Home: The Modern Principal

Welcome to The Modern Principal, a collection of thoughts to redefine the role of leadership in our schools.

In the education system today, principals are the least professionally developed out of all certified educators. Yet, their influence and impact on students is second only to teachers. Principals leave the profession at the same rate as teachers, yet this problem isn’t as widely discussed. And when the principal leaves, everyone in the school suffers, regardless of the replacement.

So, our platform is geared to three different school leaders: the potential principal, the practicing principal and the post principal.

We want to inspire the next generation of potential principals and empower them to become change agents for education.

We want to support practicing school principals, making the job more sustainable by providing resources and offering community.

Finally, we recognize the principalship is not sustainable for a lifelong career in its current state, and we want to highlight potential next steps for those passionate in leadership while still advocating for public education.

This is The Modern Principal.

The Modern Principal is a mindset. It’s not a position. We provide support, resources, and community for those in all stages of career to transform education–through the student and teacher experience.

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We know the current state of education is leading to turnover in principals. But what's a former principal to do for work? We talk about a few of our ideas – as well as our own experiences – in this week's pod!
#themodernprincipal #formerprincipal #principalsofinstagram #principalpd #assistantprincipal

We know itโ€™s crossed your mind. Leaving your job. Maybe itโ€™s for a different principalship in a new district. Maybe youโ€™re thinking about leaving the profession altogether. Maybe youโ€™d like a move to central office. This week on the pod, we chat about our own thoughts and experiences and how you might know itโ€™s time for you, too!

Let us know your thoughts! ๐Ÿ‘‡
#themodernprincipal #principal #principallife #burnout #assistantprincipal

This is one of our most-asked questions! HoW dO i KnOw I'm ReAdY tO bE a PrInCiPaL? Well, we contend if you're asking the question, you're probably ready, but there are few more tell-tale signs we have experienced and share them all in this week's pod! Check it out and tell us how YOU knew you were ready! ๐Ÿ‘‡ ๐Ÿ‘‡
#themodernprincipal #principalpodcast #teacherpodcast #teacherpd #futureprincipal #elementaryteacher #principalsofinstagram #assistantprincipal

One of my habits is to spend 15 minutes of time outside in the morning sun each day. Iโ€™ve read it can help with sleep and alertness and a whole host of other benefits. Today our family took a nice hike for several hours and even spent some time in the middle of it laying on a blanket we brought while watching the kids play. Pure bliss.
#themodernprincipal #principalsofinstagram #futureprincipal #assistantprincipal #leadlap #schoolleaders

When you try to create a new habit, do you think about the "cue" that prompts it? Charles Duhigg, in his book The Power of Habit, talks about the idea that it's kind of hard to change a behavior out of nowhere. There are usually "cues" that trigger our behaviors, so we need to think about the behavior that we want to change and the thing that happens right before. For example, Karen talked about on the pod this week that she wants to stop snacking and watching TikTok in the hours before she goes to bed; her cue is leaving her daughter's room to tuck her in. Rather than going downstairs after putting her to bed, she'll stay upstairs, away from the snacks, and put her phone on a charger away from her bed. Think about the cues that occur before the habits YOU want to change!
#themodernprincipal #principalpd #principalsofinstagram #habits #newyearnewyou #principalstyle

Do you ever feel like you spend all of your workweek evenings just recovering from the workday? Yeah, us too. We are trying to spend our weeknight evenings feeling like HUMANS now. Christy's family is roller skating about once a week, and Karen's family is committed to trying out new parks or going out to dinner. It helps to try to plan your week ahead so everyone is on the same page and knows what to expect. While you may feel exhausted when you get home and want to veg on the couch with your kids on their iPads (been there, done that) – remember that "future you" will be so happy you indulged on a Tuesday night! What do YOU like to do on weeknights to feel like you're a human being?! ๐Ÿ‘‡
#themodernprincipal #schooladministrator #assistantprincipal #elementary #leadlikeher #fairplaylife