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Compass PD Podcast with Dr. Carrie Hepburn
Compass PD Podcast with Dr. Carrie Hepburn
Compass PD Podcast Episode 43: The Strength of Your Plate Vs. What You Put on Your Plate
Have you ever faced the compelling call to figure out balance? As educators, we often balance many responsibilities, and it's easy for our plates to overflow. This episode goes beneath that struggle, equipping school administrators with the fortitude to construct a foundation strong enough to support the myriad of tasks that come with leadership in education. From personal reflections to practical strategies, Compass PD navigates the post-holiday season with a focus on ensuring that both educators and students start the second semester on solid ground.
As the school year progresses, momentum is everything. Dr. Niedringhaus and Dr. Hepburn pull back the curtain on how to finish the year with strength and purpose. They highlight the importance of foundational practices even as new initiatives roll out by fostering a supportive educational environment emphasizing empathy, prioritization, and effective communication. This rich conversation is more than just a discussion; it's a toolbox for administrators to support their teachers through the crucial periods of observations, IEP meetings, and constructive feedback.
Join us as we extend a heartfelt thanks to Bridgett for her insights and invite our Compass PD community to share in our mission of impacting the education of one million students. Get ready to be inspired and feel empowered as we share strategies that matter—not just for today but for the future of education.
Episodes Mentioned:
Episode 31: The Principals Playbook: Balancing School Improvements and Holidays
Episode 27: Mastering High-Stakes Conversations: A Guide to Effectively Communication with Parents and Teachers
Okay, I'm ready, let's do this. Hello, hello, hello, dr Carrie Hepburn, here from Compass PD, and today I am really eager to have my friend and colleague, dr Bridget Neijeringhaus. Hi Bridget, hi Carrie, do you have anything like exciting happening in your world right?
Speaker 2:now you know what I am living the dream as a grandmother of twins and getting to watch them do all the fun things and I have been having some fun with kind of. My New Year's theme for myself has been to reconnect or reconcile, and it might be with people, or it might be going back to a book that I really enjoyed at a time and picking it up again, or just just kind of reconciling and reconnecting with some things that maybe I let go, maybe it was a timing thing, but so I've reconnected with friends from high school or people that I haven't talked to for a while, family that I'm trying to reach out and make plans with, things like that, and so that's been kind of fun for me to just have that as my reconnect, as my mantra.
Speaker 1:This year Do you do one word? I used to do one word and I haven't done it in my entire life.
Speaker 2:I try, I try and, to be honest with you, this year was difficult because really my word, I think, always is surrender, and I think that has so many meanings. But it kind of fits my personality at some point I have to throw up my hands and surrender, and so, whether that's in my personal life, my faith life, my work life, there's so many meanings behind that surrender, and so I still keep older than that. But I'm trying to now do some more reconciliation and so my husband and I may be reconnecting with some friends that you know, those people that were in your wedding, that you haven't seen in years, or high school with that you were just the closest with. Then life has taken you in different directions, or you know just things like that, maybe even picking up a craft or something I liked to do, a hobby in the past. So I'm trying to reconnect with some things. Trust me, I still need the surrender. I need the surrender every day.
Speaker 1:I'm sitting here going, wow, I need both of those. Both of those should be my words. I haven't done the word, one word in a couple of years. I always find it really a nice way to focus and be thoughtful about maybe some of the things that are important to me, and I really do love the idea of reconciling and reconnecting. I think there's a need for that, especially since I know we keep saying this, but since COVID it's kind of like we have to get back into who we used to be. You know Well, I am excited to have you today because you're going to be sharing information to support administrators in January.
Speaker 1:We have been getting lots of great feedback from the Compass PD community about how the podcast has benefited so many administrators. Many have mentioned that Episode 31, the Principles Playbook, balancing School Improvements and Holidays was one of their favorites, and then another one being Episode 27, mastering High Stakes Conversations, a guide to effectively communicating with parents and teachers, being especially beneficial during that conferencing time. I'll make sure they have those linked in our show notes for those who missed those and would like to go back and read, listen or listen to those for the first time. So here we are the administrators have their first semester under their belts and they're preparing for January. What should be on an administrator's radar right now?
Speaker 2:We know that here in the Midwest we're doing a lot of juggling and then teachers get back from break and all of a sudden they're ready to get back into curriculum and we throw snow days in or professional development days and things like that. All of a sudden it seems like we're juggling a little bit. The thing that I really want to focus on is foundation, and here's what I'm going to title this one. Carrie, it's called the strength of your plate versus what you put on your plate. So I really want people to think about this for a minute the strength of your plate versus what you put on your plate. So I'm going to give you a little scenario.
Speaker 2:Needling houses love to barbecue. There is some barbecuing that goes on in this house and we love to have people over for barbecue. We take it to people, but we're barbecuers and when I see barbecue, I mean my husband does all the meats and things, and then we have, like, all the typical sides, right, you have your potato salads and your coleslaw and your baked beans and your jealous salads and all of these things, and one of the things that I quickly learned as a hostess was we have so many things that we want everybody to sample or try, or some people just really like something and they want a lot of it. Buy those flimsy paper plates that we could cut with scissors and they try to put everything on that plate. Disaster will surely happen. Yes, and it's not because of just what you put on the plate, because I can take a more high quality plate and it can still be a paper plate, but a more high quality paper plate or maybe like something that's plastic coated. I can put the same foods on that and it'll withstand the food that's on there. Yes, so I'm going to take that and just kind of move that into what I want to talk about this podcast, which is how strong are our plates?
Speaker 2:So, as administrators, one of the things that happens throughout the year and I feel like we really start to feel the pressure of it this time of year is how many things we're putting on not only our own plates but asking teachers to put on their plates. One of the things I found out was, as a new administrator, I wanted to do some hand picking, like I would like for you to put this and this on your plate because I think it's a good fit for you. What I didn't really take into consideration was sometimes people want to put more on their plate. They'd like to dip into something else, they'd like to try something. They'd like a little more variety than where I was trying to pinhole them. I think, as an administrator, one of the best things you can do is listen to the voice of your teachers and see what things are they interested in putting on their plate. Don't take away what can be put on the plate, but let's talk about building that foundation or giving them a stronger plate to put these things on. What does that look like? That looks like some really good conversations with your staff. Talk to them about if you see the teacher that keeps heaping things onto their plate. That's a great conversation. That doesn't mean they're going to remove something from their plate, but maybe talk to them about prioritizing what's on their plate or what they might want to try this time and what they might want to try next time.
Speaker 2:Things that I consider when I think about this, for example, committee work. We know that in schools, committees are meaning left and right about all sorts of things. We have some staff members that have an empty plate and we have some staff members that hardly can hold up their plate because they're on so many different things, and so what we want to do as administrators is get out there and encourage people to be involved in the school, have a voice in the school, but we want to hear from a variety of voices. We don't only want to hear from the one or two that keep signing up for everything, and we appreciate them, trust me, we do appreciate them, because it's kind of embarrassing when you're the administrator and, like the cheese stands alone. Nobody else wants to do this committee work or no one else wants to delve into this work with you and put this on their plate. There are some things that are those non-negotiables that are going to be put on your plate, right, and so when we talk about things like student data, we are looking at student data at this time of year.
Speaker 2:In fact, as an administrator, this time of year gets really crucial because there are some decisions that have to be made. I need to make sure I'm working with my teacher and my counselors and my special educators and my reading teachers, and I need to make sure that they're all putting this, that this is all a priority on their plate as well, because it's something that's going to have a critical impact for our students. So, for example, if we have a student that's really struggling, we need to look at take a look at what are the interventions we've done up to this point. Here's how much time we have left with them. While it sounds crazy, we don't have much time left with them this school year. We're almost at February. You're going to have a spring break in there. You're going to have maybe an Easter long Easter weekend in there. You're going to have some state testing that gets put in there. You're going to have district-wide assessments that are put in there, and then, before you know it, the end of the school year is hitting and we are celebrating everything. We have field days and we have award ceremonies and we have all these other things that we're planning. We're planning a special musical, we're planning our final breakfast with parents kind of event.
Speaker 2:You know there's so many of these things that that we put on our plates. Going back to the foundation is so important right now. So what are we, what is our plate made of? What are you making your plate from?
Speaker 2:If we're talking about student data conversations that need to happen, then our plates need to be made from good data sources, not single sources. We need to make sure that we have a plate that's got multiple sources, that it's made of, it's got multiple stakeholders that are involved and have voice, and we have to make sure that we're coming to consensus on the plate that we're getting ready to pile on to. So if I am the principal of the building and I know I'm getting ready to have some really heavy data conversations, I do not want the flimsy plate that once I put my barbecue on it it's going to fall apart. I want that solid plate so that I can put some things on there, because that's not the only thing happening at this time of year and while it's so important that we're talking about all this, we also have to go back to why aren't things working?
Speaker 2:So, revisiting our curriculum, our instruction and our assessment, and going back and revisiting and seeing what we're doing and how we're benefiting our students. So some other things that might get put on our plate. As a reading coach, we might put on your plate. Hey, I need you to go strengthen somebody else. I need you to go help somebody else with some of their foundational skills in the classroom. It might be a teacher, it might be a group of students or eight an individual student, but we have to go back and revisit those things. We want to talk about instruction and so we want to talk about what are those foundational instructional strategies that maybe we have gotten away from that.
Speaker 2:Maybe we started off the year really strong with because we were super excited and we've kind of moved away from. Let's get back to those and strengthen our plate by going back to those. I talked a little bit about assessments. We want to go back to our assessments. What are we using? How are we using multiple data sources? Are we using a variety of anecdotal notes and maybe we have some summative assessments, maybe we have formative assessments, maybe we just have a lot of different things that we're collecting, and so how can we use that to help strengthen that plate?
Speaker 2:Because here's some things that we are going to add on. We're going to add on a new initiative. Did you know that? Maybe next year we're going to add on a new math series and so we'd like you to pilot it? Or maybe what we're going to add on is we really think there's a great new social emotional, social emotional program out there that we should really be diving into in February, march, april, may, and we really need to hit it with fidelity. So we're going to add that on to your plate. It's not part of your foundation yet, because you haven't really had that experience with it yet, because you haven't had the opportunity. But guess what? It's coming. And so with all of these added things that come, um, we see students grow weary, we see teachers grow weary, and so if we don't have that good barbecue plate ready, then the plates going to fall apart and everything's to fall apart with it.
Speaker 1:I love the reminders of the foundational work. I find that we step away from that, that we'll step away from that, and you have to just be reminded to get back into it. And when it's already been part of your culture, you can pick it up pretty quickly. It's not like starting a whole new initiative. It's like remember we used to do this and that muscle memory starts to take over again. But we do slip back into some old habits or old ways of thinking or trying to rush through things because of all the things that are on our plate. So thinking about what is our plate, what is our foundation, is a great way to be thinking about finishing the school year strong.
Speaker 2:And really-.
Speaker 2:Thinking about administrators at this time of year. Administrators are probably trying to think, like how many more observations do I need to get into the classrooms to do? How many more IEP or transition meetings do I need to sit through at this time of the year? Because at this time of the year it's like all this starts to culminate. And so, even for administrators, going back to those foundational skills, don't forget to do your walkthroughs. Keep those walkthroughs up. Keep that feedback coming for your teachers. Keep building them up, because we know that that summative evaluation is coming.
Speaker 2:But that doesn't mean we want instruction to stop. It doesn't mean we want good teaching to stop, and it also doesn't mean that we don't want to make sure we're giving our teachers the feedback that they need to continue the year. We want them to know how well they're doing. We want them to know hey, I see you, I see you working hard, I see you staying late, I see you at Science Night. I see you coming to that special musical that we have. Like, we wanna make sure that we're still doing those classroom walkthroughs. We're communicating with our teachers. We have foundational skills as administrators that we wanna make sure that we're keeping up with as well, and that's what's really gonna help build our teachers up, which, in turn, helps build our students up.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that you do such a nice job of also, in the work that you do, being empathetic, thinking about what other people are going through and how to connect with them, and understanding that education is hard and so it takes all of us together, encouraging and building each other up to make it as we.
Speaker 2:And if that empathy doesn't come natural for an administrator, don't worry, it keeps building. You know, nobody walks into a job and says how I'm walking in is where I'm gonna be in five years, right. And so if I'm talking to new administrators and you're like boy, I don't do that, well, guess what? Put something on your list to do next year. Next year you're trying something new. You're constantly looking to be better at your practice, like we're asking teachers to be better at their practice, like we're asking students to be better at their practice, and so some of those things. You have to keep in mind that if you don't keep introducing them yourself, practicing them yourself, they're not going to get better.
Speaker 2:I did not come in with the best empathy as an administrator. I'm sure I'm confident of it. The only thing I can say is, as a parent now who has two daughters that are teachers, it does my heart so good to see them be excited about their profession and it makes me feel good as a parent that somebody's acknowledging them and giving them that feedback, and then I can see how that is transitioning into that good feedback for our students.
Speaker 1:Great, that's super. Well, I don't even know we'll continue, but that was so good as we think, thank you. As we think about this time of year, what are some predictable problems the administrators will be facing?
Speaker 2:So the predictable problems are the full plates and so sticking with our plate analogy, we know.
Speaker 2:The predictable problem let's just call it what it is. It's going to be the full plate, and so administrators know that you are gonna have that full plate. Prioritizing is going to be key Understanding what are the things that need your personal attention and what are some things that may be an assistant principal or a coach or a counselor or somebody else can help you with, but knowing that a predictable problem is gonna be the full plate, and so how you deal with the full plate is really what you have to focus on. We've talked about in previous podcasts. We've even talked about some tips and things for delegation.
Speaker 2:So just go into this time of year knowing the plate's full and so it's not going away, because it's gonna start getting replaced with other things. And so strengthen your plate, make sure you're doing those foundational things that you need to be doing and really you cannot over communicate with your faculty staff parents. You cannot over communicate right now. Don't let things kind of slip by, but make sure you're going back to your roots, going back to that good foundation of communication, of delegating and finding who are your people, who are your tribe, who are those that are gonna be able to help and support you as you're getting ready to head into this time of year.
Speaker 1:I will make sure that I don't know which episode. It is right off the top of my head right now, but I will go back and link that particular episode where you talked about prioritizing and delegating and building your tribe, building your community, the people that can help support you so you can do the work that you need to be doing to support the community as a whole. So I will link that in the show notes. So, bridget, as we think about this time of year, what tip or reminder do you have for administrators?
Speaker 2:Okay. So here are some tips that I have, and they are tips for strengthening your plate. Make sure that you are putting quality versus quantity on your plate. So there are, even as administrators, there are a million one things that we can get ourselves wrapped up in. Somebody decides at the last minute hey, I'm going to have this, I'm going to run a book club and I'd love for all the administrators to sign up and be a part of it. But, like, it's not something that you have to do, it's an option. If you're a plate full, it's the option. You can read a book and be part of something else at another time. So make sure that what you're doing is fitting you and helping you get through this time of year.
Speaker 2:So look at the quality of what you're working on. If you have a data expert that wants to come in and talk to you about some of your interventions and things you have going on, that is quality. That's what we want. We don't. It's not that you want your plate to have all of these things on it. It can, but really like what are those good quality things? So like for me, going back to that barbecue, a piece of corn on the cob is going to take up a lot of my plate, but for me that's quality, it's not just quantity. So even if you have something you're going to put on your plate that's going to take up some space is it a quality something that's going to take up space on your plate, then it's worth it. If it's something that you can revisit at another time, it's not worth it.
Speaker 2:And so think about how to do that the quality versus quantity on your plate and then invest in your plate. So we talked about earlier strengthening your plate. Make an investment as an administrator and get out there and talk to people. Get out there and see how everybody's feeling. Get out there and talk to your faculty, your staff. Get with your office staff. I can't talk about them enough. Really, I should do just a podcast on how to build a strong office staff. We should do that. We should do that Because you need that as an administrator. You need that they can be the gatekeeper for so many things for you. And so invest in building your plate and making sure you have that strong, solid foundation by getting input from others. Talk to your office staff. Make sure you're having those conversations with the custodial staff and then you can have a conversation with your staff. And then you can have a conversation with your staff. Or you know your maintenance people, because all of these activities and things that come in at the end of the year, that's a good group of people you need to be talking to. Get out there and have some conversations with teachers, and then how do you connect with them?
Speaker 2:I have worked with staff for a while now, but I knew they were probably individually, individually, pull some people in. I always laughed. There was a. I had a staff member one time and I have to tell you I feared her and we went on a to a conference together fear for any long. And in fact I knew she and I weren't always going to be on the same page and she was always one of my go-to people, because you don't just need to hear from the people that are going to agree with you. So get out there and get those people that you can surround yourself with that are going to come with varying personalities, opinions, things like that, but get out there and talk to people so that you're strengthening your plate, so that when you are throwing out some of these new ideas and things like that, you have the strength of your plate.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think that's something you always did really well, bridget and for those of you maybe that are listening, that are new, you may not know that I was a teacher in Bridget school, it feels, and we started the same year together, where she was a brand new administrator in our district and I was a brand new teacher and something that Bridget did really well was that she did go to some of the people that I thought were like oh the hardest and make sure that she gathered their feedback and got information from them and made sure that their voices were heard too, because it was important. They provided a different viewpoint, a different perspective, and it was always beneficial. I think that's something, one of the many things that you did really well, bridget, so thank you for bringing that to our attention. Just a reminder, I think it's critical.
Speaker 2:Yes, Right now. Final thing to strengthen your plate yes, take care of yourself. Yeah, if you can't hold the plate, if you can't hold the plate, there's no value in the plate. And so I want to say take care of yourself. And we all know there are so many ways physically to take care of yourself, emotionally to take care of yourself. I think of people that I could pick up the phone and say I need five minutes or what are you doing about this? And physically, physically, take care of yourself.
Speaker 2:Sleep, walk away and we know in education that's like the hardest thing to do is walk away. But what are some things that you can do to help before you go to sleep at night, to help clear your mind? True statement, new principle, brand new. When I was a brand new principle, I had a stack of post-it notes on my bedside table and I would wake up and write things on it and stick it on my lampshade. And so when I got up in the morning, depending on what that lampshade looked like told me how much sleep I got or not, but at least I felt like I got it off my mind and I could deal with it the next day. Right, right, and that's my personal little something that I did, but really there's a lot of emphasis now on self-care and I can't say that I was the best at that, but I really do want to encourage people to spend time with your family. You don't get that back.
Speaker 2:Spend time with your loved one and spend time investing in yourself.
Speaker 1:I think a couple of podcasts ago when I was talking I was talking to them about I'm not sure how I was about halfway through the time that I was in the classroom and discovered Zumba and Bridget was there when she knew I discovered Zumba and that was a game changer for me when I discovered Zumba two days a week. I went three days a week but one of them was on Saturday, but two days a week I had to leave at 4.15 after the busses so I could get a Zumba ticket to get into the Zumba classroom and started grabbing friends and we would go and this amount of stress, just those two days a week during the school week, were game changers for us. And it was a goofy little thing and just one hour, but we went home better moms, better wives, better friends, better humans. We came back happier to work. So just a little thing of taking care of yourself a couple times a week, like taking a walk, really is a game changer. So doesn't have to be big.
Speaker 1:It can be something small so well. Thank you so much, bridget. This was amazing. It's so good to have you, and I know that so many administrators are going to be grateful for your wise words today.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you.
Speaker 1:I would love to invite you, compass PD community, to help us reach our goal of impacting education by reaching the learning of one million students during the 2023-2024 school year. You can do that by liking and subscribing to our podcast and sharing it with a fellow educator. And just feel free, give us a review. We would love to have those reviews and help other people start learning about us and listening to us. I want to just encourage you to take care and stay inspired, compass PD community, and have a great day.