83: School Leadership and Shifting to a Culture of Try with Dr. Joseph Jones and Dr. T.J. Vari
Dr. Joseph Jones is the Superintendent of Schools in the New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District. Joe is a former high school teacher, assistant principal and principal. As principal, he was named the Delaware Secondary Principal of the Year and during his tenure, Delcastle Technical High School was the first high school to receive the state’s Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. Joe received his doctorate from the University of Delaware in educational leadership. He is also an adjunct professor for various universities.
Dr. T.J. Vari is the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools and District Operations in the Appoquinimink School District. T.J. is a former middle school assistant principal and principal and former high school English teacher. His master’s degree is in School Leadership and his doctorate is in Innovation and Leadership. He holds several honors and distinctions, including his past appointment as President of the Delaware Association for School Administrators and the Paul Carlson Administrator of the Year Award. He teaches educational leadership courses at the masters and doctoral level.
Together, Joe and T.J. present nationally on topics of school leadership, and they co-founded TheSchoolHouse302, which is a leadership development institute specializing in leadership coaching for new and experienced school leaders. They have written five books together, co-authoring several of those with their friends, Principal EL and Connie Hamilton.
Join us for this conversation about school leadership, thinking about problems differently, and moving from a culture of 'why' to a culture of ‘try’.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS:
- How Joe and T.J. started working together and how their “write-and-runs” led them to founding their leadership development institute.
- Getting simple and finding the pillars of success to better leadership.
- Mindshifts for school leaders who want to find and fix root issues.
- The Octopus Approach and how it helps leaders to stop making decision too quickly and in isolation.
- What we can learn about problem solving from the creator of Spanx.
- Moving from a culture of ‘why’ to a culture of ‘try’.
RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Joe, T..J., and The Schoolhouse 302 on Twitter: @tjvari @supt_jones @tsh302
- Visit theschoolhouse302.com to learn more about their work to help leaders grow.
- Check out Joe and T.J.’s books on leadership, including “7 Mindshifts for School Leaders”.
- Learn more about Rebel Educator, explore our professional development opportunities for educators and students, and check out our project library.
- Visit us at UP Academy to learn more about our personalized and inclusive learning environment.
- Connect with Tanya and UP Academy on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram and learn more about her journey here.
Check out my book Rebel Educator: Create Classrooms Where Impact and Imagination Meet: amzn.to/3AcwlfF
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MORE ABOUT THE REBEL EDUCATOR PODCAST:
In each episode of the Rebel Educator podcast, I deconstruct world-class educators, students, and thought leaders in education to extract the tactics, tools, and routines that you can use as teachers and parents. Join me as we discuss how to shift the classroom, the learning environment, the mindset, and the pedagogy, to resist tradition, reignite wonder, and re-imagine the future of education.
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