Transformative Principal

Latest Episodes:

ISTE 2026: Reaching Kids Who Don't Fit in the Box with Pete Hall Jul 26, 2026

Show notes

Pete Hall joins Jethro Jones live at ISTE 2026 to discuss his new book, Reaching and Teaching Kids Who Don't Fit in the Box. They dig into the five core reasons students disengage from school (not fitting in, academic gaps, boredom, lack of support, and emotional struggles), and share practical strategies teachers can use immediately — including setting self-concordant student goals, using AI to personalize entry tasks around student interests, and asking "cognitive interest cue" questions that spark curiosity instead of just testing recall. The conversation also explores shifting from "who knows the answer" questioning to more inclusive approaches that invite all students to participate, even with wrong answers. Pete closes with details on his book's pre-sale discount.

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Building Iowa's Charter School Movement from Scratch with Mike Huguelet Jul 19, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Mike Caldwell interviews Mike Huguelet, Executive Director of the Iowa Coalition of Public Charter Schools, about building Iowa's charter school movement from the ground up. Huguelet shares his path from teaching in Chicago (co-founding Noble Schools) to leading counseling programs in Des Moines Public Schools, and eventually launching the Iowa Coalition in 2023 — a state with one of the newest charter laws in the country (passed 2021).

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Burn the Script with Jo Lein Jul 12, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, host Mike Caldwell sits down with Jo Lane, an educator support and instructional coach with 16 years of experience, who is currently a principal coach based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jo shares insights from her new book, Burn the Script: How Great Coaches Disrupt Thinking and Transform Practice, released May 19th.

The conversation dives deep into the concept of "mental fossils" — the ingrained beliefs and behavioral scripts educators develop from past professional experiences that often hold them back from growth. Jo breaks down how beliefs are anchored by three factors: skill, identity, and value, and explains why simply teaching a skill isn't enough to change behavior if underlying beliefs aren't addressed.

Show Notes:

Substack: EduCoach by Jo Lein

LinkedIn: Jo Lein

Book: Burn the Script: How Great Coaches Disrupt Mindsets and Transform Practice

Instagram/TikTok: @educoachbyjo

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Rejection Proof Career with Jason Leshowitz Jul 05, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of the Transformative Principal podcast, host Mike Caldwell talks with Jason Leshowitz, a New Jersey arts administrator and founder of Rejection Proof Career, about his upcoming book The Rejection Proof Educator. Jason shares how educators and school leaders can translate their skills and experience into compelling resumes and interview answers, whether they're pivoting upward into leadership or transitioning into education-adjacent careers like ed tech and instructional design. The conversation covers reframing your professional story, building relevant experience before an opportunity arrives, using LinkedIn (and Facebook) to network effectively, and practical strategies for standing out in a competitive job market.

Show Notes:
Website: rejectionproofcareer.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jason-leshowitz
Instagram: @rejectionproofcareer
Book: The Rejection-Proof Educator: Translating Your Experience into Better Pay and Bigger Opportunities (coming soon)

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Life Ready Students with Glenn Robbins Jun 28, 2026

Show notes

In this vault episode of Transformative Principle, host Jethro Jones interviews Glenn Robbins, principal of Northfield Community School in New Jersey and NASSP Digital Principal of 2016. Glenn shares how he builds a culture of innovation by prioritizing autonomy, transparency, and authentic collaboration among staff, students, and community. He discusses meeting daily with his union president to take the pulse of the building, using design thinking charettes to co-create a school-wide "Life Ready Manifesto," encouraging staff and students to bring problems paired with two solutions, and how owning his own mistakes publicly broke down trust barriers early in his tenure. Glenn measures success not by test scores, but by the enthusiasm of kids who don't want to leave school.

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Listening to Students to Transform School Culture with Amy Fast Jun 21, 2026

Show notes

In this vault episode of Transformative Principal, Jethro Jones revisits an interview with Amy Fast, then assistant principal at McMinnville High School in Oregon, originally recorded for the Transformative Leadership Summit. Amy shares how a tragic college shooting in nearby Roseburg prompted her and her principal to proactively survey all 2,100+ students about their wellbeing, connectedness, hopefulness, and sense of significance — rather than simply reacting with more security measures.

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Let the Learners Lead with Rachael Thrash Jun 14, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Rachael Thrash — educator, author, and Senior Director at Big Bad Boo Studios — joins Mike Caldwell to challenge the gap between student voice and student ownership. With 25+ years in education, Rachel argues that GPA-gated student councils and empty surveys exclude the students who need to be heard most. Through real examples of students solving real school problems, she shows what happens when kids are given genuine agency. She also walks through her new book Let the Learners Lead, a practical toolkit for educators ready to co-create school culture with students — not just for them

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Small Schools, Big Vision with Scott Bess Jun 07, 2026

Show notes

Mike Caldwell sits down with Scott Bess, President of the Indiana Charter Innovation Center and a member of the Indiana State Board of Education, for a wide-ranging conversation about what's broken in K-12 education — and what's actually being done to fix it. Scott shares his winding path from classroom teacher to CIO at Goodwill Industries to education innovator, including the founding of the Excel Centers: a now-nationwide network of 60+ charter schools helping adults without diplomas earn credentials and transform their economic trajectories. Scott argues passionately for blowing up discrete subject areas, seat-time requirements, and the Carnegie Unit, while making the case for micro schools as a scalable, flexible alternative to traditional schooling. He also shares an exciting — and underutilized — vision for AI in education: not as a tutor for students, but as an operating system that maximizes teacher impact by matching kids to instruction exactly when they need it. The episode wraps with a look at Indiana's systematic approach to education reform — streamlining standards, redesigning the diploma, and aligning the legislature, governor's office, and state board around a shared agenda — as a model for what's possible when the right people are in lockstep.

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Making Mondays the Best Day of the Week with Jonathon Wennstrom May 31, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Transformative Principle, Jethro Jones sits down with Jonathan Wennstrom, principal of Rosedale Elementary in Livonia, Michigan, to discuss the power of school-wide weekly meetings. Jonathan shares how he launched "Celebrate Monday" assemblies — 20-minute, student-centered gatherings held every Monday morning to kick off the week with positivity and purpose. Inspired by ideas from fellow educators Sean Gallardo and Jessica Bartha, Jonathan walks through how these assemblies work, what they include (pledges, literacy shares, themed videos, and calls to action), and how they've transformed school culture by reducing behavior referrals and building community. He also shares practical advice on logistics, staff buy-in, parent communication, and planning themes aligned with character education — all while emphasizing that the assemblies are just the spark, and the real magic happens in the classroom.

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

The Nonlinear Path with Bill Knous May 24, 2026

Show notes

Mike Caldwell sits down with Bill Knous, Senior Director of Quality and Growth at the Colorado League of Charter Schools and co-founder of Gran Via, a micro school in the Denver area. Bill shares his winding path into education — from a history degree and living abroad in Australia and Spain, to teaching multilingual learners in Denver and Philly, to leading classrooms and schools in Colombia. He and his wife co-founded Gran Via in 2020, growing it from six students to 30 while navigating a patchwork of micro-school funding in Colorado. Bill makes a passionate case for scrapping seat-time requirements as the primary accountability metric, arguing the system is designed for adult compliance rather than student motivation. He also reflects on what gives him hope — a rising generation of learners who experienced the pandemic and are pushing back on the one-size-fits-all model. The episode closes with Bill's take on transformative leadership: the ability to influence and motivate a diverse group of people around a singular mission.

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

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