Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast — Education
Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast

If you are an Early Childhood director or childcare owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 kids.

Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping school leaders to improve staff retention, increase teacher motivation, grow parent partnerships, create a collaborative culture, and enjoy a beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about childcare and early childhood school leadership for those striving towards excellence.

If you are an early childhood or childcare school leader looking for strategies to grow your school, that are working TODAY, The Schools of Excellence Podcast is for you.

In addition to weekly solo episodes, she’ll also be inviting childcare and early childhood industry leaders to discuss the most pressing issues facing school leaders today.

Don’t miss an episode; subscribe today for everything you need for your school leadership journey!

Latest Episodes:

238. Planning a Summer That Feeds Us: Marriage, Family, and the Rhythms That Hold Jun 09, 2025

Show notes

“If you don’t decide or name the intention, the season will decide for you.”

How do you move from chaotic, catch-up summers to ones that genuinely renew your family and your leadership? In this behind-the-scenes episode, Chanie shares the intentional framework her family uses to plan summers that serve as a map for the year ahead—grounding their values, relationships, and rhythms.

Key Takeaways:

Why summer can’t just be a break—it needs to be a blueprint.
Treating summer as a time to reset isn’t enough. When planned with intention, it becomes a map that shapes your family and leadership for the rest of the year.
The I-R-E-R method: Intention, Reflection, Experience, Rhythm.
Anchors over goals: the power of seasonal rituals.
Planning for joy—on purpose.
How memory-making experiences build generational impact.

Tune in to explore this reframe and how you can design your summer with intention, reflection, and rhythm—so your leadership starts at home, not on the calendar. Want to discuss what’s next in your leadership journey? Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

237. Redefining Essentials: What You Protect When the Pressure’s On Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

“Essentials are not what’s in your handbook. They’re what you do under pressure.”

What do you protect when you're overwhelmed—not in a crisis, but in the daily fog of leadership? In this episode, Chanie explores the crucial distinction between what's urgent and what's truly essential—and why many leaders are still swirling in chaos, despite their experience and commitment.

Key Takeaways:

When we believe our circumstances dictate our behavior, we lose sight of our agency—and our team feels that erosion too.
If your leadership rhythms fall apart in hard seasons, they were never essential to begin with.
Defining what matters most allows you to act from purpose, not panic, even when the fog rolls in.
Who you are as a leader is not defined by your plans, but by your clarity when those plans are interrupted.

Tune in to explore this reframe—and begin uncovering the true essentials that will anchor your leadership, no matter the storm. Curious about the next step in your leadership journey? Let’s explore it together: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

236. How Great Leaders Create the Energy They Need—Even When They’re Tired May 26, 2025

Show notes

“We don’t light candles because we’re ready. We light them because it’s time.”

What if energy isn’t something you wait for—but something you create?

In this episode, Chanie opens up about walking through profound personal grief while still leading a team, running a business, and showing up for others. She explores the surprising shift that helped her lead from a place of clarity, even when she felt completely depleted—and why great leadership is anchored not in energy reserves, but in energy rituals.

Key takeaways:

Why energy is something you cultivate, not just conserve
The difference between building systems and building rituals that restore your capacity
How leadership becomes unsustainable when it's only powered by your mood or mental “tank”
What rituals actually do for your nervous system—and why they matter more than you think
Why consistency—not spontaneity—is what builds trust, safety, and longevity in your leadership

🎧 Tune in to explore this reframe and how you can apply it to your leadership today. Want to discuss what’s next in your leadership journey? Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

235. You’ve Built the Systems. So Why Are You Still the Glue? May 19, 2025

Show notes

“You can delegate work, but you cannot delegate trust.”

You’ve done everything right—checklists created, SOPs in place, team hired and trained. So why does it still feel like you’re the glue holding everything together? This episode is for the leader who has mastered structure but is still shouldering the soul of the school. We’re unpacking the hidden weight leaders carry, why systems alone aren’t enough, and the critical role that rhythms and rituals play in sustainable culture and freedom.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why systems don’t create ownership—and what actually does
How to shift from being the “rhythm” of your school to building sustainable drumbeats
The truth about trust, delegation, and emotional load
Why leadership rituals—not vibes—are the foundation of real culture
What immature vs. mature leadership actually looks like (and how to lead like a grown-up)
How one client’s ritual of daily gratitude transformed her team culture and emotional energy

Ready to stop being the glue and start leading a self-sustaining team? Join our School Leadership HQ where we walk leaders through the Leadership Operating System, cultural drumbeats, and rituals that build legacy. Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

234. Faith, Leadership & Emotional Maturity: Navigating Life’s Hardest Seasons with Evelyn Knight May 12, 2025

Show notes

How do you keep leading when life knocks you down?

Grief, loss, and hardship don’t pause for leadership responsibilities—and yet, as school owners and leaders, we’re expected to keep showing up, making decisions, and guiding our teams, even in the midst of personal pain.

In this deeply moving and powerful episode, I sit down with Evelyn Knight—TEDx speaker, childcare business coach, and center owner—who has walked through profound loss and emerged with an unshakable commitment to faith, leadership, and emotional maturity.

Inside This Episode, We Dive Into:

The Emotional Weight of Leadership – How to lead with intention when life feels overwhelming
Navigating Grief While Running a Business – The reality of holding space for both personal loss and professional responsibilities
Emotional Maturity at Work – How to create a workplace culture where people can grow through life’s challenges
The Role of Faith in Leadership – Why spirituality, in whatever form it takes, can be a powerful anchor for leaders
How to Lead a Team with Compassion & Strength – Creating a team culture that recognizes the human experience behind the work

This conversation is raw, real, and rich with wisdom for leaders who are balancing the weight of leadership with the complexities of life. Whether you’re navigating your own struggles or supporting a team member through theirs, this episode will give you perspective, tools, and the reassurance that you’re not alone.

Loved this episode? Share it with a fellow school leader who needs to hear this today. And if this conversation resonated with you, leave a review—it helps us continue bringing you conversations that matter.

233. From Panic Mode to Peace of Mind: How One School Owner Stopped Being the Problem Solver May 05, 2025

Show notes

You’ve checked the boxes.

✅ Built the center.

✅ Hired the team.

✅ Filled the classrooms

✅ Hit the revenue goals.

On paper, everything looks like a dream.

So why does it still feel… heavy?

In today’s conversation, I sit down with school owner Bri McCarty for a powerful and honest look at the evolution of leadership—from proving and performing to leading with peace, clarity, and purpose.

We explore what happens when you stop building from hustle and start building from alignment. When you stop being the hero and start creating a team that shares the vision. When you stop solving everyone’s problems and finally let yourself lead.

This episode is for the leader who’s done chasing worth through more enrollment, more expansion, more doing. You’ve built the dream. Now it’s time to build the life inside of it.

this conversation is your reminder that excellence doesn't require doing more... it asks you to become more.

232. The Emotional Maturity Code: How Great Leaders Make Clear, Confident Decision Apr 28, 2025

Show notes

What if the biggest difference between stress and stability wasn’t strategy—but emotional maturity?

In this powerful episode, we explore how emotionally mature leaders rise above chaos, drama, and second-guessing to lead with confidence and clarity. From gossip and manipulation to inconsistent behavior and reactive decisions, emotionally immature environments drain energy and sabotage growth.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Through real stories and practical insights, you’ll learn how to embody emotional maturity and lead a culture of trust, discernment, and accountability.

What you’ll learn:

✅ The 5 behaviors that signal drama in your culture—and how to stop them at the root

✅ How emotional maturity allows leaders to regulate, reflect, and respond instead of react

✅ Why gossip, victimhood, and manipulation destroy teams—and how to replace them with trust

✅ The 10 defining traits of drama-free leadership (and how to develop them in yourself and others)

✅ How to shift from inconsistent, reactive leadership to clear, intentional decision-making

This episode is your guide to becoming the kind of leader who builds not just a better team—but a better version of yourself.

Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://hub.schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears

231. Drama-Free Schools Start With Design, Not Discipline Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

If drama keeps showing up in your school—it’s not a people problem, it’s a design problem.

In this episode, Chanie unpacks how school leaders can move from managing chaos to designing a culture where drama simply can’t survive.

Using real (anonymized) stories from our work with school leaders, Chanie breaks down five signs of drama-fueled leadership—like gossip, victimhood, and constant complaining—and how they drain emotional and mental energy from your team.

Then, she offers clear tools to shift out of drama and into drama-free leadership that is grounded in emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and values-driven culture design.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

Why gossip, complaining, and victimhood are not just annoying—but culture-damaging
How your personal habits around gossip and blame directly impact your school culture
What it really takes to shift from reactive leadership to intentional design
The secret to changing team behavior: start with your own

Drama-free leadership isn’t about control—it’s about clarity.

Let’s build a school culture where trust, ownership, and excellence are the norm.

Download your free 5 Gears Diagnostic to pinpoint exactly where drama is showing up—and where to start transforming your culture. https://hub.schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears

230. Decoding Your School Culture Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

What if you had a Culture Decoder — a way to see exactly why your school feels stuck in constant chaos?

Every day, you're bombarded with decisions, interruptions, and team confusion. It's not just exhausting — it's cultural.

The truth is, your school culture runs on hidden systems. And when those systems are reactive and unclear, maintenance becomes a drain instead of a strength.

In the fourth episode of the 5 Gears series, we unlock the Culture Decoder hidden inside the Maintenance Gear.

What you’ll learn:

How your daily operations reveal your real culture — and what it’s trying to tell you
The difference between reactive maintenance and culture-building systems
How to identify which tasks you shouldn’t be doing anymore
The mindset shift that allows leaders to stop operating from urgency
Why decoding your maintenance practices gives you a blueprint for sustainable growth

This episode is your guide to becoming the kind of leader who doesn’t just maintain — but transforms.

Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://hub.schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears

229. The Strategic Growth Gear Apr 07, 2025

Show notes

The sixth and final episode in the 5 Gears series, today’s episode focuses on the Strategic Growth Gear. This episode looks a little different from others in the series because strategic growth is not just about building other systems or how to optimize other systems — it's about really understanding when and how to expand your impact.

You’ll learn the four distinct paths of growth:

Internal – Strengthening what you already have. This can look like creating leadership pipelines or enhancing your current programs.
External – Your traditional market expansion. It includes opening up new locations, expanding to new neighborhoods, and creating pop-up programs.
Vertical – Increasing your depth of impact. This is about adding advanced programs and extending your services.
Horizontal – Broadening your impact through new revenue streams. It could be creating new training programs, developing new educational materials, or taking things that you've done and actually writing curriculum books.

💡Important → Choosing the wrong path is not just ineffective. It can actually destabilize every single thing that you've built.

Book your Profit and Growth Call here to determine which path is right for your strategic growth. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit

Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/gearsquiz

Related Podcasts