Principal Center Radio

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Muriel Summers—The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Student at a Time May 08, 2026

Show notes

Get the book The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Student at a Time

About This Week's Guest

Muriel Summers is an award-winning principal who twice guided her school, A.B. Combs Elementary in Raleigh, North Carolina, to being named the top magnet school of America and the original leadership school featured in FranklinCovey’s Leader in Me.

She has been recognized as teacher of the year, principal of the year, and with an honorary doctorate, the William and Ida Friday award for Leadership in Innovation, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine given by the Governor of North Carolina (the state’s highest honor given to a North Carolinian), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Award for Leadership in Education, and the Ralph Kimmel Award, North Carolina’s highest honor for principals.

She now serves as the Global Ambassador for the Leader in Me, and is the co-author, with Stephen R. Covey, Sean Covey, and David Hatch, of The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Student at a Time.

Keith Schumacher—After the Donut: An Introduction to School-Based Father Engagement for School Leaders May 05, 2026

Show notes

Get the book, After the Donut: An Introduction to School-Based Father Engagement

About The Guest

Keith Schumacher is the Founder and Executive Director of the National Alliance for Father Friendly Schools and the creator of School-Based Father Engagement (SBFE), a practical framework designed to help schools build meaningful, year-round connections with fathers and father figures.

With over 18 years of experience working alongside schools and districts across the country, Keith has trained and supported hundreds of campuses in creating environments where male role models feel welcomed, valued, and involved. His work focuses on helping school leaders move beyond one-time events and build sustainable systems through structure, training, accountability, resources, and trust.

Before entering the education space, Keith served 28 years with Atlanta Fire-Rescue Department, retiring as a Captain and EMS Supervisor. Today, he brings that same leadership mindset into education, helping schools strengthen family engagement in ways that directly impact student success.

Keith is the author of After the Donut, a book that challenges the status quo of father engagement and provides school leaders with a clear path forward.

This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12.

Discover the power of data-driven instruction in your school with IXL—it gives you everything you need to maximize learning, from a comprehensive curriculum to meaningful school-wide data.
Visit IXL.com/center to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.

Erika Bare & Tiffany Burns—A School Leader’s Playbook for Tough Conversations Apr 26, 2026

Show notes

Get the book, A School Leader’s Playbook for Tough Conversations

Visit Erika & Tiffany's website, ConnectingThroughConversation.com

About The Guests

Erika Bare is superintendent of South Umpqua School District in Oregon, and has more than 20 years in the profession as a teacher, principal and district leader.

Tiffany Burns has served as a principal, instructional coach, and teacher in her more than 20 years in K-12 education, and is currently teaching pre-service teachers at the university level.

They have worked together for more than a decade, and are the authors of Connecting Through Conversation: A Playbook for Talking with Students, and their new book A School Leader’s Playbook for Tough Conversations.

This episode inspired a new members-only feature in Repertoire—Network, a one-tap way to track quick interactions with teachers and plan them intentionally. Try it here for free or learn more »

Katrina Huels—Transformational Tools for Special Educators: How to Beat Burnout and Become the Best at What You Do Apr 18, 2026

Show notes

Get the book, Transformational Tools for Special Educators: How to Beat Burnout and Become the Best at What You Do

Visit Katrina's website, www.HuelsAppliedHarmony.com

About The Guest

Katrina is an educational consultant with more than twenty years of experience in the field, including work as a classroom teacher, special education supervisor, assistant director, and executive director. Her background in psychology and evidence-based practice shapes everything she does, from instructional design and program leadership to developing accredited professional learning programs that spark growth, resilience, and purpose. She is the author of Transformational Tools for Special Educators (Sage/Corwin Press) and The Motivation Toolkit: Cultivate Your Inner Drive.

This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12.

Dr. Frank Rodriguez and Dr. Gene Tavernetti—Digital Captives: Helping Schools Strike A Balance Between Humans And Hardware Apr 11, 2026

Show notes

Get the book, Digital Captives: Helping Schools Strike A Balance Between Humans And Hardware

Visit the Schools Next website, www.schoolsnext.org

Follow Gene on X @GTavernetti

About The Guests

Dr. Frank Rodriguez is entering his 32nd year working in and with schools, primarily in Southern California. He entered education in 1993 through a two year commitment to teach in a bilingual 5th grade classroom in Long Beach through Teach for America, and thirty years later is still finding it difficult to leave. He is the Managing Partner of Schools Next, as well as the President of RISE School Programs, RISE Educational Services and the RISE Educational Foundation. With his partner Dr. Gene Tavernetti, he co-developed the FAST framework, a direct instruction teaching model based on the pedagogy of Dr. Madeline Hunter which synthesized and incorporated the brain research of Dr. David Sousa, Eric Jensen and Dr. John Medina. Dr. Rodriguez was a teacher and administrator for twelve years before beginning a career in professional development and teacher and principal coaching. More recently he has overseen RISE School Programs which serves more than 3000 students in seven districts in northern Los Angeles County. Frank Professionally he is most proud of the RISE Educational Foundation, a non-profit that annually gives out college scholarships to high school seniors who were formerly in RISE programs as elementary school students, as well as to RISE employees who are completing their undergraduate degrees, and are largely first generation college students.

Dr. Gene Tavernetti's journey in education began in 1977, encompassing roles as a coach, teacher, counselor, and administrator. His career reached a turning point when he discovered his passion for one-on-one instructional coaching, realizing the profound impact he could make on educators and student learning. In 2006, Dr. Tavernetti co-founded Total Educational Systems Support (TESS), a pioneering organization dedicated to training and coaching thousands of educators. TESS, under Gene's leadership, focuses on teacher-directed instruction, emphasizing engagement strategies, language development, and higher-order thinking skills. As the author of two influential books, Teach FAST: Focused Adaptable Structure Instruction explores explicit instruction methods, while Maximizing the Impact of Coaching Cycles addresses common challenges faced by instructional coaches.

Barbara Blackburn—Productive Struggle in the Classroom Apr 06, 2026

Show notes

Get the book, Productive Struggle in the 6-12 Classroom

Get the book, Productive Struggle in the K-5 Classroom

Visit Barbara's website, www.barbarablackburnonline.com

About The Guest

Barbara Blackburn, PhD is the author of more than 40 books and a full-time consultant who works with schools around the world to help raise the level of rigor and motivation for professional educators and students alike. Dr. Blackburn has been repeatedly named to the Top 30 Education Gurus and Top 10 Professional Development Programs by Global Gurus.

This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12.

Priten Soundar Shah—Ethical Ed Tech: How Educators Can Lead on AI and Digital Safety in K-12 Schools Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

Get the book, Ethical Ed Tech: How Educators Can Lead on AI and Digital Safety in K-12 Schools on Amazon

Visit Priten's website, www.priten.org

About The Guest

Priten Soundar-Shah is an educator, philosopher, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of humanistic values and frontier technology. He is the CEO of PedagogyVentures and leads three nonprofits: PedagogyFutures (Executive Director), Academy 4 Social Civics (President), and ThinkerAnalytix (CTO).

Priten is the author of AI & The Future of Education (Wiley, 2023), translated into Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, and Vietnamese, and the forthcoming Ethical Ed Tech (Wiley, 2026). He teaches courses on Ethics of Ed Tech and Epistemic Justice at College Unbound, and is a visiting researcher at the Harvard Department of Philosophy.

He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Harvard College and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Darin Thompson–The Four Cornerstones of Effective Schools: How to Build Lasting Success Mar 21, 2026

Show notes

Get the book, The Four Cornerstones of Effective Schools: How to Build Lasting Success on Amazon

Get the book, The Four Cornerstones of Effective Schools: How to Build Lasting Success on Solution Tree's Website

Visit Darin's website, www.DrDarinThompson.com

Follow Darin on Youtube @drdarinthompson

Follow Darin on Instagram @drdarinthompson

About The Guest

Darin A. Thompson, PhD, is a veteran K-12 leader with nearly 20 years of experience and founder of Pivotal Leaders Group. A two-time outstanding principal of the year semi-finalist within his region, Dr. Thompson has led transformative school improvement efforts across multiple school divisions, resulting in double-digit gains in student outcomes and significantly closing achievement gaps for historically underserved populations. A regular presenter at conferences such as NAESP/NASSP’s United Conference, Making Schools Work, and VA Alliance of Black School Educators, Dr. Thompson has contributed to Education Week, the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research, and other publications.

Dr. Thompson has become a trusted voice in educational leadership. He has delivered professional development workshops on building constructive school cultures for improvement at major conferences, including the 2024 and 2025 Virginia Alliance of Black School Educators Conference, the 2025 National Association of Secondary School Principals United Conference, and the Southern Regional Education Board’s Making Schools Work Conference.

Dr. Thompson’s thought leadership has been featured in Education Week, including the articles “How My School Is Fighting the Surge in Chronic Absenteeism” and “How Pandemic Isolation Damaged School Culture.” He has also published in the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research and is a contributing author of Preparing to Lead: Narratives of Aspiring School Leaders in a “Post”-COVID World.

Dr. Thompson earned a bachelor of science in criminal justice and a master of public administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a master of education and a doctor of philosophy in educational leadership from Regent University. He is also a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. To learn more about Thompson’s work, follow him on LinkedIn or at @drdarinthompson on Instagram and YouTube.

This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12.

Kristan Rodriguez—In Support of Student Data: A Data Workbook for MTSS Teams Mar 14, 2026

Show notes

Get the book, In Support of Student Data: A Data Workbook for MTSS Teams

Visit the Commonwealth Consulting Agency website, www.cca-pr.com

Follow Kristan on X @dr_rodriguez21

Connect with Kristan on LinkedIn

About The Author

Kristan Rodriguez, Ph.D., is an award-winning educational leader and former superintendent and principal. She is the creator of the MTSS² Framework™ that replaces fragmented referral practices with proactive, data-informed structures. Dr. Rodriguez is the founder and CEO of Commonwealth Consulting Agency (CCA), a trusted partner to state agencies, districts, and schools nationwide. Dr. Rodriguez is the best-selling author of In Support of Student Data: A Data Workbook for MTSS Teams (Wiley, 2025) and In Support of Students: A Leader's Guide to Equitable MTSS (2023).

This episode of Principal Center Radio is sponsored by IXL, the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K-12.

Naphtali Hoff—Becoming The Delegating School Boss Mar 07, 2026

Show notes

Get the book, Becoming The Delegating School Boss

Visit Naphtali's Website, www.ImpactfulCoaching.com

About The Guest

Dr. Naphtali Hoff is a former educator and school leader who serves as an executive and performance coach and trainer, and he's the author of three books Becoming the New Boss a leadership Book that helps new leaders hit the ground running and enjoys sustained success, Becoming The Productive Boss, which helps leaders and their teams get more of the right work done and Becoming The Delegating School Boss, which helps school leaders clear their plates and empower their teams.

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