Beyond the Status Quo: Ruckus Makers Share Their Secrets to Extraordinary Leadership

 

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Show Highlights

Essential tips for first-year principals

Be aware of political landscape and power structures
Use a ‘political heat map’ to map relationships within staff
Delivering effective, equitable support for every student.
Make time for support staff and 12-month employees
And much more...

Ruckus Maker Club Benefits

Provides focused social media alternative for professional growth
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Read the Transcript here.

Beyond the Status Quo: Ruckus Makers Share Their Secrets to Extraordinary Leadership

Are you tired of cookie cutter solutions that leave your school stuck in the past, ready to break free from the educational echo chamber that can truly make a difference? If, yes, you're in the right place. I'm Danny Bauer, and this is the Better Leaders Better Schools podcast, the number one show for Ruckus Makers who dare to do school different. Thanks to listeners like you, we're in the top 1% of podcasts worldwide. Today. We're shaking things up and giving you an inside look into the brand new. Wait, I should say it like this. The brand new Ruckus Maker Club, the only online community built exclusively for visionary leaders in education. Why does it matter? Because in a world of play it safe principles, we need innovators who can transform our schools from the inside out.

Because if education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? The Ruckus Maker club isn't just another online group. Oh, no. It's a launch pad for educational revolution. Through monthly coaching calls, innovation labs, and a treasured trove of exclusive resources, you'll learn how to turn your wildest ideas into reality on your campus. So, are you ready to stop playing by the old rules and start creating the future of education? Join the Ruckus Maker club today, and let's make some noise in the halls of learning. You could join us at RuckusmakersClub. Join. And I want to be very clear here. You need to take action soon because we're accepting founding members into the Ruckus Maker club only until the end of August. You have just a few days if you're listening, and this is September. Sorry, the doors have always closed, and they. They won't open again for another year. Now, on today's show, you'll get an inside look into the Ruckus Maker club. What you'll hear today is part of our first welcome call we hosted. I cut out the icebreaker time and got to know everybody who was on the call. And we'll zoom in during this episode to two specific parts of this Ruckus Maker club welcome call. Part one is going to be super practical, so we're hosting the welcome call. There we are. And I hear that two of our new members are first year principals. And so we turned it into a mastermind. Let's add practical value right now. And I asked the team, well, what do you wish you knew as a first year principal? Right? And then went around and shared.

By getting this inside look right, you'll get to hear the quality of conversations we have and again, if you're a first year principal listening, if you're a veteran principal listening, you're going to be reminded of great tips to start out the school year. Now, in part two of the call, the members of the Ruckus Maker club share their first impressions. Mind you, the club has only been open for a week, right? And a few of the people on the call had just joined the day before or that day. So that's kind of cool just to hear their first impressions, what they found valuable, what surprised them, the benefits, that kind of thing. And what I love about the club is the future I see this space is going to grow in value exponentially because as more Ruckus Makers join the party and generously contribute sharing resources, and of course, our team will add a bunch to the space as well. The value of the group continues to grow and grow because of everything that'll be inside. So stay tuned, Ruckus Maker. We'll be right back after a quick word from our show sponsors. Hey Ruckus Maker, I'll make this quick. If you're listening to this message right now, you're missing out.

When you subscribe to the Ruckus Maker newsletter on Substack, you get access to micro books focused on how to do school different tools and other resources that will help you make a ruckus and do school different stories and case studies of the worlds most legendary Ruckus Makers of all time. Access to my calendar to schedule coaching sessions, and you'll also get bonus podcast content that won't be released on the main podcast feed and podcast episodes without any advertisements. So if you love this show, if it's helped you grow and you want access to more tools and resources that will help you make a ruckus and do school different and become a paid subscriber at ruckusmakers.substack.com. The truth is, most leaders weren't taught a robust way to set their goals. Everyone knows how to choose a goal, write the to-do list, and pick a due date, and as a result, they're not optimizing their potential. When you download the Ruckus Maker eight step goal setting tool, I'll send you the tool in a short eight minute coaching video that shows you how to work smarter, not harder, and to create more value for your campus. Are you ready to accomplish more with less effort and in less time? Download the Ruckus Maker eight step goal setting tool by going to betterleadersbetterschools.com goals IXL is a go to support for classroom teachers because its adaptive platform makes differentiated instruction easy. See for yourself and get started [email protected]/Leaders

Question, would you serve your own kids the same food you serve your students in your cafeteria? Now, quest food management Services elevates the student dining experience, serving scratch made meals using high quality ingredients that are sourced locally and responsibly. Now that is food you can be proud to serve. Learn more about Quest food management [email protected], or follow Questfood on social media. That's questfms.com dot. So what I'd love to do is make this super practical right out of the gates. Jerry and Sandra just revealed, right? First year principal. Oh, my gosh. And we also have veteran principles, and I think reflection is such a great tool. So will the veteran principles reflect on that first year? Right. And even though you had great support, because pretty much everybody here that was a first year principal was probably the mastermind at that time in what's something you wish you knew right before you started?

And there's some people who aren't principals yet on the call, you still have something to add. Sometimes we put, like an upper limit, a ceiling to what we can contribute or we suffer from imposter syndrome. I'm not saying you're experiencing that right now, but if you are, just share a helpful leadership tip, right? That's still valuable. No, pass the mic. Just share something great for Jerry and Sandra. And really, it's for everybody, you know, a reminder of fantastic leadership. Whenever you're ready. What's your tip? While you're thinking? Mine would just be. Be cognizant of the political landscape of where you were, right? I think that's true in any country. And I was unaware of sort of, like, the invisible power structures that exist.  And, man, if you violate one of those power structures or unspoken rules, you'll be in for a world of hurt. Right. And so one of the things that's practical I could teach you. There was this nerdy guy in the central office when I was a principal, but I really loved what he taught me. He called it a political heat map. And the way I would describe it is if you think of, like, your building and all the staff that's in it, you know, can you map out the relationships that exist within your system? And so right now, we're looking at Demetrius, Sandra, Jerry, Jesse, Erica, Karen, and I think Chris is still on the call. And like, if we were in the staff, we would have all their names, maybe a circle around the name. And then basically for me, let's just use Demetrius again. We've known each other for years. At this point, I think we consider each other friends. Like, we know stuff about each other's lives outside of school leadership. And so if I drew a line from me to Demetrius, that line would be somewhat thick because there's a relationship and influence there both ways too, right? Somebody knew, right? This is nothing against Karen or Sandra. They're newer to my network. Their line to me is still there. There's a relationship, but it's not as strong as what Demetrius and I have built. It could happen, but it's just normal. We just met each other. So thinking of your staff, map out the relationships like that, because doing so also helps you think about knowing who Demetrius influences within the staff. If I tell him something, will that kind of spread the message as well?

09:52
Danny
Who are my main players, my lead? Dominoes, so to speak. So that's the practical thing that I wanna share. Thanks for letting me say that.

10:01
School Leader
I would say mine is to make time for your support staff, especially those that directly support you. Or maybe what I would say for me is like, our twelve month employees, our bookkeeper, our registrar and our office manager, I meet with two of those three every week, and our head custodian. And I just started doing that last year in year three. And if I'd have done it in year one, it would have just prevented so many miscommunications or lack of understanding. And it's a 15 minute meeting. We have a rolling agenda. We have things on paper in a doc, but it's just been really life saving so many times last year. So that would be my one piece of advice to you.

10:39
School Leader
I gave this piece of advice out at Nashville, which was our last in person Ruckus Maker event. I encourage everyone to take in the next one if you have the option to do that. But we had a new leader at the table I was sitting at. And I said, don't wait until you've thought everything through and made a decision to let your people know about what you're thinking about. And that comes from me being a processor. So I like to take things, go back to my office, wrestle with it, figure out all the ins and outs, all the, you know, possible barriers. I figured out how to remove them. Maybe I'm thinking about this for maybe a week, maybe a month. And then I've got it perfected.

11:20
School Leader
I've got my announcement perfected and I announce it and I haven't told anyone about this thing yet and it hits them like a train. And so one of the things that I remember is like the first time I did that just kind of like I got, and I was wanting some feedback and I was getting nothing because everyone was just processing this big thing that I just kind of shoved into their face without thinking about like, oh, yeah, I've been thinking about this for weeks and months and this is the first time they're hearing it. Let people in on your thought processes and your processes in general get people's feedback along the way. I'm still working on it.

11:59
School Leader
I'm not the best at it because I do like to kind of do my own research, but I found that if I don't let anyone in and don't kind of work in public along the way, then I've got cleanup to do later on. So that would be my tip.

12:14
Danny
Thanks, Jesse. The only thing I did today, too, is maybe over communicate if you're just sort of brainstorming and thinking, because if you say just one thing as a leader of your building, folks will immediately think that's the direction forward and the only right way to do it. And I'm going to get in trouble if we don't. And that also causes an uproar. So if it's just brainstorming, thinking out loud, make sure you really over communicate that. Thanks, Jess.

12:40
Speaker 4
I was going to say the exact same thing. Danny, I think you've got to be selective and who you bring into your process because I didn't realize in my first year I couldn't just brainstorm with any of my staff members. Like, I had to be selective because if I, there were a couple times where I was like just kind of thinking out loud to a group of teachers, like it spread like wildfire. This is the thing that we're going to do.

13:04
Speaker 5
And I was like, whoa, whoa.

13:06
Speaker 4
Slow down. No, I was just trying to figure out what step to have to take. But since they use those two, I think also in that first year just realize that you've been selected for your position for a reason. So trust in yourself. And also with that trust and kind of, like Jesse said, don't feel like you have to make the decision yourself. Bring folks in. So trust yourself is what I'll say.

13:36
Danny
And just plus one, that thinking. Demetrius, this is a space where you can bring decisions, too. Whether it is best on the live call, because then we could really get the context and go back and forth, and those will be a variety of times throughout the year.  But obviously there's places you can post inside, too.

13:54
Speaker 6
I would join the mastermind.

13:55
Danny
I know.

13:56
Speaker 6
Danny did not pay me for the plug. However, I've been part of one for eight or nine years. Almost eight, almost going into year nine. And it is the highlight of my week just to connect with the people that I connect with on a weekly basis and that ability to bring the things that you're struggling with and the celebrations and that you always have somebody that you can do those things with. And I think that's extremely valuable, especially as a new administrator, that people not connected to your network, not connected to your district, all those sorts of things. I have found it very valuable in my career so far, and I know that's not specific in the school, but I do think it's an important thing to say.

14:44
Danny
Thank you, Chris. Listen, that is sort of the flagship way we support school leaders, but I promise we're going to over deliver for you in this club. Okay? And if at any point you want to explore that, we can figure it out. We're not going to be pushy about it or anything like that. You obviously know where to find me, too, if you want to learn more. And we're going to have some workshops where we can do mastermind hot seat jam sessions. And you could taste it. It just won't be every single week. You know, it'll be monthly. Obviously it's a different context, but we're going to over deliver for you here. But I think the meta idea is to be connected. Doing leadership alone just doesn't make sense.

15:24
Danny
I literally cannot understand how any principal or assistant principal in the world cannot be a part of something. Right. If they're part of our group, great, right. We want to work with them, but even there's groups out there, you know what I mean? Find your community somewhere. And we're so glad that you all are here. Something that was most people, but for, Karen, Jerry, Sandra, is there anything you would want to share? And you always have the right to pass.  You don't have to share something, but is there something on your mind that you think would be helpful to share?

16:01
I was going to share something, and my recommendation is to be mindful of self care whenever you're something new and you're taking the next step, especially right now, where we have a little bit of opportunity to really think through things and plan systems. Take your calendar, take control of your calendar, and put time in for your own mindfulness and your own reflection.  I'm going to do that. So that's what I would recommend around not being a super experienced school leader, but just sort of personally. That's what I recommend.

16:40
Danny
You're doing great. Thank you, Karen, for that comment. I call that the Ruckus Maker mindset tool. It's a free download that's on the website, but it's now in the club, too. I'll show you where in a second. There's a video and a template you could fill out, but it's five things. Eating, sleeping, moving, meditating, unplugging, right?

17:00
Danny
I love that. Deep money has it in the back. And so you think about eating, sleeping, moving, meditating, unplugging. And part of the tool is basically reflecting, right now, let's just eat right and put high quality fuel in our body. One through five. One being bad, five being the best. Right. How are you doing with your eating? So it says now, and then I think it says next. So also one through five or maybe later. But the point is, in 90 days, where do you want to be, right? And then in the box, you write, okay, what's one step I could potentially eat better, or what's one step I can get more movement into my day. I'll tell you a story about Erica's school district, Adams twelve.

17:46
Danny
They taught me something about this tool because I always, in my mind, thought, you know, moving from a lower score to a higher score just makes sense. And I don't remember the lady's name, but she was really, and I mean really into fitness, right? And I like it. I'm in the gym, I think, five times a week, Monday through Friday. Today is leg day, so I'm going to do squats and lunges and all that stuff. I know d money is really in the crossfit. I think you're going, like five to six times a week. Is that right? So that's great. And what this lady taught me, she's like, I actually have to work out less. I actually do it too much. It's an obsession, and it's taking too much time away from my family. I was like, wow.

I never thought about that or heard somebody verbalize it, but she's like, I'm five. I'm actually like, probably a ten out of five right now. She's off the charts. I need to scale it back. Still feel good about my health, but do not invest so much time. So just that nuance, too, is that you could actually overdo some of these things.  Obviously, if you meditated for 24 hours per day and didn't get any work done, you'd be a lousy leader. Right. But you would be very at peace. Two sides of every coin. Thanks for bringing that up. Karen, Jerry or Sandra. No pressure, but if you'd like to share, now's the time.

I was going to say that it's kind of funny, all these things that you guys all brought up. I think just in the short time from wrapping up the end of the year, the 24th school year, with as an AP taking over and then till now, it's kind of funny how a lot of those things I've already seen that you find out those people that you can't just say, hey, I was thinking about this because before it even happens, before the thoughts even finished, it's already all over campus, and we're a small town, so, you know, news spreads like wildfire down here.

19:41
Speaker 5
So I do want to first say thank you to all of you guys for adding that, because I think that's all those things are sometimes those things that you kind of think, but hearing other people who have been through it just kind of validates that and brings that back to the forefront. But, you know, the other thing that just for me, I know that is the thing that I've got to work on, first off, is, you know, I've been an AP for five years, and so over the last few years, it's been to be that guy that knows where everything is, know who all the teachers are, have the key to whatever door, you know, doing all that. And right now, my biggest thing is just being able to say, I need you to go do this. Here's the keys. You go get it.

20:24
Speaker 5
Take care of this. Here's the list of things that we need to have done before next week, and I'm working on this one. I need you guys to go try to knock out another three or four of these things and get it going. And so that's just been kind of even just in, you know, each day, it seems like you just. You already feel more like, you know, what you're doing and getting those people around you to help and take care of everything and realize that, you know, it's a village and they're all there for you. So that's my big thing that I'm working on right now.

20:55
Danny
Great. Thanks, Jerry. I want to show you too in a second when I give a little very fast tour of the club. There's the delegation master class. You might have already taken that, I'm not sure, but that is an important skill to learn when you're sitting in the principal's seat. And what a teacher, the skill set a teacher has is not the same skill set of an AP. And AP is a different skill set than a head of school or principal. All of you are capable of doing all those roles. So let's be clear about that. But it's just evolving and growing. And when you are leading the organization, delegating, asking for help.  Not controlling everything. I'll write a brief story here. We have an opportunity, hopefully, to coach a lot of leaders in a specific system in the US. And we're not across the finish line yet. We're close in one of them, let's call him a detractor. One of the things that is a stumbling or obstacle for him is this superintendent believes he is already offering high level coaching and mentorship within his system. And all his people say it's not even close. So there's a massive disconnect. He thinks he's offering it. The people are like, we're dying here. He's living in a different world.  So I don't even know how I got on that topic, but I think part of it is because with ego and stuff like that, as you have more influence and power, sometimes your ego can grow. I have to be careful with this, too, but, like, are you really funny or people just laughing because you're the boss?  Are your stories?

22:43
Danny
You know what I mean? Are your stories interesting? Like. Or are people just listening because you're the principal? So some things to think about in this guy specifically is a command and control. Top down a lot of directives. It works for a time, but when we talk about exponential improvement and change, it never leads to that. It's only in the short term because you burn people out and they don't love and adore you. You know what I mean? They don't feel like they're a part of something bigger. They're just trying to survive and not get fired for the time being. Right. If you lead with too much of a heavy hand. So whatever that's worth. But, yeah. Thanks, Jerry. When. When you become principal, you can't have your fingers in every.

23:24
Danny
You want to be aware of things, but you don't have to, you know, you got to give. Give up some stuff and let people run with it.  Hire good people. Sandra, is there anything you'd like to add? And I'll put you on the spot.

23:36
Speaker 8
Sure. No problem. Thank you so much to everybody, for sharing. I guess for me, it's something that I'm working on. It's listening with process and mindfulness, because, you know, I have ADHD, and that makes me, when I'm listening, I am there, but I'm also thinking of a thousand other things. And so, you know, it might be like someone thinks that I'm not paying attention or that I am not completely there, but I am. As they speak, I'm telling them, oh, this is great. I'm going to connect you with this person. I'm in my head, I made a thousand connections, and so it probably shows in my face. And so I want people to know I am present. I'm listening to you, but I have to learn, I guess, to sort of rail that in. So that is, I think, my struggle.

24:28
Speaker 8
And it's something that I know how important it is to listen as a leader. It's a skill that I have to master.

24:36
Danny
So where I'll push you, Sandra, is, I'll say maybe to that in terms of learning how to be even more present, listen more, and that kind of thing. Maybe you just need to get super comfortable with who you are and really over communicate that to your staff. Here's an example, a different part of the continuum. I have a friend named Eddie, and he is extremely introverted. He likes morning meetings, doing stuff there. He doesn't necessarily like going out. He certainly doesn't like doing things over drinks and that kind of stuff. And. But with, you know, important people in his life and his partners. Because he's like a business coach and consultant. He will do an evening thing because he knows that it's important to some people, especially, you know, folks that are more extroverted.

25:20
Danny
They wanna go out, have a nice big dinner, and, you know, whatever. So what he tells people, and now his friends and colleagues and partners tell people about him. They say, okay, at some point tonight, Eddie's going to run out of words. He's just going to stop talking, and he also might just disappear at some point. It's not a reflection of you, right. It has nothing to do with discussions, interesting or not, but he just needs to refuel his battery. That's Eddie. He's brilliant.  If you really want to talk with him, connect in the morning, right? Hopefully the aha for you, Sandra, is if your mind does go all over the place and this kind of thing, if you're able to give somebody focus for, let's say 1 minute, three minutes, five minutes, I don't know what the right number, but say I've got x minutes of extreme focus on you before my mind goes in a million different places. You have to learn to communicate with me in that amount of time so I can best be present for you. Otherwise, just please know I'm going to start thinking of all the things and the connections, and it's not because what you're saying is not important, it's just who I am. So it's another way of thinking about it.

26:37
Danny
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27:40
Danny
The quest food philosophy is to prioritize the health and wellness of students by cultivating chef crafted recipes containing high quality ingredients and using scratch made cooking techniques and responsible product sourcing. Learn more about Quest food management [email protected] or follow questfood on social media. That's questfms.com dot. What have you found helpful or cool or just good in general? Or how have you been? Surprised? Awesome.

28:17
Speaker 4
I'll say. Being in the club has been helpful for me to get off of X and Instagram and just focus on social media, that's helping me grow.

28:29
Danny
So I don't want to put words in your mouth, but is that because sometimes the stuff that pops into your feed is not helpful? Like you said, it's actually not making you grow. Maybe it makes you angry and that kind of stuff.

28:42
Speaker 4
Yeah, totally. You know how you can get sucked into one and all those types of things and it's not helpful, but it's good to have a place where I can go and oh, yeah, I need to think about this a little bit more versus the silly stuff that's in.

28:59
Danny
Regular social media. And that's because we're all the product on social media, right? And they are making money off of advertisements and that kind of thing. So another differentiator that makes the club, I mean, people should join the club just for this reason. Every third post won't be a sponsored ad. Buy something, right? Nobody's trying to be like, hey, give me money. This is about Ruckus Makers doing school differently. How do we become more effective leaders? How do we reimagine school?  So appreciate you sharing that, Demetrius. You also have all those loser consultants that post the same thing in every single group 5000 times, often with all caps. I don't understand why I feel like I should start attacking them online, but I just don't want to do the Kendrick Drake beef yet. But I'm close.

29:45
Danny
I'm getting closer, you know, to just starting to call out my peers. Anybody else helpful? Surprisingly useful, maybe even why you joined. Just curious. Thanks, d money. I know we're in the early, early days, too.

30:00
Speaker 5
I haven't had much time to look around, but just the overall look of the whole platform, it's just been nice to see it laid out and everything. So everything seems to be very easy to access and that's been something that's been fun. And obviously I joined just to get a chance to talk to you more. So, and times like this getting all these quick tips really quick. I'm excited for it.

30:28
Danny
Yeah, the design is nice, clean looking and hopefully easy to navigate. And again, if you have any questions, just ask. But this whole space is not Facebook X, all those other, they're built to connect people, but they're also built to make money off of us. This is built to connect Ruckus Makers, period. That's all it's built for to help you grow in your leadership. And so you'll see that as you work through it. And like I said over and over again, it will get more and more valuable the longer you stay in because more people will join and there'll be more resources and it's just going to be fantastic. Relationships will deepen and all that kind of stuff. And Jerry, just a reminder, you could talk to me anytime. You have my number, so. All right, well, somebody about to share something?

31:13
Speaker 8
Yes, I was going to say that for me, the tools have been like, I've been looking through the tools. Some of them really are. Like, I feel they're going to be very helpful because as I am embarking in this new journey, also, like my leadership team, they have been with us this last year, but there has been a restructuring of the leadership team, so we all kind of have a new role.  I think that's going to help us. For example, the goal setting, the 90 day plan, not only for me, but also for all of them as well. I think those tools are going to be really helpful for me as I have our meeting next week, forming our team, and how we're going to work together as a leadership team. So this has been very timely for me.

32:04
Danny
Great. Thanks, Sandra.  90 day plan or the goal setting tool. And let me be clear. Right, download the tool, use those with your team. Feel free to teach it to them, that kind of thing. I prefer you don't share your password and have them, like, go through courses and stuff like that. If there's a budget in the school to bring them on so that they can be a part of the discussion or the calls like this, do that. And to be clear, I'm not saying you're going to do that, Sandra. I'm just saying that for everybody. And I want to say that the things discussed here, if there is a tool, download it, share it. Right. Use it with your team. That's another benefit of being a member here of the club. And there'll be more tools coming.

32:46
Danny
And just, again, over communicate, not just courses, but if there's a tool, here's a thing that I need to accomplish, a result I need to create. You don't have a tool for that yet. Danny, might you design something? We'll put that in the development roadmap, too, and see if we could, you know, knock it out of the park. We'll play to our strengths. We're not going to do things that we're not great at. But if it is a good sort of opportunity to serve you, then we certainly will. All right, I think I'm going to call it here.  We got a lot of value and shared some tips, did a little overview and that kind of thing, and got to hang out and build a little bit of a relationship. It's Friday. I hope you have a great weekend.

33:27
Danny
This was the absolute best hour of my day, being able to hang out with you, and I'm just excited to see what we create together. So thanks for leaning in. Thanks for engaging and hope to see you soon. Thanks again for listening to this special episode of the Better leaders better schools podcast. Thanks for pressing play and today I wanted to give you an inside look at one of our welcome calls and just get a sense, right, a taste. And it's a very small taste. There is so much value packed inside the club and I hope you're seriously considering joining again. Membership is only open through the end of August, so there's just a few more days. Ruckus Makers Club join is where to go the Ruckus Maker Club is an exclusive online community for visionary school leaders who want to do school different.

34:19
Danny
It's a space where innovative principals and school administrators come together to share ideas, solve problems, and push the boundaries of traditional education. In a world where education is rapidly evolving, staying connected with like minded innovators is crucial. The Ruckus Maker Club offers you the support, resources and inspiration you need to transform your school and make a lasting impact on your students and staff. It's your lifeline in the often isolating world of school leadership. As a member, you'll get access to practical tools, monthly coaching calls, innovation labs, and a supportive community of fellow Ruckus Makers. You'll learn how to implement 90 day planning, master delegation, and tackle the unique challenges of school leadership. Plus, you'll have the opportunity to participate in book clubs, workshops and exclusive events designed to elevate your leadership skills.

35:15
Danny
So, dear Ruckus Maker, are you ready to make some noise in education? Join the Ruckus Maker Club today and start your journey towards becoming a truly transformational leader. Remember, we're accepting founding members only through August 31. Then we'll close the doors and put all our energy in creating value inside the club. Until next summer. One more time, go to Ruckusmakers dot club to become a founding member. Don't just lead a school, create a revolution in education. The Ruckus Maker Club is where innovative leaders go to learn how to do school differently. Thanks for listening to the better leaders better Schools podcast. Ruckus Maker how would you like to lead with confidence, swap exhaustion for energy, turn your critics into cheerleaders and so much more? The Ruckus Maker Mastermind is a world class leadership program designed for growth minded school leaders just like you.

36:14
Danny
Go to betterleadersbetterschools.com Mastermind, learn more about our program, and fill out the application. We'll be in touch within 48 hours to talk about how we can help you be even more effective. And by the way, we have cohorts that are diverse and mixed up. We also have cohorts just for women in leadership and a BIPOC only cohort as well. When you're ready to level up, go to betterleadersbetterschools.com mastermind and fill out the application. Thanks again for listening to the show. Bye for now and go make a ruckus.

Today’s RUCKUScast in Partnership with:

Quest Food Management Services

Quest Food Management Services provides high-quality, scratch-made food in K-12 schools and universities across the country, prioritizing the health and wellness of students and elevating the cafeteria dining experience. Quest offers a full-service approach to their school partners, bringing 40 years of expertise through every stage of program development and nurturing a true sense of community through interactive events such as student food committees. For more information about Quest Food Management Services, www.questfms.com

IXL
IXL is the most widely used online learning and teaching platform for K to 12. Over 1 million teachers use IXL in their classrooms every day for one reason: They love it. Visit IXL.com/Leaders to lead your school towards data-driven excellence today.

If education ain’t a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning?

This show isn’t about doing school better.

It’s about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what’s possible.

Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey

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Subscribe to the Free Newsletter

— An opportunity to Do School Different 3x a week. Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: ruckusmakers.news

Read Ruckus Makers

— Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom GPTs, new books before the bookshelf: ruckusmakers.media

 

Join The Ruckus Maker Club

Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more:
The Ruckus Maker

 
 

Apply to the Mastermind

— Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus:
Apply Now

 
Every tool, community, and coaching program we offer is built to help visionary school leaders play the new game — one where leadership is creative, tech-enabled, and unapologetically student-centered.

The podcast is your starting point. The movement is just getting started.

Today’s RUCKUScast in Partnership with:

IXL: Meet your students where they are and take them where they need to go. Join over 1 million teachers who trust IXL to drive data-informed excellence in their classrooms.
🔍 Learn more: ixl.com/leaders

The Ruckus Maker Club Community beats compliance every single time. The Ruckus Maker Club is your on demand network of bold school leaders designing the future of education. Join today for $100 a month and get coaching on demand courses, AI prompts and custom GPTs and all our automatic school frameworks and tools within our private digital community.
🔍 Learn more: here

ODP Business Solutions®: Solutions “Our STEAM program is too complicated” = Code for “We’re doing it wrong.” Stop letting fear kill innovation. Some leaders are transforming STEAM with a three-part framework that’s not what you think.
🔍 Get the playbook: ODPbusiness.com/education

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Danny Bauer

Daniel Bauer

As a chronically late student, Danny Bauer once told his Chemistry teacher a fib about saving an entire girl scout troop from a burning building to get out of a tardy.

Danny is not sure if it was the very made up story, the very real cookie he offered his teacher, or a combination of both that got him out of a detention that day …

That experience taught him it pays to develop your storytelling skills.

Danny has been telling stories since then, most recently on the Better Leaders Better Schools podcast, ranked in the TOP 0.5% of 3 million global podcasts, and via his two bestselling books, Mastermind: Unlocking Talent Within Every School Leader and Build Leadership Momentum: How to Create the Perfect Principal Entry Plan.

He also loves telling stories while facilitating in person leadership workshops at national conferences and for school districts.

Danny’s mission is to help Ruckus Makers Do School Different™.

Soniya Trivedi

Soniya Trivedi

Soniya, hailing from the culturally rich land of India, is a dynamic professional in the field of web services, crafting digital landscapes. Soniya’s journey into the world of technology is a testament to her unwavering passion and commitment to excellence, transforming ideas into impactful online realities.

Since 2022, Soniya has played an important role in supporting BLBS with her comprehensive website services.

She loves to travel and cook new recipes.

Dragan Ponjevic

Dragan Ponjevic

Music is an inspiring art form. Sound is conveyed via the air to the ears of living beings, and each being perceives it in its own unique way, eliciting a certain feeling. Dragan feels the same sensation every time he hears music, from infancy to now, as if it were a part of his existence that he couldn’t fathom living without. Dragan opted to deal with sound his entire life despite his formal degree, and today he is one of the most passionate audio producers you can meet and chat to about sound and music all day long. His enthusiasm for audio production, student-like thinking, and curiosity keep him continually mobile in generating new, quality, and enjoyable sound on a regular basis.

Dragan has been producing BLBS audio and video content since 2020.

Christina

Christina

My passion for both baseball and literature was the initial catalyst that led me into education. Growing up as a softball player and a die-hard fan of the Chicago Cubs from the North Side of the city, I developed a profound appreciation for the South Side of Chicago, not enough to convert me into a White Sox fan. As a National Board certified teacher, with over 16 years of experience on Chicago’s South Side, my journey as an educator has taken me from my roots in the Windy City to Virginia, as an instructional coach.

From the very beginning, I have been an unwavering believer in the philosophy of BLBS. My journey alongside Danny has been one of daring innovation and audacity, right from the moment he challenged me to say, “boom” and drop the mic during our initial city-wide professional development event. He has cultivated a team capable of winning a World Series, and I am deeply honored to be a part of this community of individuals who consistently push the boundaries and endeavor to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

Premaria Mutambudzi

Premaria Mutambudzi

Premaria Mutambudzi is the BLBS Office Administrator, This is her 2nd year, she has served in the administrative field for 5+ years, Prim is originally from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She has been married for 7 years to her husband Takunda, and is blessed with two children.

Prim loves meditation, creative writing, poetry, and reading. In her spare time, Prim is a talented and creative Makeup Artist.

Sofia Hughes

Sofia Hughes

– Head Coach

Sofía’s lifelong search for a profession that would “leave the world a little better than she found it” led her to study philosophy and comparative religions, become a teacher, lead schools and educational projects, work for the Argentine Ministry of Education, contribute as a volunteer in various NGOs and become personally committed to causes that raised awareness about the world’s challenges and the potential of education to overcome them.

She is a practically-minded idealist, a profound believer in people and their potential for good, committed to collaborative leadership environments, and instinctively and naturally drawn to create order and systems in seemingly chaotic contexts.

After more than 30 years in the classroom and almost 20 as a school leader, Sofía now divides her time as Schools Development Manager for Cambridge University Press and Assessment, Executive Secretary for the International Confederation of Principals, Facilitator for the ESSARP Teacher Training Centre in Argentina and BLBS Mastermind Coach.

Each of her current roles allows her to travel near and far while contributing to her own lifelong learning, and that of school leaders across the world, in the slow way she cherishes: one experience, one adventure, one conversation and one relationship at a time.

Dan Watt

Dan Watt

– Head Coach

Once a roller derby ref, now enjoying “retirement”, Dan’s got some wild tales from the track. Picture this: Dallas, a Division 1 tournament, and Dan’s zipping around as an “outside pack ref” when suddenly, BAM! He gets bulldozed by “Ruthless Red” charging out of the penalty box. But did he stay down? Not a chance! Dan bounced right back up, finished the game like a champ, and jetted off to Barcelona for the World Cup, broken tailbone and all.

Bruises and broken bones couldn’t keep Dan out of the action. Those derby days weren’t just about dodging collisions—they taught him about grit, resilience, and leadership skills that he’s been flexing for 15 years as a school leader. Whether he’s coaching leaders as part of The Ruckus Maker Mastermind™ team or dodging freight trains in the fast-paced world of roller derby, Dan is always willing to lean into the next challenge.

Jason Dropik

Jason Dropik

– Head Coach

Jason P. Dropik (Babaamii-Bines / Eagle Clan) is the School Administrator for the Indian Community School (ics-edu.org), in Franklin, WI, which serves Native students in the metro Milwaukee area. A member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (BadRiver-nsn.gov), Jason is committed to supporting students, families, staff, school/community leaders, and the community both near and far.

Having recently completed a two-year term as President of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA.org), he advocated for and spoke on the importance of tribal sovereignty, policy, appropriations, and student support across the country. As a Board Member of NIEA, Jason continues with that work, championing training and providing information for schools and community organizations, while creating visibility and understanding of Indigenous perspectives.

His greatest passion is creating welcoming spaces for students to develop their identity, take pride in their language and culture, and to celebrate the rich legacy and the promising future of Indigenous communities.

Gene Park

Gene Park

– Head Coach

First and foremost, I’m a husband, father and son. I’m someone who is driven by my faith. I’m the Principal of A. Russell Knight Elementary in Cherry Hill, NJ. The Parks are animal lovers. We have 3 dogs and 2 cats. Some things that I’m loving at the moment is playing Pickleball and cooking for my friends and family. I also have the privilege and joy of serving as a BLBS Mastermind coach.

Jesse Rodriguez

Jesse Rodriguez

– Head Coach

Back in high school, Jesse used to painstakingly unthread the logos from his clothing and hats so that he wouldn’t be seen as part of the status quo.

He didn’t know it then, but that was the start of his journey as someone who finds unique ways of communicating ideas.

Then when he discovered his connection to youth with disabilities, he realized that he was among experts who’ve been finding ways to do things differently all their lives.

Leaning into these connections has brought him to become the Innovation Lead for a statewide project called I’m Determined – developing and producing animated videos and feature-length movies, facilitating events and building tools and resources for youth, families, and educators – all as ways to help students ink their journeys for the world to see.

As a leadership coach, Jesse is someone whose consistent presence is there to listen and add value and belonging.

Paige Kinnaird

Paige Kinnaird

– Head Coach

Leadership skills were evident as early as first grade for Paige Kinnaird when the teacher pointed out that “Paige is an eager beaver who completes her own work and then monitors what everyone else is doing.”

This taught Paige the importance of servant leadership. To never expect work from others that she is not fully committed to also putting forth the effort to accomplish.

Paige has used this as the central driving force of her work ever since… a willingness to be part of the work, not just driving the work.

Karine Veldhoen

Karine Veldhoen

– Head Coach

Karine Veldhoen, M.Ed., is the founder of Learn Forward™ and a creative force in education. While her name may be difficult to pronounce, her mission is simple, to champion extraordinary potential. As an educational leader (15 years) she created the first model Learn Forward™ school while simultaneously founding and serving as Executive Director of Niteo Africa. She’s taught Teacher Candidates at both UBC-O and UNBC and serves as a coach for Better Leaders Better Schools.

In all of her roles, she considers herself a modern-day pilgrim who stands for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Now, she dedicates her professional practice to championing EdLeaders to design thriving schools. When Karine is not carving new paths for education, you’ll find her with her husband and three children, her heart-song.