that when we go to the conference and bring back an idea or even just sometimes you just bring back a question, right? And I oftentimes go back to my building leadership team with a question that I have from a conference and how can we apply this here at Shawnee Mission South or how can we make this relevant for kids? And I think one of the most prevalent pieces that we're focused on is making school relevant for teenagers in 2026. Right? We have to continually evolve and make school relevant for young people. And the traditional high school, the traditional college-bound path and everything else that we all think about school is rapidly changing and evolving. And we have to continue to evolve and meet the needs of our learners. so those are the questions that I bring back to our building leadership team, oftentimes with different ideas and solutions from other principals, and then using that to fit what we need here. Rick Sola (08:41.08) It's been brought up already a couple times, just the conversation that you have with other principals. You know, we all connected in this room last week at Wichita, not during sessions, but during in-between times or after times. And there's so much valuable PD, PLC, principal PLC that occurs kind of informally at these conferences. That's so great. I'm going to throw out a I guess a subject from the conference last week and it just will just do reactions here. Let's talk keynotes. Kelly Whittaker (09:21.078) yeah! Rick Sola (09:22.008) Yeah, oh yeah. There were a few. We'll just start it off where the conference started. How would we, you know, just, we're debriefing the conference. Let's debrief the keynotes. Who wants to launch into that one? Todd (09:44.27) Yeah, so I, you know, I I was so excited to have coach with us and share that story of of his of you know his team and young man that made all those shots and I think. That's not a new story to me, but I think it's good to. Kelly Whittaker (09:50.659) the parade story. Todd (10:05.366) remind ourselves why we do this and what we're all about. if the answer to our why isn't kids. then we're in the wrong business. so I always get excited and emotional whenever we bring it back to students with special needs and that hits home with my family and what we live with. So it's always powerful to me that it comes back to our why and why we get excited and fired up about this thing that we do in schools. And I'll take a note from Johnny, I called a couple coaches Friday morning, getting ready for this week and camps and summer weights and just try to get the enthusiasm I took from kids and how powerful they are and what we mean to kids. How far it goes just by loving kids and telling how much we appreciate them and kind of just puts a little fire in your belly. And I wanted to share that message with some of our new teachers and some of our veteran teachers that are getting ready to interact with kids. in the school but not really a school setting this summer and want to get them kind of excited about the summer and next year. Kelly Whittaker (11:20.215) And Rick, I always enjoy listening to Anthony McDaniel and Jessica Bernard, the two lawyers that presented at the end. mean, they weren't really a keynote, but they were a main breakout session for everybody. And I always enjoy going to their sessions because they talk about really tough and scary topics and they do it in a manner of which one, we can all understand. Two, they always make it very applicable to our everyday lives as educators and administrators. And they just do it in a light-hearted but serious manner. So I really enjoyed kind of having that breakout at the end where they got to talk to everybody at the conference that last morning. Rick Sola (11:59.648) Yeah, the team that I was with, had several from our district and there were some other lawyer sessions specifically with AI and how it's being used and how it can be used from a parent to type up a message, questioning, challenging perhaps some of the things, decisions that are made and so forth. And you can ask AI to kind of beef it up and make it sound like it's written from a lawyer and how AI is getting used in that way. just kind of that frontier of AI. But certainly, anytime we hear from attorneys and people who are dealing with this, it's certainly applicable. You said scary. It can be when we think about that. I'll bring up the first keynote, the drummer, Mr. Schulman. I'm going to bring it up because two reasons. One, I got to be featured during that that speech because I was selected and I received a drumstick at the end of it. you know, there are different things presented, but there was something in particular that stuck out and I wrote it down. And just kind of in a nutshell, Mr. Shulman is a career drummer and has worked with really the biggest names in the music industry all throughout his career. He showed a clip from Pink and I'm not sure if you remember, he actually showed several, but there was one Todd (12:57.294) you Rick Sola (13:25.932) where she gives him credit for the work he does, but for being the most positive person in the room all the time. And he explained that it dawned on him at that moment that he wasn't asked to be on all these different groups, whether it was Billy Idol or Pink or Cher or whoever, because he was the best drummer, that it hit him that it was what he brought to the table. as a person and beyond that. And I just thought that was really a really good kind of aha for him, I'm sure. But just some insight on, you know, the things that we bring to the table, kind of the old adage, like you don't have to be the smartest person in the room. But how we present and carry ourselves is really important. And so I really did appreciate that message that was shared in that first keynote. And then Kelly Whittaker (14:08.527) Mm-hmm. Rick Sola (14:21.24) kind of Todd to your point, the coach that came in. I've heard that story before. I've seen the video before. But oh my gosh, you talk about emotional. And I actually got a book from him afterwards. he just, I mean, there was a long line, but he just sat and kind of talked and just a very genuine guy. So some really, really strong keynotes and presenters that were brought into USA Kansas for sure. Any other sessions? I just want to kind of, you know, be able to share out as part of, you know, that's something we do here in the building I'm at is we just, we sit down and talk about, okay, you went to this, okay, talk about it, let's share out. Is there any other, are there any other sessions that you attended that kind of for the good, not just for those in this room, but those who might be listening to this podcast that's worth sharing out? Todd (15:10.412) Yeah, you know, for what it's worth, I... I want to give a shout out to Zach Murray and his team at Chanute High School. I thought they did a really nice job of sharing some of the changes that they put in place there, really to be very intentional about their purpose in navigating student leadership and student behaviors. Specifically, I love the idea of what they've done with their freshman introduction class, their freshman orientation course that they created for all freshman that's required for them as an elective and that's one of those things that you talk to them afterwards and say hey how did you do this and who can teach this and where's the curriculum from and you just want to steal ideas and I've stolen a lot of ideas from other people I steal from Kelly all the time but that's one of those things that I thought was really a big takeaway for me and what they've done at Chanute and hopefully we can find a way to make that work here in Shawnee Mission. Rick Sola (16:12.48) Awesome. Kelly Whittaker (16:13.967) I went to one by this guy named Todd Daines, that was pretty good, it was on delegation and what I appreciated about that, we got to reflect on it afterward and one of the things I appreciate about Kelly is that she's really reflective and so after we were, you know, part of that session she was able to kind of be vulnerable and ask some questions about how she delegates and like asking me questions about how I perceive the way she delegates and just being reflective about it. So I think that was good for Todd (16:18.222) You Kelly Whittaker (16:43.981) to just think about how we work with our team and work with people in the building. So helpful stuff. Rick Sola (16:51.584) So we got the presenter himself right here, Dr. Dane, in a nutshell. Can you share a little bit about that delegation that you talked about in your session? Todd (17:02.508) Yeah, you know, a little bit we focused on how to build capacity in your team and specifically the delegation triangle. it's actually a piece from Model and Edix and how to how to rotate that delegation triangle where you can release some of that control and a lot of times I think building principles struggle letting go struggle with letting go of control and most most building principles got that way got to that position by out working out hustling out studying their peers and as a building principle that model doesn't necessarily work. Because you can burn out very, very quickly by trying to do it all. And you really have to be trust willing to trust your team, to trust your administrative team, your office team, your teachers, to build some of that leadership capacity in them to make sure that you maximize your opportunities there in the building. it's just really about how you can leverage that delegation model and let go of a lot of the responsibilities and share that, share that leadership capacity and in the end empower your whole team. Rick Sola (18:27.232) Yeah, I'm curious, what would you say, Dr. Dane, as far as, you sometimes I see that, you you mentioned that burnout and, you because it's hard to delegate and sometimes it gets challenging to delegate when you feel like you've been burned by delegating before. It's almost like, I always feel like sometimes micromanaging is bred from Todd (18:46.018) Yeah. yeah. Rick Sola (18:53.962) inept or if someone not following through is like, I'm just going to do it. How do you recover from that or what would be your thoughts on that? Todd (19:02.562) Yeah, I take it all kind of with a grain of salt. And when I have conversations with principals, sometimes I'll say, why don't you delegate that to your athletic director? Or why don't you give that to an associate principal to do? And sometimes their response is, well, I would, but they'll screw it up. And I said, sometimes the best thing to do is to let them screw it up, and then use that as a learning opportunity to help teach them through the process. And anytime we navigate one of those scenarios here, I always take the blame, right? So I shoulder the blame for any of those mistakes or errors or missteps and understand that it's my responsibility. And then ultimately, it is my responsibility because I didn't do... I didn't do my job in making sure that I detailed everything in the delegation process. I didn't give them enough information on the front end. I didn't do enough check-ins. I didn't follow through with the reflection and the details at the end. So I think there's a process to effectively delegate. I've been on the end where I've delegated and I didn't give enough background and I didn't give enough structure. And then I had to correct my approach as the delegator to make sure that those team members know exactly what the expectation is on the back end and why we have to do things a certain way or what the parameters are. So again, I do think as principals sometimes we're shy about delegating because we have been burned and I've the one thing that I've learned. I've been the principal here for 10 years now and in that 10 years I've had 14 different associate principals and I've gotten better at delegating. I've gotten better at training them. Todd (21:00.994) But it's a process where I also know when I have new ones come in, I've got to allow them to make mistakes because that's when they learn too. And I got to keep giving them opportunities to grow in the process. that's one of my objectives as a principal is to help grow my team, to get them where they want to be. Rick Sola (21:21.59) Right, now that's really great and thanks for going into that a little further and I think that's something we all can relate to certainly. Question for Mark and Johnny, what is it like working with the principals of the year? Kelly Whittaker (21:37.207) you Todd (21:39.15) It's great. I've known Todd for 20 years. I come from a place where I know exactly what he wants and what he needs and his work ethic. So it actually makes my job very, very easy. He has an expectation. I know that if it's not met, he'll tell me. And that's OK, because that's how we grow and get better. And I'm constantly growing. Kelly Whittaker (21:59.054) Yeah. Todd (22:04.002) That's what was so great about the conference was to talk to other people that live in your world to kind of bounce ideas off of them, see how they learn from their mistakes and how to help me grow as an assistant principal in AD. But it's an honor to work with Todd and our team. there's never a dull moment at school. And it's not work to me. I enjoy it. I'd like to go back to the conference because we're under construction right now. And it's real now. We're back to work. But it's pleasure. Rick Sola (22:35.031) Ha ha ha. Rick Sola (22:38.634) Awesome. Kelly Whittaker (22:40.655) I kind of ditto what Mark said. I really appreciate that the expectations are very clear. The bar is high. And if you don't meet it, there's going to be a direct conversation about it. Not a mean one, but a helpful, reflective one. And I really appreciate that. I appreciate receiving feedback if I'm not doing well and also hearing when I'm doing well. And I get both of those things and I really appreciate that. I think one of the gifts that Kelly has that I really, that helps me want to come in to work with her every day, she does a great job of bringing our focus back to what is best for students in this moment and kind of putting aside. listening to all the different sides of things, then to kind of pull us together and say what's best for kids in this moment. And you know, that's my own why every day. And so it makes me want to get up and come here every day and it's inspiring. And I also just want to mention that I have a couple of times when we were recruiting teachers this spring and we knew they were a little close on which school they were going to go to. Kelly has never mentioned it, but I have said, hey, just so you know, you got a job offer from the Kansas principal of the year. you know, any Todd (23:49.198) you Rick Sola (23:49.44) You Kelly Whittaker (23:50.603) thing we can do to try and get them, you know, I'll do it. So, but I do think it's reflective of this is a place where we take what we do seriously and good things are happening here. So it's a, it is a selling point when we're talking to prospective new staff. So I've tried to use that as well. Rick Sola (24:07.544) Well, those are both really nice answers for both of you. was like, you you put that out there and we're streaming, like, who knows what they're going to say? Like, I mean, I didn't know if we'd be 10 minutes in and like, another thing, you know. No, obviously two top notch principals and that I was admiring the rings that come with it at the conference. And so I wanted to bring that up, but obviously two top notch principals. Todd (24:19.63) you Rick Sola (24:35.82) But also having talked with Kelly and Todd, I know they speak often and very highly of their team, which is both of you. Mark, we had a chance to talk quite a bit at the conference. It was good to catch up with you. both shared a district in our past, but haven't really chatted very much. that's really the value. I think some of the biggest value of these conferences is just that networking and talking. Mark, you mentioned wanting to go back to the conference and because of the construction kind of made my mind go to November, we have the KPA conference, which is a mini version of this and it's extremely powerful as well. And so just an early plug for that coming up. But yeah, the networking is just just an incredible piece and a lot to be to be brought back to our buildings. And I think all of our buildings are going to be better for those who attended this conference. So A very critical piece, I think, in our world is really kind of at that time where we're at right now, which is summer. The pace is a little different. We're about to break for summer, if you will. At the same time, personally, I have found summer sometimes doesn't lend itself to that mental break because you're gearing up so rapidly and quickly for the upcoming year. But it is important to do so. So from each of you, just quickly, What is it that you're gonna do to really kind of be intentional about allowing yourself time to unplug, recharge, because we hear that often, but I don't know how often we allow ourselves to do that, but what's something that you're gonna be doing this summer just to kind of let yourself get away? Kelly Whittaker (26:19.065) for me as a high school administrator. Our evenings are very busy and so we're constantly go, go, go, go, go during the nine months of the school year. And so my favorite thing to do just in the summer is that when I leave work, I can actually leave work and very rarely in the summer must I finish a task before tomorrow morning in order to walk in and feel good about where I am. So I tend to use my evenings more just to be with my family, to work out, to just kind of... relax and unwind. One fun thing I am doing this summer, I bought my mother tickets to see Caitlin Clark play in Indianapolis. so I'm going to be, hopefully she gets her little hamstring healed so I can go and watch her play in Indianapolis with my mom. But that's just kind of what I try to do is connect with my family and do those things that we just don't have time for during the school year, especially as a secondary administrator, because we are at work all the time and at activities in the evenings and on the weekends. Rick Sola (26:54.487) Wow. Kelly Whittaker (27:15.439) I wouldn't trade it for the world, it's important to take advantage of that down time and that slower pace. Rick Sola (27:21.889) Absolutely. Kelly Whittaker (27:22.851) Yeah, kind of the same thing. have a almost, he'll be six actually next week. I have an almost six year old and then a 13 year old daughter. And so, you know, they, they miss me on those nights when I'm doing ball games and things. So just a lot of extra time with my kids, time at the pool. My daughter is a huge fan of the band, My Chemical Romance. So in August, they're doing a reunion towards first time they've toured in a long time. So in August I'm taking, Kelly's actually letting me miss. one of those first days in August when teachers are back so that can do this. We're flying to New York to watch My Chemical Romance at Citi Field and my daughter is so excited that she and I get to do that together. So she's like super pumped. like talks about it every day. We've been planning it since that was her Christmas gift. So we've been planning it for a while. So yeah. Rick Sola (28:11.254) That's awesome. And that's kind of going back. mean, they're a little bit of a throwback band at this point. There we go. Kelly Whittaker (28:17.219) Yeah, she's old school. She's a cool kid. She's cooler than her dad at this point. Rick Sola (28:22.008) That's awesome. We'll enjoy that. What a special time with her. How about Shawnee Mission South over there? Todd (28:31.822) I'm super excited both my kids walked down the hill and are college graduates about three weeks ago. It's not gonna be relaxing cuz they're back home in the last four or five years, but we're super excited to have them home. And I'm a lot like Kelly at four o'clock for the most part. I don't take phone calls and don't have games to rush to so I gotta be back home with a. dogs and my family and looking forward to just pool and relax and hopefully just try to unwind. But it never shuts off, but it's a little bit slower now. Kelly Whittaker (29:05.967) Mm-hmm. Todd (29:08.27) Yeah, I would say the same. I you know, I I leave work and I go home to my my real boss, the doctor Dane and I orders from her and but our kids are grown now and so it's actually a time where we can spend a little more time together as a couple and just unwind a little bit. I am going to spend a week in Seattle. So super excited about that with any SSP and illuminate. So we're going to go to Seattle and celebrate Kelly Whitaker and the POI is of 2025. And then I'm going to Rick Sola (29:13.889) You Kelly Whittaker (29:34.639) Woohoo! Todd (29:38.176) be presenting at the United Conference there after that piece. So I'm excited to present again at the national level and went to Seattle last fall and. Spent some time with the Superintendent there from Tacoma and he said that it basically rains every day in Seattle, August through May, but June and July is nice, so I'm looking forward to seeing Seattle in July. Rick Sola (30:03.96) You Rick Sola (30:10.006) That's awesome. And that kind of Kelly, we brought up the principle of the year, but kind of in a nutshell, the next steps for you with that you're headed to Seattle. What does that look like? Kelly Whittaker (30:20.055) Yeah, I get to go to Seattle. I don't really know what it fully looks like because I've not experienced it before. Todd has been able to, but I get to go to Seattle to connect and network with other principals of the year from, principal of the years from other states. I've already been on some podcasts and been able to do a lot of really cool networking with them. So I've kind of gotten to meet some of them ahead of the experience. And there'll be some learning. There's a really cool gala, fancy dinner that we get to go to and you get honored. They will select the national principal of the year at that banquet. And then I'm not, unfortunately, don't get to stay for the full conference because I'm going home to watch Katelyn Clark play. So going back to Indiana for that. then November 5th and 6th at our conference, we'll get recognized and honored one more time. I have told Carol Letty this multiple times. I think every principal should have the luxury of being a principal of the year at some point in time. Rick Sola (31:00.216) Hmm. Kelly Whittaker (31:15.695) You can take full advantage of it or not. The networking opportunities that have been afforded to me from the moment that I was named the 2025 Kansas Principal of the Year to right now have been honestly humbling. And I'm getting to meet and learn from some of the best administrators across the country and just very grateful for that process. I am a super reflective human. And so my team might get annoyed by all these great principals and leaders that I'm meeting and just trying to. get ideas from them about how we can continue to make Ottawa High School a better place for kids. Rick Sola (31:48.652) That's great. Well, and what you get from them, bring it back to us and we'll just keep paying it forward, passing it forward. so to all four of you, thanks for joining today. I know it's summer, so it can be a slower pace, but there's no shortage of things to do and to take some time out of your day to jump on here with me. I do appreciate that. And I look forward to catching you all here again soon. wherever that may be across the summer, whether it's the KPA conference in November, but hopefully sooner than that. Any other final thoughts before we go? Kelly Whittaker (32:22.351) Just hope to see all the listeners at the KPA conference in Wichita November 5th and 6th. It's a great opportunity. It's a networking. That is really where I feel like my journey as an administrator in Kansas took off. I went by myself. I didn't know anybody, got connected, met some people, got involved in the KPA Board of Directors and here we are today. So cannot encourage that moment for other administrators more. Just need to be there on November 5th and 6th. Todd (32:53.176) Same, I had the same experience. The first time I went I didn't know anybody. And then I ran into Kelly and look out. Kelly Whittaker (33:00.399) you Rick Sola (33:02.296) Well, 100 % because I still feel fairly new, but same deal. And I've said it on here before, but just joining, obviously doing some of this now, but it's all the connections that we've made. I have had texts with both Todd and Kelly on a candidate, either coming to or going to me or going to them or whatever. So that's just one example. But then the things that we learn from each other are just priceless. And it just helps. Kelly Whittaker (33:28.249) So. Rick Sola (33:30.552) and having that network, it's comforting too, because there's some challenging moments and we know that and anyway, before we... Kelly Whittaker (33:37.511) Rick and I think great friendships come from it and in our line of work it's lonely sometimes. We can't always have a lot of friends within our buildings just because of the nature of the work we do and so just being able to go a couple times a year and reach out to people and stay connected whether that's on social media or via text message or the occasional phone call like to me that fills my bucket because it gets lonely sometimes when you're an administrator because you just don't have a confidant. to be able to problem solve. so the networking, the friendships, the learning, the reflective moments, I just can't encourage people to join Kansas Principles Association more. Rick Sola (34:16.93) Well guys, thank you once again. I appreciate you and all that you do. Look forward to connecting here sometime soon and hearing about how great your summer was. Otherwise, have a good summer and we'll see you around. Kelly Whittaker (34:27.363) You too. Thank you, Rick. Thank you for everything you do. Thank you. Todd (34:29.836) Thank you.  

On this episode of Cool Coffee w/ Kansas Principals, Dr. Britton Hart, Assistant Executive Director of Leadership with KASB, shares his journey through education, highlighting the importance of servant leadership, humility, and teamwork. He discusses the challenges and responsibilities of being an administrator, the significance of building relationships, and offers valuable advice for aspiring leaders in education. The conversation also touches on the end-of-year reflections and the collaborative efforts needed to support students and staff in the educational landscape. A Principal Chat with 2016 Kansas Principal of the Year and current KASB leadership Dr. Britton Hart Assistant Executive Director of Leadership with KASB Contact Dr. Hart (email) X: @DrBrittonHart Chapters (timestamps do not account for Cool Coffee intro) 00:00 Introduction to Leadership in Education 02:06 Britton Hart's Journey in Education 08:31 The Role of a Servant Leader 14:07 The Importance of Humility in Leadership 17:19 Advice for Aspiring Administrators 19:35 End of Year Reflections in Education 22:21 The Value of Teamwork and Collaboration --------------------------------------- We want to hear from you--take 2 minutes (or less) and click HERE to contribute! YOUR FEEDBACK ON COOL COFFEE IS APPRECIATED!  Leave show suggestions, guest recommendations, questions HERE! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE.   FULL TRANSCRIPT (generated by AI--timestamps don't account for CC intro) Rick Sola (00:01.612) All right, hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas Principles. I'm here with Dr. Britton Hart, Assistant Executive Director of Leadership for KASB, but also the 2016 Kansas Principle of the Year. Did I get the year right? All right. Britton Hart (00:15.798) You did, you did. That just means I'm getting old. Rick Sola (00:19.106) Kansas principal of year by at the time the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals, Britton, welcome. Britton Hart (00:27.97) Yeah, welcome to, yeah, thanks for having me. I did this years and years ago when Trevor Kurtzen was doing it. And so I enjoy talking about principles with principles and in that service role still. Rick Sola (00:41.27) Yeah, I've had Trevor on here and he and I actually spoke before this even got started because I knew he had done this and, know, okay, Trevor, tell me, tell me your thoughts and secrets and all this thing. So, but yeah, it's been a lot of fun. And really the timing of this is I think apropos with USA Kansas coming up and a lot of our state educational leaders will be under one roof at the conference. And so really excited to to go there here just a week away and really just continue to build upon those connections that I really think all of these organizations are really positive about. And it's really a major perk of the KPA, USA Kansas and KASB. do you see that? My power just went out. We're live. I'm still recording, but power just went out and it just came back on. Britton Hart (01:29.954) you just left. Rick Sola (01:38.452) well, we're back. We're back. But it's not really a live show, but it's a one-take show. So you just kind of get what you get here. But yeah, a little bit of context on that. We just had a torrential downpour at dismissal, which is now about an hour ago. But I just got in and soaked. And I appreciate Britton for being patient, because it was something else. Britton, as we. Britton Hart (01:45.166) Yeah, no worries. Rick Sola (02:06.452) As we get started here, your road in education goes all the way back to the classroom and up to and through the principal chair to where you're at now. But we'd love to hear about your road to your current position. Britton Hart (02:19.874) Yeah, I'd give a shout out prayers to Grinnell and those folks there and superintendent, teachers and staff. I know they're, they're finishing up their year, but had a, had a tornado and obviously similar to hopefully you guys won't have any tornadic weather, but maybe just rain. Ironically enough, I started my teaching career in Olathe. I was teacher and coach at Olathe North, really enjoyed my time there and still have many ties and Mr. Herman and I are still. been friends ever since and just a great district and a great school. Started teaching in 2000, I guess, so this is my 25th year in education and technology education teacher, track coach, had a couple of sponsorships, but really loved the kids there and loved the love students to be honest. That's why I got into the field and still love students. And that three daughters has come up through. our system. My last one is still in school. It's going to be a middle schooler next year. so a little bit, a little bit bittersweet, but also a little nerve wracking to be a middle school parent. But that's been good. I transitioned from teaching at Alisa to a building level assistant principal, athletic director. I always thought I wanted to be an athletic director. And it's one of those jobs is you you want to do it and you're excited to do it. And then when you actually get into it and you understand what the role is, there's a whole bunch of responsibilities. And really to be fair, that's where our parents and our students live and thrive and breathe there. Sometimes too much. Maybe, maybe need a little clearer focus on academics sometimes, but a lot of things move in parts and enjoyed that at Prairie View, which is just south of Lewisburg there. Left there after two years and went back, went to Emporia. In a similar role, much larger district. I grew up around Emporia. I'm an Osage City grad and so I was a little bit closer to home. My mother-in-law and father-in-law were there and obviously still connected with Osage quite a bit. served many roles at Emporia, was assistant principal, athletic director, did career in tech, did SPED, did a lot of different things outside of just athletics. Britton Hart (04:42.026) I became the principal in 14 maybe and was in that role for five years and then really wasn't looking to leave. My former boss, Dr. Jordan and Dr. Heim both were at the Kansas Association of School Boards and I can remember we were talking about can you come up and visit about a position and you know naively I kind of said well I'm not even sure what the School Board Association does. Rick Sola (05:01.538) you Britton Hart (05:09.902) I was really well connected in the principal association, was president elect that year. You know, just was in my mind living a dream, You know, I my own kids in my building and was enjoying seeing them every day and doing really good things from an academic and a culture standpoint and an employee high. And we decided to get our graduation rate up over 90 % at that point. Rick Sola (05:20.663) Yeah. Britton Hart (05:37.838) Just a lot of great things going on. And as you know, Rick, you hit that range in between that two to four years and some of the fruits of your labor, the change starts to kind of take hold. And so we did a lot of good things that I think really impacted students. And I'd like to think that while those things are still in place, but you started to get that excitement that everybody kind of going down the same path. And so when I talk to... with Dr. Jordan and Dr. Mechel. Brian was gonna transition into a deputy role and like we'd like for you to work with, we primarily work with superintendents and boards. And so we, the ability to get into a board is through typically through your superintendent. And so like Dr. Yeager, for example, when I work with the Olathe board, typically he's the one that I coordinate with and then your board president, et cetera. And so. The transition I've kept though between USA Kansas, I sit on the KPA board with Kara still as a liaison. We know most superintendents come through your role and so we think that's really valuable to make that connection. Not necessarily work day to day with principals like USA or KPA does, but have an awareness of who are some of these individuals that are up and comers that are going to be our next future superintendent leaders. our job is to try to get the best people, kind like yourself, in those roles in front of the school board. School boards don't do that, you know, very often we hope. And so they don't have practice at how to hire superintendents, so we provide that service and think that's a very valuable process and also a really important process, not just for the students, but staff and the community that they may be leading. And so that's kind of a short pedigree of kind of where I started and where I'm currently at. Rick Sola (07:33.026) Yeah, I appreciate the breakdown of the KASB and I hate to just say this out loud, but I wasn't entirely sure. Just like you said, when they approached you and kind of not knowing the ins and outs and it's not something I'm super familiar with. And of course we're on the same board with KPA and we've talked and come across each other multiple times, but very fascinating. One thing you mentioned early on is you talked about the Yeah, you wanted to be an AD and there's some hidden roles and you didn't, you you see some things that go on from outside, like, I want to be an AD. And then you get in there and like, look at all these little things that you also have to do. I wonder how much of administration is that, you know, I kind of wonder about those, those incoming administrators or those who are pursuing degrees through the university. And then when you get into that role, it's, wow, this, this is part of it, you know. Britton Hart (08:13.506) Yep. Britton Hart (08:31.224) You know, I've seen over my years, that there's individuals that go into administration and they go into it with like a servant mindset. I kind of consider myself a servant leader. That's what we do at KSP. If you call tomorrow and you need help, we're going to try to help you in some way, right? I think a good administrator, whether you're an assistant or even the executive leader like the superintendent, those people going into it with that mindset. It's kind like if I walked in your building and there was trash laying on the floor, would you pick it up? It's just one of those mindsets where you just do whatever it takes to get the job done, and you do it at a high level, and you model those, what I like to think of as high quality leadership skills, and you model those things, and other people, in most cases, will follow. What I see is a gap though, and my colleagues at USA and I talk about this frequently, that sometimes people go into those roles and they don't have the right mindset. It's not that their mindset's bad, it's just not one that's maybe conducive to thriving in that role. And when they sit in that chair, they get in that seat, kind of my earlier description, I didn't know I had to do all those things. And I didn't sign up for that. And so that can be a little bit problematic. And so same way as I take those experiences and as we start to help with superintendents get placed or we help train superintendents or grow them, giving them those kind of information, giving them an opportunity to talk about those things ahead of time so that they can make sure that when they do fit into that role, just like your role that you're in, you want it to be a good fit for you and your family and you want it to be a good fit for the school and the staff there as well. And sometimes I see that a little bit as problematic. The younger the administrator gets, at times you don't have that foundational knowledge going from teacher to principal or principal to soup. And at times that can be devastating not having some of that experience. And so you can overcome it, but also it's helpful to have quality experience in the classroom, quality experience in the principalship before you maybe take that next step to ensure your success. Rick Sola (10:45.174) Yeah, I was a seventh or eighth year educator when I made that jump to administration and I've worked with some colleagues and friends that have made that jump 20, 25 years in and they just have, they have that foundation. There's a bigger foundation there. And I recognize that, especially in hindsight, I'm in my 15th year administration now, but in hindsight, you know, some of those things, they come at you fast and furious and oftentimes early on. It is kind of a first time or a not as common situation that you are dealing with or that you've had to deal with before. This will be a shameless plug here, but you mentioned the modeling of picking up trash in the hall and things like that. That was actually brought up. We had a panel episode with interviewing and we had several principals on there about just the interview process and walking around the building. And that was brought up as far as when you're walking the building and there's a little piece of trash on the floor, if that candidate picks up that trash. That's definitely in the wind column there for that. Britton Hart (11:45.794) Yeah. Britton Hart (11:49.592) the year. You know, I always look for also, you know, as we talk about this, I look for somebody that, you know, gravitates toward kids. And so when you're on an interview, do they naturally talk to students? Do they naturally, you know, kind of gravitate toward staff? Or are they really just kind of really formal? And so it's interesting how leaders, everybody is watching, right? And so how do we carry ourselves through adversity? How do we carry ourselves through times of celebration? But those are things that I think are so important with the experience that you build over time. But another shameless plug though is high thrive on networking and the people that are connected in the field. You don't have to be the smartest person in the building. You don't have to be the smartest person in the room. What you need to be, though, is a connector. You need to establish those relationships. I'm going to learn so much more from you, Rick, than you're ever going to learn from me. And with that mindset, I think you grow yourself. We're lifelong learners. It's not really an old cliche. It's the truth. And how do we surround ourselves by people that are better than us? And I've always been really fortunate to have good teams and be on good teams. But I never felt like I was the best on those teams. I felt like I was way below everybody else. And I learned from those people. And thus, I feel like that's a... Britton Hart (13:15.586) gratitude or an opportunity for success there because you try to find the best people that share the same values and you can do anything I think in this business that will impact learning and that's to me the cornerstone of our jobs. Rick Sola (13:32.118) Yeah, I think you're tapping into humility a little bit when you talk about just being a connector, but you're not the smartest person in the room. You don't have to be being able to listen. And I think humility is such a piece of leadership and being in a building. And so I love to hear all that. And I kind of think of like the authenticity or being genuine that just resonates across the board, whether it's teachers or students or parents. It only helps with situations, especially challenging situations. Britton Hart (14:07.054) Yeah, mean, I mean, I'm gonna say majority cases, nine and a half out of 10 times when somebody came in, student, staff, parent, board member, superintendent, even that were upset with me or upset at a situation that I was helping deal with, all that, most of the time, they wanna be heard and they want their opinion to be valued. Doesn't mean you agree with them, it just means that, hey, Rick, I heard what you said, I'm sorry you're dealing with that. versus automatically getting your guns up and trying to protect yourself or the situation. And those are things that, be fair, I think you learn along the way. And that servant mindset and that humility you're describing, I think those things all kind of mesh into the leader and the person you become. But it takes practice. I'm going to screw up again tomorrow, but hopefully the next day I won't make the same mess up, right? And so that's how we get better, I think, as people. And it's certainly a great lesson for students to learn, because this world is hard. And you're to have a lot of failures. I heard a great thing, and it's a former colleague of mine. Most people go after success, and they think, happiness is driven by the amount of success you have. And he said, which I thought was really spot on, happiness drives your success. Success doesn't drive your happiness. And so in this big bad world, there's going to be some great things. There are going to be a lot of bad things too. But if you can kind of have a mindset or kind of a mentality of, I'm going to be happy through these situations, good, bad, or indifferent, that will drive your success. And I thought that was really good. Rick Sola (15:50.594) That's great. Sorry, my phone just went off with the severe weather. It's fine. Everything's fine here. No, I love that. And I was writing that down as you were talking. you still there? OK. Britton Hart (16:02.883) yeah, I'm still here. I I coughed just a little bit. I didn't want to cough in your ear there. Rick Sola (16:07.232) No, no, you're good. There's so much going on right now. I don't know if a listener might think I'm on the top of a ship or something, but there's a lot happening behind me. But that happiness driving success, that's pretty profound, really. especially, one of the things I love to do is work with aspiring administrators and having the conversations that... kind of talking through a thought process and kind of like to your point, I always say there's a million ways to do lots of things and I'm not saying I've got it 100 % right, but this is the thought process behind that. But I think some of it, you know, are we chasing success or are we chasing happiness and then what drives what? I just, really like that. You know, as you sit now and you're several years out of the building, but as you work with principals and if you were asked, Britton Hart (17:00.942) Thanks Rick Sola (17:01.108) you know, by an aspiring administrator or maybe even a sitting principal for some advice in something, especially now that you can kind of see it, you know, maybe from a different distance, maybe a little more clarity. What advice would you give to an aspiring administrator or maybe a newer administrator? Britton Hart (17:19.832) You know, I like that question. It reminds me of too, as we're talking about interviewing people, is when you ask someone, why do you want to become a principal? Why do want to leave the classroom? I think that's always very telling to say, well, I want to help more kids or I want to impact more learning versus, hey, I want to have more free time or I want to make more money. And we know those things are not true because as you get into this role, your responsibility goes up, just like your phone's buzzing, you got wet sitting outside waiting for the parents to pick their kids up. And so that responsibility just continues to get bigger. But the thing that I think, the advice that I think is so valuable is when things are going well, you give credit to your staff and your students. And when things are going poorly, you take ownership and you take responsibilities to make those things better. And those things... As a young administrator, if you can pick up on those things early on, you're gonna be great in this business. But if it's about you and it's about you trying to find, hey, that was my idea or hey, this is my building, drives me crazy when I hear somebody talking about their building and they say, this is my building. No, it's not my building, it's our building. It's a kid's building. The only reason we're here is because we got students coming through that door. And so how do you set the culture of your building? Kind of like Todd Dane does. mean, he's a culture dude. But it starts, think, with culture. And it starts with that understanding of we're getting into this to help each individual student. And we're getting into this for the benefit of someone else and not for myself. And I think that's such a, for young administrator, you want to know what you're getting into. And I think that kind of helps kind of guide. Are you doing it for the right reasons? And is it going to be a good fit for you? Rick Sola (19:17.452) us back to that servant mindset, which carries through so many phases of a building, all phases, honestly, because really everything could become your job to some degree, everything will come across your desk. Britton Hart (19:30.039) Yeah. Rick Sola (19:35.062) So it's May and I know what it's like in the building. You know what it's like in the building, but what's May like for where you're at, at KASB? Britton Hart (19:45.506) Well, that's an interesting question. So I live with a teacher. My wife is a teacher. And so you can appreciate everybody trying to end up the year and stressful. I think my role, what I experience on a day-to-day basis is emails and phone calls with similar things just at a different level from board members and superintendents. And they're like, you know, they're stressed too. They need a little bit of a break, just like you need a break. And they need a little bit of downtime to be able to reflect because right now there's just not a lot of downtime. And the pressure that... I experience as a principal is very similar to what our board members. feel, what our superintendents feel, it is this constant demand of their time, their opinion, their everything. And anymore, it feels like the polarization of those demands are coming from different angles, just like you're experiencing sitting in your chair. And it just gets old dealing with that and it gets difficult to deal with that. And so I feel like at times, I don't mean counselor like people need counseling, but I feel like I'm a listener. I'm like, hey, tell me what are next steps that you might try. Tell me some things that you're thinking about, or how did it go when you implemented that, and trying to help coach people through those tough situations, because you can't own that for them. All you can do is equip them with and instill them with some responsibility of power and some leadership that they can do it. And that's, hope, why they call, and I hope they keep calling, because they feel like I value. Britton Hart (21:24.972) their role and it's respected. Each role is important no matter if you're a teacher or a school board member or parent. Those are all important. And so how do we work together to build a coalition that best supports students? Rick Sola (21:41.9) Yeah, I love that. You can't just pick up the phone and call everybody about certain things that come across. In fact, it's very limited on who you can really talk to, especially if you're just kind of ground down. this time of year, mean, we see it with staff and teachers and students. And there are tough things that come up that really wear you down. But I love that role of how you articulated it. You're there sometimes just to listen and Sometimes people just need that because you can't, there's just not everybody to call for certain things. So, no, that's great. Before we go, USA Kansas, we'll see you out there next week. Britton Hart (22:12.344) Yeah. Britton Hart (22:21.464) you Britton Hart (22:26.184) Yeah, yeah, so I saw they're almost at 1000 registrants, which is exciting. And so yeah, I plan on being there. I'm out of town Wednesday, but I'm presenting on Thursday and then then we got meeting with superintendents, I believe on Friday. So yeah, excited to see some former colleagues and some people that that I haven't seen for a while. It's like once a year, get the band back together. And so I was looking forward to going so. Rick Sola (22:51.542) Yeah, it's a great timing too. We're all wrapped up or wrapping up for the most part, and it's just nice to connect. I remember talking with you last year at this. It had been a while since I had been, but having gone last year. And I'm also presenting on Thursday. So just looking forward to learning from others and sharing a little bit myself. And it'll be great to connect with you. Hey, real quick before we take off here. Bragging on your people. We always finish with a big brag on the people you work with and K-A-S-B and brag on your people. Britton Hart (23:29.998) We have 11 people that make up our leadership department. We go all the way west to Garden City and Goodland and all the way east to Shawnee Mission and Olathe. so. We got retired superintendents, we got a couple recovering principals, we got a few people that been in the HR world. We even got a board member that make up our team and then our coordinator. But just got dynamite experience and I value when we get into a space together. It makes you smile because you're proud to be a part of that group. And like I said earlier, it's about surrounding yourself by people that are better than you. And if you have that ability and that comfort in your own leadership style. Boy, to me, if you have a dynamic team, you can accomplish anything. And to me, that's a huge role of the role that you and I play, because you want to put the right people on the right seats, just like Jim Collins would say. And so I feel lucky to work alongside them each day. And I hope they would say the same about me if roles were reversed. So yeah, I feel fortunate to be there and certainly feel fortunate to serve school districts in the role I do. I think it's a, I always call it the ripple effect. Rick Sola (24:39.106) Yeah. Britton Hart (24:47.6) out there but it's an awful big pond and that's something that's motivating to me to get up every day and do a good job for Kansas kids because there's a lot of them that need our help. Rick Sola (25:01.25) Well, that's a great analogy. And again, thank you for the time. I know there was a delay on getting this started today and it's busy, but really look forward to connecting with you and so many others at USA Kansas. yeah, we'll see you here very soon. Britton Hart (25:17.39) Well, hey, I appreciate the opportunity, Rick, and appreciate your leadership, what you're doing. I will tell you, I have to go back and look. I can remember Gene Haddock and I, we added the communications position on that board when I was. a new young principal and it was all about just starting a Twitter account. And so you've taken it so much farther than we started for sure. And I think it's important to tell our message and it's certainly important to make it louder than everything else out there. Because what you're doing and what the leaders across Kansas are doing, just like our teachers, is so important. And unfortunately right now we're not getting the support from some of our other colleagues across the state, you know, and we got to stick together during times like this for sure. Thank Rick Sola (26:05.184) Well, I appreciate that. And truly, I mentioned Trevor earlier, you brought him up. He and I talked a lot and he broke the ice on this and really that's what this is all about. It's just celebrating the awesome things that are going on across the whole state. And there are so many and that's part of what next week will be about. I hope to get a list of others so they can share everything that's going on. There's a lot to celebrate and it should be celebrated. but thank you so much. Britton Hart (26:31.774) Absolutely. Rick Sola (26:34.658) Dr. Hart, have good rest of the week and we'll see you next week. Britton Hart (26:39.094) Hey, thank you much. travels. We look forward to seeing you. Yep, take care.  

In this episode of Cool Coffee with Kansas Principals, Dr. Steve Archer, principal of Delaware Ridge Elementary School, shares his extensive experience in education and his insights on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). He discusses the transition from middle school to elementary education, the importance of building relationships with students, and the challenges of implementing PBIS. Dr. Archer emphasizes the need for a supportive school culture and the role of positive reinforcement in shaping student behavior. He also offers advice for educators looking to implement PBIS in their schools and highlights the welcoming community at Delaware Ridge. Dr. Steve Archer Delaware Ridge Elementary School Bonner Springs-Edwardsville USD 204 Connect with Dr. Archer: [email protected] Chapters (AI generated--times do not account for intro) 00:00 Introduction to PBIS and Dr. Steve Archer 06:30 Transitioning from Middle School to Elementary Education 12:30 Understanding PBIS: History and Implementation 18:28 Challenges and Misconceptions of PBIS 24:41 Building Relationships Through PBIS 30:22 Advice for Implementing PBIS in Schools 34:21 The Community and Culture at Delaware Ridge Elementary --------------------------------------- We want to hear from you--take 2 minutes (or less) and click HERE to contribute! YOUR FEEDBACK ON COOL COFFEE IS APPRECIATED!  Leave show suggestions, guest recommendations, questions HERE! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals; @KPACoolCoffee Facebook: KSPrincipals Contact the host: @MrRickSola, [email protected], or [email protected] The mission of the Kansas Principals Association, an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE. ----------------------------------------------- FULL TRANSCRIPT (AI generated) Rick Sola (00:01.686) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas principals. I'm here today with Dr. Steve Archer, principal of Delaware Ridge Elementary School in Bonner Springs, Edwardsville, USD 204. Welcome, Steve. Steve Archer (00:15.278) Thank you, Rick. It's great to be here. Rick Sola (00:17.824) Yeah, I am excited to have you on here in part because you're going to be presenting at USA Kansas here in just about a month. And you're going to be talking about a topic that I have really found myself enjoying and getting into, and that is PBIS. And we'll get into that in just a bit. But once again, at the end of a long day, I just want to say thank you for coming on. And it's a Tuesday here. It's April 29th. no shortage of things occurring in our schools and on our calendars. So to add this, I really appreciate it. Steve Archer (00:55.086) Well, you know all about that full calendar, so I appreciate your time as well. Rick Sola (01:01.28) Yeah, well, it is also a fun time of year and we'll just start off here, first question, probably what everyone wants to know is are the Chiefs going to be moving out to your neck of the woods in Bonner or KCK or? Steve Archer (01:15.458) You know what, my primary concern is keeping them in the Kansas City area. And as long as we can do that, I'm gonna be a happy Chiefs fan. Rick Sola (01:20.724) Okay. Rick Sola (01:25.068) Yeah, it's funny because I was looking up, I wanted to see exactly where Delaware Ridge was. I was like, oh my gosh, you're really close to the speedway. And I know there's been rumblings of the chiefs. at least as of this recording, we don't really have any information. well, Steve, we'll start with where I like to start is just kind of a it's more or less a, I guess, introduction of yourself, but really your road to the chair of to Delaware Ridge Elementary School. Steve Archer (01:53.55) Sure. Well, Rick, my road has been a very long one. This is actually my 36th year in education. I started in middle school, and if you told me all those years ago that I'd be an elementary principal, I wouldn't have believed it because I started as a middle school teacher. did that for seven years, then between a couple of districts was a middle school assistant principal for a while, and then had a great opportunity to become an elementary principal. So I had worked up to that point in the Kansas City, Missouri school district, Raytown school district, and then went to Park Hill for the last 16 years in Missouri, then was able to retire from the Missouri system, but I love working in school and so I couldn't imagine actually retiring. So I was very, very fortunate to see the opening here in Bonner and when I came here I could just tell it was a very special place and a place that I would want to take my next step. So I was delighted when they called me and offered me the position. So that's how I ended up here at DRE. Rick Sola (03:05.451) That's great. I'm sorry, you've been you've been DRE, okay, that'll be helpful for me here, but you've been there how many years? Your first year in Kansas, okay. Steve Archer (03:13.698) This is my first year in Kansas, I just retired from Missouri at the end of the last school year and immediately started here. Rick Sola (03:23.818) wow, well welcome to the Kansas side of things and you know maybe the Chiefs will after all follow you over to Kansas so how about that? Steve Archer (03:26.83) Thank Steve Archer (03:31.086) Well, you know, I am a native Kansan. I actually grew up on the Kansas side of things. you know, one thing I've learned over time is we're a really great community regardless of which side of the state line it is. And so I feel very fortunate to have been able to grow up in Kansas City and then have a really great education career here too. Rick Sola (03:53.452) Well, it's really interesting being on the Kansas side. hear so often, and I have a lot of, have a really close principal friend who's retiring this year, and you just never know. Often we see the other direction. Our principals here, our educators here, we're going over to Missouri. And so to hear it conversely, that would actually make it kind of an interesting topic for this show. All the same, but no, well, very good. So. Steve Archer (04:05.346) Thank you. Rick Sola (04:19.818) You know, I'm 21 years into education. I've been in middle school all but one of those years. I had one year where I was teaching freshmen at the high school. We had a transition here where I'm at. What's the biggest adjustment from middle school to elementary that you would say? Steve Archer (04:38.254) Well, you know, with middle school there's typically just the three year span. And so you get like those 11, 12, 13 year old kiddos in elementary. And of course my school also has a pre-k classroom now. And so we have everything from four to 11 year olds here. so... What I love about elementary is we just get to see kids grow up over time and get to see them develop skills and develop their personalities. so that is a really big difference. But I guess a similarity between the two is. Kids just need adults who care about them, you know? And whether they're little or whether they're middle school, and even though I haven't taught in high school, I know they do too. And so it's just that common thread that goes all the way through. But definitely differences between middle school and elementary would be a lot around supervision, I would say, you know, making sure that... As I recall in middle school, would have passing periods and kids would come and go as they needed to. And here at the elementary level, it's much more controlled by the teacher and making sure that we keep track of the classes all throughout the building as well. Rick Sola (06:00.928) Yeah, well, absolutely. kind of it's really a pretty natural segue. You just mentioned the importance of, you know, kids at all levels. Those relationships are so important. And certainly there's differences in logistics in a day and what that looks like at the three different levels of school. Some may argue that middle school, the three years of middle school feels like five years of growth, but certainly a lot of lot of growth and lot of Steve Archer (06:25.368) Thanks Rick Sola (06:30.988) But it's a good segue to PBIS and again, really intrigued and why I wanted to have you on. So you're gonna be presenting on this at USA Kansas here in about a month and those who may listen to this podcast are likely to attend. And so what I was really intrigued of, I was reading the description of your presentation is the reference to 15 years in PBIS. Steve Archer (06:59.916) Yes. Rick Sola (07:00.894) And so as a school, we were mentioning before we kind of went live here, but as a school that I'm at, we're in our third year of implementation, that conversation of longevity and keeping it going and, you know, it's constant involvement. Seeing 15 years is really, really intriguing, but I think a good place to start really would be kind of your history with PBIS. I know you're a big fan of it, a proponent of it. And so, you know, just, guess, starting off with with your history, how did that start with PBIS and what was that hook that kind of led you now 15 years in? Steve Archer (07:38.808) You know, at the time I was in Missouri and my school had really good kids and we just expected them to come in and do what we expected them to do. And they did for the most part. Some kiddos struggled a bit with the expectations, but a lot of them just came in and did the right thing. And when I became aware of PBIS, one of the things that really struck me is we're not recognizing the awesomeness that these kids bring into our building every day. And you know, everybody likes a good out of boy, out of girl every once in a while, even if we're doing the right thing. And so just that acknowledgement and again, going back to the relationship piece, you, those positives draw staff and students together and build those relationships when I notice a student being respectful or responsible or safe. That's a really great way for me to let them know you make our school a better place to be. And so that was very appealing to me that we got a chance to thank these students who were doing the right thing and sometimes seemed a bit unseen. It also struck me that as we were doing that, we would be able to catch some of the kiddos who maybe didn't always make the best choices, but if we caught them at the right moment, we could positively reinforce those things that we were going after so that we would get more of that with in a positive way rather than really focusing on the negatives. Rick Sola (09:26.666) So pushback, challenges out of the chute, especially starting up a program. It's one thing to have it and tweak it and adjust it, but starting it up, what were some of those initial challenges maybe amongst staff and whether a community or kids and that sort of thing? Steve Archer (09:47.086) Yeah, I think that is a reality. I had parents who said, why are you rewarding kids? They should be doing these things. And that surprised me because it was their children I was rewarding. So that was a little bit of a surprise and that wasn't a big voice, but it was definitely a conversation that we had to have. My take on that is I get positively reinforced a couple of times a month. in the form of a paycheck that goes into my account. I love what I'm doing. I love doing the right thing. But it's great to get positively reinforced with that paycheck. Our kiddos obviously are not getting monetarily paid, but we all like having those things that we know we've earned. From a staff standpoint, I think we sometimes have a lot of work to do to reframe some of our thinking around behavior because a lot of us grew up with the good kid, bad kid binary kind of thinking and with PBIS and with several of the models, it's more of looking at teaching that behavior and that it's our responsibility to teach behavior just like it's our responsibility to teach any of the content that students come in contact with over the course of a day. And so I know for me, Certainly I've changed my philosophy of behavior over the years. so I think with any of the staff members, we just have to be patient but also persistent in helping shift that narrative to it's our responsibility to teach behavior just like we teach content. Rick Sola (11:36.16) Yeah, there's a really good quote and I'm going to totally butcher it so I won't even try to, but the essence is, you know, if someone's misbehaving, we teach this or it, I think you know where I'm going. I am not articulating it well, but the main point is when a student acts out, we, and then fill in the blank with it's a consequence of some sort, which, you know, to that point, I'm curious of your experience with it is, you know, one of the misnomers that Steve Archer (11:45.73) Yes. I know exactly. Yes. Rick Sola (12:05.74) I remember when we went through the development and we continue as our district works with this, there are consequences still part of PBIS. And I think there's this, maybe if we're not totally informed on PBS, we think, well, it's a token reward system for things that we should be doing anyway and kids can never get in trouble. But that's not accurate. Steve Archer (12:30.286) It's really not. I work in a real life elementary school. I dealt with discipline today and there were consequences. However, consequences don't always mean a negative thing. It just simply means the outcome of the behavior. And so I think that's one thing is to stop just assuming the consequences are negative. But then also, you know, in the vein of conscious discipline, there's a lot of focus on natural consequences and logical consequences. The more we can look at the consequences that we have in place. and determine are they natural or are they logical and are we keeping them close to the behavior? You know, I think the closer we can get to the behavior and shaping the behavior... We simply have to decide, are we wanting to our vengeance for a perceived wrong that a child has done, or are we wanting to teach them for the future? Are we wanting a short term, aha, I got them, or are we wanting a long term, I taught that child, and I helped them see a more productive way to do things. And I think the more we can look at the child's future and helping them develop those more appropriate skills and that sort of thing, the less we worry about getting kids. That having been said, we do still have to have an orderly environment. There's a principle of BIST that says the classroom has to be as good or better when you're here, or you can't be here. And so sometimes I say that to kids, you know, your classroom needs to be as good or better when you're present. Did you make it as good or better? If not, what do we need to do to fix that? Steve Archer (14:21.364) And so I do think that idea of there are no consequences with any discipline model can be a real misrepresentation. But at the same time, we need to do our own soul searching as the adults and decide, are we trying to get long term gain that benefits the child or are we just trying to get vengeance for some perceived wrong because they inconvenienced us today. Rick Sola (14:49.502) It's a really good, first of all, that's a really good quote. I wrote it down. If you're good or it's a good or better when you're present or, you know, you know, there's certainly a mind shift and, you know, we're a few years in and, and I think we have a lot of things really positive in place and that we're kind of adjusting and evolving and reassessing. But it's interesting too, there's a mind shift for students. And I have had situations where I've had students in my office or I've been out at a Steve Archer (14:56.13) video. Rick Sola (15:18.102) football game and I've had to address a behavior and I've had the conversation, I've had the necessary consequences if you will, and they've responded the way I would hope and ask and eye contact, nodding, understand. And I'd give them a, we have tokens, I would give them a token and it's like, wait, I'm supposed to be in a fist bump to conclude it. And I said, look, you're not getting a token because you just, you know, did. Action A over there, that's not what this is about. But when I called you over, you came over. We were able to have a conversation. We talked about our program, our values here in the building, which I'm gonna ask you about if you have one of the acronyms that often go along with PBIS. Because it's really all about, we have expected behaviors. And when a student provides expected behaviors, especially in a situation where they've maybe made a bad choice, It's a mind shift perhaps, but it's not inappropriate to say, I appreciate that. Because the alternative is they could have run the other direction or they could have cussed me out or they could have done this or that. We were able to have a good conversation, address the situation, and hopefully it doesn't happen again. Steve Archer (16:36.53) If you do need to address something again, how much more likely are they to partner with you the next time? Or how much more when they're tempted to do something, are they to think, you know what, maybe I don't do that? And so again, you're teaching for the long term rather than trying to catch them doing wrong. And that's really what PBIS is all about. Rick Sola (16:59.062) Yeah, and really what you just mentioned there is I think why I like it so much is it encourages and promotes that interaction that can be very positive, even surrounding a hard or challenging situation or a poor choice. And it does, it builds those relationships, which goes back to the very start of this conversation. But it does not ignore or dismiss behavior, if anything. It's an active program to correct it. So I was going to ask you, I referenced we use tokens here. What is your form of currency at Delaware Ridge? Steve Archer (17:36.898) Yeah, we use the PBIS rewards app and so we have no physical tokens. All of ours is electronic. I will say it is a much more efficient system than when. We started 15 years ago in my previous school and we had slips of paper and there were people who hand counted them to see you know how many have been handed out. I can open that app and very quickly tell you how many have been rewarded this month, how many for each category, each grade level, lots of very specific reports that I can get so that then we can move forward based on the data. that we have. So it does make it a lot more efficient for us. Rick Sola (18:28.332) Do students always know when they receive, I'm going say token, when they receive that recognition or does it just kind of appear in their bank or how do they know? Steve Archer (18:39.97) No, they should know because really the token or the item, that is only part of it. I know when I catch a class in the hall, and this happens a lot and I'm very proud of it, but when I catch them in the hall and I stop them, you know, a lot of times I'll say... I saw you before I heard you because you were so quiet and appropriate in the hallway and to me that says you were being respectful. you were being responsible for your own behavior and you were helping keep our school safe. So you know what? I'm going to recognize you with not one, not two, but three points because you did all those things. so then they do know and a lot of times there's a place to put a comment. And if I'm recognizing the whole class, I'll enter that comment that says your class did a great job in the hall. And so then they know they're going to get those added. I will also say in the classroom, one of the things that has been a benefit to teachers is they can recognize students with or without saying anything, but there you can turn the tone on or off with PBIS rewards. And you know I kid and say it's positively Pavlovian because as soon as they hear that tone You can just see the shift in the body language and in the focus on the work and things like that because they know the teacher is noticing and they're looking for students to be that respectful, responsible, and safe student. Rick Sola (20:22.848) Great. So your students, they have a device and the app is loaded on their device as well? Or is it a... Okay. Steve Archer (20:27.946) No, the students don't, the teacher does. And so they can just use the app and they'll hear the teacher's phone ding. Or sometimes the teacher will walk through the room and say, Steve, I see you working really hard. I'm going to give you a point for being responsible or that kind of thing. Rick Sola (20:49.6) We went round and round. That's why I'm curious because we talked a lot about tokens or electronic, and we ultimately leaned on tokens, and it has some challenges with that. The data collection isn't quite there as far as what you're describing. We landed on tokens for that kind of personal interaction, but it presents some challenges with every year we got to get the tokens back. There's always loss, and we got to repurchase, and there's a cost to the tokens themselves. Steve Archer (21:07.309) Yes. Rick Sola (21:19.692) You mentioned respect and responsible. What are your letters or posters look like? Steve Archer (21:25.976) Yeah, so we had a building pledge before we started PBIS here in this building. This is the first year of our PBIS implementation here at Delaware Ridge. So we simply changed some of the wording. We didn't, you know, throw out the baby with the bath water and it says, I am somebody. The me I see is the me I will be. I can be respectful, responsible, and safe. I can succeed. So that's the pledge that our students say every morning after they say the Pledge of Allegiance. Rick Sola (22:00.716) Very good. And how about tier two? Have you had much work with that as you're building currently implementing tier two using the tier two model? Steve Archer (22:10.574) we are, we do have some students who are part of our check-in and check-out. It's, you know, we're working toward developing those tier two and tier three interventions. This year my main goal has been making sure that we have a solid tier one implementation, we have begun, you know, there are just some students who need that additional support of like a check-in, check-out and things like that. And so we do have that in place as well. Rick Sola (22:42.956) We have found a lot of success with moving to tier two. We did a similar approach that first year. It was really all about tier one, trying to reach fidelity. Our kids, they know our values, ROCs is what we call it. then we, by getting into tier two, I feel like that's where, I think that's where a lot of value in PBIS is. That's where, you know, cause not every student is, know, tier one's not gonna just be there forever. It's there for everyone, but it's not going to always fix a need or provide support. And that tier two has, you mentioned the check-in, check-out. We've had a lot of success stories with that. Most of the time, once the kids are in there and they get out, they don't go back in. Sometimes we have had a student or two that we reintroduced, check-in, check-out, but it's always successful while they're there. We're at the point of Steve Archer (23:17.422) That's right. Rick Sola (23:41.824) we're kind of broadening even from that part of the PBIS process, but very exciting. And when you have those success stories with students with challenging behavior, it's fulfilling, especially middle school. Steve Archer (23:56.59) Absolutely. Yes, I remember those days. But you know, if we can build skills at the elementary that kids can carry with them into middle school, what kind of, I mean, that's a huge gift, not only to them, but to that middle school. To not just... limp through and send them on, but to really help them develop skills that will help them grow as students and as people so that they can just use those in a variety of aspects of their lives. And again, it goes back to relationship, particularly with a check-in, check-out, or a check-in, connect. It's the relationship that really makes the difference there. Rick Sola (24:41.558) So after this episode, and perhaps you'll have several principals in your session at USA Kansas, and someone's really intrigued, and they're like, I really want to take this to my building. What would be a piece of advice you would give to the upstart of the program at a building that hasn't had it before? Steve Archer (25:03.374) It's definitely a team sport, if you will. This is not a principal thing. It is a building approach. Also, it is a framework. I came from a building that had implemented PBIS for 15 years. There are things that fit at Delaware Ridge. There are things that do not fit yet at Delaware Ridge. And to come into this building and and expect all of those things to transfer would have been a mistake. So I definitely think you need to get, I think first of all, would do my research and find out about the premise behind PBIS. This is not a passing fancy. It's been around for a long time and it is an approach that has the research and the evidence behind it. But then you also have to let your staff in on that. and make sure that they understand that this isn't going to be the flavor of the year. This is going to be an approach that we take that we're going to build from the ground up in a way that makes sense for our building so that we can develop those positive relationships with kids. And what we're looking to do is teach behavior for every area of our building, classroom, assemblies, restrooms. lunch, all of those things and really get all of that lined out with staff before the kids ever walk in the door. Rick Sola (26:43.232) You know, one thing that I was really excited about when I started here, when we started PBIS, we have some neighboring shops and restaurants and things. you know, unfortunately not always were we the best representatives of, you know, after school and hanging out. And we tried to extend, we did extend our program across the street a little bit. And we had a couple businesses that were willing to give out tokens and hang some posters and just show, of support it. try to, kind of to your point, from the elementary to the middle, I try to advertise this isn't just a Chisholm Trail thing or a school thing. We're talking about respect and ownership and that's a life thing. And so these are skills that you work on now, you hopefully sharpen. And sometimes we see that two steps back in the process. That's where they're at in their lives, there's a lot of just kind of fulfillment with this program that has really been energizing even now that we're three years in, four years after the build of it. Steve Archer (28:00.322) you're seeing good outcomes from that. I love that idea of a business partnership. I've not worked in a school that had a business close enough to do that sort of thing and so I excited about hearing to hear that because what a great way to expand that out. know we've worked to add some things for our bus riders because it's very hard for a know one driver on a bus of all the students to take care of all their responsibilities to drive kids safely and to focus on that positive reinforcement. But we've come up with with a little bit of a different approach. It's still in the spirit of PBIS though, and so that's a piece that I'll be sharing at the conference, just to talk about our initial successes with that. Rick Sola (28:58.486) Well, and kind of to that point, that's what I really like about the program too, is it's customizable. Like you mentioned, what worked at your previous school either doesn't right now or it's not a good fit for whatever reason. And PBIS is a framework, like you mentioned earlier as well, but you can make it your own to fit your population and your community, is what I love about it. You referenced your presentation and... teaser what what can people expect if they're going to be sitting in your USA Kansas conference here in a month. Steve Archer (29:36.558) I think one of the things that I hope people will take away are several things, definitely it's a framework. And I am not a purist when it comes to behavior models because what they'll probably hear, what I know they'll hear is PBIS. but they will also hear echoes of conscious discipline and they'll also hear pieces of this that we've brought into our work here at Delaware Ridge. And for me, it's about finding those positives that work within your school, but still being true to the spirit behind PBIS. I think always keeping that teaching focus and finding out how you do that. And I'll just share how we did it or how we do it here and what we found works here. I mentioned partnering with our bus drivers who, you know, that's a very challenging job sometimes, particularly at the end of the day when the kids are kind of done and they're ready to be home. That can be a big challenge. And then another piece that I'll be sharing is how we share some positives with parents as well. So we use some different approaches for that too, so that parents see that, you know, we care about your kid. We are glad they're here and we want you to know that they're a positive part of our learning community and that we don't take that for granted. Rick Sola (31:14.048) Yeah, it'll be a great session and if anyone's listening to this prior to, definitely stop in. And I knew a little bit about PBIS where I'm at. We had a rollout probably 10 years prior as a district. I would say we've made a lot of adjustments and improvement and we've recast it and it's kind of the full, jumping in with both feet and it's been really, really positive. So looking forward to that. Steve, you're a year one principal in Kansas. And KPA, it's a KPA podcast. What has KPA meant to you in the seven months, eight months that you've been with us? Steve Archer (31:53.314) Well, I will say I've enjoyed the episodes of this particular podcast that I've been able to listen to and learn and just to get excited about some of the work that's happening in Kansas that I didn't know about before, you know, and so I'm really looking forward to going to the conference, going to sessions and continuing to learn because, you know, we work in education. We should continue to learn regardless of how long we've, we've, been in education so I'm really looking forward to learning at the conference coming up. Rick Sola (32:25.804) Have you been to the USA Conference, attended it before? Steve Archer (32:27.662) I have not. I've always gone on the Missouri side to our MAESP conference. Rick Sola (32:33.996) It's a great conference. I would also put a plug in, there's actually a KPA conference in November. So keep an eye out for that. It's a little smaller than USA Kansas, but it's in the same location, or it's in Wichita, but really, really strong conference and just great opportunities to network and learn from each other. Just fantastic. well, Steve, I'm gonna have us end on, you mentioned Delaware Ridge or DRE. Bragg on your people here that you've gotten to know over the last several months. Steve Archer (33:02.476) Yes. Steve Archer (33:07.724) You know, I believe that some, most of the time you can really get the heart of the building by walking into the office. And when I walked into the school, it was very welcoming and I could go into details on that. But the bottom line is there was a tone in the office that welcomed me. And that has proven to be true across our building. I say of the people who work here, they don't work here because they don't have other choices. They work here because they want to be here and they love our kids and they love each other. it really is a wonderful learning community. And there are times that I will overhear people just laughing together or problem solving together or that kind of thing. And I just smile to myself and I'm just like, really? This is where I ended up. And so it's a very, very special school and a very special district. I am surprised I didn't know more about this district before I came here, but I'm very grateful to be at Delaware Ridge now. Rick Sola (34:21.472) Great, really nice words and just very neat to be able to come over and like you said, retire from one state on over here to another and to join a community that's so welcoming. And you're right, you can certainly feel a lot when you just walk into an office of a school. what an important message. Awesome for them to hear that. I hope they hear this, to hear you say that. But important for everyone to hear that because the office... Oftentimes they're the ones that are interacting with the community, not us. Most of our parents are dropping lunches off or making phone calls. So, excellent. Steve Archer (34:54.286) absolutely. Steve Archer (34:59.64) That's right. Yes, and my front office, they're just some of the best of the best about that. Welcoming our families. Teachers come and they need something. They're more than willing to help with that. Somebody needs to step away from the office. Somebody else comes in and helps. That front office is such a hub of our building. There are a lot of fun times that we have there, but then we also know how to take care of business. again, DRE is a special place. I feel very fortunate to be here. Rick Sola (35:32.822) Great, well, thank you for your time. At the end of a busy day, a long day, and I look forward to, I'll meet you in person, hopefully, out here in Wichita in a few weeks. It's getting that close, so. Steve Archer (35:45.004) It is getting close. Alright, thanks so much, Rick. Rick Sola (35:47.98) Alright, thank you Steve.