Unapologetic Leadership

This episode dives into understanding turnaround schools and the development that happens in those settings when you have great leadership and a great staff! From the peaks of celebrating as many students a possible to the valleys of building from nothing, Dr. Stewart takes us through his journey and leadership as an educational leader!

Connection is essential for expanding opportunities, accessing resources, exchanging knowledge, building collaborations, and fostering professional growth in an interconnected world. In this episode, I chop it up with Principal Marvin Smith. He talks about the importance of the connection and culture in his school! It’s all about CONNECTION!

The Proud Principal of Winters Mill High School in Maryland drops some great ways to build the positive school culture with students at the center of it all! Principal Brown is true to the core of why he became a school leader and it is evident in the work! Check this episode out!

A message from yours truly about being intentional in reflecting on the work we do as educators. Check out the episode.

Fellow Teach Better Team podcaster and school leader, Dr. Phillips talks about his journey as a new school administrator. Check out his story!

July 4, 2022 was supposed to be a day of celebration until tragedy rocked a community. Hear from Dr. Mike Lubelfeld, Superintendent of Schools for North Shore District 112 in Highland Park, IL., as he share his vantage point of bringing a community together when the unthinkable strikes.

Dr. Sanfelippo shares his perspective on school leadership, how to intentionally manufacture small wins, and gives insight to the “Recognize, Acknowledge, Extend” model. It’s a loaded episode you can’t miss hearing!

Education is very important in the Belin house! Check out this episode with a very special guest to find out why!

Dr. Young and I dialogue about the beginning of the year and give the listeners some things to think about that will set the box you are comfortable being in, on fire! There is tons of energy in this episode of Unapologetic Leadership!

Dr. Woods is an assistant principal in Delaware. Her leadership and preparation for the work that she does for kids definitely sets her above the rest! Dr. Woods shares some great ideas about community partnerships, serving kids, and dialogue with all stakeholders. She definitely drops some knowledge on the show!!!

Principal Harris is a school leader in Illinois that is all about kids! Check out her story!

If you don’t tell your story, someone else will! Spending a week at the nation’s capital, having the opportunity to advocate and tell the story of what is happening in schools to the First Lady of the US and the Secretary of Education, was quite an experience. Check out a short episode about the journey.

Principal of Johnsburg Elementary and the true definition of an avid reader, Dr. Belcastro drops some awesome insight on the culture of her school and the importance of a book in a kids hands. Bridget opens the world beyond her school through reading. Check out her story!

Knowing that education and the role of school leadership have drastically changed over the past couple of years, what would you say if you could look back and give yourself one piece of advice? Hear the advice from a group of school leaders! This episode features Dr. Abir Othman, Dr. Quentin Lee, Dr. Dan Krause, JaVonda Tucker, Brian Faulkner, Dr. Efrain Martinez, Sonia Ruiz, Dr. Amy Dixon, Dr. Victor Nixon, Bob Ketcham, Scott Wakeley, and Omar Alebiosu.

Dr. Scott Savage has served in various roles in education. His perspective and lived experiences has helped him master the skill of building relationships and challenging others to invest in kids no matter what position you serve in education. He currently is an assistant principal and shares his story on Unapologetic Leadership!

A special message to educators.

Matt Woods shares his insights on the importance of relationships. He also shares his work and the impact of a book series “I wanna be…”

The path to education is not always the path most traveled. Dr. Efrain Martinez shares his journey and life experiences of how he became a champion for kids!!!

Educators have wondered how we have made it through the first semester of the 21-22 school year. The question is… what lies ahead of us? Check out this must listen to podcast featuring my great friend Dwight Carter as he talks about the disruption that the pandemic has caused to the education system. Not only that, he will give some very critical insight on leading through change. Learn how to COPE, ADAPT, and TRANSFORM!

Opening a new series to talk with school leaders about the life of lead wing schools over the past 2 months. Leaders will provide practical ideas and takeaways that leaders can implement in their buildings NOW! We all have to get through this together! We can learn from each other so check out this series!

Let’s talk about passion and purpose!! 2020 IL Principal of the Year, Dr. Tron Young is an awesome school leader that thinks completely outside the box! At Joseph Authur Middle School in O’Fallon, IL, this energetic school leader brings it EVERYDAY!!! Dr. Young inspires to instill perseverance, good choices, goal setting, and youth leadership development in his students. Check out his story!!!

Belvidere Central Middle School Principal, Brett McPherson gives us insight into his school culture! Brett has some key nuggets and take aways that will help any administrator no matter how long you have served in the school leader role!

Dr. Treadwell is the Principal of Aldridge Elementary school and the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood of Chicago! Listen to how she transforms her school community that faces challenges everyday! Teachers travel from near and far because of the awesome culture of love, respect, and accountability found in this building!

Author, podcast host, speaker and Principal of McHenry High School, Dr. Prickett shares his journey through education and how he is changing the game in education. Tons of knowledge and practical ideas in school leadership!

Principal of Banner Elementary in Dunlap, Illinois, Greg Fairchild gives some awesome advice that can reach ALL levels K-12! When kids are at the center of what we do…ANYTHING is possible! Listen to Greg share it from his view!!

Nashwa takes us on a journey in her leadership as a school leader. Her story starts in Egypt and finds roots in Beach Park at Howe Elementary. From seeing diversity in her hiring practices to creating academic support programs where students are seen and heard so they can achieve academic success, Nashwa share some great insight with other school leaders.

Julie Lam brings a unique perspective to the work happening in her world as a school leader. Taking on a new position at Oak Park River Forest High School, Julie tackles the conversation on diversity and academic access for young people!

Brian serves as the principal of Heineman Middle School in the Huntley School District in Illinois. His “Kids First” mentality is the defining factor of his leadership. Take a moment to check out the work Brian is doing as he leads his school!

Principal of North Asheboro Middle School in Asheboro City Schools in North Carolina, Derek has over 25 years experience as a middle school principal, assistant principal and middle school math teacher. Take a moment to listen as he drops some awesome insight on school leadership and culture!

Reflection on a year through a pandemic can give hope as school leaders prepare for next school year. Here some quick thoughts and reflection of this year.

This episode focuses on understanding the importance of learning the history of the school you lead! Hear some of my story about what it was like as a first year principal.

Social media should be a positive aspect for any school community! How are you using it? Listen to some quick thoughts to how social media is easy to engage stakeholders and tell the story of your school!

When you open the doors of the school next year, what will your school culture look like AFTER the pandemic? Hear some thoughts in this episode.

Travis serves as the AWESOME PRINCIPAL of Laurin Middle School in Vancouver, Washington!! This guy is ON FIRE for kids and talks about the culture of Laurin MS!! If the walls of your school could talk, what would they say...? Hear it from Travis!

Hear from Dr. Amy Dixon on leading through the pandemic in a small rural community in southern Illinois. Dr. Dixon serves as the President of Illinois Principals Association Board of Directors.

Principal of Willowbrook High School, Dr. Krause shares the great work that he is doing in his school as a school leader. Even though the pandemic caused a challenge in how we educate our kids, Dr. Krause continues to push through with connecting his kids to the community and to the school! Check out the work of this amazing leader!

This is the first of a series of episodes that we’ll talk about leadership during an unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a pandemic that has rocked the world to it’s, core and has challenged us to think differently about education!

Unapologetic Leadership focuses on reflecting on the work we are doing as school leaders and challenging ourselves to grow with our experiences. Being unapologetic is a mindset and not something to look negatively upon. This podcast will allow listeners to engage in hearing from educational leaders who are engrained in the work. Topics such as equity, diversity, inclusion, school culture, student voice, and leadership experiences are among some of the content you will hear. I will also share much of my journey in education because there are many success and moments of growth that lend itself to real-life experiences listeners can learn from.