Why I didn't Retire and Stayed Through the Pandemic with Bill Clouse Transformative Principal 388

Feb 17, 2021

Bill Clouse is a principal in Wisconsin. He’s a 31-year veteran with 26 years in administration.

In this episode, we talk about using people in the right way, eliminating staff meetings, and how the mastermind kept him motivated and energized even though he could have retired.

• One agenda item on staff meetings: To complain about what is going on.
• Building Leadership Team - Leaders of PLCs.
• 4 months to create change.
• In a staff meeting, you get a lot of mob mentality.
• Using strengths
• Knowing staff well enough to be a successful team.
• How to get to know their strengths.
• Need to be in their classrooms
• If someone comes to me with their idea, they’re going to work to make sure it doesn’t fail.
• A great admin team - 5 people.
• We genuinely get along and like each other.
• Initially, I was a little skeptical about the mastermind.
• An outlet to talk through problems that we are having.
• I’m the only high school principal we have.
• The mastermind stoked the fire.
• If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.
• Stroke your racehorses and shoot your jackasses.
• Where the bear shits in the buckweed.
• Education is never wasted, so keep going.
• How to be a transformative principal? Be present. People need to know that you care. Don’t change unless it has to be changed.

Sponsors

TeachFX

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John Catt

Today’s Transformative Principal sponsor, John Catt Educational, amplifies world-class voices on timeless topics, with a list of authors recognized globally for their fresh perspectives and proven strategies to drive success in modern schools and classrooms.

John Catt’s mission is to support high-quality teaching and learning by ensuring every educator has access to professional development materials that are research-based, practical, and focused on the key topics proven essential in today’s and tomorrow’s schools.

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• Michaela: The Power of Culture by Katharine Birbalsingh
• Teaching WalkThrus: Visual Step-by-Step Guides to Essential Teaching Techniques by Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli
• Putting Staff First: A blueprint for revitalising our schools by John Tomsett and Jonny Uttley
• The Teaching Delusion: Why Teaching In Our Schools Isn’t Good Enough (And How We Can Make It Better) by Bruce Robertson
• Stop Talking About Wellbeing: A pragmatic approach to teacher workload by Kat Howard

John Catt is also proud publisher of the new book from Transformative Principal host Jethro Jones: SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for students, teachers, parents – and themselves
Visit this page to learn more about bulk orders and how to bring John Catt’s research-based materials to your school: https://us.johncattbookshop.com/pages/agents-and-distributors