Transformative Principal

Michael Lubelfeld, Ed.D., currently serves as the superintendent of schools in the North Shore School District 112 in Highland Park, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. Mike earned his doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Loyola University of Chicago, where his published dissertation was on effective instruction in middle school social studies. He is also on the adjunct faculty at National Louis University and Loyola University Chicago in the Department of Educational Leadership. Mike earned an IASA School of Advanced Leadership Fellowship and he also graduated from the AASA National Superintendent Certification Program. He was the 2017 Lake County Superintendent of the Year. He can be found on Twitter (@mikelubelfeld) and is the co-moderator of #suptchat— the superintendent educational chat on Twitter. He and Nick Polyak co-authored the 2017 Rowman & Littlefield book, The Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow’s Schools Today and he, Nick, and PJ coauthored the 2018 Rowman & Littlefield book, Student Voice: From Invisible to Invaluable and the 2021 book The Unfinished Leader: A School Leadership Framework for Growth & Development. Mike and his wife Stephanie have two children and they live in suburban Chicago.  Nick Polyak, Ed.D., is the proud superintendent of the award-winning Leyden Community High School District 212. He earned his undergraduate degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois; his master’s degree from Governors State University; and his Ed.D. from Loyola University Chicago. Nick has been a classroom teacher and coach, a building- and district-level administrator, a School Board member, and a superintendent for the past twelve years in both central Illinois and suburban Chicago. Nick earned an IASA School of Advanced Leadership Fellowship and graduated from the AASA National Superintendent Certification Program. He can be found on Twitter (@npolyak) and he is the co-moderator of #suptchat—the superintendent educational chat on Twitter.Nick has been married to  his wife Kate for twenty-one years, and they have four children. PJ Caposey, Ed.D., is an award-winning educator leading his small rural school to multiple national recognitions both as a principal and as a superintendent. PJ is an active member of the greater educational community, voicing opinions and providing training and consultation on many topics. He is the author of eight books and is a sought-after speaker and consultant specializing in school culture, principal coaching, effective evaluation practices, and student-centered instruction. PJ has been named a NSPRA Superintendent to Watch and is a 40 Leaders Under 40 honoree and Eastern Illinois University’s Distinguished Educator Award winner. PJ currently serves as the superintendent of schools for Meridian CUSD 223 in Northwest Illinois. He and his wife Jacquie have four children. PJ can be reached via Twitter (@MCUSDSupe). We’re not done growing and learning. When working with leaders see them for greater than they currently are is really important. The job does you, instead of you doing the job. The answer is already within the person I’m serving. There’s only the next version of yourself. The Chinese symbol for listen. The pressure is on all of us. The very first day I ever taught, and I had this moment of where I realized I was in charge of all of this. Insubordinate or incompetent. Ignorant or insubordinate. What got you here won’t get you there. Empathy, equity, adapt, develop, communicate, unfinished. Not a comprehensive, you must do all these things to be successful. The Unfinished Leader Available NOW How to be a transformative Principal? Make sure voices are heard. Don’t take yourself too seriously, we’re all in these jobs temporarily. Take time to look inward. Sponsors InControl SEL for Middle School In Control created an effortless social and emotional, character development video curriculum for your students that’s ZERO-TEACHER-PREP AND it’s so cool looking- it feels like a Youtube or Netflix Series- and that’s purposeful, they meet students right where they’re at. The videos are 5-6 minutes, kids love them, teachers love them, and you will too. There’s no guesswork in the program because there’s a 21-video progression for each grade level. They’ve thought of everything-- because it’s a group of award winning counselors, teachers, and principals that came up with this thing. It’ll help you save tons of time and headaches. Take it from me, it’s time to check that social-emotional learning box, the empty one that’s been keeping you up at night--and it’s time to do it in a meaningful, measurable, magnetic way. If you go to www.InControlSEL.com/jethro you can check out some of the videos and even receive 20% off if you pre-order for next school year 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. Learn more about professional development publications that are easy to implement for your entire faculty, and are both quickly digestible and rigorous, by visiting https://us.johncattbookshop.com/. Learn more about some of the newest titles: - The Coach’s Guide to Teaching by Doug Lemov The Feedback Pendulum: A manifesto for enhancing feedback in education by Michael Chiles Putting Staff First: A blueprint for revitalising our schools by John Tomsett and Jonny Uttley 10 Things Schools Get Wrong (And How We Can Get Them Right) by Jared Cooney Horvath and David Bott Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education by Emma Turner A Parent's Guide to Powerful Teaching by Patrice Bain 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